Forward the Foundation

I wanted to reread this. If you're an Asimov fan you'll understand.

Forward the Foundation is set during Hari Seldon's life, during the time that Psychohistory is being developed and the Foundations are being initiated. I consider Asimov's last novel to be a stellar (!) introduction to the trilogy. The author expertly injects some of the scientific concepts developed since the original Foundation trilogy while staying within the spirit of the grand universe he devised long before writing "Forward". This book offers an outstanding glimpse of how precarious it would be to start a universe-shaking science/technology in a decaying society, as well as an endearing personal portrait of the great Hari Seldon, including his "family" and close colleagues. If you want the whole Asimov "universe" in story-time sequence, you might want to read the Robot series, the Empire series, and "Prelude to Foundation" before reading this book. Some of those books are of equal stature to "Forward". I consider "Prelude", the immediate predecessor of "Forward", to be of slightly less merit (four and a half stars), though it is well worth reading. I think one could also start the series with "Forward" without being bewildered by the omission of earlier books in the grand series. Of course, if you want the digest version of the series, the original Foundation trilogy is an amazing work in itself. The trilogy predates word processing and the demand for "tomes", so it is quite concise, and the trilogy is eminently suitable for young readers or for those who want to test the waters before diving in. If you're a SciFi skeptic, "Forward the Foundation" or the original Foundation trilogy would be great introductions to the field. If you're already a SciFi fan, these are seminal works: entertaining and well worth your time. Enjoy! The Kindle version of "Forward" is excellent, and reasonably priced, as well.

I had read this several years ago but couldn't find it in my library (too many moves!) and wanted to re-read Asimov's classics from the Robot novels to the end in his "future history" order (vs. the order he wrote them). The hard copy is of course out of print so I was happy to find it as an e-book. I found no issues at all with the eBook and would recommend it to anyone who likes the media. So to the story, reading Asimov for the first time in nearly a decade brings back great memories and reminds me what a great story teller he was. It is also another great example of an author who keeps good notes on future projects so that he can pick up the tale after many years and leave the reader feeling like he wrote them in sequence with hardly a break! Asimov is not for everyone and his character development is a little two dimensional but he tells great story's that come from a simpler age when we were all a bit more innocent and it didn't take sex and violence to sell a book! In any case I enjoyed the read and plan on taking up his Empire books next!

The puzzle pieces fall into place as to the Foundation novels to follow. The story is well told with vivid writing, crisp dialogue, and suspenseful energy.

This is the last book in the seven book series of the foundation. In some ways I wish I had read it in chronological order instead of published order but that did not diminish my enjoyment of all seven books. If you have not read science fiction and have an interest I highly recommend this series. If you are a science fiction Aficionado you may have already done so but it is such a worthwhile read I cannot say enough about it.

What's not to like? It's Asimov, and fills in nicely between the first and third books in the Foundation series.

