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Summary: Hari Seldon's plan receives a kick from the Mule
Review: I totally liked the pattern that Isaac Asimov established in "Foundation," the first volume in what we know refer to as the original Foundation trilogy. Hari Seldon created the revolutionary science of psychohistory and mapped out a future for humanity that would allow thirty thousand years of barbarism between the existing galactic empire and the future one to be reduced to only one thousand years. Through the effort of the psychohistorians the Foundation was established with its encyclopedists. Then we saw the rise of the Mayors, the Traders, and the Merchant Princes, each representing a step on the path laid out with mathematical precision by Hari Seldon over the first two centuries of the millennium he plotted out.I was looking forward to a continuing series of Seldon Crises as the Foundation played out the rise of human civilization, thinking that what we had hear with what Arnold Toynbee had done with his study of ancient civilizations extended into a future that covered an entire galaxy. But Asimov was setting us up for something unexpected in "Foundation and Empire"; the idea was that at this stage the Foundation would be threatened by the final power play of the dying Empire. But the universe is apparently tired of Hari Seldon playing with his mathematically loaded dice and has thrown the entire plan into doubt by creating a mutant, nicknamed "The Mule." Now the Foundation, the Seldon Plan and the entire galaxy is facing a new and powerful threat. When I first read "Foundation and Empire" I was rather dismayed at the big change in direction. But, of course, Asimov knew what he was doing. He had already proven the validity of psychohistory, at least within the context of his futuristic novel, and there really is no reason to put out another four books (at two hundred years apiece) to complete the plan. Historians might find this interesting, but Science Fiction fans were going to want more than that from Asimov. Indeed, the Mule proves to be, both in terms of the story and the trilogy, the link between the Foundation and the Second Foundation. The Foundation trilogy is classic science fiction from the genre's self-proclaimed Golden Age, and even if the writing style seems dated or quaint, it remains a seminal series.
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Summary: The Foundation trilogy is essential
Review: The trilogy is essential, but since Asimov also capitalized on his own genius by writing what seems to be hundreds of lesser Foundation stories, it can all get very confusing and a bit draining. This is the second book in the original trilogy, so it is from a science fiction point of view essential reading. The trilogy itself comes up with two highly memorable characters, Hari Seldon, the psycho-historian, who uses Mathematics to predict the future and establish a "Foundation" that will limit the dark ages after the fall of the "Empire" to a single millenium (as opposed to ten.) He reappears as a hologram at certain points in the story with more or less accurate takes on what is happening in "History" at that point. The other very memorable character is the Mule. He represents the variable that makes predicting "History" mathematically a tricky business at least, not to mention impossible. He is a nasty totalitarian character who strangely in Asimov's hands manages to elicit some sympathy. Asimov is playing with the idea of predicting human behavior scientifically (or controlling it scientifically,) but this character is also a humanistic meditation on how masses of people get overwhelmed by evil social forces like fascism and soviet communism. You can see that Asimov lived through the era of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco and Stalin and that these cult of personality tyrants and the submission of masses of people to their destructive and sadistic wills profoundly affected his view of human nature. Foundation and Empire seems to be an attempt to come to terms with that experience, and so has something to say about the specifics of twentieth century history, as well as about historical philosophy.
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Summary: Great twist at the end!!!
Review: Hari seldom, the man who predicted the fall of the empire in the first book, established foundations on each end of the galaxy to prevent the rise of a dark age. The fallen empire from the first part of the book has incresed it's strength and with that strength, it plans to seize control of the foundation. With an ambitious and skilled general, and dozens of battle fleets, the foundation faces it's greatest enemy.
Personally, I liked the second part with the mule better then the war with the empire, because the main characters have nothing to do with the foundations victory, which makes the plot not a major factor for the story, but this also leads the reader into more surprises for the end of the section. "I am the mule". As the reader discovers the identity of the speaker, all loose ends are tied up while creating a great twist for the end. Even though Seldon's predictions guide the foundation to overcome the first four crises, this is the book where his predictions turn the foundation into a disaster. A mutant is born, having the power to fight against any great power of the galaxy, a man that is able to defeat dozens of battle fleets, with the intelligence greater then any scientist of the foundation. . The second part of the book is full of surprises, so please finish the book if you have started it or you might miss one of the best plots in science ficiton. While reading the story of the two couple's adventures, the reader needs to think deeply in their every move. Isaac lets the reader feel the negative consequences in prediction. The more hope the foundation has on Hari Seldon's prediction, the greater fall they will need to suffer. Although the plot of the couple's is resolved, the foundations destiny is discovered in the third book, the second foundation. I believe any reader that has read this book will definitely also need to read, the second foundation, so I recommend buying both books.
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Summary: On with the foundation
Review: Unlike the first Foundation book, which was a series of several related but not inter-connected stories, Foundation and Empire contains two longer stories - including one novella. This allows Asimov to flesh out the stories more - add more detail, plot intricacies, and just generally make them more well-written. The first story, The Big and The Little, is not one of the stronger stories as as the Foundation series goes. However, the second story, The Mule, is the masterpiece of the Foundation series. It tells of a muntant, The Mule, who falls outside the scope of Hari Seldon's psychohistory, as one supremely powerful individual. The story is told in almost a detective story fashion (trying to uncover the identity of The Mule), in a similar style to the first two Robot novels. It's quite as suspenseful and involving as Asimov at his best, and it's one of his utmost classics. There's quite a lot of plot tangling and twists, and the ending is a shocker. It's a great twist, and it's not quite a cliffhanger, but it will make you want to definitely read the next book (which is a great one as well.) The whole series comes highly reccommended.
