Ratings1,102
Average rating4
One of my friends told me to read this as less of a novel and more of a thought experiment and that really helped. This was such a fascinating concept to me and the contrast between the Foundation and the civilizations which surround it was super interesting through the progression of time. It's extremely dialog driven, which felt tedious in the last installment.
Talk about a book that absolutely bombs the Bechdel test though. Whew. One female character in the entire book and she's a shrill wife with about four lines.
3.5 stars, prob being generous because it's a classic (shouldn't do that, I know). I cannot wait to see the TV treatment of this.
Amazing plot and vision. Just didn't find it THAT enjoyable to read, not sure exactly why—maybe the lack of character development, maybe audiobook wasn't the best format, or maybe I had too high expectations.
Really disappointed. It's a collection of stories about the Foundation and the troubles it faces to keep it alive.
They're purpose is the maintaining of knowledge in the face of the destruction of mankind, so that when the empire rebuilds itself, it won't have to start from nothing.
They become a target of interests, each kingdom in the empire trying to either conquer it or gain its favor.
Through a series of what can be called political maneuvers, the leaders of the foundation manage to outsmart its opponents.
It goes on to tell stories about the spread of the Foundation influence throughout the fading empire.
The writing is too boring. The intelligent actions of the characters are unconvincing and uninteresting. The “religion” plot had potential, but it was badly executed.
Like most of Asimov's work that I've read, really cool ideas are the only thing that save this book from one star. The writing is eighth grade, as always.
I was a prolific reader before I came to science fiction. For some reason, sci-fi, then had a poor reputation, being seen as silly, frivolous and even childish. This was during my school years, and reading mostly in isolation, I had no reason to doubt this perspective, but, luckily, a really good friend set me straight, recommending as proof to the contrary, the Foundation series. i reluctantly agreed to give them a go, out of honesty, and am I ever glad I did.
Foundation is perhaps the perfect starter book for immersing in the wonders and glories of science fiction. It's sophisticated, complex, mature, exiting and just about everything one could want from a book. After Foundation, and the rest of the series, my reading switched to predominantly sci-fi/fantasy.
Reading Foundation is a spectacular highlight in my reading “career.” Now, after many decades, I am looking forward to rereading it, the entire series, and the additional books which have been added. A huge want-to-read.
Good premise, very slow and dry execution. It's hard to carry on when there are other books out there. On hold for now, it'd take a lot for me to come back to it. Really enjoyed the first story but not been interested in the rest.
A political dive into sci fi, idk why it took me so long to read Asimov, the father of the human empire hehehe :)
ärge laske end petta sellest et see on sci-fi see on lihtsalt mu lemmikžanr “inimesed tubades rääkimas”
En agosto 2021 estoy terminando de leer por segunda ocasión el libro. Quería comprobar si mis sentimientos y opiniones de hace algunos años podrían cambiar.
Debo decir que gran parte de mis sentimientos siguieron hasta la última parte del libro. Sigue siendo una serie de conceptos que siento totalmente ilógicos a la Liza de la tecnología con la que contamos hoy en día. Sin embargo, logré conciliar ese sentimiento haciéndome a la idea de que la obra representa más una especie de alegoría sobre la historia humana.
Sigo considerando que está muy bien escrito, con narrativa impecable, aunque me pesa un poco que los personajes centrales en cada etapa son muy parecidos y casi podrán haber sido reencarnaciones del primero.
Lo que sí haré es leer los siguientes libros para ver cómo evoluciona la historia.
————
Terminé de leer lo que se conoce como uno de los pilares de la ciencia ficción de uno de los padres de la ciencia ficción por excelencia. Sin embargo debo confesar que me dejó un mal sabor de boca, espero poder explicarme:
Cuando lees una obra de Julio Verne hoy en día, estás leyendo una obra muy al estilo Pixar, si se me permite la comparación, un niño gozará con la aventura mientras un adulto encontrará muchas cosas valiosas que lo harán valorar a la obra en su justa dimensión y disfrutarla a su manera; en el caso de esta obra de Asimov sentí estar viendo una película sesentera mal envejecida a la cual no le crees ni un céntimo de la historia, con una serie de efectos especiales mal hechos y con el único mérito de haber inspirado en su momento a otras obras que, creo, superaron con mucho a la original.
No se me mal entienda, no creo que esté mal escrita y considero que en general goza de buen ritmo, pero no puedo evitar ver inverosímil la trama y la tecnología que suponía el autor como regidora del futuro. Por supuesto, detrás de la historia, se encuentra todo un análisis sociológico y cultural de la humanidad que merece la pena reflexionar, pero al mismo tiempo eso lo veo como defecto pues tampoco logra ser una historia que los niños del futuro puedan encontrar interesante como referencia, si se me permite seguir la comparación con Verne.
Es triste, pues tenía muchas expectativas puestas en el libro y quería involucrarme tanto como para posteriormente continuar con el resto de los libros de la saga, pero esta primera experiencia me hace sugerirles que lean otros libros que a mi gustó son mejores del autor, como “Un Viaje Extraordinario” o “Yo Robot”.
