The Foundation Trilogy
• Foundation • Foundation and Empire • Second Foundation Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels are some of the great masterworks of science fiction. Unsurpassed for their unique blend of nonstop action, daring ideas, and extensive world-building, they chronicle the struggle of a courageous group of men and women working to preserve humanity’s light against an inexorable tide of darkness and violence. Led by its founding father, the great psychohistorian Hari Seldon, and taking advantage of its superior science and technology, the Foundation has survived the greed and barbarism of its neighboring warrior-planets. Yet now it must face the Empire—still the mightiest force in the Galaxy even in its death throes. When an ambitious general determined to restore the Empire’s glory turns the vast imperial fleet toward the Foundation, the only hope for the small planet of scholars and scientists lies in the prophecies of Hari Seldon. But not even Hari Seldon could have predicted the birth of the extraordinary creature called The Mule, a mutant intelligence with a power greater than a dozen battle fleets… a power that can turn the strongest-willed human into an obedient slave.
Stats for nerds
24recommend
75mentions
68people
2009–2026years
37% recommend59% neutral4% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Why does a book need a hero's arc?
I've read the "Second Foundation trilogy" written by other renowned sci-fi authors, as well as the later Foundation books written by Asimov. They had typical main characters with hero's arcs driving the story. I much preferred the originals.
Especially the first book. It's refreshing to read a story where events occur because of unstoppable historical forces instead of the superhuman actions of a hero.
If I wanted a story about a hero, I could read...well...just about any other book ever written.
- When I was growing up, my family always had World Book Encyclopedias. My grandfather was a salesman for them (and later a regional sales manager), so he always made sure we had a relatively recent complete set.
I would spend hours and hours on some nights, just reading through the books. They fascinated me.
By the time I was in sixth grade, I was reading at college level. The teachers didn’t know what to do with me. One time that year, I took Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy as my subject for a book report. I couldn’t understand why the other kids and the teachers didn’t feel the same way about those books.
By the time I was in high school, the dedicated bookcase for them got moved into my bedroom. I was well above average for my academic performance in high school.
In college, I helped pay my way through school by working at the main library on campus, shelving books and various other tasks. I ended up working there for over five years, as I took a lighter class load to try to help keep my grades up. And I was on the Dean’s List, with a GPA above 3.5, etc….
Encyclopedias taught me how to read, and how to study, and how to organize my writing.
I think I probably owe much of who and what I am today, to those encyclopedias.
- I think you naled it in the head. I would say the book is quite familiar to Asimov's writing in the Foundation trilogy.
Trying to explain and explore concepts where the Characters are just talking carriers of ideas. It's b Not everybody's cup of tea but I loved it.
- Many good tips so far in this thread. If your friend reads a lot of papers, they might be able to "leap" into classics without being bogged down by the language and sometimes dense prose - but I'd still err on the side of accessible for getting someone into reading for pleasure.
I'd recommend for example (in no particular order - just some great books imnho):
Earthsea quartet by LeGuin
Dune by Herbert
South of the Border by Murakami
Islands in the Net by Sterling
Foundation trilogy by Asimov
Speed of Dark, by Moon
Accelerando, by Stross
Murderbot diaries, by Wells
A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vinge (and Rainbow's End by same)
2312, by Robinson
And many more, I'm sure :)
- I'm wary of labels such as "must read" - but a couple of books I'm glad I read:
"Dahlgren" by Samuel Delaney (and most everything else I've read by him as well).
"Earthsea" by Ursula LeGuin - and "Powers".
"Diamond Age" by Neal Stephenson.
"Holy Fire" by Bruce Sterling (I also enjoyed Islands in the Net, Zenith Angle and Schismatrix).
"Foundation" trilogy + prequel by Isaac Asimov.
"Brave New World", Aldous Huxley.
"Deepness in the Sky" / "Fire Upon the Deep" by Vernor Vinge.
"Something wicked this way comes" by Ray Bradbury.
And a couple of comics/visual novels:
"V for Vendetta" and "Watchmen" by Alan Moore (David Lloyd/ Tony Weare and Dave Gibbons / John Higgins).
Dave Sims: "Cerebus" (I don't think I've finished this yet, but the first ten volumes or so is.. Something else).
- I don't know if I really even believe in the idea of "must read" books, but here are at least a few I highly recommend. In no particular order.
FICTION
The Mysterious Island - Verne
The Time Machine - Wells
Nineteen Eighty-Four - Orwell
Fahrenheit 451 - Bradbury
Brave New World - Huxley
Snow Crash - Stephenson
The Shockwave Rider - Brunner
The Fountainhead - Rand
Cryptonomicon - Stephenson
The Foundation trilogy - Asimov
Something Wicked This Way Comes - Bradbury
Strangers - Koontz
After Dark - Murakami
It - King
The Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
The Hobbit - Tolkien
Perdido Street Station - Miéville
Permutation City - Egan
Glasshouse - Stross
NON-FICTION
Report from Engine Co 82 - Smith
Godel, Escher, Bach - Hofstadter
How the Mind Works - Pinker
The Four Steps to the Epiphany - Blank
Charles Proteus Steinmetz: The Electrical Wizard of Schenectady - Bly
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution - Levy
Artificial Life - Levy
Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier - Haffner & Markoff (Note: this book is not without controvery. There is a lot of debate about the veracity of much of the material on Mitnick. However, it is a wildly entertaining read, and an introduction to a number of interesting characters. But I'd suggest following up by reading other related titles, especially regarding Kevin Mitnick)
Ghost in the Wires - Mitnick (Mitnick's autogiography, basically)
Takedown - Shimomura & Markoff
The Fugitive Game - Littman (of the books written about Mitnick, but not by Mitnick, this one has a reputation for being a little more "pro Kevin" whereas a couple of the others are sort of pointedly "anti Kevin" in their bias. Maybe it all balances out in the end if you read them all).
The Cyberthief & the Samurai - Goodell
The Cuckoo's Egg - Stoll
How To Create A Mind - Kurzweil
On Intelligence - Hawkins
Engineering General Intelligence (volumes 1 & 2) - Goertzel
The Hidden Pattern - Goertzel
Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity - Wallace
