Foundation; Isaac Asimov – Perhaps the only sci-fi book I’ve read that is able to depict a stunning future along with capturing human flaws and characteristics so accurately. While there was always the sense that the story was pretty much done and dusted right at the start due to the Seldon Plan, what made this book interesting is the portrayal of just how insignificant most individuals are in the grand scheme of things, yet still have potential to influence larger economic and social forces. The plot takes off with the decay of a galactic empire, a theme that definitely hits home in the modern age. My favorite moment of the book is Seldon’s hearing due to his dire predictions for the empire. It shows how scientific truth and empirical evidence often clash with political opinions and desires, and how the former is ignored amidst bureaucracy. Seldon’s statement of “Scientific truth being beyond loyalty or disloyalty” really did give me goosebumps. I see such reflections throughout the world. Certain leaders ignoring climate change. The flat earth theory (utter bs). Even religion, to a certain extent.
Foundation and Empire; Isaac Asimov – The first half of the book conveys an incredibly interesting message, the threat of mutiny. If a ruler has weak military commanders, his empire won’t grow. However, if a ruler has strong military commanders, the threat of rebellion persuades the ruler to remove those commanders. However, the story really did begin with the arrival of the Mule. Thereafter, it’s impossible to put the book down. Everything really just builds up to the end, wherein we learn that the mysterious Mule has been hiding in plain sights all along. Claimed to be a fear-arousing, dark giant with telekinetic powers, he turns out to be pale, frail clown with psychic abilities and powers of emotional manipulation. For me, it really just goes to show how huge an impact emotions have on us human beings. The Mule was able to forge a kingdom, and almost an empire had it not been for the Second Foundation and Bayta Darell exclusively due to his vast emotional powers that allowed him to make entire populations feel miserable.
Second Foundation; Isaac Asimov – The high point in the Foundation series. What makes this book so riveting is the sheer number of possibilities behind and beyond each and every event. Every occurrence has multiple explanations. Every plan years of planning and perseverance. This book really is about intellectual and mental, or psychic battles, rather than the physical challenges faced earlier. Every character strives to outsmart and improvise. Furthermore, Asimov incorporates various other elements that make everything seem all the more human. For instance, the sacrifice of an entire planet to fool the Mule into thinking he had destroyed the Second Foundation, or maybe sacrificing the life, or rather mind, of a Second Foundationer to trick the Mule into falling into the big trap.
Foundation’s Edge; Isaac Asimov – The series really does take a drop from here. The characters are much more boring, and the story-line feels like something done just for the sake of writing a book. Regardless, I did find some aspects interesting, such as the gravitics-based spaceship, and the ‘brain’ of the same. This also loses that ‘foundation’ feel with the entire story revolving around a handful of characters, unlike the other books wherein characters come and go but large economic and social forces remain constant.
Foundation and Earth; Isaac Asimov – I don’t know whether this book is horrible because it just is or because it continues this new character-based storytelling format. The first three books covered upto 150 years each, yet the 4th and 5th ones manage to not even span a decade, and act more like documentaries of Trevize’s journey. The entire purpose of this book is to answer a question raised at the end of the last book, which makes no sense. What is even more damaging is the fact that there is absolutely no focus on both the Foundations, which is supposed to be the purpose behind the entire saga.