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Summary: The fallibility of Hari Seldon
Review: The story of Foundation continues in F&E, with the stories in this book taking us through the final fall of the old Galactic Empire and the power vacuum left in its wake. The most known aspect of the second book however, is the idea that psychohistory is limited in that it is not able to predict aspects caused by wild chance-- and in this second Foundation book, wild chance threatens Foundation in the person of a powerful mutant called the Mule. Well-written, as Asimov always is.
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Summary: A wonderful sequel
Review: Welcome to the second book in the Foundation trilogy (although Asimov did write further books, it was a trilogy originally). The book picks up where Foundation left off - the Foundation has established itself as a formidable force in the Periphery of the Galaxy. Of course, everyone is too well aware that gaining control of the local warlords is small potatoes compared to what's to come. In Foundation and Empire, the inevitable comes. As the previous novel, Asimov has divided this into books, however here there are only two. As a result, he gets to explore the characters at more length then in Foundation. But again, expect wonder, amazement and enjoyment at the themes, issues and grandeur of this book, not the characterisation and "literary" qualities. In the first book, the conflict between the Foundation and what's left of the Empire develops. This however is a much bigger game - in the past, the warlords barely out-war-powered the Foundation, while here the Empire dwarfs it even in its twilight. As always, something must be done other than a brute force tactic. Furthermore, the "heroes" of the Foundation are no more, in the conflict there are no Mallows or Hardins to guide the political intrigue, so it is here that Seldon's plan is put to the ultimate test. In the second book (not to give away too much), a new threat to the Plan arises. A man known only as the Mule comes to light. And for the first time, an individual drastically changes the course of history. Indeed, he consists of the biggest threat to the plan thus far. What's so special about him?.. Personally, I found this book the most enjoyable in the whole trilogy - it reminds me of the little cryptic "detective" plotting from other Asimov works I read, such as I Robot and Steel Caves. However, here, it's an almost perfect melodrama played out (and unlike many detective elements in novels includingthose of Asimov - this one doesn't seem contrived or make you feel at all "cheated"), as we follow some Foundationers in their quest to find out what the Mule is and how to deal with him. This is a great continuation of the saga and will also bring out many interesting questions - like whether an individual can change the course of history. It will also shake up your conception of the Seldon plan - overall, a great book.
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Summary: A good story, but somewhat weak on characters
Review: This may be a classic and I may be a science fiction fan, but read Asimov's "The Gods Themselves" instead of this. His later work is definitely better. "Foundation and Empire" is like its predecessor ("Foundation") in that you get several stories told in different periods throughout Foundation history. Everything Asimov has come up with in these books is fundamentally good sci-fi story stuff, but the lack of character development makes you think while you're reading, "Why am I reading this?" I'll read the last in the trilogy ("Second Foundation"), but that's as far as I'm going to go with these. For great sci-fi, read "Hyperion," "Fall of Hyperion," "Ender's Game," "Childhood's End", "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep." For good sci-fi, read "More Than Human," "The Gods Themselves," "Slan," "The Demolished Man," "The Stars My Destination." TOO MUCH TO LIST, MY FRIENDS!!! Good luck and good reading.
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Summary: The best laid plans of mice, men and mathematicians
Review: The second installment in the mighty Foundation series deals with Seldon and the unpredicted spanner in the works, The Mule, a mutant whose strange abilities cloud the computed future events in the decline and fall of the Empire. Asimov's vision is broad in this series, and he achieved much for an author with definite weaknesses in his characterization. A master of plot, Asimov is many chess-moves ahead of the reader, and at the end, one is hungry for the next installment in his vision of future history. While I prefer the novels of Heinlein for future history (mainly due to Heinlein's superior character development), Asimov's imagination is remarkable, and the Foundation is his crowning achievement in fiction.
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Summary: The Golden Age Classic Continues
Review: Asimov's Golden Age classic Foundation Trilogy is one of the early milestones of the science fiction genre. This second installment is less episodic than the first volume, focusing on just two specific stories. The first volume, "Foundation", sets up the whole idea of the Seldon Plan, a mathematically based view of sociopolitical forces that enables one brilliant scientist to grow a new galactic empire from a foundation of one hundred thousand scientists and their families. "Empire" starts off in the same vein, showing how the Foundation staves off annihilation at the hands of the currently decaying, but still dangerous Galactic Empire. Once again, the magic of this section is the subtle means by which the Foundation overcomes impossible odds, and the convincing arguments Asimov uses to make the solution seem inevitable. Part Two involves an internal struggle between the Foundation's authoritarian central government and the Independent Traders who spread that government's economic power. While the Foundation is threatened with civil war, the rise of a new warlord on Kalgan poses a danger to the entire human race. Because each story is substantially longer than those in Foundation, this volume focuses more on individual characters. In fact, it is not too much to say that a major theme is the historical question, "Do individuals matter?" As a result, the characters are developed slightly more, and there's even a wistful love triangle, and considerably more action than was featured in the first volume, which tended to be distant and impersonal. If you liked Foundation, you'll surely enjoy this and the climax to the series, Second Foundation. Although these books will strike many as hopelessly dated, Asimov's sweeping historical vision should not be missed by any fans of speculative fiction. They have a directness and honest charm about them that is rare in contemporary science fiction. Later additions to this series, both sequels and prequels, don't adhere to the tone of these original novels, and really add very little except bulk.
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Summary: If you're used to Star Wars...try this on for size!
Review: This story looks at the world of futuristic warfare in a way that nobody else could have imagined--this is what makes Asimov so unique and why his story doesn't fade into obscurity like others, but rather fades into folklore. My father passed these tales onto me and I plan to pass them on to my children.
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