Foundation and Earth
by Isaac Asimov
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Book Summary Information
Author: Isaac AsimovEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-08-31
ISBN: 0553587579
Number of pages: 528
Publisher: Spectra
Book Reviews of Foundation and Earth
Book Review: Extreme letdown.
Summary: 1 Stars
Don't get me wrong. I was enamored by the first three novels. My interest was piqued further in the fourth novel (Foundation's Edge) when both the First and Second Foundation were working together (sort of... but not really) against a supposedly common threat -- a threat that was more powerful than both the First and Second Foundation. But in Foundation and Earth, Dr. A simply dropped the ball. His focus on morality and irritating, one-dimensional characters who talked way too much made for a very tedious-reading novel.
I blame this on his decision to tie the Foundation story line with his Robot universe. That decision, I believe, contributed to this poorly written novel -- a novel that strayed from the namesake of its series: the Foundations. He could have written a far better story if he had just continued concentrating on the First and Second Foundations and how each were vying for dominance over the other. This could have been a rich story line that culminated with the birth of the Second Galactic Empire when the First and Second Foundations either a.) reconcile and come to terms with each other, or b.) one dominates over the other at the end of 1000 years of Barbarism. Forget about Galaxia. And all this WITHOUT robots.
Better yet, Dr. A could have gone back to the original short story format he used in the original Foundation novel. That way, the story line could have focused on important epochs in the histories of the two Foundations and would have covered the remaining 500 years until the birth of the Second Galactic Empire. Again, without having to resort to robots.
Because of his decision to integrate his Robot universe in with his Foundation universe, he was forced to insert useless (if not annoying) plot lines to justify the inclusion of robots. That just ruined the story. For example, the following plot lines were highly contrived, humongous time-wasters:
1.) the dangerous dogs on Aurora
2.) the homicidal hermaphrodites on Solaria
3.) the metastasizing moss on Melpomenia
4.) the aging robot that lusted after the young body of the hermaphrodite kid (sounds pedophilish to me)
And what was up with the ending? Why introduce a brand-new plot line about malevolent extra-terrestrial aliens from another galaxy when you are at the end of the novel??? I thought that was just a poor way to justify the formation of Galaxia. The better rationale for Galaxia would have been to point to the dangerous developments on Solaria and Alpha. Because the inhabitants of Solaria and Alpha were resorting to murder to maintain their secrecy/anonymity in the galaxy, that would've been reason enough to justify the creation of Galaxia. Galaxia would have brought back into the fold all these wayward humans who were afraid of other humans (namely those living in the Foundation).
And one final commentary. Was anyone else incensed by the fact that humanity had to be "taken care of" by robots? All the major accomplishments and developments of humanity couldn't be attributed to humans at all. Psychohistory and Gaia were all the work of robots. Humanity was never a master of its own destiny! It's insulting for Dr. Asimov to imply that humanity is incapable of taking care of itself. Sure, humanity will occasionally make decisions that lead to mistakes, even tragic ones. But those decisions will be made by humans, for humans, for better or for worse.
Overall, a lousy novel and a disappointing end to a series that started out with such excitement and promise.
Summary of Foundation and Earth
The fifth novel in Asimov's popular Foundation series opens with second thoughts. Councilman Golan Trevize is wondering if he was right to choose a collective mind as the best possible future for humanity over the anarchy of contentious individuals, nations and planets. To test his conclusion, he decides he must know the past and goes in search of legendary Earth, all references to which have been erased from galactic libraries. The societies encountered along the way become arguing points in a book-long colloquy about man's fate, conducted by Trevize and traveling companion Bliss, who is part of the first world/mind, Gaia.Literature & Fiction Books
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