Week 3: Foundation - Isaac Asimov

This is what The Telegraph had to say about the book "'Great Galaxy!' It is not for literary brilliance that one approaches the first in the Foundation series, but rather for the sweeping grandeur of Asimov’s epic universe-wide tale of the decline and fall of empires. Once you've finished this, 14 novels and countless more short stories await."


Yes, there is grandeur - the book is about the downfall of the 'Galactic Empire' and how one mathematician Hari Seldon- foresees this and sets up a sanctuary for the men of science to act as curators for all knowledge. He calls this the "Foundation"- hence the name.  The concept of an empire failing and another one 'blooming' is quiet the setting for a sweeping epic.  But somehow, the futuristic setting didn't really appeal to me all that much. Most of the time I was left thinking 'what makes this book so great?'

There were some interesting parts- his treatment of religion as a political gambit. The fact that there is no single 'hero' – the book is a collection of crisis which shapes the future of the Galaxy and the Foundation. The key players change with time – though there is some reference to the previous characters. However, there really isn't much to bond one with the characters. The dialogues are also stilted and rather predictably 'sci-fi-ish' like the way they exclaim 'by space' or 'by galaxy'. Overall a passable book, it made an interesting (somewhat) read but am glad I can move on to the next one.