Foundation and Earth
by Isaac Asimov
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Book Reviews of Foundation and Earth
Book Review: Foundation and Earth: Falls Flat
Summary: 2 Stars
Title: Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov.
Pages: 494.
Time spent on the "to read" shelf: 3 years.
Days spent reading it: 4 days.
Why I read it: I started reading the Foundation series a few years ago. I made it through the first 4 books and this was the next book in the series (in order of copyright).
Brief review:
Let me start off by saying, I LOVED the first 3 Foundation books, especially the first one (simply called Foundation). Isaac Asimov creates interesting situations that his characters must resolve, and they usually do so with interesting insights. Asimov wrote the first 3 books as a series of short stories, and they were later compiled into what became the Foundation trilogy. I would highly recommend those to anyone who enjoys a truly unique story.
Having said that, books 4 and 5 were different. Instead of being short stories, they were true novels. They stayed with the same characters the whole time. I personally think the characters are flat and boring. Asimov's strength is not characters but dilemmas. Unfortunately book 4 (Foundation's Edge) does not have enough dilemma in it, and almost turned me off from the rest of the series. I also really did not like how it ended. However, Foundation and Earth returned to Asimov writing more in short story format, even though he stays with the same characters, the story is revealed as they leapfrog from planet to planet in search of Earth.
I will not give away the plot, but it would say it was a decent story. Not the best in the series, but not as disappointing as Foundation's Edge. The conclusion felt a little awkward and forced. Asimov did some strange things with this series as it progressed forward. I think he wanted to make it seem like his writings as a whole were more planned out and connected than he originally intended. In the end it seems gimmicky. I'm sure there are some Asimov fans who enjoy the connections, but I would not number myself among them.
Overall, I would recommend this book to the fans of the Foundation series, but slugging through Foundation's Edge along with Foundation and Earth means reading nearly 1,000 pages of frankly sub-par Asimov. For reader's interested in something truly unique--check out Foundation, it really is superior. But realize that the first book (which is awesome) is the best it gets.
Stars: 2 out of 5.
Final Word: Flat.
Book Review: Great potential, but Gaia killed this series . . .
Summary: 3 Stars
Very disappointing. Sure, it's readable, but also laughable. The story of finding Earth should have been fantastic, but instead meandered all over the place and seems to be a waste of time. There are a few good parts, mostly for those readers familiar with the Robot series, but the entire book is sadly a disappointment. This decline started with the introduction of Gaia in the previous book, when the whole series got derailed and never got back to what it was.
Spoilers ahead!
Who else was absolutely convinced that Golan Trevize would turn out to be a robot? For most of this book, that seemed to be the great 'mystery' that would be unveiled. It turned out to be false, but Trevize's ability to merge perfectly with the ship and his basic wooden personality had me willing to bet he was definitely, positively a robot. The guy was unreal. He did not respond at all to the nubile girl on board the ship, he let the old guy have her. Er, not likely, especially as he constantly referred to how horny he was and how long it had been, ect. . .
The series officially jumped shark with the introduction of the planet Gaia and never recovered. How could the search for Earth be so pointless? They spend most of the book running from one planet to another and barely escaping alive from each one - it gets a little repetitive. When they finally achieve their goal, it's very disappointing! And none of the larger issues are resolved. What happens at the end of 1000 years? Did the two Foundations achieve their purpose? Apparently, Asimov lost his way and we never find out if the Foundation was effective or not. The story of finding Earth had great potential, but the reader is left hanging at the end wondering what will happen at the 1000 year mark, the point at which the Foundation was supposed to prevent the Dark Ages extending to thirty thousand years.
This book was mostly fluff and the silly interactions between the nondescript Trevize and the silly lovers: Gaia girl and the old librarian. This part of the story seems to have been a fantasy of Mr Asimov's . . . The 'surprise' at the end was a total rip off and an excuse not to carry the ideas begun in the first book to their final conclusion. Instead we are left with Gaia on a galactic scale . . .
Book Review: Another major work by Isaac Asimov
Summary: 5 Stars
This book by Isaac Asimov is fascinating in two ways--first, it is the last of the Foundation series; second, it is another link between two of the greatest series in science fiction, the Foundation series and the Robot series. As always with Asimov, there are the irritating things--his characters get talky, plot sometimes breaks down, and there is a certain discursive quality to his writing that does not always serve movement of the story well. However, by this point in his career, Asimov was capable at developing characters (and it shows here) and had otherwise grown greatly as an author. And, as ever, he was capable of developing big picture, galaxy-wide concepts that challenge the reader to think about things in a new way.