Brilliant read. At times it truly felt as if the cornerstones of modern sci-fi were all here. Wanted to keep going on and on which made the ending seem slightly forced upon? Of course there are sequels but still imagine what explorations could have been made further.
wow. wow. wow. isaac i was SO unfamiliar with your game. published nearly 75(!) years ago, foundation manages to deliver a science-forward speculative look at what a interplanetary future holds for the human race in a way that's still accessible AND bitingly funny. this book truly is the father of science fiction and i'm so happy i picked it up.
+1 star for: the prose! i was at all times giggling to myself while reading this. though we follow a multitude of characters through hundreds of years, there is still an underlying current of sarcasm that runs through them all that is portrayed in SUCH a funny way.
+1 star for: the trial of hari seldon! i was at the edge of my chair the entire time. with all of seldons crises we know from the encyclopedic foreshadowing that the main man will somehow masterfully outsmart the impending problem, THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR was the best (perhaps because it was the first)
+1 star for: the fuck ass names and lord dorwins lisp. i was SUFFERING through some of the spellings but the absolute satisfaction i got after deciphering what he was saying was just so top tier
+1 star for: space opera perfection
+1 star for: “The fall of Empire, gentlemen, is a massive thing, however, and not easily fought. It is dictated by a rising bureaucracy, a receiving initiative, a freezing of caste, a damning of curiosity—a hundred other factors”.
and
“Since when does prejudice follow any law but its own”.
two of some frighteningly insightful quotes from this gem
-1 star for: white man nonsense. not a SINGLE important female character on screen other than the hateful wife and passing mentions of a mistress here or there. also every main character is just a super smart scrappy young white guy who gets his way in the end. after 5 times it gets really boring and repetitive. i know it's reflective of its time but once you notice you can't UNnotice. pretty disappointing representation from an otherwise astute look at the human condition. if this book had more variety in its protagonists and/or one less section it would have been a five star.
Undoubtedly a good, classic work of science fiction. Would be great if the single female character wasn't a complete bitchy caricature treated with contempt. (I'm not exaggerating - on multiple occasions her husband threatens to cut out her tongue)
After finishing with Dune, Asimov’s Foundation reads remarkably fast. The pacing of the book is fast and unique, for it is essentially 5 different short stories connected by chronology and setting. The story and concept are interesting by themselves, but they sort of betray the stakes of the plot. I hope that this novel serves as mostly an introduction to the concept of the series, otherwise the books will be very repetitive.
Esperava bem mais dado o hype, demasiadas personagens e pouco brilhantismo para um primeiro livro. Se calhar não é para mim, mas para um livro de 300 páginas pareceu um de 700, muito perto de marcar como dnf.
Category Weight % Rating 0-10PLOT 2 originality 0.3 8pacing 0.1 6structure 0.1 3conflict 0.5 8CHARACTER 1 depth 0.25 1development 0.25 0diversity 0.3 0believability 0.2 5SETTING 2 world-buliding 0.4 9atmosphere 0.3 5originality 0.2 9impact 0.1 5CRAFT 1 prose 0.35 8dialogue 0.25 7show vs tell 0.4 6STYLE 1 voice 0.3 5tone 0.3 5impact 0.4 5RESONANCE 1 impact 0.5 2connection 0.5 2THEME 2 central message 0.4 6subtlety 0.2 3universality 0.4 9
It was pretty good! I'm glad the psychohistory of Caves of Steel and Robots of Dawn have finally been sufficiently developed to have a whole new science. It's still pretty early in this series but I'm hoping there will be more references to previous works like mentioning Elijah Bailey, the Solarians and robots. This was pretty good as well as it had good protagonists and the antagonists were built into the storyline as a strategic problem which I found really well done. Mallow's trial was pretty amazing and definitely one of the highlights of the book.
3.5⭐️
A very interesting political sci-fi classic. I do mention political, because if you decide to read this book you need to be aware that there is more politics than science here. I did find the manoeuvring quite fascinating though and I think it was done quite well.
My criticism lies with the lack of challenge to the main driving theory of this book. Namely that science, combined with psychology, could predict the future. I don't think the author made the case for this being possible well enough - it was mostly presented as an axiomatic statement and then maintained all the way till the end. I wish that the author would at least attempt to question it. Because being that there is an infinite number of variables which could change the future from one moment to the next, creating your entire plot on the basis of that not being the case is a little naive, in my opinion.
The influence had on future sci fi like Dune and Star Wars is undeniable, but this read like a radio play. Nearly every scene in every story is just two guys talking in a room. The first two stories overcome the stylistic limitations, but the back half of is rough — despite the compelling (and very 1950s) ideas.
This book very entertainingly touches science, religion, mathematics, humanities, economics, and warfare. It is truly a classic of science fiction, to which every other sci-fi book will be forever compared.