Review: Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Earlier this month, NPR published a list of the top 100 Science-Fiction Fantasy books.

Here are their top five, check out their site for more:

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin

I’ve read 10 of the books on that list so far (at least it gives me something to aspire to!).

The latest book I gave a try on that list was Foundation by Isaac Asimov. I have to say, I wasn’t enthralled.

I only read the first in the multi-part series written by Asimov in the 1950s. He is the same author who brought us I, Robot, the book that was later made into a Will Smith movie.

There is something alluring about reading science fiction from the 1950s. There’s a sense that plots are less derivative and self aware, simply because the genre hadn’t been around as long. 

I was drawn in by the publisher’s description of the Galactic Empire where a scientist, Hari Seldon, uses an obscure branch of science, psychohistory, to predict and therefore manipulate history. Seldon promises the leaders of his day (sometime far into the future) that he would be able to reduce 30,000 years of suffering through his techniques.

The description of the Galactic Empire brought forth another popular franchise: Star Wars. George Lucas has freely admitted to drawing inspiration for Star Wars from various works, including the Foundation Series and the Dune series.

But, where Start Wars brings in humor and friendship to soften the political and philosophical subplots, Foundation is decidedly a brain game with no heart.  

If you asked me who the main character in Foundations was, I would have a hard time coming up with an answer. Because the series was originally written as a collection of short stories, when reading them all at once, the characters seem disjointed.

The focus of each, rather short, chapter, is each on a different character at a different point in history. Though Seldon’s influence lingers in the background throughout the novel, you never really get to know or follow a character because the focus is constantly changing.

Also, while the author presents the intriguing concept of psychohistory, I’m not sure that the concept was explored enough in the work.

I would like to put forth the caveat that I did not read all of the novels in the series, so it’s possible that the author moved on to fill out the characters and psychohistory further. However, it’s my opinion that when you’re writing a series, if you don’t grab the reader by the end of the first 320-page book, then they aren’t going to read the next one.