The Foundation Series
Encyclopedia
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series by Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
. There are seven volumes in the Foundation Series proper, which in its in-universe chronological order are: Prelude to Foundation
Prelude to Foundation
Prelude to Foundation is a Locus Award nominated 1988 novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is one of two prequels to the Foundation Series. For the first time, Asimov chronicles the fictional life of Hari Seldon, the man who invented psychohistory and the intellectual hero of the series.-Plot...
, Forward the Foundation
Forward the Foundation
Forward the Foundation is a novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is the second of two prequels to the Foundation Series. It is written in much the same style as the original novel Foundation, a novel composed of chapters with long intervals in between...
, Foundation
Foundation (novel)
Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951...
, Foundation and Empire
Foundation and Empire
Foundation and Empire is a novel written by Isaac Asimov that was published by Gnome Press in 1952. It is the second book published in the Foundation Series, and the fourth in the in-universe chronology...
, Second Foundation
Second Foundation
Second Foundation is the third novel published of the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press....
, Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the Foundation Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original Foundation trilogy, due to years of pressure by fans and editors on Asimov to write another, and, according to Asimov...
, and Foundation and Earth
Foundation and Earth
Foundation and Earth is a Locus Award nominated science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fifth novel of the Foundation series and chronologically the last in the series...
.
The premise of the series is that mathematician Hari Seldon
Hari Seldon
Hari Seldon, a fictional character, is the intellectual hero of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on Trantor, he developed psychohistory, allowing him to predict the future in probabilistic terms...
spent his life developing a branch of mathematics known as psychohistory
Psychohistory (fictional)
Psychohistory is a fictional science in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe which combines history, sociology, and mathematical statistics to make general predictions about the future behavior of very large groups of people, such as the Galactic Empire...
, a concept of mathematical sociology
Mathematical sociology
Mathematical sociology is the usage of mathematics to construct social theories. Mathematical sociology aims to take sociological theory, which is strong in intuitive content but weak from a formal point of view, and to express it in formal terms...
(analogous to mathematical physics
Mathematical physics
Mathematical physics refers to development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The Journal of Mathematical Physics defines this area as: "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the development of mathematical methods suitable for such applications and...
). Using the laws of mass action
Mass action (sociology)
Mass action in sociology refers to the situations where a large number of people behave simultaneously in a similar way but individually and without coordination....
, it can predict the future, but only on a large scale; it is error-prone on a small scale. It works on the principle that the behaviour of a mass of people is predictable if the quantity of this mass is very large (equal to the population of the galaxy, which has a population of quadrillion
Quadrillion
Quadrillion may mean either of the two numbers :* 1,000,000,000,000,000 – for all short scale countries; increasingly common meaning in English language usage* 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 – for all...
s of humans, inhabiting millions of star systems). The larger the number, the more predictable is the future.
Using these techniques, Seldon foresees the imminent fall of the Galactic Empire
Galactic Empire (Asimov)
In Isaac Asimov's Robot/Empire/Foundation series of novels, the Galactic Empire is an empire consisting of millions of planets settled by humans across the whole Milky Way Galaxy. Its symbol is the Spaceship and Sun logo.-Author's creation of the empire:...
, which encompasses the entire Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
, and a dark age
Dark Ages
The "Dark Ages" is a historical periodization emphasizing the cultural and economic deterioration that supposedly occurred in Europe following the decline of the Roman Empire. The label employs traditional light-versus-darkness imagery to contrast the "darkness" of the period with earlier and later...
lasting thirty thousand years before a second great empire arises. Seldon's psychohistory also foresees an alternative where the intermittent period will only last one thousand years. To ensure his vision of a second great Empire comes to fruition, Seldon creates two Foundations—small, secluded havens of all human knowledge—at "opposite ends of the galaxy".
The focus of the series is on the First Foundation and its attempts to overcome various obstacles during the formation and installation of the Second Empire, all the while being silently guided by the unknown specifics of The Seldon Plan.
The series is best known for the Foundation Trilogy, which comprises the books Foundation, Foundation and Empire and Second Foundation. While the term "Foundation Series" can be used specifically for the seven Foundation books, it can also be used more generally to include the Robot Series
Isaac Asimov's Robot Series
Isaac Asimov's Robot Series is a series of short stories and novels by Isaac Asimov featuring positronic robots.- Short stories :Most of Asimov's robot short stories are set in the first age of positronic robotics and space exploration...
and Empire Series, which are set in the same fictional universe, but in earlier time periods. If all works are included, in total, there are fifteen novels and dozens of short stories written by Asimov, and six novels written by other authors after his death, expanding the time spanned in the original trilogy (roughly 550 years) by more than twenty thousand years. The series is highly acclaimed, winning the one-time Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966.
Publication history
FoundationFoundation (novel)
Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951...
was originally a series of eight short stories published in Astounding Magazine between May 1942 and January 1950. According to Asimov, the premise was based on ideas set forth in Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon was an English historian and Member of Parliament...
's History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and was invented spontaneously on his way to meet with editor John W. Campbell
John W. Campbell
John Wood Campbell, Jr. was an influential figure in American science fiction. As editor of Astounding Science Fiction , from late 1937 until his death, he is generally credited with shaping the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction.Isaac Asimov called Campbell "the most powerful force in...
, with whom he developed the concept.
Original trilogy
The first four stories were collected, along with a new story taking place before the others, in a single volume published by Gnome PressGnome Press
Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company primarily known for publishing many science fiction classics.The company was founded in 1948 by Martin Greenberg and David A. Kyle. Many of Gnome's titles were reprinted in England by Boardman Books...
in 1951 as Foundation
Foundation (novel)
Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951...
. The remainder of the stories were published in pairs by Gnome as Foundation and Empire
Foundation and Empire
Foundation and Empire is a novel written by Isaac Asimov that was published by Gnome Press in 1952. It is the second book published in the Foundation Series, and the fourth in the in-universe chronology...
(1952) and Second Foundation
Second Foundation
Second Foundation is the third novel published of the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press....
(1953), resulting in the "Foundation Trilogy", as the series was known for decades.
Later sequels
In 1981, after the series had long been considered one of the most important works of modern science fiction, Asimov was persuaded by his publishers to write a fourth book, which became Foundation's EdgeFoundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the Foundation Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original Foundation trilogy, due to years of pressure by fans and editors on Asimov to write another, and, according to Asimov...
(1982).
Four years later, Asimov followed up with yet another sequel, Foundation and Earth
Foundation and Earth
Foundation and Earth is a Locus Award nominated science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fifth novel of the Foundation series and chronologically the last in the series...
(1986), which was followed by the prequels Prelude to Foundation
Prelude to Foundation
Prelude to Foundation is a Locus Award nominated 1988 novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is one of two prequels to the Foundation Series. For the first time, Asimov chronicles the fictional life of Hari Seldon, the man who invented psychohistory and the intellectual hero of the series.-Plot...
(1988) and Forward the Foundation
Forward the Foundation
Forward the Foundation is a novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is the second of two prequels to the Foundation Series. It is written in much the same style as the original novel Foundation, a novel composed of chapters with long intervals in between...
(1993). During the lapse between writing the sequels and prequels, Asimov had tied in his Foundation series with his various other series, creating a single unified universe.
Prelude to Foundation
Prelude to Foundation opens on the planet TrantorTrantor
Trantor is a fictional planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series and Empire Series of science fiction novels.Trantor was first described in a short story by Asimov appearing in Early Asimov Volume 1. Later Trantor gained prominence when the 1940s Foundation Series first appeared in print . Asimov...
, the empire's capital planet, the day after Hari Seldon has given a speech at a conference. Several parties become aware of the contents of his speech—that using mathematical formulas, it may be possible to predict the future course of human history. Seldon is hounded by the Emperor and various employed thugs (working surreptitiously) and is forced into exile. Over the course of the book, Seldon and Dors Venabili
Dors Venabili
In Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series, Dors Venabili is a good friend, protector and later wife of Hari Seldon, the primary character of Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation. At face value, Dors is an attractive woman, two years younger than Seldon...
, a female companion, are taken from location to location by an aide, Chetter Hummin, who introduces them to various walks of life in his attempts to keep Seldon hidden from the Emperor.
Throughout their adventures all over Trantor, Seldon continuously denies that psychohistory is a realistic science and that, even if it were feasible, it may take several decades even to develop. Hummin, however, is convinced that Seldon knows something and, as a result, continuously presses him to work out a starting point to develop psychohistory.
Eventually, after much traveling and introductions to various, diverse cultures on Trantor, Seldon realizes that using the entire known Galaxy as a starting point is too overwhelming to try to accomplish and decides to use Trantor as a model to work out the science, with a goal of using the applied knowledge on the rest of the galaxy.
