Foundation

By: Isaac Asimov

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

For 12,000 years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Sheldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future, to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last 30,000 years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, 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 a fututre generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.

But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. Mankind's last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and be overrun or fight them and be destroyed.

Please note: The text of this book includes some passages that begin or end in mid-sentence. This is intentional by the author.

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

The Foundation Trilogy is a True Classic

Asimov is superb, particularly when one considers that he started writing this series in the early 1950s. As a result it reads and sounds like the period. For all that, this is a great classic and Scott Brick is an excellent reader. The story and cast of characters is much more complex than the average novel. I found that a 2nd listen not only made everything clearer, but was even more enjoyable than the first.

A few reviewers comment on dropped sentences. It helps to have access to the printed version. Chapters are frequently introduced with excerpts of the fictitious Encyclopedia Galactica, and these excerpts are - in both the print and Audible version - often dropped mid-sentence. This is Asimov.

Highly recommended for any SciFi fan.

98 people found this helpful

In spite of its flaws, I couldn't put it down.

This is a work of creative genius. The plot is intricate and compelling, breath-taking in its scope, and wildy imaginative. The characters aren't terribly well-developed, and the dialogue is sometimes cheesy, but that almost doesn't matter because my focus was drawn, again and again, to the "big picture". As soon as I think I've lost interest, Asimov drops a bombshell plot twist, and I'm back. Fantastic.

22 people found this helpful

An unabridged classic but "Psychologist?!!"

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I enjoyed listening to this. It was one of the first major works of SciFi that I ever read.

Any additional comments?

Why on earth did the word "psychohistory" (and all derivatives thereof) become "psychology?" Where in the book they talk about psychohistorians, they talk about psychologists in the audiobook. What happened? Did the word get globally replaced by a spellchecker in the final copy of the script?

196 people found this helpful

An old friend revisited

I first read Asimov's original Foundation Triology Back in the early 60's. Later, as he added volumes to the Foundation series, I would grab up every Foundation book as they came out, ending with Foundation and Earth in 1986. I have always recommended Asimov to friends and acquaintances as a "classic" to be be read by all Sci-Fi fans.
A few months ago, I noticed "Prelude to Foundation" when browsing through Audible to find my next "listen." I also decided to download the rest of the series so I could go through it all again in sequential order.
Quite obviously, I had no doubt about Asimov as I've have been a reader of his for over 50 years now. I was quite impressed with the reader and also very impressed that he seems to be the reader for all books in the series so we gain the continuity of the presentation.
I just cannot recommend the Foundation stories highly enough. Again, a classic and so very well performed by Scott Brick.
One word of caution to readers/listeners to Asimove's style. There are times it seems, in all his writing that he begins to edge into a tangent of over description whether it be a personality, an event, or just a segment of the story. DO NOT let this cause dismay and do not allow yourself to drift, waiting for the dialog to pick up. It is all so important to end up with a genuine undersstanding of the story. All will come true to your expectations.
I know this review is on the first book written (Foundation) but I cannot help but speak of the entire works. Asimov is timeless. The reader, superb. Do yourself a favor and commit to the entire works of Foundation. When you're done, you'll want to pursue the Robot books as well as the Empire books. Asimove wrote much and in the end you'll wish he wrote more.

28 people found this helpful

Not unabridged

What did you love best about Foundation?

It is a story that has many elements we could learn from today.

What did you like best about this story?

The Characters

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Scott Brick?

no comment

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Any additional comments?

the background music was distracting, the narrative was ABRIDGED as I have read the book itself many times and a lot was left out of the narrative.

24 people found this helpful

Great story - terrible and distracting narration

What made the experience of listening to Foundation the most enjoyable?

Fast plotting, lots of twists, and cool use of

How could the performance have been better?

For the first time in years I had to turn off the ipod and buy a hard copy of the book so I could finish this great story. The narrator, Scott Brick, voiced all the characters with such a snarky, arrogant persona that it highly distracted from the plot. Sometimes I couldn't even follow the dialog because I was wondering why two characters would be talking to each other in such condescending tones.

