Foundation (Apple Series Tie-in Edition)

By: Isaac Asimov

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

The first novel in Isaac Asimov’s classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series

The epic saga that inspired the Apple TV+ series Foundation, now streaming. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.

For 12,000 years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future - to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humankind, 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 his sanctuary the Foundation.

The Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov are among the most influential in the history of science fiction, celebrated for their unique blend of breathtaking action, daring ideas, and extensive worldbuilding. In Foundation, Asimov has written a timely and timeless novel of the best - and worst - that lies in humanity, and the power of even a few courageous souls to shine a light in a universe of darkness.

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

©1982 Isaac Asimov (P)2010 Random House

I love Sci-fi & Asimov, but this was a bit dull🫤

It was a struggle to stay focused and finish it...
No female characters but an annoying 1

Well...

Every second was overdramatic narration, distracting from and contradicting to the story itself. Redo?

Fun

Very entertaining book. I look forward to the next one. The story remains new after many years.

Dune-esque in its political machinations

Good listen. Story was interesting, performance was solid, and enjoyed it thoroughly throughout. The narrative transitions between Parts tended to be a bit hamfisted, but that’s because this was originally published serially.

A great book for readers with brains

This is a great book about sociohistoric shifts and efforts to somehow influence them. So you read the fabulous book Decline and Fall of Roman Empire by Gibbon, and you start wondering- is this sort of a thing cyclical (likely, right?) and if it is - can anything even be done? Enter Hari Seldon and his psychohistory, the science of prediction of social processes. And an effort to shorten the decline is mounted.
This is a book of exciting ideas. As a bonus, it got some wonderful examples of negotiating and political thinking.
What it doesn't have is romance, mindless action, battle scenes, fairies and kisses. If that's what you are looking for, go read something else.

It deserves its status,

A must-read of the classic SF era, yet it is limited by the fix-up novel of its compilation. The scope of the novel’s big ideas outweigh the execution you want. Plus, there are social limits that show its age. Not offensively, but again, limiting a great work.

Narration is meh

I honestly can’t tell if I liked the book for not, the narration is not great which makes the book near unlistenable. Most narrators will change the tone of their voice between characters, but not the one reading this. It’s pretty hard to follow who is talking because every single person sounds exactly the same. With Apple producing the series i’d hope they can re-record the audio, it would be much easier to follow the series.

Recommend: listen to the series in chronological order, not published order

Unliked the Prelude and Forward. This book jumps around with characters and timelines without a warning! And it doesn’t help with Brick non voice deflections between characters!

After six books of Dune I wanted a break but instead I got Brick again! He OK but when you listen in X2 you get lost on what character is speaking sometimes.

Overall great storyline and you always have to remember this was Asimov’s first version on Foundation!

Scott Brick was great

the story felt a bit more jumbled up than previous books in the Isaac Asimov series.

Brillaint story with terrible narration.

Having read the Foundation series at least twice, with my initial read many years ago, I've come to appreciate its intricate plotting and pacing. However, this recent revisit made me aware of certain aspects that have not aged well. For instance, there is a noticeable absence of main female characters throughout the novel, and some of the technological concepts feel somewhat dated. Despite these issues, my enjoyment of the narrative remains undiminished.

What truly detracted from my experience this time was the narrator. The performance was lackluster, with poorly distinguished character voices that made it difficult to discern who was speaking at any given moment. The delivery felt bland and monotone, stripping away much of the story's vibrancy. I'm relieved to learn that the rest of the series features a different performer, which gives me hope for a more engaging listening experience going forward. Honestly, if the same narrator had been used for the entire series, I might have been inclined to discontinue.