A Satire For Our Time

With the current American economy and the unhappiness people have with the federal government, it seems as if there can never be a perfect civilization. One literary example of this is William Golding's Lord of the Flies, a satirical novel about British children during a great war. This novel has been proclaimed by TIME as one of the best 100 English-language books of all time.

Lord of the Flies opens on a deserted island, at the wreckage of the crash of an airplane that had been carrying British schoolboys away from the war-torn England. Ralph, an older child whose father was in the navy, meets another child, who wore glasses, was fat, and had asthma. The child does not reveal his name, but is known only as Piggy. Ralph is calm, democratic, and charismatic, while Piggy is frightful, disliked, and bossy. The two boys find a conch in a small body of water, and Ralph blows the conch. All the boys on the island go to the sound of the conch.

The conch in the story represents order and democracy. It is used to unite the children, and only he holding the conch is allowed to speak at the boys' assemblies. The conch is probably the most metaphorical item in the entire book.

When the boys unite after Ralph called them, the character Jack is introduced. Jack Merridew is the head of a choir to which many boys belong. He proclaims his desire to be elected chief of the island, but loses the election to Ralph. Ralph gives the resentful Jack command over his choir as hunters for the boys. The civilization on the island is created.

The story continues to explain the rise and fall of the civilization, and the decisions that all of the boys eventually have to make to follow Jack or Ralph. While Ralph stands for order and reason, Jack's tribe is fun and puts a large emphasis on violence, especially the hunt for pigs. Jack and Ralph are perfect foils for each other and are allegories for evil and good, respectively. Other characters include Roger, the spearman and Jack's lieutenant, and Simon, the voice of reason for Ralph and symbol of purity.

Lord of the Flies is a great satire for today. The point that no government created by man can last forever without trouble is true. The way that Golding writes the novel using children, who are so innocent but have so much potential for evil, is chilling. This novel has lasted for years and will last for several more as an excellent novel for modern civilizations.

http://www.amazon.com/WIDEVIEW-PERIGEE-BOOKS-William-Golding/dp/B000FXT2LA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247432738&sr=8-1

Grade: 8.5

One Apple Short of a Basket

After reading such pleasant novels and anthologies by Ray Bradbury as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man, I was excited to pick up a copy of the Bradbury anthology The Golden Apples of the Sun from my library. While I had found some of the short stories in the previous books I had read slightly boring, the majority of them were good, Twilight Zone-type stories. I was expecting The Golden Apples of the Sun to please me just as much.

Sadly, this was not the case.

Most of the stories in the book were quite drab, with no interesting plot or twists that many of The Illustrated Man's stories had. Some of the stories seemed to have a lot of potential for a science fiction author like Bradbury to write something exciting, but they fell quite short of the cut. Regardless of many of the stories' lack of enthusiasm, three stories that I found quite appealing were "The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl," "The Murderer," and "Hail and Farewell."

In "The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl," Acton is at Huxley's house because he thinks the latter is cheating on his wife. The story opens with Acton standing over Huxley's corpse, shot by Acton's gun. As Acton is cleaning up the evidence, he notices some fingerprints on the house--fingerprints of his. He sees himself surely being caught and condemned for the murder if any of his fingerprints were found, so he starts polishing them off. And he does not stop. He keeps polishing, polishing, polishing....

The way Bradbury writes this story, it truly makes it seem like Acton is a normal man who was pushed to his limits by Huxley one time too many, and was not a cold-blooded murderer. The way he describes Acton's actions after the death is thrilling and chilling.

"The Murderer" is another great story. A psychologist walks through a large, clean office building while being serenaded by the sounds of today: telephones, music, computers, or other electronics. When he reaches a small room where his patient is waiting, he sees that the radio has been removed from the wall and broken. His patient, who calls himself "The Murderer," has not killed a single person. Rather, he has destroyed numerous technological items. The Murderer was upset with modern society's constant need for communication, where some of his friends call him for no apparent reason except to talk. So, he decided to destroy technology.

One of the reasons "The Murderer" stands out from the others is that Bradbury's portrait of a completely sane, normal man who suddenly has reached his point of intolerance with society is so realistic. The Murderer gave his rationale for each vandalism of his calmly and coolly, to the point where he is actually the hero of the story, and not the innocent psychiatrist.

