The Foundation Trilogy 1953 Box Set - Classic Sci-Fi Book Collection by Isaac Asimov | Perfect for Sci-Fi Fans, Book Collectors & Gift Giving

If you love Scifi, you can't wait 40 years to read this, like I did. When you read Stanislaw Lem, Arthur C Clark, Bradbury, and Herbert, you just have to realize that the Foundation Trilogy must also be read. The first question I had, was how does the trilogy fit into the larger framework of the Foundation Series? Well, if you consider the 7 book series, know this: the first two, and last two books were written much later. Of all the later books, read FOUNDATION'S EDGE. Definitely do NOT read PRELUDE TO FOUNDATION and FORWARD THE FOUNDATION before you read the trilogy. Prelude has spoilers that refer to the end of the last book, FOUNDATION AND EARTH. There are parts of the FOUNDATION TRILOGY which I absolutely love, and other aspects which seemed to me aggravating. For starters, if you're looking for a character to stretch thru these books, you'll be disappointed. The central character is the historical dialectic itself, in fact an idea, that of a renewed civilization after the Galactic Empire ruled by aristocracy falls. This new civilization will be founded by a confluence of two factors, the FOUNDATION, composed of scientists, traders, and politicians, and the SECOND FOUDATION, which is made up of psychologists, empaths, and philosophers. During the Trilogy, we watch as the Galactic Empire falls, while the FOUNDATION takes control of the trade, scientific advancements, and the social infrastructure, such as nuclear power, and intergalactic travelPart of the construction of this trilogy, is the reason why some people find fault with the book. Originally Asimov released the Trilogy as a series of 5 novellas, plus an added introduction story. Hundreds of years separate most of these stories, at least until you reach the part of the tale that concerns The Mule, who attempts to conquer the Galactic Empire thru his ability to supplant the will of others, with his own. The MULE will take up most of the second book, and the first half of the third. The other theme in the books is PSYCHOHISTORY as a scientific discipline, and HARI SELDON as a sort of prophet of the coming New Age. (He invents PSYCHOHISTORY in the PRELUDE TO FOUNDATION book.) So if you can handle a story that's more about theme than character, this is your book. Most of Asimov's characters seem a bit cliché, sometimes analyzing a situation for pages, or engaging in long conversations with other intellectually strong characters. That's not to say there is no action, or conflict. Its just you won't read pages of exposition about space battles, or ground battles, or love stories. The action is more of a political intrigue type, with Hari Seldon's psychohistory attempting, and sometimes failing, to predict the outcome of every "Seldon Crisis". I've never read a book much like this, although if you view Tolkien's Silmarrillion as a historical narrative centered around the attempt of the Morgoth-Sauron hegemony to destroy the world of Elves, men, and all free folk, then that would be the obvious parallel.A final note, concerns what Asimov's influences for the Trilogy might have been. It was written at the end of WWII, when the final death blow to European aristocracy occurred, and civilization was almost destroyed for a thousand years (the length of the Nazi Third Reich), I would believe that is his main influence. I often wondered if Marxist theory's dependency on the Historical Dialectic pushing us into a utopian communist society, was also influencing him. Marxism was a strong intellectual movement in the USA during the first half of the 20th century. Although Psychohistory as a utopian society isn't much bandied about, its obviously central to the book's theme, though of course we never know the outcome of Foundation's watch on historical trends, since the last book in the series (FOUNDATION and EARTH) ends 500 years before the new Empire. However, the goal of a society to hang onto the knowledge of the past, while evolving into a future utopia, seems to be the fundamental theme. Also, that the intelligentsia must rule the political process, if we don't want 30000 years of chaos, instead of a 1000 year interregnum between the fall of the Galactic Empire, and the Foundation run Second Empire. These questions will haunt you, as you read Asimov's work. Once you've read the trilogy, you might as well read the other books in the Foundation Series, though at least read FOUNDATION'S EDGE, since the Trilogy doesn't really end at a place which would wrap up the themes very well. You're left dangling, about whether the Galaxy ever reaches the hoped for utopian vision of order, discipline, and scientific progress.