First published in 1982 almost 30 years after the last volume of the iconic original Foundation Trilogy, namely Second Foundation, I was skeptical that Asimov would be able to maintain his mojo post the Golden Age of Science Fiction when he was publishing his most iconic sci-fi stories and novels. Of his 80s books I only read The Robots of Dawn which I thought was quite good but not in the same league as his 50s robot novels The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun. Still, I liked it enough to rekindle my interest in the Foundation series of which I have only read the original trilogy in my teens. For some reason I neglected the series from the 4th volume onwards and to catch up I did not want to simply dive into it as it was decades ago since I read the previous books and I have gotten most of the background details. So I reread the trilogy a couple of months ago and enjoyed it very much in spite of already knowing the major plot twists. The Foundation saga remains quite potent after all these years.Foundation's Edge is the 4th volume I speak of. It is set 500 years after the establishment of the Foundation. The Seldon Plan is going swimmingly and the First Foundation is at the peak of its strength having dominated all the neighboring planets through its superior technology and military might. The people of the Foundation believe that the threat from the mind controlling Second Foundation has been eliminated and there is now only one Foundation, theirs. Alas someone always shows up to rock the boat otherwise we would not have much of a story. Enters one Golan Trevize, a Council member and an original thinker; a dangerous combination. It occurs to Trevize that the Seldon Plan has been going too well of late and there is surely something wrong when things are just too right. It is unnatural for things to always go according to plan, some deviations must occur. Trevize believes this is an indication that the Foundation is being surreptitiously controlled by puppet masters from the dreaded Second Foundation who will ensure the Seldon Plan reaches fruition and then step in as lord and masters. Voicing such a controversial idea turns out to be unwise as he is summarily kicked off the planet Terminus (home of the Foundation) with a secret mission to locate the Second Foundation in order for the First to do away with them once and for all. Many surprises ensue.In spite of not being action packed as such, I find Foundation's Edge to be a gripping page-turner. The plot tends to move through dialogue rather than narration. Every page seems to be stuffed with dialogue as characters are always discussing or arguing about something. The climax is also played through dialogue. This is a surprisingly effective method of storytelling as the book is never dull. Asimov writes reasonably good dialogue, but his characters do have a tendency to belabor their points at times. Asimov’s major strengths are his epic ideas, world building and plot; these are the reason he is one of the most popular sci-fi authors of all time (possibly the most popular). His world building here is better than ever, I particularly love the telepathic society and culture of the Second Foundation on Trantor and the strange people of Gaia. It is also lovely to see the robots and their “Three Laws” worked into the Foundation universe, plus a clever explanation for the absence of aliens in the Foundation universe.Asimov is often criticized for his utilitarian prose and thin characters (the same criticisms leveled toward most Golden Age authors). While he was no Dickens or Oscar Wilde in term of prose, characterization and dialogue I find these criticisms a little unfair. His prose is not extraordinary, but it is uncluttered and very readable, it is never clumsy or semi-literate; he never insults the readers’ intelligence. His dialogue is often full of amusing witty banter and sardonic remarks. As for his characters, while some of the supporting characters are indeed flat his central characters and protagonists are often memorable. After decades away from his books I still remember very well Hari Seldon, The Mule, Susan Calvin (from I Robot), Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw (from several robot novels). As for Foundation's Edge's characters, Golan Trevize, and several lead characters are quite vivid and memorable also. In contrast I can not remember a single character from Arthur C. Clarke’s books (except Hal 9000 and Dave Bowman); no disrespect to Sir Arthur though, he has his own brand of greatness. The climax of Foundation's Edge is just wonderful and the epilogue leads nicely to the next book Foundation and Earth. Asimov always seems to enjoy telling his Foundation stories tremendously and his enjoyment is infectious. Can’t wait!