"Hail and Farewell" concerns Willie, a young boy of twelve years old living in a Southern town. He has only lived there a few years, Willie never stays in one place for very long. In fact, one of the only things consistent with Willie is his age. Willie does not grow older. He stays in a town with a nice family for just as long as it takes for people to start talking about how the other boys grew right past him, and then he walks away, with barely anything at all.

This story is a great one because it shows the trouble with having one of the most-wished for blessings: the ability to never age. Willie can never have good friends because he has to move away very quickly. Bradbury describes well Willie's internal pain and grief, and also his physical conditions and needs.

Despite the fact that these three stories were great, many of the other nineteen were not very good or intriguing at all. The anthology fell short of Bradbury's ability, and should not be used as a judge for his prowess with writing.

Grade: 5

A Very Good 'Catch'

Lasting for many years as a symbol of teenage rebellion in American literature, J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye has been banned in many locations because of its ample amount of profanity, smoking, and drinking, as well as some other mature content. While banning may be a way to keep children's minds pure of these vile actions, it is a shame that such an outstanding book should ever be restricted.

The short novel begins with Holden Caulfield, the protagonist and anti-hero of the novel talking to the reader with a very unique talking style: "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of c***, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them. They're quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. They're nice and all--I'm not saying that--but they're also touchy as h***. Besides, I'm not going to tell you my g***** autobiography or anything. I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy."

Caulfield is attending a private school, Pencey Prep, in Pennsylvania. About a week before Christmas break begins, Caulfield is told that his grades are too low (he is failing all his classes except for English), and that he cannot return to Pencey the following term. Besides being slightly worried about what his parents might think of his expulsion, Caulfield is hardly perturbed about it. He figures that instead of spending his last few days at Pencey actually at Pencey, he should leave. And that is what he does.

The novel follows Caulfield's ventures back to New York, while rebelling against society. There is not very much action at all. But what the novel lacks in plot, Salinger makes up for in commentary. The way Caulfield talks to the reader and then goes off on several tangents to speak about his past at Pencey and before is delighting. Caulfield, while being the protagonist of the novel, is a very difficult character to like, with all his complaints, profanity, and talk about alcohol, smoking, and girls. But he has become one of the most well-known characters in literary history, probably because his personality is atrocious but believable. Only a few would not be able to relate with Caulfield at all.

The Catcher in the Rye is an extraordinary work of art. Any reader should read this when they are at a mature age. It is only a shame that Salinger did not write more books (he only wrote four), because, if they had been as excellent and successful as this one, they would be fine novels indeed.

http://www.amazon.com/Catcher-Rye-J-D-Salinger/dp/0316769177/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244495767&sr=8-1

Grade: 9.5

A Depressing Journey

One of the most heralded books of the 21st century was a short 2006 post-apocalyptic novel about a man and his son. There are few commas, barely any apostrophes, and no quotation marks to signal dialogue. There are no chapters. The protagonists are never named. But Cormac McCarthy won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Road. It was chosen by the Oprah Book Club, and The Road came out on top in a 2008 Entertainment Weekly list of the best 100 books of the past 25 years. The movie adaptation is planned on being released later this year.

The Road is about a man (known simply as "the man") and a boy (known simply as "the boy") trying to survive in a barren America. While their main challenge is trying to find enough food and water to survive, they also struggle with the intense cold that had come from the unnamed apocalypse, the search for shelter, and the bands of cannibals that roam the earth, marauding any weak travelers to rob, kill, and often eat them.

McCarthy's writing style may be one of the main reasons The Road has been so acclaimed. His creative and unconventional nonuse of commas, apostrophes, quotation marks, names, and chapters marks the writing style as very unique. The depressing tone of the novel makes the reader care about the characters more than most other books. Here is one of the many conversations between the man and the boy:

He was a long time going to sleep. After a while he turned and looked at the man. His face in the small light streaked with black from the rain like some old world thespian. Can I ask you something? he said.
Yes. Of course.
Are we going to die?
Sometime. Not now.
And we're still going south.
Yes.
So we'll be warm.
Yes.
Okay.
Okay what?
Nothing. Just okay.
Go to sleep.
Okay.
I'm going to blow out the lamp. Is that okay?
Yes. That's okay.
And then later in the darkness: Can I ask you something?
Yes. Of course you can.
What would you do if I died?
If you died I would want to die too.
So you could be with me?
Yes. So I could be with you.
Okay.

