Prelude to Foundation

In the 1950’s and 1960’s the “big three” of Science Fiction were Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke and Robert Heinlein, all three are required reading for any real fan of the genre.

There are two schools of thought on how to approach Asimov’s epic “Foundation” series. The original trilogy consisting of “Foundation”, “Foundation and Empire” and “Second Foundation” were written in the 1950’s. Later in the 1980’s and 1990’s Asimov wrote two prequels, “Prelude to Foundation” and “Forward the Foundation” and two sequels to the original trilogy, “Foundations Edge” and “Foundation and Earth.” Some urge newcomers to read them in published order but I much prefer to approach the series in historical order, the order in which the events occur.

As with almost all writing from these periods, some of the technologies presented are to a certain point outdated. It is easy for us now to consider the lack of smart phones and the internet bit of an oversight but it does not affect overall enjoyment of the story and the remainder of the technology is advanced enough to be well beyond us today.

While "Prelude to Foundation" discusses events on a huge galactic scale it really focuses on the life of one man, Hari Seldon and his quest to develop the science of “Psychohistory” which will, when perfected, predict the future of large scale events surrounding societies and their governmental structures, such as a collapse of a galactic empire. It takes place on the crowded forty billion inhabitant, capital planet of a galaxy wide empire called “Trantor” which is divided into zones that blanket the entire planet.

The novel starts out with Hari arriving on Trantor for the first time to present a paper on his yet undeveloped "Psychohistory" to a mathematics symposium. As the book proceeds it leads you through an exploration of the technology, government and various social structures of Trantor, all of which serve to provide the foundation (sorry) for Hari’s later development of Psychohistory.

Do not expect a space opera with new excitement and thrills at every turn; this is not that type story. On the other hand, do not think I am saying "Prelude to Foundation" is in any way boring, the novel is a delight to listen to. Throughout the adventure it keeps you thinking about Trantor, the societies involved and the interesting storyline. The book is direct, to the point without a lot of useless meandering and moves not at a rapid but rather a nice comfortable pace.

When finished, you will be eager to continue the journey to see if Hari can complete his Psychohistory project, which is so important for the future of humanity.

How was the narration? Well, it is narrated by Scott Brick, need I say more!

Easily one of my favourites.

Parts I can't mention in order to avoid spoiling the book for others who haven't read/listened to this book. I will say there are some moments of surprise that I loved.

I don't have one particular favourite scene but I loved diving into the world of the empire and following Harry and Dors around. The different worlds and sectors made the book exciting and has now lead me to listen to all the books in this (The Foundation) series.

Again I don't want to ruin any surprises in the book but I do like the surprises that are in this story and I love the concept of Psychohistory and its role in this story and the series.

I've listened to the books in chronological order of the The Foundation series universe and this being the first I listened to really got me interested in the whole series.

This for me was one of the best books in the series and I found subsequent books in this series mixed with some as good as this story and some difficult to stayed interested in.

Overall I love the entire Foundation series and am currently finishing off the last book.

I've heard a different version of this but this is the better. Excellent read. The story and performance are both superior.

This is a great sci-fi story. First book chronologically in the Foundation series. It was engaging from beginning to end. The narrator was fantastic. I couldn't put this book down, so to speak.

The performance is top notch - very engaging. The story (which I was not familiar with in advance) is quite good if perhaps a little light on character backstory/development but the plot and setting/imagery is outstanding.

The reveal of the shocker at the climax - I didn't see it coming.

His voicings of the characters convey a wide range of emotions (more than the text alone could) without devolving into cartoonishness.

I actually laughed out loud as I was driving (alone) when the shocker was revealed during the climax.

Looking forward to the rest of the Foundation series!

No... the Foundation series is "just okay," in my opinion. The earlier books (written earlier) were interesting primarily because of their examination of social mores and structures. None is what I'd been expecting from a "science fiction" classic. This one is obviously written by an author more experienced and shaped by fans' desires for "a normal novel," and it's not a particularly interesting one.

Not write it... the "prequel" thing doesn't work.

As good as any; he's a great narrator.

I hope not.

Isaac Asimov revisited his Foundation series with a prequel decades after he wrote, first the Foundation Trilogy in the 50s, then went on to write sequential novels in the 80s and 90s. Though this is the first of the Foundation books set in the Galactic Empire period, it appeared more or less in the middle of the publication timeline. So if you have read the Foundation books, you will enjoy the back story of psychohistorian Hari Selden. While this story in some ways lacks the youthful enthusiasm and drama of the earliest Foundation novels from the 50s, it's still a good story and there is lots of action (that is, Asimov action, which consists of pursuit scenes, mainly and not a lot of shoot-em-up or sex. Well, almost none, in fact.) The reading by Scott Brick is as always, absolutely the best there is. Subtle character voice changes, no weird pretending to yell in a half-loud voice, or other irritating quirks, and that resonant voice we've come to love, nay, be addicted to. I'm only annoyed that due to Brick going out on his own as a voice star, the last Foundation Novel is not read by him, doubtless a contract problem and a shame that the end of the series doesn't have the same reader.

I like Asimov, especially The End of Eternity, The Gods Themselves, Nightfall, The Positronic Man and The Ugly Little Boy, but it don't matter what order you read the Foundation books, they all suck. With the exception maybe of Forward the Foundation.

The whole concept of figuring out how an Empire is going to fall or rise through Math is a fantastic concept. The problem is that when Asimov writes about it, he puts you to sleep. These books started out as short stories and that is how they should have stayed.

I read this years ago, loved the ending, but remembered the book as being boring. Thinking I was not a good Science Fiction Person if I didn't love Foundation, I bought and tried to listen to this again. It was still boring and I only made it through the first 26 chapters.

You should expect a book to either inform, entertain or take you to another world, this will take you to another world: Dream Land.

I am not normally a Scott Brick fan, but this book is suited to him and I am not saying that because I think it was boring, I believe he reads it like Asimov wrote it.

I still haven't found something I don't love from this amazing author. if you enjoy the robot books or the foundation this is an absolute must.

This is the first Asimov book in the Foundation series and only the 2nd of his works that I've listened to/read (the first being I, Robot). I love this story! And Scott Brick does a great job bringing it to life.

The combo of Asimov and Brick is so good, it lead me to listen to the rest of the Foundation series.