The work begins with Golan Trevize having already made his fateful decision to impel the galaxy to move toward a major superorganism to be called Galaxia, with its model the planet-wide Gaia superorganism. In that, he turned his back on the vision of either the Foundation or the Second Foundation being the model, with Hari Seldon's vision being transcended by another. In that sense, this really is not a Foundation novel (maybe an anti-Foundation work?).
However, he is troubled about his decision and wants to understand better his decision, be sure that it is the right one. So, he begins what might be called an Odyssey, along with his friend Pelorat and his friend, Bliss, a part of Gaia. That sets up an almost Socratic dialogue among the three as they move from planet to plant, trying to find answers--including the location of the mythical home planet of humanity, Earth. The discussions sometimes slow the forward movement of the novel, but they do elaborate the various views of where humanity and the galaxy ought to go.
After revisiting some places that will be familiar to readers of the Robot series, the trio finally arrives on Earth, by then a dead planet. And they meet an old friend of every Asimov fan in a way that produces an upbeat ending and a resolution as to where humanity will go, with that character promising to be a guiding hand, working behind the scenes, to help produce that future.
Book Review: The Last Book of the Foundation Series (in Foundation Timeline), 4 stars, 356 Pages, Publ 1986
Summary: 4 Stars
Golan Trevize looks for Earth. The novel picks up right after the end of Foundation's Edge. I found Foundation's Edge slightly confusing in that there was something effecting the minds of both the Foundation confederation and the minds of the Second Foundation, and wasn't completely sure if it was a Third Foundation or what. Foundation and Earth clears that up, well sort of. It is not a Hari Seldon originated organization, it is the planet Gaia, but calling it a Third Foundation could be used if you redefine The Foundation. It is hinted that there may be yet *another* group effecting events in the galaxy; the equivalent of a Fourth Foundation... or maybe a Zeroth Foundation. This is one of the slight, but exasperating aspects of this novel. In the Author's Note of Prelude to Foundation, Asimov wrote that he could and may add to the Foundation series and as for books after Foundation and Earth he could add "additional volumes - as many as I like"). In parts it feels like that, that Asimov is setting himself for additional volumes, rather than this being the definitive end to the Foundation series, as it now is. Another thing is that Asimov groups his Robot, Empire, and Foundation series in one all encompassing series. For whatever contradictions exist between the series, Asimov gives preference to his Robot series.
Foundation and Earth takes us on a tour of seven different planets and the different habitations of each. Some have gone to the dogs, some are autocratic, and there's excitement on each one. Asimov has set up the galaxy in that are no other known intelligent non-human (or human-made) species. Sort of answers the famous questions on the lack of evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence: "where is everybody?". Well, Asimov's answer is: there isn't anybody else... well kinda, sorta... If you read the book you'll understand. Actually, even though there are these ambiguities on the universe here and there, Asimov does wrap up the Foundation series somewhat nicely (although you may not like it as it differs from the original Foundation series), as well as wrapping up his grouping of all of his series into one.
Book Review: Space Odyssey!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book, while a stand-alone adventure, also effectively links the Foundation story line with the Robot/Spacer novels. It reintroduces us to the intuitive Golan Trevize, bookish Janov Pelorat and the Gaian avatar Bliss. Trevize had been at a crossroad in the previous novel "Foundation's Edge" and chose one path for the human race to follow. Not fully convinced of the intuitive leap he had taken, he decides to take up an archaeological odyssey to find the birthplace of humanity - now shrouded in legend.
During his search aboard the "Far Star", followed by Pelorat and Bliss, Trevize finds the earliest attempts at human colonization which are either abandoned or isolated from the rest of the galaxy. Each location gives only the vaguest clues as to where Earth may be. Trevize's search is mixed with frustration and desperate hope.
When his search comes to an end, the reader is crestfallen when the ultimate fate of Earth is revealed. The search however takes a surprising turn which seals the link between the Foundation and the Spacers of antiquity.
Why Trevize becomes convinced that he must find Earth is not explained in a satisfactory manner. However, when he takes up the search the reader is swept into the drama of finding the world - the pale blue dot as Sagan once put it - that we all take for granted. The main characters are entertaining, even though they tend towards the two dimensional. There is constant, intense discussion between Trevize and Bliss concerning the merits on individuality and collective consciousness. The most frightening encounter occurs on the abandoned world of Aurora, where Trevize is ambushed by an unlikely monster. The most entertaining encounter is when the crew of the "Far Star" meet the reclusive society living on Solaria and take on a fourth crewmember.
Sexuality and gender are prominent points of discussion between the crew of the "Far Star" especially where the fourth crewmember is concerned. All in all the quest for Earth is an engrossing and entertaining read.