Foundation

Really disappointed. It's a collection of stories about the Foundation and the troubles it faces to keep it alive.

They're purpose is the maintaining of knowledge in the face of the destruction of mankind, so that when the empire rebuilds itself, it won't have to start from nothing.

They become a target of interests, each kingdom in the empire trying to either conquer it or gain its favor.

Through a series of what can be called political maneuvers, the leaders of the foundation manage to outsmart its opponents.

It goes on to tell stories about the spread of the Foundation influence throughout the fading empire.

The writing is too boring. The intelligent actions of the characters are unconvincing and uninteresting. The “religion” plot had potential, but it was badly executed.

One of my friends told me to read this as less of a novel and more of a thought experiment and that really helped. This was such a fascinating concept to me and the contrast between the Foundation and the civilizations which surround it was super interesting through the progression of time. It's extremely dialog driven, which felt tedious in the last installment.

Talk about a book that absolutely bombs the Bechdel test though. Whew. One female character in the entire book and she's a shrill wife with about four lines.

3.5 stars, prob being generous because it's a classic (shouldn't do that, I know). I cannot wait to see the TV treatment of this.