645 reviews for:

Prelude to Foundation

Isaac Asimov

3.94 AVERAGE

feminerdity's review against another edition

4.5

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: Yes

pr1mrxse's review against another edition

2.25

informative lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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seldon is one of the least likable main characters ive ever encountered and Dors was phenomenal when Asimov wasnt obsessed with reminding you shes a woman and therefore desirable to Seldon. the whole book made me feel gross and id only ever reccomend it for context to events/people in the other books

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Xenophobia, Classism

somelauren's review against another edition

3.0

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From what I've been reading this is a case where I should have started with the first book that was published, not the first in chronology. It was alright, but really dragged in some parts.

willi2aw's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

brunooc2's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging lighthearted fast-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

afalse's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

wanderstheuniverse's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional informative lighthearted medium-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: Yes

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I honestly love Seldon. I can really see his character in the prequel than the little we got in the trilogy!

MY CAVES OF STEEL LOVING HEART IS RAAAVIIINNNGGGG! ASIMOV’S LORE IS CRAZYYY!!!!!

DANEEL AND BALEY MENTIONEDDDD AAAAAAAA

I don’t know what to rate this though… probably a 4-5 stars. Not sure. Good to read if you like the Foundation trilogy, like me, but I don’t know what to expect for prequels since I’ve never read one. :)
I freaking love Asimov.

(May 7 2025)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, Blood

ciongolongo's review against another edition

5.0

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This was awesome, loved the ending. 4.50

dunedinmouse's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

jackienq's review against another edition

3.0

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3.5 stars. I like a good adventure story and this has much of that. At the same time, it's very dude-goes-on-an-adventure, which didn't resonate with me a whole lot. The final chapters are probably what made the book, for me, better than mediocre. I enjoy reading books that sit at the root of many tropes that are now, well, tropes in a given subject. And Prelude has a number of those original seeds for sci-fi, which I enjoyed experiencing.