By a terrible coincidence, I read this book that talks about mobs acting irrationally when guided by messianic leaders (in the book, the leader is Jo-Jo Joranum) exactly when mobs in Washington, DC stormed Capitol Hill. This alone renders a completely new meaning to Foundation in general and 'Forward' in particular. Anyone who has minimal familiarity with Isaac Asimov's saga knows that Hari Seldon predicts through psychohistory that the Galactic Empire is in a state of decay and decline and that he works to remedy the consequences of a such decay. But it is only here, in 'Forward', that it becomes clearer that Hari Seldon decides to write the Galactic Encyclopedia because he wants to preserve culture and all human knowledge, as he believes those are destroyed when civilization falls apart (pretty much as symbols of democracy at Capitol Hill were damaged by the mob). Maybe Asimov was only echoing something dark that was happening in the early 1990s, but the message is still quite strong to our current reality. It is like Margareth Atwood's 'Handmaid's Tale', published in 1985 and amazingling relevant to this date. While 'Forward' is a much slower book than the best ones in the Foundation series, it is still a very nice and fulfilling closure. Structurally, it is closer to the first 'Foundation', which is not necessarily a good thing, with many jumps in time (from Hari Seldon at 40 with Eto Demerzel, then at 60, and finally at 70), short chapters and a sort of less laborious style, some chapters consisting almost of dialogs only. But 'Forward' sounds all the time more personal and intimate than anything else in the Foundation series, and the fact that the Epilogue is written in first person reinforces that feel. It is Isaac Asimov's farewell, as much as is Hari Seldon's farewell. The whole book deals with the idea of growing old and witnessing the decay of the body and the losses that come with them, and that covers the whole book with a bitter-sour and sad taste, something that I also felt in 'Star Trek Picard' (and I like the Amazon series very much). As Hari Seldon ages and misses his beloved ones, it is impossible not to stop to imagine how Isaac Asimov himself was facing his own elderliness, when "even if he could look forward to some additional decades, the years of his most fruitful breakthroughs were surely behind him." With that as underlying context, it is impossible not to feel attached to the book and forgiving of any flaws it might have. Many argue about the pros and cons of reading the Foundation series in publication order or chronological order (as the events in the two last published books 'Prelude' and 'Forward' occur before those of the first 'Foundation'). I am definitely for publication order. Not that reading the books in chronological order would cause any harm. Asimov did envision that the books might be read in chronological order and very competently managed to write all books so that none of the mysteries and secrets in 'Second', 'Edge' or 'Earth' is taken for granted in 'Prelude' and 'Forward' (in particular, the whole mystery about "Star's End" is carefully preserved in 'Forward'). Moreover, reading 'Forward' first could enrich the understanding of later books, in particular the origins of The Mule in 'Empire' and the references to the Robot Series in 'Edge' and 'Earth'. So the pleasure of reading in chronological order or publication order may work just the same. Indeed, the temptation to start (re)reading the first 'Foundation' after finishing 'Forward' is almost irrestible, which is exactly what I did, and I must confess that I liked the first part of 'Foundation' much more the second time, as the whole description of Trantor seemed so well connected with that in 'Prelude' and 'Forward'. However, there is one experience that only those who read the books in publication order will have: the pleasure of concluding a long journey of seven books by reading the very last words of 'Forward'. As I was advancing the last chapters, that was exactly the way I felt, that I was indeed concluding a journey with Asimov himself (and I would have been very happy already if the book ended in Chapter 33 of Part 4, which is one of the best chapters in the book). That is why I say that nothing compares with the feeling I had when I turned the very last page of the Epilogue of this book and read Asimov's book dedication. I could only feel the tears in my eyes with a silent gratitude.

The Apple+ adaption inspired me to re-read Foundation, the original trilogy I had first read as a free gift upon subscribing to the Science Fiction Book Club. Like thousands of other young people in the 1960’s, I wasn’t aware that Asimov wasn’t being paid royalties from the sale of his original masterpiece. As a result and understandably so, Asimov didn’t revisit his universe for many decades until the financial case was worked out. So, by the time the sequel/ prequel novels were written, I had moved on and only read one or two of them, ignoring the subsequent Second Foundation trilogy. Apple’s Foundation peaked my interest. First, re-reading the original Trilogy (for maybe the twentieth or thirtieth time) then diving into the newer additions to the story. Now that I’ve read the entire series, I’m overwhelmed by the early genius of Asimov and as he aged, he found interest in such small voids in the magistracy of his universe. To tell the truth, I think the TV series has gotten it right. Created with an overview of the entire story, they have made modern changes to the flow of the series to allow the eventual additions to smoothly progress through the timeline of the entire story. Well Done!

Book is not the highest quality, cover is quite flimsy, but if only reading the one time and putting on the shelf should be okay.

It was interesting that the protagonists accredited other secondary personage for their contributions to the project. However, it was also sad that charismatic personages disappeared, such as Dors and Danieel.

Another great chapter in the Asimov universe Delivered promptly and perfect condition

Compared to the other Foundation novels, Prelude to Foundation is not the best novel, but one with a heartfelt touch. It is the last Asimov novel, and plays a role of dealing with how one may dedicate an entire life towards actualizing one's vision for the benefit of the entire Humanity. Especially for the original Foundation trilogy fans, it is the perfect thread that binds together the Asimov universe.

Best price. Nice appearance. Arrived quickly and in great condition. Great purchase