Isaac Asimov was one of the foremost science fiction authors until his death in 1992. Among his many achievements is the fact that he has written and edited over 500 different books, and having an asteroid named after him (the 5020 Asimov). But what may be the most amazing is winning the Hugo Award for Best All-Time Series in 1966 for his Foundation Trilogy (Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation).
Foundation, the first book in this series, has five parts, four of which had been previously published in the magazine Astounding Science-Fiction. This novel is about the psychohistorian Hari Seldon and his quest to save the Galaxy from 30,000 years of chaos.
The novel opens with a young mathematician named Gaal Dornick as he is flying to the planet Trantor to meet Seldon. Hari "Raven" Seldon was looked upon by some to be a very intelligent and extraordinary man by most as a trouble-maker. He invented the branch of mathematics known as psychohistory. With psychohistory, one could predict the likely outcome of events in the future. Seldon discovered that the Galactic Empire would indeed fall within the next 300 years, and then would follow 30,000 years of chaos in the galaxy before the Empire rose again. But if Seldon and his followers and their descendants could create a society known as the Foundation, the 30,000 years would be reduced to a mere millenium.
And so follows the chronicle of the Foundation on the planet Terminus, at the very edge of the Galaxy. At first, the Foundation's only goal, as given them by the long-dead Seldon, was to make the Encyclopedia Galactica, a conglomeration of all the information known to mankind. They were governed by a committee whose only care was for the Encyclopedia. But, as with the rest of the Galaxy, many changes were stirring within the Foundation.
Asimov's story of how one man sought to save the Universe 29,000 years of misfortune is a success. Although it is very brief--only 255 pages--it successfully chronicles several years in the life of the Foundation, its struggles and failures, its successes and discoveries, and its role in the eventual deterioration of the Galactic Empire. This is a very good beginning to a highly-spoken-of series.
http://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Novels-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0553293354/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227312127&sr=8-2
Grade: 8.5
Foundation, the first book in this series, has five parts, four of which had been previously published in the magazine Astounding Science-Fiction. This novel is about the psychohistorian Hari Seldon and his quest to save the Galaxy from 30,000 years of chaos.
The novel opens with a young mathematician named Gaal Dornick as he is flying to the planet Trantor to meet Seldon. Hari "Raven" Seldon was looked upon by some to be a very intelligent and extraordinary man by most as a trouble-maker. He invented the branch of mathematics known as psychohistory. With psychohistory, one could predict the likely outcome of events in the future. Seldon discovered that the Galactic Empire would indeed fall within the next 300 years, and then would follow 30,000 years of chaos in the galaxy before the Empire rose again. But if Seldon and his followers and their descendants could create a society known as the Foundation, the 30,000 years would be reduced to a mere millenium.
And so follows the chronicle of the Foundation on the planet Terminus, at the very edge of the Galaxy. At first, the Foundation's only goal, as given them by the long-dead Seldon, was to make the Encyclopedia Galactica, a conglomeration of all the information known to mankind. They were governed by a committee whose only care was for the Encyclopedia. But, as with the rest of the Galaxy, many changes were stirring within the Foundation.
Asimov's story of how one man sought to save the Universe 29,000 years of misfortune is a success. Although it is very brief--only 255 pages--it successfully chronicles several years in the life of the Foundation, its struggles and failures, its successes and discoveries, and its role in the eventual deterioration of the Galactic Empire. This is a very good beginning to a highly-spoken-of series.
http://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Novels-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0553293354/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227312127&sr=8-2
Grade: 8.5
No comments:
Post a Comment