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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Unless you're just a die-hard Foundation fan and have to read them all, "Prelude to Foundation" can safely be skipped. In particular, I'm not sure that I would recommend reading it prior to the other Foundation novels despite the fact that it's a prequel.
It's not spoiling anything to briefly explain why this is. In "Foundation," which is really more a shorts collection than a novel despite the fact that the stories do flow very well together, Hari Seldon is already an old man. The whole premise is based upon his having mathematically predicted the future using a technique of his own devising called psychohistory. He is, from page one, a legend.
Prelude to Foundation attempts to chronicle Hari's invention of psychohistory as a young man. The story flows much like the plot of a B action movie, right down to Hari having some small martial arts skills. The young, hasty, Hari is a far less compelling hero than the iconic genius who has mathematically determined how to shorten ten thousand years of barbarism to just one thousand.
Of course, Asimov is a good enough storyteller that it all hangs together decently. But there's a lot of books out there to be had, and plenty of other choices even just in the Asimov shelf that are better.
It's not spoiling anything to briefly explain why this is. In "Foundation," which is really more a shorts collection than a novel despite the fact that the stories do flow very well together, Hari Seldon is already an old man. The whole premise is based upon his having mathematically predicted the future using a technique of his own devising called psychohistory. He is, from page one, a legend.
Prelude to Foundation attempts to chronicle Hari's invention of psychohistory as a young man. The story flows much like the plot of a B action movie, right down to Hari having some small martial arts skills. The young, hasty, Hari is a far less compelling hero than the iconic genius who has mathematically determined how to shorten ten thousand years of barbarism to just one thousand.
Of course, Asimov is a good enough storyteller that it all hangs together decently. But there's a lot of books out there to be had, and plenty of other choices even just in the Asimov shelf that are better.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
PHENOMENAL.
Picked this up after loving the "Foundation" series on AppleTV and reading Asimov's collection of short stories. I loved his writing style in the short stories and was pleased that the writing style in Prelude was very similar. I loved Asimov's attention to detail and how vastly different each sector was. His characters are compelling and felt real. I especially loved the "encyclopedia" snippets at the start of each chapter, giving glimpses into the futures of the characters that we wouldn't see in this book.
I started with this one because I wasn't sure where else to start, and I have to be honest, I'm not exactly sure where to go from here but I'm excited to read more! I suppose I'll start with whatever holds come up first at the library.
Would be five stars but the underlying female-inferiority in each society wasn't my jam. But it wasn't a focus so I mostly shrugged it off.
Picked this up after loving the "Foundation" series on AppleTV and reading Asimov's collection of short stories. I loved his writing style in the short stories and was pleased that the writing style in Prelude was very similar. I loved Asimov's attention to detail and how vastly different each sector was. His characters are compelling and felt real. I especially loved the "encyclopedia" snippets at the start of each chapter, giving glimpses into the futures of the characters that we wouldn't see in this book.
I started with this one because I wasn't sure where else to start, and I have to be honest, I'm not exactly sure where to go from here but I'm excited to read more! I suppose I'll start with whatever holds come up first at the library.
Would be five stars but the underlying female-inferiority in each society wasn't my jam. But it wasn't a focus so I mostly shrugged it off.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Violence, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No