The character of the man is pitiful. He is living out a harsh punishment for no crime at all. He does not care at all about himself; every move he makes is for the well-being of his son or the safety of himself in order to protect his son. The boy is, if possible, an even more depressing character. While he is generally more optimistic than his father, most readers will find themselves halfway to tears reading about a child at his age surviving sights and events that nobody should ever have to endure. Cormac McCarthy describes the love of the man and the loss of innocence of the boy with vivid and realistic dialogue and actions. As the novel says, the man and the boy are "each the other's world entire."

While The Road is an excellent addition to literature and should become a classic in future years, many children and weak readers will find this book to hard to bear. Throughout the novel, the depressing tone and some events may not be pleasant to some readers.

Cormac McCarthy wrote an excellent story with The Road. This book has brought him more renown than he has ever had with his previous books. The austere book should continue to enchant readers for many years to come.

http://www.amazon.com/Road-Movie-Tie-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0307472124/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241288865&sr=8-1

Grade: 9

The Underland Chronicles

Young adult literature can often be very inane. An author does not need to work very hard to write a story that appeals to teenagers--shallow humor, constant action (or teenage drama, in the case of females), and a simple plot seem to be the elements of a bestselling young adult novel. Take Percy Jackson and the Olympians, by Rick Riordan, for instance. The series, while appealing to many young adults I know, failed in appealing to me.

One young adult series, though, that seems to go against the norm is Suzanne Collins's The Underland Chronicles. While it does have its occasional stabs at humor and quite a bit of action, The Underland Chronicles has a good story and is much better than most other novels in youth literature.

The first book in the series is Gregor the Overlander. Gregor is an eleven-year-old boy living in an apartment in New York City with his grandmother, his mother, his seven-year-old sister Lizzie, and his two-year-old sister Boots. They had been very impoverished ever since Gregor's father disappeared. One day, Gregor and his sister Boots are in the laundry room of their apartment, and Gregor follows his sister through a grate in the floor. They realize that it leads to the Underland, a world that exists underneath New York City. The Underland has humans, giant bats (fliers), giant spiders (spinners), giant cockroaches (crawlers), and giant rats (gnawers). The humans live in a city called Regalia. The Regalians realize that Gregor is the warrior mentioned in "The Prophecy of Gray", a prophecy that says that a warrior from the Overland will save Regalia from the gnawers by going on a quest.

Gregor the Overlander is an excellent piece of children's literature. The plot, including the characters, the quest, and especially the prophecy marks this as a great series beginner. Readers will enjoy following Gregor and the others as they fulfill the prophecy, even if not the way they originally anticipated.

http://www.amazon.com/Overlander-Underland-Chronicles-Suzanne-Collins/dp/0439678137/ref=pd_bbs_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238866992&sr=8-5

Grade: 9

The second installation in the series, Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane, brings Gregor back to the Underland to fulfill the Prophecy of Bane. The Underlanders kidnap Boots in order to lure Gregor down, because the Prophecy of Bane calls for the warrior again. This time, the Regalians want Gregor to go on another quest to kill a white gnawer called the Bane. If the gnawers get hold of the Bane, they will be able to rule the Underland.

Collins achieves every author's aspiration: to write a sequel as good as or better than its predecessor. She uses the same formula as the first: Gregor's quest through the Underland as a segway for the development of the prophecy, as well as the surprising actual meanings of many of its ambiguous lines. Another great story in the Underland Chronicles.

http://www.amazon.com/Gregor-Prophecy-Bane-Underland-Chronicles/dp/0439650763/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239233487&sr=8-1

Grade: 9

Gregor returns to the Underland for yet another prophecy in Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods. A plague has struck Regalia and the rest of the Underland. It only affects warm-blooded creatures, thus affecting all humans, gnawers, and fliers. The Prophecy of Blood states that the warrior must go on a quest to find the cure for the terrible plague. At first, Gregor's mother insists that he will not go on another quest, but when she gets the plague, Gregor decides to go so that he can save her life and the lives of every warmblood in the Underland.

Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods is not as good as the first two. The main events of the third novel seem to be much less intricate, as well as much fewer, than those of the first two books. The Prophecy of Blood is much more straightforward than both the Prophecy of Gray and the Prophecy of Bane, which provides for much less room for misinterpretation, the element that truly made Gregor the Overlander and Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane stand out from other young adult fantasy novels. Although it was not a bad book, Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods did not live up to its wonderful predecessors.

http://www.amazon.com/Gregor-Curse-Warmbloods-Underland-Chronicles/dp/0439656249/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239234541&sr=1-1

Grade: 7.5

The penultimate Underland Chronicle is Gregor and the Marks of Secret. Gregor returns to Regalia one day for a birthday party, and while with one of his Underland friends, gets a distress call from the mice (nibblers). The nibblers had been forced from their homes by the gnawers for many years. Finally, it seemed, the nibblers needed help from the humans. Gregor must go on another quest if he wants to save a whole species of Underland animals.

This fourth episode in Gregor's life is another disappointment. It, like Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods, does not have the same intricate plot as the first two. Furthermore, there is not even a prophecy that Gregor and the others must fulfill, which makes the book almost like any other action/adventure children's book. It is good, but again, does not capture one's attention as much as could be hoped for. While Gregor and the Marks of Secret is above average, it does not show Collins's full writing prowess.

http://www.amazon.com/Gregor-Marks-Secret-Underland-Chronicles/dp/0439791464/ref=pd_rhf_shvl_title

Grade: 7.5

Gregor and the Code of Claw completes the story of Gregor and his adventures in the Underland. A war between the humans and the gnawers is coming into full swing, and Gregor is needed to help Regalia as well as fulfill the Prophecy of Time, perhaps the most enigmatic and ominous prophecy of all.

This novel is the longest of the Underland Chronicles by far. With 412 pages of writing, Collins can expand on every facet of the war, as well as the characters that serve as Regalia's protection against the gnawers. Even without a quest, the novel has enough physical action as well as psychological suspense to keep the reader hooked on its events. Regardless, Collins must not realize the importance of having a prophecy that at first is misinterpreted by the Regalians, and then the true meaning of which is startlingly revealed to the reader. Although the Prophecy of Time may be one of the best of the entire series, it is not a main focus in the novel. The formula that made the first two stand out so well is not followed. Although Gregor and the Code of Claw is very good and exceeds the quality of the preceding two by far, it lacks the element that made Gregor the Overlander and Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane stand out. Readers will find this a very fun read, while not as fun as Collins could have made it.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b_6_15?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=gregor+and+the+code+of+the+claw&sprefix=gregor+and+the

Grade: 8

Collins turned a good idea for a story into a superb series. While she had a few flaws in a couple books, this is still one of the best selections of young adult literature.

Exceeded Expectations

Out of all the great authors that have ever lived and made their mark in literary history, one of the most prolific may have been Charles Dickens. While he was not as prolific as some authors, many of his works are incredibly well-known: A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers, and A Tale of Two Cities, to mention a few. And what may be his most renowned work is the story of Pip, the young English gentleman: Great Expectations.

The lengthy novel begins with a young Philip "Pip" Pirrip, sitting next to the tombstone shared by almost his entire family in the cemetery near the village church. Pip is an orphan who lives with his sister, his only surviving family member. Pip, Joe (Pip's brother-in-law, the blacksmith), and Mrs. Joe (Pip's sister) all live together in a small house. Theirs is not a happy life; the small household is plagued by poverty.

Charles Dickens wastes no time in getting to the action of the novel. On the second page, Pip meets the mysterious escaped convict in the cemetery who threatens to kill Pip is he does not bring the convict food. The next day, Christmas, Pip takes a plethora of food for the convict and watches while the latter gobbles it up greedily.

Dickens's original portrayal of Pip is that of a gullible, fearful young child. Because the story is told through the eyes and voice of Pip, Dickens could characterize Pip to make one feel like he actually was a good friend of the boy.

