This year I resolved to read more classic science fiction and fantasy, hopefully making a dent in that stack of books I really should have read by now. Mostly because they should be good books, but also to be better informed about my genre and its history. I decided that this meant reading six science fiction and six fantasy books written before 1980 by authors that were completely new to me.
Since I feel weird saying I’m “reviewing” giants like H.G. Wells and T.H. White, let’s just say these will be my reactions to books that have shaped the science fiction and fantasy genres in one way or another.
Up this month is Foundation by Isaac Asimov, first published in 1951.
Foundation (2004)
Written By: Isaac Asimov
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 255 (Kindle)
Series: Book 1 The Foundation Series
Publisher: Spectra
Why I Chose It: Why am I reading anything in this Resolution Project? Because it’s a “classic”, because Isaac Asimov is one of the giants of Science Fiction and Foundation one of its cornerstones. And because I liked the sound of the story.
The premise:
For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. Only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future—a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humanity, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire—both scientists and scholars—and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls this sanctuary the Foundation.
But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. And mankind’s last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and live as slaves—or take a stand for freedom and risk total destruction.
Spoiler Free!
Discussion: Hooray! Not only did I finish Foundation, I also liked it. It’s always nice to have an easy success after a complete failure. And the thing is, it really shouldn’t have been that easy of a win. Foundation isn’t really about individual characters or their stories. It’s more about an epic idea spanning the whole galaxy’s history. But in this case that format really worked for me. I think it helped that I went into this knowing it was a series of short stories. That gave me a broader mindset to begin with.
Foundation itself is made up of five parts and each part pinpoints a particular moment in Seldon’s predicted history. But while this story isn’t really about individuals, each part is told from a specific character’s point of view. Someone who is integral to the decision of the moment. And I think that’s what saves this from being some sort of top down, impersonal diatribe against the evils of complacency and stagnation. The snapshot/vignette structure really worked for me, maybe because I was in a hurry, or maybe because I’m losing my patience for long winded detail-oriented narration that takes forever to get to the point. Asimov used these snippets to tell his story in a short, concise framework that still felt complete and satisfying. Although it is pretty obvious there are two more volumes in the core trilogy and seven more in the entire series.
And the theme was definitely an interesting one. I’ve seen the idea that complacency and a lack of challenge or drive leads to stagnation of the human race, namely in HG Wells’ The Time Machine. He also took a look at the end of human evolution. But I liked Asimov’s portrayal of it much more. Probably because Asimov was looking at it from within while it was taking place, and the Foundation’s main objective was to counteract the effects of a halt to human ingenuity. Whereas Wells was looking at it from the end result, with more of a defeated point of view.
Although I did think one of the most fascinating things Asimov did in this book was give Seldon this vision of the future, detailing humanity’s backslide away from curiosity and growth. But then Seldon’s solution was to lock the Foundation into a path of his choosing, blocking them from any sort of deviance. It was a complicated bit of psychology (which Asimov had his characters point out several times). And I think Asimov did it deliberately to point out humanity’s dual flaws of believing we are all knowing, all powerful, but also following the nearest charismatic leader like placid sheep.
My only complaint is the same one I’ve had for a couple of these classics now. There is one woman in the entire book and she’s fairly minor and completely awful at that. Did none of these men interact with any women in their lives? Are there no women in the future? Maybe they foresaw the collapse of the empire before Hari Seldon and took all the good spaceships off to some other haven.
Conclusion: I think this is a series I’m definitely going to continue. I really enjoyed this one and I’m interested to see how the second empire comes into being and what the galaxy (and humanity itself) has to go through to get there.
Next month I will be tackling Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. Anyone care to join me for this look at Earth as a second home?
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