Foundation and Empire

By: Isaac Asimov

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov are one of the great masterworks of science fiction. Unsurpassed for their unique blend of nonstop action, daring ideas, and extensive world-building, they chronicle the struggle of a courageous group of men and women to preserve humanity's light against an inexorable tide of darkness and violence.

Led by its founding father, the great psychohistorian Hari Seldon, and taking advantage of its superior science and technology, the Foundation has survived the greed and barbarism of its neighboring warrior-planets. Yet now it must face the Empire - still the mightiest force in the Galaxy even in its death throes. When an ambitious general determined to restore the Empire's glory turns the vast Imperial fleet toward the Foundation, the only hope for the small planet of scholars and scientists lies in the prophecies of Hari Seldon.

But not even Hari Seldon could have predicted the birth of the extraordinary creature called The Mule - a mutant intelligence with a power greater than a dozen battle fleets...a power that can turn the strongest-willed human into an obedient slave.

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

©1991 Isaac Asimov (P)2010 Random House

Masterpiece

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!

...Bricked

This series is enjoyable to read, and I thought I would enjoy them on the freeway.

I learned I am not a fan of Scott Brick.
Brick warbles at least a few vowels each sentence. Each sentence is drawn out slowly. Its like Brick is singing a horrible song.
I used the 1.5 speed attempting to alleviate the annoying Brick narration.

I will not purchase another narration by Brick. I will not listen to his narration, even if the audio book is free.

Masterpiece

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!

Not interesting in the least

Poorly developed characters. An uninteresting plot. Conflict and reactions that feel forced. Nothing that anyone says feels natural. Nothing is believable. Perhaps this is the way people spoke to each other when this book was written. It primarily makes me think that Asimov never saw two people speaking to each other. This book certainly displays no knowledge of human nature. It feels like it was written by a technician who thinks he is a philosopher.

Excellent book

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.

Sci Fi Classic(s)

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

Yes I would. The audible version is stellar and these books (Foundation Series) are a must read for any fan of Sci Fi or speculative ficiton.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Everyone of them. Superbly done.

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

I have read some negative reviews of Scott Brick and I don't get it. I think he is terrific, he lends the right tone of drama to material that lends itself to that type of delivery. He was great in the Dune Series and his work here is equally well done.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not really. These books are logical puzzles, with lots of characters and sub-plots. The fun is in keeping track of it all, in a world that Asimov has built just for you.

Any additional comments?

This is a must read. Audible has done a great job with the Asimov books. I suggest reading reading the Robot Series and the Galactic Series first, then delving into the Foundation Series. However read Prelude to Foundation last, which is largely background information.

Classic!

Quite simply, this book is the masterpiece that it's held to be. While I've always liked Asimov, I don't think I've truly appreciated him until now.

did not have the excitement of the first.

it felt like nothing really happened. a slow book. here's hoping the third picks up

Just as great as the first reading!

I have read all of Asimov's three series'. The Robot Series, Foundation Series, and Empire. True Visionary and, such magnificent prose. Truly worthy of revisiting!

Great sequel to a hard Sci-Fi classic.

Would you consider the audio edition of Foundation and Empire to be better than the print version?

I would consider them to be the same; it depends entirely upon the tastes of the reader/listener. In many ways it was nice to have the difficult names and words pronounced out loud in the audible version, however, it is equally satisfying to turn a physical page in your hands to see what's next in a story.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked that it was more human. Let me explain; stories that have an immense scope of time and space (Foundation series is a good example of this) tend to assign divine characteristics to some overarching characters or sub-plots. In many ways they have to; that's the only way to provide cohesiveness for the reader. (Minor spoiler ahead) However, I like this book because it casts a bit of doubt on the most over-arching of all plots in the Foundation storyline. To me, that symbolizes that nothing is safe, everything has the potential to fall, and it allows for an immense suspension in disbelief.

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His narration is exceptional and really adds the right tinge of atmosphere to the storyline without overpowering it. His pronunciation of the very difficult names and terms of the book is also extremely good.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.

Better than the first book

A magnificent book that surpasses the first in the series, although both books are superb. The Foundation is in trouble and Hari Seldon's prophecies are at risk from a mutant intelligence he could not have predicted. Hope is turned towards the revelation of a second foundation but discovering its location could prove its downfall as dark forces are also interested in it.

This book is different from the first in that it is not so split up into shorter stories (five in the first book) that cover hundreds of years of history. This book consists of two stories ('The General' and 'The Mule') and as such I enjoyed it more since I could get better involved in the characters and longer plot than the fragmented structure of the first book. Both of these books are sci-fi at its best, though.

This book was a real pleasure to listen to, all the more enjoyable for the great narration by Scott Brick.

Asimov Foundation and Empire

Simply put I really enjoyed this, I have been a fan of Asimov for years and have read this book conventionally more than once. The narration is clear and fits the classic sci fi feel.

Continuation of the Legendary Sci-fi series

One of the first books I read and it still fills me with awe.

Excellent

Asimov in his finest. The story was compelling, the voice actor phenomenal, and the overall experience wonderful. Would undoubtedly recommend!

classic

I already lived this book, but the reader is so good too. It's required reading for Sci Fi fans!

Great story..

Great concept and well narrated.. If you like classic science fiction this is the book for you. I would strongly recommend

Great story, passable narrator

Asimov's Foundation saga is rightly considered one of the cornerstones of science fiction. The story itself is greatly captivating. The narrator, however, is nothing special. All the characters in the book have almost the exact tone of voice, making it difficult to discriminate one from the other. Furthermore, sometimes the narrator fails to apply even these subtle differences in a dialogue or mixes them up , which means that the same character ends up having more than one voice. In the end, however, this does not take away too much from the enjoyment of the story, so I still recommend this audio book.

Classic Asimov

Follows the usual style: very ponderous tedious style, starts slow but builds excitement over time.

Outstanding

The joy of Asimov's work is both compelling, amazing and outstanding. Worth listening to, over and over again!

Not as good as the 1st book.

Feels dated in a lot of ways, and I guessed the ending, so was hard going. Probably won't get the next book in the series.