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Well, I should have done this a long time ago, I suppose, but I started the Foundation series a couple days ago. I always feel a little trepidation at starting a "classic" or "seminal work", because that usually means I won't like it. Doesn't seem too bad thus far, and it is interesting.
Feel free to spoil, I won't look at this thread till I am done with the first book at least.
Posts: 186 | Registered: Jul 1999
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For some reason, a lot of people think the books overrated, arguing that even though it had wonderful concepts, the storyline and plots were lacking because Asimov was at heart, a scientist. Personally, I think that's what makes it so wonderful a series, Asimov introduces so many new concepts and thoughts that were revolutionary to the science fiction community that have now become the basic foundation (pardon the pun) of what the scifi world is built upon, that in itself makes it (in my eyes) worthy of all it's praise and it's place in the canon of modern science fiction. Satyagraha
Posts: 1986 | Registered: Apr 2001
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I read through Foundation the first time without glancing at the copyright page. I was thoroughly shocked to find that the original story had been written in the 40's. It is amazing how readible it is in the modern day.
Posts: 4753 | Registered: May 2002
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When I first tried to read the Foundation series, I couldn't get started. I did eventually read and enjoy it, but let's be honest--it's kind of dull, in a way. At least if you're looking for a lot of action.
Posts: 1041 | Registered: Feb 2002
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I read the series first when I was about 14 and I loved it. I read it again about a year ago and I still loved it. It could never be made into a movie- far too much dialogue. But that's the beauty of books. You can get great stories that you'd never see in the theatre. I was never bored.
Just a tip. After you get done with the original trilogy, if you're tempted to go on and read the books that he added on several decades later... read the original two Robot books instead. You'll be far less disappointed.
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I liked "Foundation's Edge," I think it's pretty good. And "Prelude to Foundation" is entertaining (though not as rich in ideas). But "Foundation and Earth" and "Forward the Foundation" are disappointing (esp. "Forward" -- I'd guess that it was a rough draft that Asimov didn't have time to improve before his death).
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I liked Foundation. The prose quality is nonexistent, but that's hardly the point with Asimov, is it? Interesting ideas simply presented. Worth reading, at least.
Posts: 2443 | Registered: Apr 2002
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I started reading it a few times but never could get past the first 100 pages. does it get better?
Posts: 109 | Registered: Nov 2003
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I picked it up and put it down a couple of times in the past, but this is the first time I went up to 200 pages. I plan to finish the trilogy today. I kind of expected something like Hyperion but heh, Hyperion it is not. It is like reading a book written by a scientist and in truth, I am rather indifferent towards the characters particularly since they changes so frequently (which they kind of have to).
Still, everyone is right about the great concepts part. The idea and the world he creates keeps me riveted and at this point I can't put it down.
Posts: 65 | Registered: Jun 2003
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The thing I like about the Foundation stories is the denouement. It always ends up with the good guy and the bad guy in a room together, and the bad guy says, "Fool! You have not considered this part of my plans," and the good guy says, "Aha, but you did not anticipate this!" and so on until the bad guy finally says "Curses!" and concedes that he is beaten.
I'm sure Foundation was about as good as you could get back then. Asimov was ten times the writer Clarke was. But the best books being made these days are better.
Posts: 4600 | Registered: Mar 2000
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The first Foundation book is the weakest. It has some of the first stories Asimov ever wrote, and it uses a lot of 1940s mannerisms to describe its characters (military folks talk like American WW2 soldiers, politicians talk like Chicago bosses, etc.) But by the 2nd book things are much better.
One of the neat things I like about the Foundation stories is how Asimov changed the characters from book to book; I think it made for a better series. (Unless you've really planned ahead, when you're writing a series, characters just aren't used as effectively in the sequels.) So the weakest Foundation books are the ones that reuse characters (Foundation and Earth, and Forward the Foundation).
I'm curious... does anyone know of any series similar to Foundation, where the characters change so much from book to book?
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I enjoyed the Foundation series, but then again that could be because I'm an engineer by genetics. I love the ideas and problems faced in each crisis.
I was very young the first time I read Fountation (it was the book I read it just after Dune, when I was 10), and probably didn't get even half of what Asimov was trying to get across. The second time I read it, I decided I was going to read the entire collection (from I, Robot and Caves of Steel through the Galactic Empire Novels, and then though all the Foundation novels). It's about 13 books or so, and it was a pain to find them all. But, for me, the Robot novels made me care enough about the universe that Asimov had created that I would have read the rest of the books even if Foundation had been particularly bad. Which it certainly is not. Prelude alao had this effect.
I'd suggest reading it all the way through. It's worth it. (And I was right about Glass Bead Game, so you can assume I'm right this time as well).
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