I can't understand why this guy is such a popular narrator. I won't buy another audible title if he's doing the reading!

67 people found this helpful

Couldn't get through the narration.

Could not stand the narrator. Unfortunate - I've heard good things about this book, but I couldn't get through it.

4 people found this helpful

Great book and narration

I'm almost finished with the book and I have found no problems with the narration or editing. I can see what other people mean about it being a bit difficult to keep track of all the characters and figure out who is talking, but keep in mind (for those like myself who are new to the Foundation series) that the book moves from epoch to epoch, with each story having a manageable number of characters. I also agree that the narrator (Scott Brick) doesn't do the best job I've heard him do of distinguishing between characters, but it's really not bad.

On the content side, I'm a fan of many Star Wars books and a few others by authors like Kevin J Anderson and Timothy Zahn but had never read much of Asimov. I'm already hooked and looking forward to the rest of the books in this immense series.

19 people found this helpful

Marvelous

Foundation series was my favorite reading of childhood, I have read it many time. Just wanted to check if I would enjoy listening. Yes, it was fun to listen. But I feel that I would not understand some sophisticated details if I would not knew almost by heart what would be next, I believe that for the best result, this book should be read and listened to.

11 people found this helpful

Wanted to like it more

The Book

Having heard so much about Asimov, I was expecting to thoroughly enjoy Foundation. Having finished the book, I wouldn’t say that I hated the book or even really disliked it so much as I simply wasn’t impressed. I don’t plan to listen to the rest of the series. Over and over again as I was listening, I thought that the book simply has not stood up to the test of time. It just felt dated and old, like watching a classic movie comedy that never makes you smile, even though you know that it was really funny back when it first came out.

The writing style was not very engaging to the modern reader. Two quick examples:

1) Almost zero character development. Foundation actually functions like 4 mini-books within the larger book and I never found myself caring for any of the characters. You are with each for a short amount of time and then you can forget about them entirely. The plot is the only thing that matters.

2) Very little action. I realize I’m from the Nintendo generation and that might mean my attention span is lacking. But seriously, can’t we get a chase scene or a fight or something? There was a military coup that we actually didn’t get to see and even a hostage situation on a hostile planet never got my blood racing.

The Narration

The narration was adequate but nothing about it made Scott Brick seem particularly noteworthy. Perhaps this is not the best book on which to to judge Brick since Foundation is such a marathon dialogue session. You won’t like the book any less because of Brick’s narration, but I suppose you won’t like it any more either.

The Verdict

If you enjoy science fiction and are interested in reading a classic work, by all means, dive right in. Also, if you are the kind of person that enjoys old things and are able to appreciate them for what they are without being distracted by the additional flaws that come with age, you might also enjoy Foundation. Otherwise, you are likely to be disappointed with this read.

59 people found this helpful

On Audible at last!

A brilliantly thought out book that was a pleasure to listen to. The story is ambitious in scale to say the least but Asimov is more than up to the task and creates a fascinating world in which to immerse the reader. The format is that of short stories encapsulated within the broader Galactic history. These stories drive the prophecy of Hari Sheldon with glacial inevitability - they are clever and the characters engaging and sharp in their depiction. I will definitely be finishing the trilogy. As always, Scott Brick does a great job of narrating this epic series.

10 people found this helpful

A great interpretation of Foundation

Foundation is clearly one of the best science fiction books ever written. Any audiobook interpretation of a good story can be compromised both by choice of reader and the addition of background music or sound effects. I have listened to both versions of Foundation offered by Audible narrated by Scott Brick and Jim Gallant. The Scott Brick interpretation completely outclasses the Jim Gallant version. To be fair, Scott Brick has the advantage of working with the unabridged book and he does a wonderful job - his narration is clear and his phrasing is good whereas Jim Gallant had to work with an abridged version padded by long periods of awful music. Anyone listening to this version of Asomov's greatest stories will, I am sure, not be disappointed.