Forward the Foundation
Eight years after the events of Prelude, Seldon has worked out the science of psychohistory and has applied it on a galactic scale. His notability and fame increase and is eventually promoted to First Minister to the Emperor. As the book progresses, Seldon loses those closest to him, including his wife, Dors Venabili, as his own health deteriorates into old age. Having worked his entire adult life to understand psychohistory, Seldon instructs his granddaughter, Wanda, to set up the Second Foundation.Foundation
Called forth to stand trial on Trantor for allegations of treason (for foreshadowing the decline of the Galactic Empire), Seldon explains that his science of Psychohistory foresees many alternatives, all of which result in the Galactic Empire eventually falling. If humanity follows its current path, the Empire will fall and thirty thousand years of turmoil will overcome humanity before a second Empire arises. However, an alternative path allows for the intervening years to be only one thousand, if Seldon is allowed to collect the most intelligent minds and create a compendium of all human knowledge, entitled Encyclopedia GalacticaEncyclopedia Galactica
The Encyclopædia Galactica is a fictional or hypothetical encyclopædia of a future human galaxy-spanning civilization, containing all the knowledge accumulated by a society with quadrillions of people and thousands of years of history...
. The board is still wary, but allows Seldon to assemble whomever he needs, provided he and the "Encyclopedists" be exiled to a remote planet, Terminus
Terminus (planet)
Terminus is a fictional planet at the edge of the Galaxy in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series, home of the Foundation .-Position in the universe:Terminus is the sole planet orbiting an isolated star...
. Seldon agrees to set up his own collection of Encyclopedists, and also secretly implements a contingency plan—a second Foundation—at the "opposite end" of the galaxy.
Once on Terminus, the inhabitants find themselves at a loss. With four powerful planets surrounding their own, the Encyclopedists have no defenses but their own intelligence. The Mayor of Terminus City, Salvor Hardin
Salvor Hardin
Salvor Hardin is the first mayor of Terminus, the capital planet of the Foundation in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, and the main protagonist of the second and third parts of Foundation. He is portrayed as a shrewd and ruthless politician, a master manipulator who acts in the interests of the...
, proposes to play the planets off against each other. His plan is a success, the Foundation remains untouched and he is promoted to Mayor of Terminus. Meanwhile, the minds of the Foundation continue to develop newer and greater technologies which are smaller and more powerful than the Empire's equivalents. Using its scientific advantage, Terminus develops trade routes with nearby planets, eventually taking them over when its technology becomes a much-needed commodity. The interplanetary traders effectively become the new diplomats to other planets. One such trader, Hober Mallow
Hober Mallow
Hober Mallow is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. He is the central protagonist of "The Merchant Princes", the final short story of Asimov's Foundation.-Fictional biography:...
, becomes powerful enough to challenge and win the seat of Mayor and by cutting off supplies to a nearby region, also succeeds in adding more planets to the Foundation's reach.
Foundation and Empire
The current Emperor of the Galaxy perceives the Foundation as a growing threat and orders an attack on it, utilising the Empire's still mighty fleet of war vessels. However, the degeneration of the Empire and the scientific advancements of the Foundation are not in sync and as a result, the Foundation's smaller fleet is mightier. Coupled with political back-and-forths within the Empire, the Foundation emerges as the victor and the Empire itself is defeated.Meanwhile an unknown outsider known as The Mule has begun taking over planets belonging to the Foundation at a rapid pace. It becomes known that the Mule is, in fact, a mutant who retains the ability to psychically alter the emotions of people. Using this power to great advantage, the Mule conquers planets simply by visiting them in force, with his own army, instilling the inhabitants with great fear, then again with great loyalty to himself. When the Foundation comes to realize that The Mule was not foreseen in Seldon's plan, and there is no predicted way of defeating him, Toran and Bayta Darell, accompanied by Ebling Mis
Ebling Mis
Ebling Mis is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. Specifically, he is one of the main characters from the latter half of the novel Foundation and Empire. Mis is the Foundation's greatest psychologist and a very prominent scientist...
—the galaxy's current greatest psychologist—and a street clown named Magnifico (whom they agree to protect, as his life is under threat from the Mule himself) set out to find the Second Foundation, hoping they bring an end to the Mule's reign.
Eventually, working in the still functional Great Library of Trantor, Mis comes to learn of the Second Foundation's whereabouts. However, having worked out that the Mule is also attempting to find the secret of the Second Foundation, Bayta Darell kills Mis before he can reveal where the Second Foundation is. Bayta explains that she regrets her actions, but the secret had to be kept from the Mule at all costs. Magnifico reveals that Bayta's suspicions are correct and that he is the Mule and has been laboring to find the Second Foundation and conquer it along with the original Foundation. He leaves Trantor to rule over his conquered planets while continuing his own search.
Second Foundation
As the Mule comes closer to finding it, the mysterious Second Foundation comes briefly out of hiding in order to face the threat directly. It is revealed to be a collection of the most intelligent humans in the galaxy. While the first Foundation has developed the physical sciences, the Second Foundation has been developing the mental sciences. Using the might of its strongest minds, the Second Foundation ultimately wears down the Mule. His destructive attitude is adjusted to a benevolent one. He returns to rule over his kingdom peacefully for the rest of his life, without any further thought of conquering the Second Foundation.The First Foundation, learning of the implications of the Second, who will be the true inheritor of Seldon's promised future Empire, greatly resents it - and seeks to find and destroy it, believing it can manage without it. After many attempts to unravel the only clue Seldon had given as to the Second Foundation's whereabouts ("at the other end of the Galaxy"), the Foundation is led to believe that the Second Foundation is located on Terminus. By developing a technology which causes great pain to telepaths, the Foundation uncover a group of 50 such, and destroys them, believing that it has thereby won. However, the Second Foundation has planned for this eventuality, and has sent 50 of its members to their deaths as martyrs in order to regain its anonymity.
Foundation's Edge
Believing that the Second Foundation still exists (despite the common belief that it has been extinguished), Golan Trevize is sent by the current Mayor of the Foundation, Harla Branno, to uncover the group while accompanied by a scholar named Janov PeloratJanov Pelorat
Janov Pelorat is a character in the Foundation Series of books by Isaac Asimov. The two books in which he appears are Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth....
. After sharing a few conversations with each other, Trevize comes to believe that the Second Foundation lies on a planet in which Pelorat is an expert—the mythical planet of Earth. No such planet exists in any database, yet several myths and legends all reference it, and it is Trevize's idea that the planet is deliberately being kept hidden.
Meanwhile, Stor Gendibal, a prominent member of the Second Foundation, discovers a simple local—who lives on the same planet as the Second Foundation—has had a minor alteration made to her mind. This alteration is far more delicate than anything the Second Foundation can do and, as a result, he determines that a greater force of Mentalics is operating in the Galaxy—a force as powerful as the Mule himself. Having shown interest in Trevize earlier (as he is an individual who has spoken out against the Second Foundation frequently), Gendibal endeavors to follow Trevize, reasoning that he should be able to find out who has altered the mind of the native.
Using the few scraps of reliable information within the various myths, Trevize and Pelorat discover a planet called Gaia, which is inhabited solely by Mentalics, to such an extent that every organism and inanimate object on the planet shares a common mind. Having followed Trevize by their own means, Branno and Gendibal both reach Gaia at the same time. Meanwhile, Trevize is made to decide between three alternatives for the future of the human race: the First Foundation's mastery of the physical world and its traditional political organization (i.e., empire), the Second Foundation's mentalics (and probable rule by mind control), or Gaia's absorption of the entire Galaxy into one shared, harmonious intellect.
After Trevize makes his decision, the intellect of Gaia adjusts Branno's mind so that she believes she has become victorious and conquered the planet (but that she will also continue to leave it alone) and Gendibal is sent back to the Second Foundation under the impression that the Second Foundation is victorious and should continue as normal. Trevize remains uncertain as to why he has chosen Gaia as the correct outcome for the future.
Foundation and Earth
Still uncertain about his decision, Trevize continues on with the search for Earth along with Pelorat and a local of Gaia, advanced in Mentalics, known as BlissenobiarellaBlissenobiarella
Blissenobiarella, known informally as Bliss, is a character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. She is from planet Gaia, and she appears in the novels Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth.- Character :...
(usually referred to simply as Bliss). Eventually Trevize finds three sets of co-ordinates which are very old. Adjusting them for time, he realises that his ship's computer does not list any planet in the vicinity of the co-ordinates. When he physically visits each location, he discovers an uncharted planet: Aurora
Aurora (planet)
Aurora is a fictional planet in Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. It was the first world settled by the Spacers, originally named 'New Earth'; it was located 3.7 parsecs from Earth.-Origins & development:...
, Melpomenia, and finally Solaria
Solaria
Solaria was a fictional human-inhabited planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Robot series.It was the last of fifty Spacer worlds colonized by humans in a first wave of interstellar settlement. Occupied from approximately 4270 AD by inhabitants of the neighboring world Nexon originally for summer...
. After searching each, none have given him the answers he seeks.
The first two planets are long deserted, but Solaria contains a small population which is extremely advanced in the field of Mentalics. When their lives are threatened, Bliss uses her abilities (and the shared intellect of Gaia) to destroy the inhabitant who is about to kill them. Discovering that this leaves behind a small child who will be put to death if left alone, Bliss makes the decision to keep the child as they quickly escape the planet.
Eventually Trevize discovers Earth, but it, again, contains no satisfactory answers for him. However, it dawns on Trevize that the answer may not be on Earth, but on Earth's satellite—the Moon. Upon approaching the planet, they are drawn closer and then to inside the Moon's core where they meet a robot by the name of R. Daneel Olivaw
R. Daneel Olivaw
R. Daneel Olivaw is a fictional robot created by Isaac Asimov. The "R" initial in his name stands for "robot," a naming convention in Asimov's future society...
