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frankynstein's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Bloody hell why did I overlook Asimov for so long. Incredible writing and world-building. The one flaw was the very of-it’s-time perception of women in society, even in a far flung future.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny
kjtreks's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
Only women have very very minor roles.maeverose's review
Dnfed at 67%
TL;DR: I found it boring and it does in fact read like it was written in the 40s for a male-only audience.
I wanted to read the books after watching season one of the show because I really liked it, but unfortunately I found this book to be pretty boring. I really like the changes that they made for the show, tbh I think those changes make for a much more interesting story. Obviously I can’t fairly compare it to the books being as I couldn’t even finish the first one, but I already know based on what I did read that I personally prefer the show, and I’d rather not waste my time reading the books if I’m just gonna be bored…
As for my thoughts on what I did read: This book is all politics. Yes the show has a lot of politics as well but at least there are some breaks from it… Plus in the show I felt much more invested in the characters and therefore the plot. I felt zero connection to the characters in the book because we didn’t get to know them at all. They’re also almost all old men. I did know going in that there were no female characters but it just feels so strange to read a book where you hardly know if women even exist because they’re never mentioned… It’s also super dialogue heavy. There’s very little description of the environment, people’s thoughts, or what’s actually happening visually. Which I think added to my boredom. Not that I expected poetic writing but some description would’ve been nice.
Sorry to all the cishet dudebros out there who will get mad at this review lol (except I’m not actually sorry..)
TL;DR: I found it boring and it does in fact read like it was written in the 40s for a male-only audience.
I wanted to read the books after watching season one of the show because I really liked it, but unfortunately I found this book to be pretty boring. I really like the changes that they made for the show, tbh I think those changes make for a much more interesting story. Obviously I can’t fairly compare it to the books being as I couldn’t even finish the first one, but I already know based on what I did read that I personally prefer the show, and I’d rather not waste my time reading the books if I’m just gonna be bored…
As for my thoughts on what I did read: This book is all politics. Yes the show has a lot of politics as well but at least there are some breaks from it… Plus in the show I felt much more invested in the characters and therefore the plot. I felt zero connection to the characters in the book because we didn’t get to know them at all. They’re also almost all old men. I did know going in that there were no female characters but it just feels so strange to read a book where you hardly know if women even exist because they’re never mentioned… It’s also super dialogue heavy. There’s very little description of the environment, people’s thoughts, or what’s actually happening visually. Which I think added to my boredom. Not that I expected poetic writing but some description would’ve been nice.
Sorry to all the cishet dudebros out there who will get mad at this review lol (except I’m not actually sorry..)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Suicide
Moderate: Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Ableism, Confinement, Sexism, War, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Animal death
adara_burns's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
This book was very interesting, and had some very novel concepts for a 70 year old sci fi novel. I enjoyed reading about the progression of the Foundation, and how the individual Seldon Crises were navigated. I also found the inter-planetary politics very interesting, but the layout of the book, with the large time skips between parts meant that I had to learn a whole new set of characters and protagonist every hundred pages or so, because of this I did feel quite disconnected from characters.
Although a warning - this book has about 20 male characters and 1 female character, who is only mentioned twice, as an annoying wife.
Although a warning - this book has about 20 male characters and 1 female character, who is only mentioned twice, as an annoying wife.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny
ailsaod's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
My dad lent me his copy when I was a teenager and I got about three chapters in (the chapters in this book are tiny so that doesn't count for much!) before I gave it back! This time around I borrowed it from the library but really I shouldn't have bothered. There are two things that are not particularly obvious going into this book: 1. Despite being a short book this is basically a set of short stories in the same setting at different points in time and 2. This book is focused almost entirely on concept and barely any effort was devoted to the characters. These two things came as a rather nasty shock! Another thing that I had to get past was that this book was published in the fifties and features according treatment of women and even a rogue use of the n-word that appeared very much out of left field. Admittedly this came across as less openly sexist somehow than some books I've read that came out in this century - though this is mainly because if you actually have female characters with roles in the story there is much more room to write them badly. Overall, while I appreciate the concept behind this series as being very cool I doubt I will be reading any more of it as it is probably the worst thing I have read this year so far. There is however, a scene that has etched itself into my brain because I don't understand why it is there: why was the merchant guy at the end sunbathing naked with his pal indoors? Is this a euphemism?? Were the fifties just like that? Mr Asimov I have questions.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism, Misogyny, and Racial slurs
shieldbearer's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Y'know I would have liked this a lot better if it was actually about the encyclopedia. For what it is it's well constructed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Violence, Colonisation, War, Murder, Gun violence, and Death
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