19 people found this helpful

I wasn't sure when I chose it....

Where does Foundation rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Foundation is one of the best audiobooks I have purchased, its right at the top of the pile.

What did you like best about this story?

I have always been a fan of sci fi but I really enjoyed the low fantasy element. This led to a more plot and character driven story.

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

I wasn't sure about Scott Brick to start with although after a while I found his performance to be pleasant and clear.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I think its a lot of story to listen to in one go and found it better to break the story into parts to let me think about the plot.

Any additional comments?

Great book.

4 people found this helpful

Hugely frustrating, for such an epic book

I love this book. I read it as a child. So every glitch in the story telling is so frustrating! Scott Brick is great. His performance is brilliant. The characterization is gently and well delivered. So what is the problem?
Edit faults? Glitches? Splicing errors? I don't know what they are but they are there. The first is at 58 seconds. The second at 1:24. Third at 1:41 and I stopped counting at chapter 5, 45 seconds in.
If you can not let that effect your enjoyment, this will be a great listen.

6 people found this helpful

I know this is heresy but...

Any additional comments?

...this really got boring very fast. I know that Foundation appears on everyone's list of must-read sci-fi, and usually near the top, and I can sort of see why, in that it set the gold standard for so much grand-scale Space Opera in the way The Lord Of The Rings did for high fantasy.

However, the years have not been kind...

Honestly, it might as well be a collection of meeting minutes - every chapter consists solely of long conversations between barely-distinguished or developed characters in which the progress of the story since the last chapter is discussed in laboured exposition. The characters might raise their voices or storm out once in a while but that's the limit of the action.

This isn't helped by Scott Brick's narration which does little to differentiate between the individual voices in the story, to the extent that it's sometimes difficult to work out who is speaking. I've heard Brick narrating other books, and doing it very well, but this one wasn't for him.

6 people found this helpful

A classic from a different age

Foundation is from a different age and it it feels it.
It is no doubt a true classic and it is vasty influential, but I did find it difficult to like.
One of the problems is that the story is all about the idea of a 1000 year plan to save civilisation, there are characters in the story, but they are difficult to tell apart.
This is a basic problem with the story and nothing to do with the performance of the work, Scott Brick does a good job with material, but it is difficult to make such a work, interesting .
The attitude towards technology and notably women also feels very dated.
Having said all of this, I probably will try the next book in the series, since this was written as a single story, rather than as a series of linked short stories maybe that will work better?

6 people found this helpful

asimov at his best

What made the experience of listening to Foundation the most enjoyable?

For me the narrator seemed just to fit the part and his voice (Unlike many others) did not intrude into the story line

What was one of the most memorable moments of Foundation?

Just griping from start to finish

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Not yet

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

This question seemes to paraphrase the question before last "What was one of the most memorable moments of Foundation"? so I refer to that answer

Any additional comments?

Asimovs depth of story line and characters have such relevance and a great understanding of our own society. The Foundation Trilogy could be said to almost explain some of the theories of Karl Marxy. Any one who reads the Foundation should without doubt get the rest of the Trilogy

2 people found this helpful

Thoroughly Enjoyable

There is no book like this that I have ever read, utterly fascinating! The narrator for the most part was excellent although it was occasionally hard to make out which character was speaking as the voices he gave them were sometimes fairly similar. Would still recommend this version though!

1 person found this helpful

Foundation

Brilliant - can't wait to get to vol 2.
I couldn't help but notice several resonances to todays situation. I know it's supposed to be based on Gibbon's Decline & Fall and i spent a quite enjoyable time working out the connections! However just a few days listening to the news and the rhetoric from some of our world leaders (sic) convinced me that there is nothing new under the sun.
Perhaps we are heading for a 'Seldon crisis'!

1 person found this helpful

Superb

great book and story. ends a bit abruptly. but I think that is a result of being half of a collection of existing storys. great narration. big fan of Scott Brick.

1 person found this helpful