Reviews

Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov

jordlriley's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Took me a while to get through this one. I liked the concept, but I wish that instead of going to so many planets, we just got more time on fewer planets. Asimov does such a good job of coming up really cool ideas for worlds that it makes me sad we didn’t get extended periods of stays on more planets. I liked all the characters they encountered and the ending was great way to tie up the whole series. 

grandadmiralharvoid's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

djla2009's review against another edition

3.0

I had fun with this book. I read the first 4 Foundation books back to back last year but the fourth book was a little bit of a disappointment so I took a break. I picked this one up finally because it concludes the story set up in book 4. Like book 4, book 5 deviates from the themes of the original trilogy. I found it kind of disappointing because the Seldon Plan was such a cool idea.

However, once I got use to the idea that these books were totally different, I enjoyed them a bit more. This one is the most adventure heavy Foundation book which is fun. It's the first sci fi treasure hunt type book I've read. Arriving on each new planet was exciting to see a mysterious new place.

I'd say read the Foundation series if you want to learn more about classic sci fi stories, though I think there's a lot better modern sci fi, just from the little bit that I've read. But if you only want to read the original Foundation trilogy, I'd say you aren't missing too much by skipping the 4th and 5th book. If your familiar with Asimov's non-Foundation books, this is fun to read because it connects Foundation to his Robot and Empire books.

fitheflea's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

3.75

simon326's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Foundation and Earth, the last of the Foundation Saga, continues the story of Golan Trevize from the previous book, Foundation's Edge, as his final search for Earth continues. Along the way we see the pieces fall together and the history of the galaxy is revealed through the investigations of our main characters. 

The story is definitely intriguing, but at the same time, this must be the weakest of the Foundation series, as the focus on a single protagonist takes away from the galactic history covered in the main series. Also, I found the flaws in Trevive's character to be somewhat jarring in comparison to the man we met in the previous book. 

However, anyone who has enjoyed the Foundation series will also enjoy this story and the way in which things are pieced together is classic Asimov.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content

brus's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

4.0

hermstefanny's review against another edition

3.0

I will try to not review the series as a whole, but given that this is the final instalment, I have to at least tie in with the events of previous books. I was going to give 2 stars, but I was reminded that I should not apply my morality to books that were written almost half a century ago. However, I can not discount the abuse of some storytelling devices that Asimov seem to be fond of. For example, it always seems to be another entity controlling the strings of everybody else

Spoiler

First, it was the Second Foundation, then Gaia, in this book Daneel Olivaw of all people/robot. I must be honest, this last puppeteer I didn't mind, because it's a character I already liked, and it made me want to finish the Robot Saga, a series that I have grown to like more

. Then, there is the fact this book doesn't change at all the status quo of the overarching story. One can reach Foundation's Edge end and stop there, it will still be the same result.

Spoiler

Finally, something that personally disappointed me was the dropping of the Seldon's Plan in favour of the manipulations of one single-powerful entity. Even if I personally really like this omnipotent God, the psychohistory, the mathematics, the foundationers work were only clever plans from an individual. This saga could be renamed Daneel's Plan

. I have enjoyed the world building, and the clearly smart foresight of Asimov to envision a sci-fi saga that seemed that it could happen in our Galaxy. That's why this is getting 3 stars for now

Spoiler

and also because I feel that maybe 2 stars is too low, maybe I am little biased because my part of my frustration stems from the fact that I was hoping to see that Earth was alive and well and that it wasn't so, it made me sad

wheelside's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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? No

4.5

burnscommalucas's review against another edition

slow-paced

1.0

evnp's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75