. Olivaw explains that he is at the end of his run-time and that, despite replacement parts and more advanced brains (which contain 20,000 years of memories), he is going to die shortly. He explains that no robotic brain can be developed to replace his current one and that to continue assisting with the benefit of humanity—which may come under attack by beings from beyond our Galaxy—he must meld his mind with an organic intellect. Once again, Trevize is put in the position of deciding if having Olivaw meld with the child's superior intellect would be in the best interests of the galaxy. The decision is left ambiguous (though likely a 'Yes') as it is also implied that the melding of the minds may be to the child's benefit and that she may have sinister intentions about it.
Development and themes
The early stories were inspired by Edward Gibbon'sEdward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon was an English historian and Member of Parliament...
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is a non-fiction history book written by English historian Edward Gibbon and published in six volumes. Volume I was published in 1776, and went through six printings. Volumes II and III were published in 1781; volumes IV, V, VI in 1788–89...
. The plot of the series focuses on the growth and reach of the Foundation, against a backdrop of the "decline and fall of the Galactic Empire".
The focus of the books is the trends through which a civilization might progress, specifically seeking to analyze their progress, using history as a precedent. Although many science fiction novels such as Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
or Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 is a 1953 dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury. The novel presents a future American society where reading is outlawed and firemen start fires to burn books...
do this, their focus is upon how current trends in society might come to fruition, and act as a moral allegory on the modern world. The Foundation series, on the other hand, looks at the trends in a wider scope, dealing with societal evolution and adaptation rather than the human and cultural qualities at one point in time.
Furthermore, the concept of psychohistory, which gives the events in the story a sense of rational fatalism, leaves little room for moralization. Hari Seldon himself hopes that his Plan will "reduce 30,000 years of Dark Ages and barbarism to a single millennium," a goal of exceptional moral gravity. Yet events within it are often treated as inevitable and necessary, rather than deviations from the greater good. For example, the Foundation slides gradually into oligarchy and dictatorship prior to the appearance of the galactic conqueror, known as the Mule
Mule (Foundation)
The Mule is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. One of the greatest conquerors the galaxy has ever seen, he is a mentalic who has the ability to reach into the minds of others and "adjust" their emotions, individually or en masse, using this capability to forcibly enlist...
, who was able to succeed through the random chance of an empathic/telepathic mutation. But, for the most part, the book treats the purpose of Seldon's plan
Seldon Plan
The Seldon Plan is the central theme of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series of stories and novels.-Psychohistory:According to Asimov's novels, Hari Seldon devised the Seldon Plan using a mathematical analysis he originally developed and called psychohistory...
as unquestionable, and that slide as being necessary in it, rather than mulling over whether the slide is, on the whole, positive or negative.
The books also wrestle with the idea of individualism. Hari Seldon's plan is often treated as an inevitable mechanism of society, a vast mindless mob mentality of quadrillions of humans across the galaxy. Many in the series struggle against it, only to fail. However, the plan itself is reliant upon the cunning of individuals such as Salvor Hardin
Salvor Hardin
Salvor Hardin is the first mayor of Terminus, the capital planet of the Foundation in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, and the main protagonist of the second and third parts of Foundation. He is portrayed as a shrewd and ruthless politician, a master manipulator who acts in the interests of the...
and Hober Mallow
Hober Mallow
Hober Mallow is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. He is the central protagonist of "The Merchant Princes", the final short story of Asimov's Foundation.-Fictional biography:...
to make wise decisions that capitalize on the trends. The Mule, a single individual with remarkable mental powers, topples the Foundation and nearly destroys the Seldon plan with his special, unforeseen abilities. To repair the damage the Mule inflicts, the Second Foundation
Second Foundation
Second Foundation is the third novel published of the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press....
deploys a plan which turns upon individual reactions. Psychohistory is based on group trends and cannot predict with sufficient accuracy the effects of extraordinary, unforeseeable individuals; and, as originally presented, the Second Foundation's purpose was to counter this flaw. Later novels would, however, identify the Plan's uncertainties that remained at Seldon's death as the primary reason for the existence of the Second Foundation, which (unlike the First) had retained the capacity to research and further develop psychohistory.
Asimov unsuccessfully tried to end the series with Second Foundation
Second Foundation
Second Foundation is the third novel published of the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press....
. However, because of the predicted thousand years until the rise of the next Empire (of which only a few hundred had elapsed), the series lacked a sense of closure. For decades, fans pressured him to write a sequel.
In 1982, Asimov gave in after a thirty-year hiatus, and wrote what was at the time a fourth volume: Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the Foundation Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original Foundation trilogy, due to years of pressure by fans and editors on Asimov to write another, and, according to Asimov...
. This was followed shortly thereafter by Foundation and Earth
Foundation and Earth
Foundation and Earth is a Locus Award nominated science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fifth novel of the Foundation series and chronologically the last in the series...
. The story of this volume (which takes place some 500 years after Seldon) ties up all the loose ends, but opens a brand new line of thought in the last dozen pages. According to his widow Janet Asimov (in her biography of Isaac, It's Been a Good Life
It's Been a Good Life
It's Been a Good Life is a book edited by Janet Asimov. The book, published by Prometheus Books , is a collection of Isaac Asimov's diaries, personal letters, and a condensation of his three earlier autobiographies:...
), he had no idea how to continue after Foundation and Earth, so he started writing the prequels.
Merging with other series
The series is set in the same universe as Asimov's first published novel, Pebble in the SkyPebble in the Sky
Pebble in the Sky is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1950. This work is his first novel — parts of the Foundation series had appeared from 1942 onwards, in magazines, but Foundation was not published in book form until 1951...
, although Foundation takes place approximately ten thousand years later. Pebble in the Sky became the basis for the Empire Series
Isaac Asimov's Galactic Empire Series
The Galactic Empire Series is a science fiction series containing three novels and one short story by the American author Isaac Asimov...
. Then, at some unknown date (prior to writing Foundation's Edge) Asimov decided to merge the Foundation/Empire series with his Robot series. Thus, all three series are set in the same universe, giving them a combined length of 15 novels, and a total of about 1,500,000 words. The merge also created a time-span of the series of approximately 20,000 years.
Timeline inconsistencies
Early on during Asimov's original world-building of the Foundation universe, he established within the first published stories a chronology placing the tales approximately 50,000 years into the future from the time they were written (circa 1940). This precept was maintained in the pages of his later novel Pebble in the SkyPebble in the Sky
Pebble in the Sky is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1950. This work is his first novel — parts of the Foundation series had appeared from 1942 onwards, in magazines, but Foundation was not published in book form until 1951...
, wherein Imperial archaeologist Bel Arvardan
Bel Arvardan
Bel Arvardan is a fictional character in Pebble in the Sky, a part of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series of stories and novels.He was born in the year 815 of the Galactic Era on the planet Baronn, located in the Sirius sector....
refers to ancient human strata discovered in the Sirius sector dating back "some 50,000 years". However, when Asimov decided decades later to retroactively integrate the universe of his Foundation and Galactic Empire novels with that of his Robot stories, a number of changes and minor discrepancies surfaced—the character R. Daneel Olivaw
R. Daneel Olivaw
R. Daneel Olivaw is a fictional robot created by Isaac Asimov. The "R" initial in his name stands for "robot," a naming convention in Asimov's future society...
was established as having existed for some 20,000 years, with the original Robot novels featuring the character occurring not more than a couple of millennia after the early-21st Century Susan Calvin
Susan Calvin
Dr. Susan Calvin is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. She was the chief robopsychologist at US Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc., the major manufacturer of robots in the 21st century...
short stories. Also, in Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the Foundation Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original Foundation trilogy, due to years of pressure by fans and editors on Asimov to write another, and, according to Asimov...
, mankind was referred to as having possessed interstellar space travel for only 22,000 years, a far cry from the fifty millennia of earlier works.
In the spring of 1955, Asimov published an early timeline in the pages of Thrilling Wonder Stories magazine based upon his thought processes concerning the Foundation universe's history at that point in his life, which vastly differs from its modern-era counterpart. Many included stories would later be either jettisoned from the later chronology or temporally relocated by the author. Also, the aforementioned lengthier scope of time was changed. For example, in the original 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
timeline, humanity does not discover the hyperspatial drive until approximately the year AD 5000, whereas in the reincorporated Robot universe chronology, the first interstellar jump occurs in AD 2029, during the events of I, Robot
I, Robot
I, Robot is a collection of nine science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, first published by Gnome Press in 1950 in an edition of 5,000 copies. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines Super Science Stories and Astounding Science Fiction between 1940 and 1950. The stories are...
.
Fictional timeline
Below is a summarized timeline for events detailed in the series. All dates are quoted in Galactic Era (GE) and Foundation Era (FE) which starts in 12,068 GE.| Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| GE | FE | |
| 11,988 | -78 | Hari Seldon Hari Seldon Hari Seldon, a fictional character, is the intellectual hero of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on Trantor, he developed psychohistory, allowing him to predict the future in probabilistic terms... and Cleon I Cleon I Cleon I is a character in the fictional universe of The Foundation Series. He was the last Emperor of the Entun dynasty . He was Emperor of the Galactic Empire when Hari Seldon first arrived on Trantor... are born on Helicon and Trantor Trantor Trantor is a fictional planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series and Empire Series of science fiction novels.Trantor was first described in a short story by Asimov appearing in Early Asimov Volume 1. Later Trantor gained prominence when the 1940s Foundation Series first appeared in print . Asimov... , respectively. |
| 12,010 | -56 | Cleon I Cleon I Cleon I is a character in the fictional universe of The Foundation Series. He was the last Emperor of the Entun dynasty . He was Emperor of the Galactic Empire when Hari Seldon first arrived on Trantor... is crowned Emperor after the death of his father, Stanel VI. |
| 12,020 | -46 | Hari Seldon Hari Seldon Hari Seldon, a fictional character, is the intellectual hero of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on Trantor, he developed psychohistory, allowing him to predict the future in probabilistic terms... arrives on Trantor Trantor Trantor is a fictional planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series and Empire Series of science fiction novels.Trantor was first described in a short story by Asimov appearing in Early Asimov Volume 1. Later Trantor gained prominence when the 1940s Foundation Series first appeared in print . Asimov... to deliver his paper outlining his theory of psychohistory Psychohistory (fictional) Psychohistory is a fictional science in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe which combines history, sociology, and mathematical statistics to make general predictions about the future behavior of very large groups of people, such as the Galactic Empire... , a method of predicting the future along mass social change in humanity. (Events of Prelude to Foundation Prelude to Foundation Prelude to Foundation is a Locus Award nominated 1988 novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is one of two prequels to the Foundation Series. For the first time, Asimov chronicles the fictional life of Hari Seldon, the man who invented psychohistory and the intellectual hero of the series.-Plot... ) |
| 12,028 | -38 | (Events of "Eto Demerzel" in Forward the Foundation Forward the Foundation Forward the Foundation is a novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is the second of two prequels to the Foundation Series. It is written in much the same style as the original novel Foundation, a novel composed of chapters with long intervals in between... ) |
| 12,038 | -28 | Death of Emperor Emperor An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right... Cleon I Cleon I Cleon I is a character in the fictional universe of The Foundation Series. He was the last Emperor of the Entun dynasty . He was Emperor of the Galactic Empire when Hari Seldon first arrived on Trantor... . (Events of "Cleon I" in Forward the Foundation Forward the Foundation Forward the Foundation is a novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is the second of two prequels to the Foundation Series. It is written in much the same style as the original novel Foundation, a novel composed of chapters with long intervals in between... ) |
| 12,048 | -18 | Dors Venabili Dors Venabili In Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series, Dors Venabili is a good friend, protector and later wife of Hari Seldon, the primary character of Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation. At face value, Dors is an attractive woman, two years younger than Seldon... dies. (Events of "Dors Venabili" in Forward the Foundation Forward the Foundation Forward the Foundation is a novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is the second of two prequels to the Foundation Series. It is written in much the same style as the original novel Foundation, a novel composed of chapters with long intervals in between... ) |
| 12,058 | -8 | (Events of "Wanda Seldon" in Forward the Foundation Forward the Foundation Forward the Foundation is a novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is the second of two prequels to the Foundation Series. It is written in much the same style as the original novel Foundation, a novel composed of chapters with long intervals in between... ) |
| 12,067 | -1 | Hari Seldon Hari Seldon Hari Seldon, a fictional character, is the intellectual hero of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on Trantor, he developed psychohistory, allowing him to predict the future in probabilistic terms... goes on trial by the Commission of Public Safety and the Encyclopedia Galactica Encyclopedia Galactica The Encyclopædia Galactica is a fictional or hypothetical encyclopædia of a future human galaxy-spanning civilization, containing all the knowledge accumulated by a society with quadrillions of people and thousands of years of history... Foundation is exiled/established on Terminus Terminus (planet) Terminus is a fictional planet at the edge of the Galaxy in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series, home of the Foundation .-Position in the universe:Terminus is the sole planet orbiting an isolated star... . (Events of "The Psychohistorians" in Foundation Foundation (novel) Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951... ) |
| 12,069 | 1 | Hari Seldon Hari Seldon Hari Seldon, a fictional character, is the intellectual hero of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on Trantor, he developed psychohistory, allowing him to predict the future in probabilistic terms... dies. (This date is explicitly mentioned in "The Psychohistorians" in Foundation Foundation (novel) Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951... ) |
| 12,116 | 50 | (Events of "The Encyclopedists" in Foundation Foundation (novel) Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951... ) |
| 12,146 | 80 | (Events of "The Mayors" in Foundation Foundation (novel) Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951... ) |
| 12,146-221 | 80-155 | (Events of "The Traders" in Foundation Foundation (novel) Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951... ) |
| 12,221-61 | 155-195 | (Events of "The Merchant Princes" in Foundation Foundation (novel) Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951... ) |
| ~12,261 | ~195 | General Bel Riose Bel Riose Bel Riose is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. He was the last strong General of the Galactic Empire, Commander of the legendary Twentieth Fleet, who eventually came to be known as "the Last of the Imperials", and earned this title well. His tactical genius was compared... embarks on his quest to claim the Foundation Foundation (novel) Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951... in the name of the Empire Galactic Empire (Asimov) In Isaac Asimov's Robot/Empire/Foundation series of novels, the Galactic Empire is an empire consisting of millions of planets settled by humans across the whole Milky Way Galaxy. Its symbol is the Spaceship and Sun logo.-Author's creation of the empire:... and the Emperor Emperor An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right... , Cleon II Cleon II Emperor Cleon II is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. He is the last strong monarch of the Galactic Empire, and reigned during the time when Bel Riose, the last great Imperial general, was engaging in a successful campaign against the early Foundation... . (Events of "The General" in Foundation and Empire Foundation and Empire Foundation and Empire is a novel written by Isaac Asimov that was published by Gnome Press in 1952. It is the second book published in the Foundation Series, and the fourth in the in-universe chronology... ) |
| 12,376 | 310 | (Events of "The Mule" in Foundation and Empire Foundation and Empire Foundation and Empire is a novel written by Isaac Asimov that was published by Gnome Press in 1952. It is the second book published in the Foundation Series, and the fourth in the in-universe chronology... ) |
| ~12,381 | ~315 | (Events of "Search by the Mule" in Second Foundation Second Foundation Second Foundation is the third novel published of the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press.... ) |
| ~12,386 | ~320 | Death of the Mule Mule (Foundation) The Mule is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. One of the greatest conquerors the galaxy has ever seen, he is a mentalic who has the ability to reach into the minds of others and "adjust" their emotions, individually or en masse, using this capability to forcibly enlist... . |
| 12,428 | 362 | Arkady Darell Arkady Darell Arcadia "Arkady" Darell is a fictional character, part of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. She appears in Second Foundation... is born. |
| 12,442-3 | 376-377 | (Events of "Search by the Foundation" in Second Foundation Second Foundation Second Foundation is the third novel published of the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press.... ) |
| 12,443 | 377 | Battle of Quoriston between Lord Stettin and the Foundation. |
| 12,564 | 498 | Golan Trevize chooses the Gaia Gaia (Foundation universe) Gaia is a fictional planet described in the book Foundation's Edge and referred to in Foundation and Earth , by Isaac Asimov. The name is derived from the Gaia hypothesis, which is itself eponymous to Gaia, the Earth Goddess.... overmind and Galaxia Gaia (Foundation universe) Gaia is a fictional planet described in the book Foundation's Edge and referred to in Foundation and Earth , by Isaac Asimov. The name is derived from the Gaia hypothesis, which is itself eponymous to Gaia, the Earth Goddess.... in preference to a Second Empire founded militarily by the First Foundation or ruled psychologically by the Second Foundation Second Foundation Second Foundation is the third novel published of the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press.... . (Events of Foundation's Edge Foundation's Edge Foundation's Edge is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the Foundation Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original Foundation trilogy, due to years of pressure by fans and editors on Asimov to write another, and, according to Asimov... ) |
| 12,565 | 499 | Golan Trevize searches for Earth Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets... with the hopes that his finding will validate his choosing of Galaxia Gaia (Foundation universe) Gaia is a fictional planet described in the book Foundation's Edge and referred to in Foundation and Earth , by Isaac Asimov. The name is derived from the Gaia hypothesis, which is itself eponymous to Gaia, the Earth Goddess.... . (Events of Foundation and Earth Foundation and Earth Foundation and Earth is a Locus Award nominated science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fifth novel of the Foundation series and chronologically the last in the series... ) |
| 13,086 | 1020 | 116th Edition of the Encyclopedia Galactica published. |
Other authors
Asimov's novels covered only 500 of the expected 1,000 years it would take for the Foundation to become a galactic empire. The Foundation universe was once again revisited in 1989's Foundation's FriendsFoundation's Friends
Foundation's Friends, Stories in Honor of Isaac Asimov is a 1989 festschrift honoring science fiction author Isaac Asimov, in the form of an anthology of short stories set in Asimov's universes, particularly the Robot/Empire/Foundation universe. The anthology was edited by Martin H...
, a collection of short stories written by many prominent science fiction authors of that time. Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
's "The Originist
The Originist
"The Originist" is a short story by Orson Scott Card. It appears in his short story collection Maps in a Mirror. This story is set in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation universe and was first published in the short story collection Foundation's Friends ....
" clarifies the founding of the Second Foundation
Second Foundation
Second Foundation is the third novel published of the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press....
shortly after Seldon's death; Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
's "Trantor Falls" tells of the efforts by the Second Foundation to survive during the sacking of Trantor
Trantor
Trantor is a fictional planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series and Empire Series of science fiction novels.Trantor was first described in a short story by Asimov appearing in Early Asimov Volume 1. Later Trantor gained prominence when the 1940s Foundation Series first appeared in print . Asimov...
, the imperial capital and Second Foundation's home; and George Zebrowski
George Zebrowski
George Zebrowski is a science fiction author and editor who has written and edited a number of books. He lives with author Pamela Sargent, with whom he has co-written a number of novels, including Star Trek novels.Zebrowski won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1999 for his novel Brute Orbits...
's "Foundation's Conscience" is about the efforts of a historian to document Seldon's work following the rise of the Second Galactic Empire.
Also, shortly before his death in 1992, Asimov approved an outline for three novels, known as the Caliban Trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen
Roger MacBride Allen
Roger MacBride Allen is an American science fiction author. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up in Washington, D.C., graduating from Boston University in 1979. His father is American historian and author Thomas B...
, set between Robots and Empire
Robots and Empire
Robots and Empire is science fiction novel written by the American author Isaac Asimov and published by Doubleday Books in 1985. It is part of Asimov's Robot series, consisting of many short stories and novels....
and the Empire Series. The Caliban Trilogy describes the terraforming of the Spacer
Spacer (Asimov)
In Isaac Asimov's Foundation/Empire/Robot series, the Spacers were the first humans to emigrate to space. About a millennium thereafter, they severed political ties with Earth, and embraced low population growth and extreme longevity as a means for a high standard of living, in combination with...
world Inferno, a planet where an ecological crisis forces the Spacers to abandon many long-cherished parts of their culture. Allen's novels echo the uncertainties that Asimov's later books express about the Three Laws of Robotics
Three Laws of Robotics
The Three Laws of Robotics are a set of rules devised by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov and later added to. The rules are introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although they were foreshadowed in a few earlier stories...
, and in particular the way that a thoroughly roboticized culture can degrade human initiative.
Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine...
, and asked him to write another Foundation story. He eventually agreed, and with Vicinanza and after speaking "to several authors about [the] project", formed a plan for a trilogy with "two hard SF writers broadly influenced by Asimov and of unchallenged technical ability: Greg Bear
Greg Bear
Gregory Dale Bear is an American science fiction and mainstream author. His work has covered themes of galactic conflict , artificial universes , consciousness and cultural practices , and accelerated evolution...
and David Brin
David Brin
Glen David Brin, Ph.D. is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards.-Biography:...
." Foundation's Fear
Foundation's Fear
Foundation's Fear is a science fiction novel by Gregory Benford, set in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe. It is the first book of the Second Foundation trilogy, which was written after Asimov's death by three authors, authorized by the Asimov estate....
takes place chronologically between part one and part two of Asimov's second prequel novel, Forward the Foundation
Forward the Foundation
Forward the Foundation is a novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is the second of two prequels to the Foundation Series. It is written in much the same style as the original novel Foundation, a novel composed of chapters with long intervals in between...
; Foundation and Chaos
Foundation and Chaos
Foundation and Chaos is a science fiction novel by Greg Bear, set in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe. It is the second book of the Second Foundation trilogy, which was written after Asimov's death by three authors, authorized by the Asimov estate....
is set at the same time as the first chapter of Foundation, filling in background; Foundation's Triumph
Foundation's Triumph
Foundation's Triumph is a science fiction novel by David Brin, set in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe. It is the third book of the Second Foundation trilogy, which was written after Asimov's death by three authors, authorized by the Asimov estate...
covers ground following the recording of the holographic messages to the Foundation, and ties together a number of loose ends. These three books are now known collectively as the Second Foundation Trilogy.
In an epilogue to Foundation's Triumph, Brin noted that he could imagine himself or a different author to write a sequel to Foundation's Triumph, feeling that Hari Seldon's story was not yet necessarily finished. He later published a possible start of such a book on his website.
Most recently, the Asimov Estate authorized publication of another trilogy of robot mysteries by Mark W. Tiedemann
Mark W. Tiedemann
Mark W. Tiedemann is an American science fiction and detective fiction author. He has written novels set in Isaac Asimov's Robot universe, and within his own original universe, known as the Secantis Sequence....
. These novels, which take place several years before Asimov's Robots and Empire, are Mirage (2000), Chimera (2001), and Aurora (2002). These were followed by yet another robot mystery, Alexander C. Irvine
Alexander C. Irvine
Alexander C. Irvine is an American fantasist and science fiction writer. Many of his works have appeared under the simpler moniker "Alex Irvine."-Biography:Irvine was born on March 22, 1969...
's Have Robot, Will Travel (2004), set five years after the Tiedemann trilogy.
There are novels by various authors (Asimov's Robot City series
Isaac Asimov's Robot City
Isaac Asimov's Robot City is a series of novels written by various authors and loosely connected to Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. It takes place between The Robots of Dawn and Robots and Empire...
, Isaac Asimov's Robots and Aliens series
Isaac Asimov's Robots and Aliens series
Robots and Aliens is a series of novels written by various authors and loosely connected to Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. It spun off from Isaac Asimov's Robot City, and features the characters of Derec and Ariel from that series...
, and Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time series
Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time series
Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time is a series of six science fiction novels featuring Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. Written by American author William F...
) loosely connected to the Robot Series, but they contain many inconsistencies with Asimov's books, and are not generally considered part of the Foundation Series.
Impact in non-fiction
In Learned Optimism, psychologist Martin SeligmanMartin Seligman
Martin E. P. "Marty" Seligman is an American psychologist, educator, and author of self-help books. His theory of "learned helplessness" is widely respected among scientific psychologists....
identifies the Foundation series as one of the most important influences in his professional life, because of the possibility of predictive sociology based on psychological principles. He also lays claim to the first successful prediction of a major historical (sociological) event, in the 1988 US elections, and he specifically attributes this to a psychological principle.
Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman
Paul Robin Krugman is an American economist, professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times...
, winner of the 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics, but officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel , is an award for outstanding contributions to the field of economics, generally regarded as one of the...
, credits the Foundation series with turning his mind to economics, as the closest existing science to psychohistory.
Impact in fiction and entertainment
In 1965, the Foundation Trilogy beat several other science fiction and fantasy series (including The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
by J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
) to receive a special Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for "Best All-Time Series." It is still the only series so honored. Asimov himself wrote that he assumed the one-time award had been created to honor The Lord of the Rings, and he was amazed when his work won.
Science fiction parodies, such as Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
and Harry Harrison
Harry Harrison
Harry Harrison is an American science fiction author best known for his character the Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! , the basis for the film Soylent Green...
's Bill, the Galactic Hero
Bill, the Galactic Hero
Bill, the Galactic Hero is a satirical science fiction novel by Harry Harrison, first published in 1965.Harrison reports having been approached by a Vietnam veteran who described Bill as "the only book that's true about the military."...
, often display clear Foundation influences. For instance, "The Guide" of the former is spoof of the Encyclopedia Galactica
Encyclopedia Galactica
The Encyclopædia Galactica is a fictional or hypothetical encyclopædia of a future human galaxy-spanning civilization, containing all the knowledge accumulated by a society with quadrillions of people and thousands of years of history...
, and the series actually mentions the encyclopedia by name, remarking that it is rather "dry," and consequently sells fewer copies than the guide; the latter also features the ultra-urbanized Imperial planet Helior, often parodying the logistics such a planet-city would require, but that Asimov's novel downplays when describing Trantor.
In 1995, Donald Kingsbury
Donald Kingsbury
Donald MacDonald Kingsbury is an American–Canadian science fiction author. Kingsbury taught mathematics at McGill University, Montreal, from 1956 until his retirement in 1986.- Books :...
wrote "Historical Crisis", which he later expanded into a novel, Psychohistorical Crisis
Psychohistorical Crisis
Psychohistorical Crisis is a science fiction novel by Donald Kingsbury, published by Tor Books in 2001. An expansion of his 1995 novella "Historical Crisis", it is a re-imagining of the world of Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy, set after the establishment of the Second Empire.Review by Peter...
. It takes place about 2,000 years after Foundation, after the founding of the Second Galactic Empire. It is set in the same fictional universe as the Foundation series, in considerable detail, but with virtually all Foundation-specific names either changed (e.g., Kalgan becomes Lakgan), or avoided (Psychohistory is created by an unnamed, but often-referenced Founder). The novel explores the ideas of Psychohistory in a number of new directions, inspired by more recent developments in mathematics and computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, as well as by new ideas in science fiction itself.
The oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
-like holophonor in Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
's animated television series Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
is based directly upon the "Visi-Sonor" which Magnifico
Mule (Foundation)
The Mule is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. One of the greatest conquerors the galaxy has ever seen, he is a mentalic who has the ability to reach into the minds of others and "adjust" their emotions, individually or en masse, using this capability to forcibly enlist...
plays in Foundation and Empire. The "Visi-Sonor" is also mirrored in an episode of Special Unit 2
Special Unit 2
Special Unit 2 is a short-lived, American sci-fi/comedy television series, filmed in Vancouver, BC and aired on UPN for two seasons from April 2001 through February 2002...
, where a child's television character plays an instrument that induces mind control over children.
During the 2006–2007 Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
Civil War
Civil War (comics)
Civil War is a 2006-2007 Marvel Comics crossover storyline built around a self-titled seven-issue limited series written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, which ran through various other titles published by Marvel at the time...
crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
storyline, in Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
#542 Mister Fantastic
Mister Fantastic
Mr. Fantastic is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the Fantastic Four. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 ....
revealed his own attempt to develop psychohistory, saying he was inspired after reading the Foundation series.
Radio adaptation
An eight-part radio adaptationThe Foundation Trilogy (BBC Radio)
Isaac Asimov's The Foundation Trilogy was adapted in eight hour-long episodes by the BBC, first broadcast in 1973, and repeated in 1977 and 2002.-1: Psychohistory and Encyclopedia:...
of the original trilogy, with sound design by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
BBC Radiophonic Workshop
The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, one of the sound effects units of the BBC, was created in 1958 to produce effects and new music for radio, and was closed in March 1998, although much of its traditional work had already been outsourced by 1995. It was based in the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in Delaware...
, was broadcast on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
in 1973—one of the first BBC radio drama serials to be made in stereo
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
. A BBC 7
BBC 7
BBC Radio 4 Extra, formerly known as BBC 7 and BBC Radio 7, is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment...
rerun
Rerun
A rerun or repeat is a re-airing of an episode of a radio or television broadcast. The invention of the rerun is generally credited to Desi Arnaz. There are two types of reruns—those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Reruns can also be, as the...
commenced in July 2003.
Adapted by Patrick Tull (episodes 1 to 4) and Mike Stott (episodes 5 to 8), the dramatisation was directed by David Cain and starred William Eedle as Hari Seldon, with Geoffrey Beevers
Geoffrey Beevers
Geoffrey Beevers is a British actor who has appeared in many different television roles.Beevers has worked extensively at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond upon Thames, both as an actor ; and as an adaptor/director of George Eliot's novel Adam Bede , for which he won a Time Out Award, and Balzac's...
as Gaal Dornick, Lee Montague
Lee Montague
Lee Montague is an English actor noted for his roles on film and television, usually playing tough guys.Film credits include: Moulin Rouge, The Camp on Blood Island, The Savage Innocents, Billy Budd, The Secret of Blood Island, Deadlier Than the Male, The Legacy and Brother Sun, Sister...
as Salvor Hardin, Julian Glover
Julian Glover
Julian Wyatt Glover is a British actor best known for such roles as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-Personal life:Glover was born in...
as Hober Mallow, Dinsdale Landen
Dinsdale Landen
Dinsdale James Landen was a British actor known mainly for his television appearances.Landen was born at Margate. He made his television debut in 1959 as Pip in an adaptation of Great Expectations and made his film debut in 1960, with a walk-on part in The League of Gentlemen...
as Bel Riose, Maurice Denham
Maurice Denham
Maurice Denham OBE was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career.-Life and career:...
as Ebling Mis and Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
as Lady Callia.
Film production
By 1998, New Line CinemaNew Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
had spent $1.5 million developing a film version of the Foundation Trilogy. The failure to develop a new franchise was partly a reason the studio signed on to produce The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
.
On July 29, 2008, it was reported that former New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
co-founders Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne
Michael Lynne
Michael Lynne is an American film executive.-Biography:With Robert Shaye, Lynne co-founded New Line Cinema. He is a graduate of Brooklyn College and holds a JD from Columbia University. In June 2008, Shaye and Lynne announced the formation of Unique Features, a new production company...
have been signed on to produce an adaptation of the trilogy by their company Unique Pictures for Warner Brothers. This follows a period of time where the project had been under development at 20th Century Fox.
However, Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
(Sony) successfully bid for the screen rights on January 15, 2009, and then contracted Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer.His films, most of which are Hollywood productions filmed in English, have grossed more than $3 billion worldwide, more than those of any other European director...
for direction. Emmerich and Michael Wimer were named as producers. There was no development of the film during 2009–2010.
List of books within the Foundation Universe
The Author's Note of Prelude to FoundationPrelude to Foundation
Prelude to Foundation is a Locus Award nominated 1988 novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is one of two prequels to the Foundation Series. For the first time, Asimov chronicles the fictional life of Hari Seldon, the man who invented psychohistory and the intellectual hero of the series.-Plot...
contains Asimov's suggested reading order for his science fiction books:
- The Complete RobotThe Complete RobotThe Complete Robot is a collection of 31 science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov written between 1939 and 1977. Most of the stories had been previously collected in the books I, Robot and The Rest of the Robots, while four stories had previously been uncollected and the rest had been...
(1982) and/or I, RobotI, RobotI, Robot is a collection of nine science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, first published by Gnome Press in 1950 in an edition of 5,000 copies. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines Super Science Stories and Astounding Science Fiction between 1940 and 1950. The stories are...
(1950) - Caves of Steel (1954)
- The Naked SunThe Naked SunThe Naked Sun is an English language science fiction novel, the second in Isaac Asimov's Robot series.-Plot introduction:Like its famous predecessor, The Caves of Steel, it is a whodunit story, in addition to being science fiction...
(1957) - The Robots of DawnThe Robots of DawnThe Robots of Dawn is a "whodunit" science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, first published in 1983. It is the third novel in Asimov's Robot series.It was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1984.- Plot summary :...
(1983) - Robots and EmpireRobots and EmpireRobots and Empire is science fiction novel written by the American author Isaac Asimov and published by Doubleday Books in 1985. It is part of Asimov's Robot series, consisting of many short stories and novels....
(1985) - The Currents of SpaceThe Currents of SpaceThe Currents of Space is a science fiction novel by the American writer Isaac Asimov. It is the second of three books labeled the Galactic Empire series, though it was the last of the three he wrote...
(1952) - The Stars, Like DustThe Stars, Like DustThe Stars, Like Dust is a 1951 science fiction book by writer Isaac Asimov.The book is part of Asimov's Galactic Empire series. It takes place before the actual founding of the Galactic Empire, and even before Trantor has become important. It starts with a young man attending the University of...
(1951) - Pebble in the SkyPebble in the SkyPebble in the Sky is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1950. This work is his first novel — parts of the Foundation series had appeared from 1942 onwards, in magazines, but Foundation was not published in book form until 1951...
(1950) - Prelude to FoundationPrelude to FoundationPrelude to Foundation is a Locus Award nominated 1988 novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is one of two prequels to the Foundation Series. For the first time, Asimov chronicles the fictional life of Hari Seldon, the man who invented psychohistory and the intellectual hero of the series.-Plot...
(1988)
Note: Forward the FoundationForward the FoundationForward the Foundation is a novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is the second of two prequels to the Foundation Series. It is written in much the same style as the original novel Foundation, a novel composed of chapters with long intervals in between...
(1993) was then unpublished, but would have followed Prelude. - FoundationFoundationFoundation commonly refers to:* Foundation , the lowest and supporting layer of a structure* Foundation , a type of organizationFoundation may also refer to:-Literature:...
(1951) - Foundation and EmpireFoundation and EmpireFoundation and Empire is a novel written by Isaac Asimov that was published by Gnome Press in 1952. It is the second book published in the Foundation Series, and the fourth in the in-universe chronology...
(1952) - Second FoundationSecond FoundationSecond Foundation is the third novel published of the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press....
(1953) - Foundation's EdgeFoundation's EdgeFoundation's Edge is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the Foundation Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original Foundation trilogy, due to years of pressure by fans and editors on Asimov to write another, and, according to Asimov...
(1982) - Foundation and EarthFoundation and EarthFoundation and Earth is a Locus Award nominated science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fifth novel of the Foundation series and chronologically the last in the series...
(1986)
An expanded and corrected strictly chronological reading order for the books is listed below.
| C | Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | I, Robot I, Robot I, Robot is a collection of nine science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, first published by Gnome Press in 1950 in an edition of 5,000 copies. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines Super Science Stories and Astounding Science Fiction between 1940 and 1950. The stories are... |
Robot short stories. First collection, which were all included in The Complete Robot, though it also contains a binding text, no longer in The Complete Robot. | |
| 1964 | The Rest of the Robots The Rest of the Robots The Rest of the Robots is a collection of eight short stories and two full-length novels by Isaac Asimov. The stories, centred on positronic robots, are all part of the Robot Series, most of which take place in the Foundation universe... |
Robot short stories. First collection, which were all included in The Complete Robot. | |
| 1 | 1982 | The Complete Robot The Complete Robot The Complete Robot is a collection of 31 science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov written between 1939 and 1977. Most of the stories had been previously collected in the books I, Robot and The Rest of the Robots, while four stories had previously been uncollected and the rest had been... |
Collection of thirty-one robot short stories written between 1939 and 1977. |
| 1986 | Robot Dreams Robot Dreams Robot Dreams is a collection of science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, illustrated by Ralph McQuarrie. The title story is about Susan Calvin's discovery of a robot with rather disturbing dreams. It was written specifically for this volume and inspired by the McQuarrie cover illustration... |
Robot short stories. Anthologized in a book with the same title. | |
| 1990 | Robot Visions Robot Visions Robot Visions is a collection of science fiction short stories and factual essays by Isaac Asimov. Many of the stories are reprinted from other Asimov collections, particularly I, Robot and The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories... |
Robot short stories. Anthologized in a book with the same title. | |
| 1992 | The Positronic Man The Positronic Man The Positronic Man is a novel co-written by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg, based on Asimov's novella The Bicentennial Man.... |
Robot novel based on Asimov's short story The Bicentennial Man The Bicentennial Man The Bicentennial Man is a novella in the Robot Series by Isaac Asimov. It was awarded the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for best science fiction novelette of 1976.... , co-written by Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg is an American author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple nominee of the Hugo Award and a winner of the Nebula Award.-Early years:... |
|
| 2 | 1954 | The Caves of Steel The Caves of Steel The Caves of Steel is a novel by Isaac Asimov. It is essentially a detective story, and illustrates an idea Asimov advocated, that science fiction is a flavor that can be applied to any literary genre, rather than a limited genre itself. Specifically, in the book Asimov's Mysteries, he states that... |
This is the first of the robot novels. |
| 3 | 1957 | The Naked Sun The Naked Sun The Naked Sun is an English language science fiction novel, the second in Isaac Asimov's Robot series.-Plot introduction:Like its famous predecessor, The Caves of Steel, it is a whodunit story, in addition to being science fiction... |
The second robot novel. |
| 4 | 1983 | The Robots of Dawn The Robots of Dawn The Robots of Dawn is a "whodunit" science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, first published in 1983. It is the third novel in Asimov's Robot series.It was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1984.- Plot summary :... |
The third robot novel. Hugo Award nominee, 1984 Locus Award nominee, 1984 |
| 2000 | Mirage | Robot Mystery series by Mark W. Tiedemann Mark W. Tiedemann Mark W. Tiedemann is an American science fiction and detective fiction author. He has written novels set in Isaac Asimov's Robot universe, and within his own original universe, known as the Secantis Sequence.... . |
|
| 2001 | Chimera | Robot Mystery series by Mark W. Tiedemann Mark W. Tiedemann Mark W. Tiedemann is an American science fiction and detective fiction author. He has written novels set in Isaac Asimov's Robot universe, and within his own original universe, known as the Secantis Sequence.... . |
|
| 2002 | Aurora | Robot Mystery series by Mark W. Tiedemann Mark W. Tiedemann Mark W. Tiedemann is an American science fiction and detective fiction author. He has written novels set in Isaac Asimov's Robot universe, and within his own original universe, known as the Secantis Sequence.... . |
|
| 2005 | Have Robot, Will Travel | Robot Mystery series by Alexander C. Irvine Alexander C. Irvine Alexander C. Irvine is an American fantasist and science fiction writer. Many of his works have appeared under the simpler moniker "Alex Irvine."-Biography:Irvine was born on March 22, 1969... . |
|
| 5 | 1985 | Robots and Empire Robots and Empire Robots and Empire is science fiction novel written by the American author Isaac Asimov and published by Doubleday Books in 1985. It is part of Asimov's Robot series, consisting of many short stories and novels.... |
The fourth robot novel. Locus Award nominee, 1986 |
| 1993 | Isaac Asimov's Caliban Isaac Asimov's Caliban Isaac Asimov's Caliban is a science fiction novel by Roger MacBride Allen, set in Isaac Asimov's Robots/Empire/Foundation universe.-Plot summary:This series deals with a new type of robots who do not have the Three Laws of Robotics... |
Caliban trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen Roger MacBride Allen Roger MacBride Allen is an American science fiction author. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up in Washington, D.C., graduating from Boston University in 1979. His father is American historian and author Thomas B... . |
|
| 1994 | Isaac Asimov's Inferno Isaac Asimov's Inferno Isaac Asimov's Inferno is a science fiction novel by Roger MacBride Allen, set in Isaac Asimov's Robots/Empire/Foundation universe.-Plot summary:This series deals with a new type of robots who do not have the Three Laws of Robotics... |
Caliban trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen Roger MacBride Allen Roger MacBride Allen is an American science fiction author. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up in Washington, D.C., graduating from Boston University in 1979. His father is American historian and author Thomas B... . |
|
| 1996 | Isaac Asimov's Utopia Isaac Asimov's Utopia Isaac Asimov's Utopia is a science fiction novel by Roger MacBride Allen, set in Isaac Asimov's Robots/Empire/Foundation universe.-Plot summary:... |
Caliban trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen Roger MacBride Allen Roger MacBride Allen is an American science fiction author. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up in Washington, D.C., graduating from Boston University in 1979. His father is American historian and author Thomas B... . |
|
| 6 | 1951 | The Stars, Like Dust The Stars, Like Dust The Stars, Like Dust is a 1951 science fiction book by writer Isaac Asimov.The book is part of Asimov's Galactic Empire series. It takes place before the actual founding of the Galactic Empire, and even before Trantor has become important. It starts with a young man attending the University of... |
This is the first of the Empire novels. |
| 7 | 1952 | The Currents of Space The Currents of Space The Currents of Space is a science fiction novel by the American writer Isaac Asimov. It is the second of three books labeled the Galactic Empire series, though it was the last of the three he wrote... |
The second Empire novel. |
| 8 | 1950 | Pebble in the Sky Pebble in the Sky Pebble in the Sky is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1950. This work is his first novel — parts of the Foundation series had appeared from 1942 onwards, in magazines, but Foundation was not published in book form until 1951... |
The third Empire novel; however, it was Asimov's first full novel to be published. |
| 9 | 1988 | Prelude to Foundation Prelude to Foundation Prelude to Foundation is a Locus Award nominated 1988 novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is one of two prequels to the Foundation Series. For the first time, Asimov chronicles the fictional life of Hari Seldon, the man who invented psychohistory and the intellectual hero of the series.-Plot... |
This is the first Foundation novel. Locus Award nominee, 1989 |
| 1997 | Foundation's Fear Foundation's Fear Foundation's Fear is a science fiction novel by Gregory Benford, set in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe. It is the first book of the Second Foundation trilogy, which was written after Asimov's death by three authors, authorized by the Asimov estate.... |
Second Foundation trilogy by Gregory Benford Gregory Benford Gregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine... . |
|
| 10The final section of Forward the Foundation, Epilogue, appears to directly precede Hari Seldon's death. Therefore at least this part of the book would be located after the events of Foundation and Chaos, Foundation's Triumph and the first chapter of Foundation. | 1993 | Forward the Foundation Forward the Foundation Forward the Foundation is a novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is the second of two prequels to the Foundation Series. It is written in much the same style as the original novel Foundation, a novel composed of chapters with long intervals in between... |
The second Foundation novel (although it was the last written by Asimov himself). |
| 1998 | Foundation and Chaos Foundation and Chaos Foundation and Chaos is a science fiction novel by Greg Bear, set in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe. It is the second book of the Second Foundation trilogy, which was written after Asimov's death by three authors, authorized by the Asimov estate.... |
Second Foundation trilogy by Greg Bear Greg Bear Gregory Dale Bear is an American science fiction and mainstream author. His work has covered themes of galactic conflict , artificial universes , consciousness and cultural practices , and accelerated evolution... . |
|
| 1999 | Foundation's Triumph Foundation's Triumph Foundation's Triumph is a science fiction novel by David Brin, set in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe. It is the third book of the Second Foundation trilogy, which was written after Asimov's death by three authors, authorized by the Asimov estate... |
Second Foundation trilogy by David Brin David Brin Glen David Brin, Ph.D. is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards.-Biography:... . |
|
| 11 | 1951 | Foundation Foundation (novel) Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951... |
The third Foundation novel. Actually, it is a collection of four stories, originally published between 1942 and 1944, plus an introductory section written for the book in 1949. Published, slightly abridged, as part of an Ace Double paperback, D-110, with the title "The 1000-Year Plan", in 1955. |
| 12 | 1952 | Foundation and Empire Foundation and Empire Foundation and Empire is a novel written by Isaac Asimov that was published by Gnome Press in 1952. It is the second book published in the Foundation Series, and the fourth in the in-universe chronology... |
The fourth Foundation novel, made up of two stories, originally published in 1945. Published with the title 'The Man Who Upset the Universe' as a 35c Ace paperback, D-125, in about 1952. |
| 13 | 1953 | Second Foundation Second Foundation Second Foundation is the third novel published of the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press.... |
The fifth Foundation novel, made up of two stories, originally published in 1948 and 1949. |
| 14 | 1982 | Foundation's Edge Foundation's Edge Foundation's Edge is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the Foundation Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original Foundation trilogy, due to years of pressure by fans and editors on Asimov to write another, and, according to Asimov... |
The sixth Foundation novel. Nebula Award nominee, 1982; Hugo Award winner, 1983; Locus Award winner, 1983 |
| 15 | 1986 | Foundation and Earth Foundation and Earth Foundation and Earth is a Locus Award nominated science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fifth novel of the Foundation series and chronologically the last in the series... |
The seventh Foundation novel. Locus Award nominee, 1987 |
Another alternative is to read the books in their original order of publication, since reading the Foundation prequels prior to reading the Foundation Trilogy fundamentally alters the original narrative structure of the trilogy by spoiling what were originally presented as plot surprises. Asimov noted that there is room for a book between Robots and Empire (5) and The Stars Like Dust (6), and that he could follow Foundation and Earth (15) with additional volumes.
Tangential books
While not mentioned in the above list, some consider the books The End of EternityThe End of Eternity
The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov is a science fiction novel, with mystery and thriller elements, on the subjects of time travel and social engineering....
(1955) and Nemesis
Nemesis (Asimov)
Nemesis is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov. One of his later science fiction novels, it was published in 1989, only three years before his death...
(1989) part of the series.
The End of Eternity is vaguely referenced in Foundation's Edge, where a character mentions the Eternals, whose "task it was to choose a reality
Reality
In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
that would be most suitable to Humanity". (The End of Eternity also refers to a "Galactic Empire" within its story.) In Forward the Foundation, Hari Seldon refers to a twenty-thousand-year-old story of "a young woman that could communicate with an entire planet that circled a sun named Nemesis," a reference to Nemesis. In Nemesis, the main colony is one of the Fifty Settlements, a collection of orbital colonies that form a state. It is possible that the Fifty Settlements were the basis for the fifty Spacer worlds in the Robot stories. The implication at the end of Nemesis that the inhabitants of the off-Earth colonies are splitting off from Earthbound humans could also be connected to a similar implication about the Spacers in Mark W. Tiedemann
Mark W. Tiedemann
Mark W. Tiedemann is an American science fiction and detective fiction author. He has written novels set in Isaac Asimov's Robot universe, and within his own original universe, known as the Secantis Sequence....
's Robot books.
On the other hand, these references might be just jokes by Asimov, and the stories mentioned could be just those really written by himself (as seen in The Robots of Dawn where Fastolfe makes a reference to Asimov's Liar!). Furthermore, Asimov himself did not mention The End of Eternity in the series listing from Prelude to Foundation. As for Nemesis, it was written after Prelude to Foundation, but in the author's note Asimov explicitly states that the book is not part of the Foundation series, but that some day he might tie it to the others.
Nemesis also touches on a pair of short stories published in Asimov's collection, Gold, dealing with the Fifty Settlements.
Major characters
- Hari SeldonHari SeldonHari Seldon, a fictional character, is the intellectual hero of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on Trantor, he developed psychohistory, allowing him to predict the future in probabilistic terms...
, leader of the Psychohistorical movement which creates the Foundation and the Seldon Plan; first First Speaker of the Second Foundation (traditional), First MinisterFirst MinisterA First Minister is the leader of a government cabinet.-Canada:In Canada, "First Ministers" is a collective term that refers to all Canadian first ministers of the Crown, otherwise known as heads of government, including the Prime Minister of Canada and the provincial and territorial premiers...
of the Galactic Empire under Cleon I, after Eto Demerzel - R. Giskard Reventlov, the first robot able to alter human minds (of the 'diaspora' era, see I, RobotI, RobotI, Robot is a collection of nine science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, first published by Gnome Press in 1950 in an edition of 5,000 copies. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines Super Science Stories and Astounding Science Fiction between 1940 and 1950. The stories are...
story "Liar!") - R. Daneel OlivawR. Daneel OlivawR. Daneel Olivaw is a fictional robot created by Isaac Asimov. The "R" initial in his name stands for "robot," a naming convention in Asimov's future society...
, a humanoid robot who organizes the creation of both the Seldon Plan and Gaia and Galaxia. He also assumes the names Chetter Hummin and Eto Demerzel (First Minister) - The MuleMule (Foundation)The Mule is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. One of the greatest conquerors the galaxy has ever seen, he is a mentalic who has the ability to reach into the minds of others and "adjust" their emotions, individually or en masse, using this capability to forcibly enlist...
(originally from Gaia), a mutant who was extremely adept at altering human's emotions. - Dors VenabiliDors VenabiliIn Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series, Dors Venabili is a good friend, protector and later wife of Hari Seldon, the primary character of Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation. At face value, Dors is an attractive woman, two years younger than Seldon...
, Seldon's wife and protector, known as the "Tiger Woman" for her physical prowess and swiftness to action. She is eventually revealed to be a humanoid robot like Daneel - Yugo AmarylYugo AmarylYugo Amaryl is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. Amaryl, along with Hari Seldon, worked on psychohistory until his death at age 52....
, Seldon's colleague, a heatsinker from the Dahl Sector of Trantor - EmperorEmperorAn emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Cleon ICleon ICleon I is a character in the fictional universe of The Foundation Series. He was the last Emperor of the Entun dynasty . He was Emperor of the Galactic Empire when Hari Seldon first arrived on Trantor...
, Entun Dynasty, Emperor during the first part of Hari Seldon's stay on Trantor - Salvor HardinSalvor HardinSalvor Hardin is the first mayor of Terminus, the capital planet of the Foundation in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, and the main protagonist of the second and third parts of Foundation. He is portrayed as a shrewd and ruthless politician, a master manipulator who acts in the interests of the...
, first Mayor of Terminus, first Foundationer to realize the 'farce' of the Encyclopedia Galactica - Gaal DornickGaal DornickGaal Dornick is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. It is Gaal Dornick that introduces the Foundation series, appearing in the first chapter of Foundation, describing his meeting with Hari Seldon. He eventually went on to be his biographer...
, one of the last Psychohistorians to join the Project - Hober MallowHober MallowHober Mallow is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. He is the central protagonist of "The Merchant Princes", the final short story of Asimov's Foundation.-Fictional biography:...
, a "Merchant Prince" during the Foundation's 'Trader' days - Bel RioseBel RioseBel Riose is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. He was the last strong General of the Galactic Empire, Commander of the legendary Twentieth Fleet, who eventually came to be known as "the Last of the Imperials", and earned this title well. His tactical genius was compared...
, General of the Galactic Empire - Golan Trevize, Councilman of TerminusTerminus (planet)Terminus is a fictional planet at the edge of the Galaxy in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series, home of the Foundation .-Position in the universe:Terminus is the sole planet orbiting an isolated star...
who discovers the secret location of Earth - Janov PeloratJanov PeloratJanov Pelorat is a character in the Foundation Series of books by Isaac Asimov. The two books in which he appears are Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth....
, Historian, accompanies Trevize - Arkady DarellArkady DarellArcadia "Arkady" Darell is a fictional character, part of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. She appears in Second Foundation...
, granddaughter of Bayta Darell who theorizes a location of the Second Foundation - BlissenobiarellaBlissenobiarellaBlissenobiarella, known informally as Bliss, is a character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. She is from planet Gaia, and she appears in the novels Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth.- Character :...
(Bliss), a human element of the superorganismSuperorganismA superorganism is an organism consisting of many organisms. This is usually meant to be a social unit of eusocial animals, where division of labour is highly specialised and where individuals are not able to survive by themselves for extended periods of time. Ants are the best-known example of...
GaiaGaia (Foundation universe)Gaia is a fictional planet described in the book Foundation's Edge and referred to in Foundation and Earth , by Isaac Asimov. The name is derived from the Gaia hypothesis, which is itself eponymous to Gaia, the Earth Goddess.... - Bayta Darell, grandmother of Arkady Darell; Bayta was instrumental in the defeat of the Mule
- Raych SeldonRaych SeldonRaych Seldon is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. Raych is the adopted son of Hari Seldon and Dors Venabili, the primary characters in the first two books of the series...
, Hari Seldon's adopted son from the Dahl Sector of Trantor - Wanda SeldonWanda SeldonWanda Seldon is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's science fiction Foundation series. The daughter of Raych Seldon and Manella Dubanqua, Wanda played a key role in creating the two Foundations....
, Raych Seldon's eldest daughter who later becomes a Psychohistorian and second First Speaker of the Second Foundation - Preem PalverPreem PalverPreem Palver is a fictional character, part of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. Palver is portrayed as a rather loud and jolly simple farmer. However, in reality he is the mastermind behind the plot to restore Hari Seldon's plan to its original course after the disruption by the Mule...
, a very successful First Speaker of the Second FoundationSecond FoundationSecond Foundation is the third novel published of the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press.... - Ebling MisEbling MisEbling Mis is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. Specifically, he is one of the main characters from the latter half of the novel Foundation and Empire. Mis is the Foundation's greatest psychologist and a very prominent scientist...
, thought to be first person to discover the location of the Second Foundation - Elijah BaleyElijah BaleyElijah Baley is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Robot series. He is the main character of the novels The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn, and of the short story "Mirror Image". He is seen in flashbacks several times and talked about frequently in Robots and Empire,...
, famous Earth detective and former partner of R. Daneel OlivawR. Daneel OlivawR. Daneel Olivaw is a fictional robot created by Isaac Asimov. The "R" initial in his name stands for "robot," a naming convention in Asimov's future society...
See also
- List of Foundation universe planets
- List of Foundation series characters
External links
- The Isaac Asimov Wiki for the Foundation Universe
- 15-Book Reading Order as Suggested by Asimov From "Author's Note" of Prelude to Foundation Doubleday (1988 hardcover edition)
- Johnny Pez's Complete chronological listing of all stories in the series
- The Foundation Trilogy (BBC Radio)