Second Foundation

I have mixed feelings about this book.

It's about the search for the hidden and secretive Second Foundation. First the Mule tries to find it, then after his death the restored First Foundation tries to find it.

It's understandable that the First Foundation should be curious, but in fact the First Foundation seeks the Second in order to destroy it. Both Foundations were established by Hari Seldon and are essential elements of his Plan. Shouldn't the First Foundation be willing to accept that?

Apparently not. It expects and receives help from the Second Foundation, but then ungratefully tries to destroy it. Perhaps this is indeed the way humans behave, but I don't like it.

So I don't really enjoy the search for the Second Foundation. Furthermore, in this book Asimov started a habit that he continued in other books, of presenting and justifying a series of wrong answers to a mystery, until eventually we get the right answer. I suppose there's a sort of cleverness to it, but as a reader I find it rather tedious and irritating.

However, there are two things I do enjoy about the book: the parts of the story told from the Second Foundation's point of view, and the creation of Arkady Darell: one of Asimov's more memorable characters, and a teenage heroine from a time when teenage heroines were unusual (and most of his characters were male). I suspect that Asimov based Arkady on a girl he met in the real world; at the time of writing he was about 29 and married, but had no children yet.

I'm impressed by the user interface of the Prime Radiant, as described in Chapter 8. It's a remarkable feat of imagination, considering that it was written in the late 1940s, at which time there were only a few very primitive computers in the world. We still couldn't implement all features of the Prime Radiant today, but I suppose that with effort and expense we could make an inferior imitation. It's much easier to imagine now than it was then.

I am a bit proud to say I figured out the location of the Second Foundation quite a ways before the reveal. As a whole, I liked the first part of the book more than the second. Something about the Mule's presence really drove the storyline for me, and without his villainous shadow, I felt my own interest wane. Also Arcadia is... well, she's a fourteen year old girl and I'm famous for not really having patience with 14 year old girls. I was happy to see Asimov writing another lead female character, but she's just not the sort of person I enjoy reading about. Still, I loved the trilogy overall and am glad I finally got around to reading it.

Irgendwann wurde aus einem Buch über Determismus und Wiederaufbau einer Zivilisation ein Buch über Spione und Intrigen und Wendungen. Plötzlich gab es emotionale Psibattles und Ansätze von Spieltheorie mit doppelten Boden - und ich liebe es.

Erstmal ein guter Abschluss, aber werde irgendwann wohl wieder in die Foundation Bücher eintauchen.

Great end to the trilogy. These books always have an interesting progression of events. The minute you're settled in it seems to end the current conflict and then we get a time skip.

The ruthless logic is a nice change from nearly every story I've ever read. Really is nothing like it out there. I could see that being an issue for some people however.

I see why this book was so influential. The Mule is a classic story telling device now and I would love to work it into my own writing.

Another improvement on the Foundation series, a book very similar to the previous one, but having improved on its pattern. The first story, Search by the Mule, was again the shorter but it concluded the Mule’s story well and set up the intrigue of the Second Foundation. The second part was similar to ‘The Mule’ in that it had strong characters, was quicker-paced, and had a good twist which was even foreshadowed in the previous book.

What an excellent conclusion to the series! Second Foundation was a brilliant keystone in the series, tying it together in a truly unforgettable way. When I read books, I frequently find myself thinking, “Ok, that's plausible, but it could have been equally plausible if this happened.” Second Foundation removes all of these doubts and presents a masterpiece of a plot. Read it if you enjoyed the first two books of the series!

Isaac Asimov always has some hocus-pocus under his sleeves.

In this book Asimov described the intention and nature of the Second Foundation. The Second Foundation's scientist are not gods. They are highly efficient mindmasters. They are guardians and they are hated. But they understand the cause of hatred and they are forgiving. And once again, they know, great power comes with great responsibility.

I wondered how the author was going to keep the plot moving for 1000 years of Galactic history without getting repetitive, but he succeeded. The new villain on the scene is fascinating and unpredictable.

Age range: 16+
No mature content, but there are complex philosophical themes throughout that would be incomprehensible to most younger readers.