Somewhere around Pip's teenage years, he is introduced to the old spinster Miss Havisham and the young, beautiful Estella, Miss Havisham's adoptive daughter. The stinginess, pessimism, and woe of Miss Havisham and the elitism, pride, and cruelty of Estella act as true foils to Pip's innocent blitheness.

Great Expectations goes on to summarize the rest of Pip's life: his relationships, fortunes, misfortunes, and demeanor. Dickens wrote very well through the voice of Pip. As Pip matured in age and disposition, the writing style grew more and more solemn. Great Expectations is truly a classic for the world, and proves the writing prowess of Charles Dickens.

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Expectations-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486415864/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237436590&sr=8-3

Grade: 8.5

Farewell to High Hopes

Even after over 50 years, World War II internment camps are still a touchy subject to many people. The horrors that the Americans inflicted on innocent Japanese people are, although considered by many a good idea at the time, now but a memory of one of the dark ages of America.

One of these terrible internment camps is the subject of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston's novel, Farewell to Manzanar. Manzanar was a scary place for the Japanese forced to leave their homes and move there, but the Houstons' effort, although being an American classic, does come across as a little bland. From 1942 to 1945, the Japanese living in Manzanar were in terrible conditions. It seems like the Houstons should be able to make the novel a bit more dramatic.

The main characters are the Wakatsukis, a family of Japanese-Americans. Jeanne Wakatsuki, co-author of the book, is the youngest. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, no one had any idea what had happened. All they knew was that about four months later, they had to go to Manzanar, an internment camp in California. One of the best scenes in the novel occurs before they leave, when Mama is trying to sell everything she owned. A dealer tries to buy many expensive china articles for a paltry sum. Mama gets each article and throws them down, one by one, to shatter on the hard ground. The dealer, after trying to coax Mama out of her actions, just walks away.

The Wakatsukis arrive at the camp. The living arrangements are fit for animals. The bathrooms are filthy, with no dividers. Sand enters their shack through knotholes in the wall. Although the Japanese establish cultural activities (Jeanne was for a while a member of a Japanese dance class, taught by an old geisha) and the Americans that run the camp try to make it seem as much like home as possible (Japanese food is served daily), Manzanar is portrayed a terrible place.

Here is where the trouble sets in. When the war ends, Congress issues an order to send every Japanese person in an internment camp back to their home. But even though the Wakatsukis and every other person hated Manzanar while they stayed there, they do not want to leave and procrastinate as much as they can before they finally decide to go home. This just did not make enough sense to me. They should be relieved that they can go back to their old way of living.

Farewell to Manzanar described a terrible time in American history through the eyes of a little girl. It is not a complete failure of a book. It just does not live up to its legendary name.

http://www.amazon.com/Farewell-Manzanar-Japanese-Experience-Internment/dp/0553272586/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235699573&sr=8-1

Grade: 6.5

The Twelve Passengers

Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express may be one of the most difficult mysteries ever written. Her narrative of the detective Hercule Poirot on the Orient Express seems to have no solution at all. All twelve suspects have excellent alibis. All evidence seems to contradict itself. And it seems that even M. Poirot is baffled.

The mystery begins on the Orient Express as the train is traveling through Europe to Calais. One night, during a terrible snowstorm, the train is snowed in and cannot proceed. That morning, one man, a Mr. Ratchett, is found dead in his carriage, stabbed numerous times with a knife. Hercule Poirot sets to work on the case with his friend M. Bouc (the director of the train and representative of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons Lits) and Dr. Constantine (a medical doctor from a different coach). Not much is known about the case from the beginning, but there is one fact everyone is sure of: the murderer had no way to leave the train, ergo, he or she is one of the passengers.

