Title: Forward the Foundation

Author: Isaac Asimov

Publisher:

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 359

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Scifi

As Hari Seldon struggles to perfect his revolutionary theory of psychohistory and ensure a place for humanity among the stars, the great Galactic Empire totters on the brink of apocalyptic collapse. Caught in the maelstrom are Seldon and all he holds dear, pawns in the struggle for dominance. Whoever can control Seldon will control psychohistory—and with it the future of the Galaxy.

Among those seeking to turn psychohistory into the greatest weapon known to man are a populist political demagogue, the weak-willed Emperor Cleon I, and a ruthless militaristic general. In his last act of service to humankind, Hari Seldon must somehow save his life’s work from their grasp as he searches for its true heirs—a search that begins with his own granddaughter and the dream of a new Foundation.

Picking up just a few hours after the previous book, Prelude to Foundation, we get a slightly uneven story following the rest of Hari Seldon’s life. The first half of this volume was fairly boring. Asimov does a lot of recapping what happened the previous book. This would probably have been okay if I had read these back-to-back. As it was, I was bored for the first two sections. Until the last five pages or so of the second section. And then everything got really good and I gasped out loud. The second half speeds through the major changes in Trantor and within the Seldon family. Things are really coming together with relation to Foundation. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Next up on the TBR pile: