Foundation and Empire

Books in the original Foundation trilogy need no introduction; they have stood the test of time and are broadly accepted as some of the greatest masterpieces in the science fiction genre. You can find millions of words written about these books all over the Internet.

I have some comments that relate to frustrations I encountered while reading reviews for this book. First, I wish that I could comment on reviews that others have written like I can on Amazon. What follows would more appropriately be entered as such a comment, but it's here because there is no other way to respond to existing reviews.

To Joseph: First of all, it is misleading and unhelpful to give a book a poor rating because you didn't realize it was part of a trilogy. You are supposed to review the quality of the work, not vent your frustration at being unaware that the book is part of a series. That's your problem, not the book's.

Secondly, it would have taken you all of 5 minutes to discover not only the series to which this book belongs, but also the published order of all the books in the series, with a simple Google or Wikipedia search. This is made even easier by the fact that this is one of the most famous serials written during the entire 20th century in any genre, and at least in the top 5 of most famous science fiction serials of all time.

That said... it would not hurt my feelings if Audible would include both the chronological order and published order of books that belong to a series. It would really be nice to be able to add all books in a series to my wish list with a single click, and for those books to remain grouped together in the wish list so it is clear that they are all members of the same series. That would make it easy to buy them all at once too. Keeping them ordered by original book publication date within the grouping would also be VERY helpful. NOT the date the audio version was published -- the date the ORIGINAL BOOK was FIRST published.

Chronological order is interesting but not terribly useful, because you do not want to read them that way. The author expects you to read them in PUBLISHED order, so that is what you should do for maximum effect. For example, there are essentially "spoilers" in prequels that will ruin mystery and suspense created in the books published earlier in the series.

For anyone not willing to type the words "foundation series published order" into Google, below is the published order of the series. This is the proper and expected order in which to read them.

Foundation
Foundation and Empire
Second Foundation
Foundation's Edge
Foundation and Earth
Prelude to Foundation
Forward the Foundation

Enjoy!

I feel that when a BOOK IS OFFERED, if it is part of a SERIES THAT A STATEMENT BE MADE AS TO WHAT PART OF THE SERIES IT IS !!!!!

This is the Second book in the series and it needs / you should have some knowledge of the First book to make some sense when listening to this Audio Book. This series was originaly a TRILOGY. The series should be read as ( FOUNDATION, FOUNDATION AND EMPIRE, SECOND FOUNDATION ). There are also two additional sequels to the series ( FOUNDATION'S EDGE AND FOUNDATION AND EARTH ). And two prequels
( PRELUDE TO FOUNDATION AND FOWARD THE FOUNDATION ). The sequels and prequels are not required for the " FOUNDATION / EMPIRE SERIES ". They just make good reading.

I KNOW THIS INFORMATION TO BE CORRECT AS I HAVE FIVE OF THESE BOOKS [ PRINTED VERSIONS ].

It is second book from the trilogy. Not as thrilling as the third one (Second foundation), it is still very interesting and entertaining. Scott Brick is an excellent narrator and his narration is flawless. I am glad that I bought this book, it was true fun to listen.

I read 'Foundation' on the recommendation of a friend and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was figuring with 'Foundation and Empire' that I would enjoy it as much or more. I was also thinking that this book would lead to the recreation of the Empire. I was wrong in that regard. This book opens a whole new storyline or dimension to the story line. Here we see the Seldon plan fail and then be reborn. We also catch our first glimpse of the 'Second Foundation'. One thing Isaac Asimov has made clear throughout all his books is those that try to control everything will fail along with those that will do the same with time. People have to be given freedom to choose their own paths in life. The unexpected can throw off all plans and controls. It can also move everything in a new direction that is better than the control. I recommend this book to anyone of says otherwise.

Hard to say since I read the print version of the Foundation Trilogy as a teenager in the early '60s. Now, I would definitely give the nod to Scott Brick's reading.

The real problem, for me, is that 50 years have passed since I first read this and it is painfully clear that, as great a writer as Asimov is, he couldn't think outside the box with respect to the future of science. Other than the Faster Than Light concept of "Jumps" (that all SF writers resort to in one form or another when writing about interstellar travel), the science postulated for many millenia in the future, seems antiquated and quaint in 2012.

But in many ways, that was never really the point of the Foundation Trilogy. The evolution of cultures and very large social structures (and the attempt to successfully manipulate them is as fascinating now as it was way back when.

Beta is the most complex and interesting character to me. Since I already knew who the Mule was, I was more able to concentrate on her and her reaction to The Mule, and his to her. If you're reading/listening to the story for the first time, it's almost impossible not to get caught up in the mystery and miss the underplay.

The killing of the Prince/Emperor is particularly gripping, especially as it's narrated. It's a turning point in Beta's understanding and Scott's reading is brilliant.

I'd say the description of Magnifico's first playing of the instrument for Beta and Ebling. What an experience something like that would be! I think it could only be approached by music or art that really touches your soul.

Very slow and boring, with a long drawn out plot that was extremely predictable. After listening to Foundation, I was very disappointed by this sequel.

The story line.

The first book in this trilogy Foundation.

they were all good

Mankind can never get away from its basic weakness.

A well-narrated edition of Asimov's classic story from the Golden Age of science fiction. No space opera here.

Books in the original Foundation trilogy need no introduction; they have stood the test of time and are broadly accepted as some of the greatest masterpieces in the science fiction genre. You can find millions of words written about these books all over the Internet.

I have some comments that relate to frustrations I encountered while reading reviews for this book. First, I wish that I could comment on reviews that others have written like I can on Amazon. What follows would more appropriately be entered as such a comment, but it's here because there is no other way to respond to existing reviews.

To Joseph: First of all, it is misleading and unhelpful to give a book a poor rating because you didn't realize it was part of a trilogy. You are supposed to review the quality of the work, not vent your frustration at being unaware that the book is part of a series. That's your problem, not the book's.

Secondly, it would have taken you all of 5 minutes to discover not only the series to which this book belongs, but also the published order of all the books in the series, with a simple Google or Wikipedia search. This is made even easier by the fact that this is one of the most famous serials written during the entire 20th century in any genre, and at least in the top 5 of most famous science fiction serials of all time.

That said... it would not hurt my feelings if Audible would include both the chronological order and published order of books that belong to a series. It would really be nice to be able to add all books in a series to my wish list with a single click, and for those books to remain grouped together in the wish list so it is clear that they are all members of the same series. That would make it easy to buy them all at once too. Keeping them ordered by original book publication date within the grouping would also be VERY helpful. NOT the date the audio version was published -- the date the ORIGINAL BOOK was FIRST published.

Chronological order is interesting but not terribly useful, because you do not want to read them that way. The author expects you to read them in PUBLISHED order, so that is what you should do for maximum effect. For example, there are essentially "spoilers" in prequels that will ruin mystery and suspense created in the books published earlier in the series.

For anyone not willing to type the words "foundation series published order" into Google, below is the published order of the series. This is the proper and expected order in which to read them.

Foundation
Foundation and Empire
Second Foundation
Foundation's Edge
Foundation and Earth
Prelude to Foundation
Forward the Foundation

Enjoy!

I enjoyed the Foundation more than this sequel (part 2 of the trilogy). It's basically two storys, the first one dealing with the last battle with the fading Empire and the second dealing the new enemy, the Mule. I enjoyed the first one more. The latter is sort of a long winded setup for part 3 (Second Foundation). There was a mystery too the second story that I figured out quickly so that made it less enjoyable.

Still, the writing is great and I'm excited for part 3.