There are twelve passengers on the Calais Coach of the Orient Express, each of which are viable suspects for the murder:

• Countess Elena Andrenyi: wife to Count Andrenyi
• Count Rudolph Andrenyi: a Hungarian diplomat, travelling to France
• Col. Arbuthnot: a British colonel, returning from India
• Mary Debenham: a British governess, returning to Great Britain from Baghdad
• Princess Natalia Dragomiroff: a Russian noblewoman
• Antonio Foscarelli: an Italian businessman
• Cyrus Hardman: an American typewriter ribbon salesman
• Caroline Hubbard: an American woman, returning home after visiting her daughter in Baghdad
• Hector MacQueen: the American secretary to Mr. Ratchett
• Edward Masterman: the British valet to Mr. Ratchett
• Greta Ohlsson: a Swedish missionary, travelling home for a vacation
• Hildegarde Schmidt: the German lady's-maid to Dragomiroff

Christie makes this case as difficult as possible, taking the reader for a thrilling ride through lies, plot twists, and stunning revelations. While Poirot gets closer and closer to finding out the identity of the murderer and the solution to the mystery, the reader gets more and more enthralled in the plot of the book. Every clue discovered brings M. Poirot, the funny little Belgian, closer and closer to the solution. Every mystery lover will delight himself in using his little grey cells along with Poirot as he discovers the solution to the murder on the Orient Express.

http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Orient-Express-Hercule-Mysteries/dp/0425200450/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231822795&sr=8-2

Grade: 8.5

Second Foundation

Second Foundation very successfully wraps up Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy. In the second book, Foundation and Empire, the Mule searches for the elusive Second Foundation. In Second Foundation, the search for the Second Foundation is the main plot of the book.

The Second Foundation is the organization that was established by Hari Seldon at the same time as the Foundation. Seldon created the Second Foundation as a philosophical and psychohistorical organization to contrast with the First Foundation's affinity to science. It was originally meant to assist the Foundation in its upholding of the Seldon Plan, but had now started spoiling the Empire's plans and also infiltrating the minds of some of the greatest scientists of the Foundation.

The first part of the book, "Search by the Mule", concerns the Mule and his Empire. Two Imperial subjects, General Han Pritcher and Bail Channis, are sent by the Mule to search all over the Galaxy to try to find where the Second Foundation could be hidden.

The second part of the book, "Search by the Foundation", is about a few members of the Foundation. The bigger part of the second part concerns Arcadia Darrell, a young teenage girl. She, her father (the renowned scientist Toran Darrell), and a few of her father's friends make it their mission to figure out as much as they can about this Second Foundation that has been controlling the minds of so many people.

Second Foundation is the excellent finale to the acclaimed Foundation Trilogy. The plethora of characters with varying personalities and knowledge contrast with each other to make the reader guess where this Second Foundation can be hidden. Asimov keeps the reader's eyes bound to the book until the very last page. It is a superb novel with an excellent plot and an excellent writing style. It is a very successful ending to a very successful trilogy.

http://www.amazon.com/Second-Foundation-Novels-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0553293362/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229745970&sr=8-2

Grade: 9

Foundation and Empire

My previous book review was written about Isaac Asimov's book Foundation. This science fiction book has come to be one of the most famous in science fiction history. The first sequel written about this book, titled Foundation and Empire, is the subject of this review.

Foundation and Empire is even better than its predecessor. The novel is split up into two parts: "Part I: The General" and "Part II: The Mule". The whole novel is mostly about the war between the Foundation, the organization established by Hari Seldon; and the Empire.

Part I is about General Bel Riose of the Empire as he plays a key role in the war between the Foundation and the Empire. It is also about Emperor Cleon II (current monarch of the Empire), Ducem Barr (a man from the planet Siwenna), and Lathan Devers (a trader from the Foundation). The Foundation is a small entity compared to the beast of the Empire, but they must hold their ground if they intend for the Seldon Plan to succeed.

Part II takes place about 100 years later, after the Empire is much weaker than it had been, and it relates the rise of the Mule. The Mule is a very powerful man whose goal is to reinstate the Empire, thus becoming the sovereign of the Universe. Under the Mule, the Empire fights the Foundation, and it seems that they have met their most dangerous foe. Not much is known about the Mule at all, and Part II is told from the point of view of Toran and Bayta Darell, a newlywed couple from a trading planet belonging to the Foundation.

Foundation and Empire surpasses Foundation in my opinion. Whereas the first book had five short parts to it, each with their unique characters and scenarios, the second book has only two parts. The characters are much more developed and the story-line is much easier to understand in Foundation and Empire. Isaac Asimov proves here for the second time his prowess at writing.

http://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Empire-Novels-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0553293370/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229053943&sr=8-2

Grade: 9