Forward the Foundation

By: Isaac Asimov

Narrated by: Larry McKeever

Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Here, from a grand master of science fiction, is the long-awaited final novel of the greatest science-fiction series ever told. Completed just before his death, Forward the Foundation is the crowning achievement of a great writer’s life, a stirring testament to the creative genius of Isaac Asimov.

As Hari Seldon struggles to perfect his revolutionary theory of psychohistory and ensure a place for humanity among the stars, the great Galactic Empire totters on the brink of apocalyptic collapse. Caught in the maelstrom are Seldon and all he holds dear, pawns in the struggle for dominance. Whoever can control Seldon will control psychohistory - and with it the future of the galaxy.

Among those seeking to turn psychohistory into the greatest weapon known to man are a populist political demagogue, the weak-willed Emperor Cleon I, and a ruthless militaristic general. In his last act of service to humankind, Hari Seldon must somehow save his life’s work from their grasp as he searches for its true heirs - a search that begins with his own granddaughter and the dream of a new Foundation.

Listen to all of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, including (in chronological order):

Prelude to FoundationForward the FoundationFoundationFoundation and Empire Second FoundationFoundation's EdgeFoundation and Earth

©1993 Nightfall, Inc (P)2011 Random House Audio

Bad Reader listen to this narrator on Fast Forward

Based on another review, I decided to listen to this book with my audio speed at 1.5. It was way better than the normal rate from narrator. I enjoyed this final Foundation story (I did them all in published order). I think I will do the robot series next!

The Narration is Dead, Really Dead

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes. Although not one of Asimov's best novels, and while the narration is abysmal, the book enlightens his wonderful Foundation universe.

Would you be willing to try another book from Isaac Asimov? Why or why not?

Of course, the man's stories are brilliant, imaginative, and engaging.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Larry McKeever?

Scott Brick. Definitely. Having just finished Prelude to Foundation, beautifully narrated by Scott Brick, I was very anxious to listen to the next in the series, Forward the Foundation. The shift from the richness of Scott Brick's narration to that of Larry McKeever was quite a shock. His nearly emotionless, almost mechanical rendition was like a slap in the face. Names were pronounced differently, and the timber of his voice rarely changed no matter the situation. The best description I can offer is that his narration was dead, really dead. There isn't another choice on Audible, so I struggled through and did my best to ignore the failings of the narrator to enjoy this chapter of Asimov's masterpiece.

Amazing story awful narrator.

The audio book came out in 1993 time for an update preferably with Scott Brick.

Where did you get this reader from

What did you love best about Forward the Foundation?

Great series by a great author

How could the performance have been better?

Never use someone that is just slightly above mono-tone. After listening to the Scott Brick doing the original 3 books and then the first of the prequel's, it felt like a version of "You were there". Then enter Larry McKeever.....I am not looking forward to having to plod through the rest of this book AND listen to him in the final book of the series. Fortunately Scott Brick comes back for Foundation and Earth. My suggestion is to bite the bullet and re-record the 2 books done by Larry using Scott.

Any additional comments?

I will NOT be getting any other books narrated by Larry McKeever

Not Scott Brix

The story is ok but Larry McKeever’s voice quality and intonation on the recording is very monotone and robotic to the point where it is distracting. Words seem over-pronounced and it is difficult to keep track of which character is talking and there are lots of unnecessarily long pauses in the narration. Overall it unfortunately detracts from the story.

Pretty good

None of the 4 sequels and prequels were up to the level of the original 3. Asimov did a decent job of wrapping it all up and dovetailing this into the beginning of the series, but I thought it lacked the inspiration of the original work.
The narrator for this was horrible. He was actually slightly better than the other one book he read in the series but still it was so hard to get into because of the poor performance.

Needs a different narrator

Great story, but really needs to be reread by Scott Brick. McKeever just doesn't do it justice, and is often difficult to listen to. Sorry Larry.

Go Isaac!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

After listening to the first books of the Foundation series I appreciate the books later written expanding the Sheldon character. I can agree with some of the comments given about Mr. McKeever's performance. He tells the story succinctly and sometimes breaks the monotone with some emotion. His performance does not detract from Mr. Azimov's story.

Read the trilogy first.

I’ve read all of the Foundation books 3x and now listened to them 1x over the past 25 years. To me, they’re most enjoyable when read in the order they were written—3-4-5-1-2-6-7 and then the non-Asimov authors.

Prelude and especially Forward don’t stand up that well on their own...there’s a lot more at stake when you know in advance what will happen during the first 350 years of the 1,000-year interval.

Good ol Seldon

Performance was good but I had to listen to it a bit sped up because it was slow. The story was also good but maybe could have been a bit shorter. overall I loved it though and look forward to Foundation