Foundation's Edge is a sequel to Second Foundation, and was written decades afterward. Before reading the book, as I looked at the cover, I noticed that this book earned/was awarded a Hugo for "best book." I was skeptical. Having read all of the Foundation Series books leading up to this one, I thought this might be an honorary award; Asimov was a founding father of modern Science Fiction, and perhaps due for an award.Not so. Of all of the Foundation books I've read so far this is far and away the best. It's actually very good, an unlikely page turner to the very end. Asimov is indeed the master of large, galaxy-spanning ideas and plot development. In the book previous to this one, the First and Second Foundations, founded by Hari Seldon as keepers and re-generators of civilization after the fall of the first Galactic Empire, had been at odds with each other. The First Foundation, based on technological advancement, knew the Second Foundation only as a ghostly organization whose location was not known. Mind Control was the talent of the Second Foundation, but certain elements of the First Foundation, not wanting to be guided into the Seldon Plan by mind control, sought to corner all of the Second Foundation members and do away with them. By the end of the book, they were certain that this had been accomplished.As Foundation's Edge opens, it's years later, and elements of both foundations had noticed that the Seldon Plan was going a little too perfectly, as if it were being guided by someone outside of their own organizations. Councilman Trevize of the First Foundation is certain that the controlling element is the Second Foundation, which obviously still survives. For this heresy, he is exiled by Mayor Branno; his job, with a brand new, highly advanced spaceship, is to find the Second Foundation's location, if there is one, and not come back until the deed is accomplished. Speaker Gendibal of the Second Foundation is just as certain that a third organization is doing the controlling, and he sets out in a lesser ship to keep track of Trevize, who, with an historian as a companion, seems to have diverted himself toward the goal of locating the fabled original planet Earth instead. The story becomes extremely complex, but Asimov keeps it clear for the reader with what could only be decribed as brilliant plotting, an Asimov forte.The book has its flaws. In the middle of one scene the three characters involved are suddenly back aboard ship instead of on the planet where I had last seen them. This was somewhat jarring, since no scene showed them deciding to go back to the ship, or even getting there. Maybe the printer left out a scene; maybe the author did. Another problem I have with Asimov's writing is that he advances his story primarily with dialog, a lot of it stilted and awkward. On the other hand, his characters seem better developed in this one; he obviously learned a lot in the decades after writing "Second Foundation," or was able to take more time with it, but he never gives you any real impression of the surroundings in any scene, or the interaction of the characters with it. However, in this book you do actually get inside the characters' heads to see what they think and how they feel about the events unfolding around them.All in all, this one was definitely an enjoyable read, and clearly the best of anything I've read by Asimov. I'm now sure that it earned its Hugo Award; it may not have been the best written Science Fiction book of that year, but it clearly outshone most books in terms of epic scale and story. For its flaws I deduct a half-star, rating it at 4 1/2 stars, rounding up to 5.
What do You think about Foundation's Edge (2010)?
You're going to re-read them in order? That's the question, isn't it? What's the best order to read them, in order of original publication or chronologically according to the book's internal timeline?A conundrum for me has been which is better to read first, "Foundation and Earth" or "Robots and Empire". Both contain some spoilers for the other. I read the former first but it might well be worth reading it the other way around. Although the ending of "Foundation and Earth" will be much less of a surprise if you read the other first.
—Stephen
Foundation's Edge, the next to last book in the 15-16 book collection of books that weave together Asimov's Robot series, Empire series, and Foundation series does its fine job of knitting these earlier unrelated series into an excellent story that brilliantly can also stand alone. Over the last couple months I've re-read the series in Asimov's suggested chronology of the stories and having done so found this novel much deeper and richer than if I had not read the previous 13 books. I'd almost give it 5 stars and only scored it short of that because I save 5 stars for novels or stories that are absolutely incredible to me. The story is largely 3 subplots of power, politics, and intrigue inching closer and closer together until its inevitable collision near the conclusion of the novel. It would be impossible to keep this a novel that overcomes the need for sleep without interesting characters in various relationships of friendship and foe. While I am admittedly an avid Asimov fan I found this novel kept me interested and involved perhaps even more than any of the earlier 13 novels... perhaps excluding Foundation which was the first Asimov novel I read decades ago and which converted me to the avid Asimov fan that I am.
—Norm Davis
Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done.On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me.While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). Foundation’s Edge won the Locus Sci-Fi award in 1983, finishing ahead of The Golden Torc (sequel to the previous year’s winner), 2010 (the sequel to Arthur C Clarke’s classic 2001) and The Crystal Singer (the first in what, my wife and Mother assure me, is a fine Ann McCaffrey trilogy) to name just three.I’ve read the Foundation series twice in my life, and Foundation’s Edge was one of the six winning books I had previously read before I began my Locus Quest.The first time I read the Foundation series as an awe-struck pre-teen, I’d have instantly given the whole series a 5-star review: it was a story that became a foundation stone (excuse the pun) of my love for sci-fi. Let's get this out of the way: Asimov's Foundation series is required reading for anyone with more than a passing interest in science fiction. If you've not read it yet, put it on your list!Returning to Asimov in my mid twenties I was expecting to be disappointed. Some issues are unavoidable – much of the characterisation is shallow and doesn’t develop far and there series as a whole tends to repeat plot devices with surface variations – but overall I was pleasantly surprised. Asimov tends to remind me H.G. Wells. That may sound extreme considering The Time Machine was written in the 1890s while Foundation’s Edge was released in the 1980s, but the Foundation series was conceived back in the 50s. Wells and Asimov may represent the best of pre-WW1 and post-WW2 sci-fi, but their formative cultures have more in common with each other than post-2012 audiences.To me, their stories are now are charming combination of dated ideals and visionary speculation. This is one of the few Foundation novels which can stand alone, so I can heartily recommend it to all - not just fans of the series.I’m no longer blown away as I once was, but it’s still a very enjoyable read!After this I read: Ilium
—Clouds
