Second Foundation

I first read the Foundation series in the late 60s, a teenager steeped in the society of the day. As a girl, I've always felt the lack of female characters in most of the science fiction available, and Asimov, a male writer, was no different. Through the 3 books of the initial series, there are two female protagonists and I have always cherished their presence. 14 year old Arcady Darrel of Second Foundation has always been my favorite, since I was 16 or 17 when I first read her. Another cultural difference between the 1940s and 2021 is the overwhelming presence of smoking! All these male characters smoked cigarettes or cigars or pipes as they had their exclusively masculine meetings and the occasional male expressed disapproval of a woman's putting herself forward. See, this stuff didn't bother me when I read these books originally, or for the next 30 years. Society changed enough, and my not rereading them for a number of years, conspired together to cause some internal cringing as I read certain passages.However! I still found the story just as compelling as I did the first and fifth and tenth time I read it! Some people have complained that it's all talking, and so a vast amount of it is, but compelling, none the less! A TV series is in development or production at this time. I honestly can't imagine how they can take these books, each one a series of events 50 or 80 or 150 or 325 years apart and create an intriguing show. I look forward with interest to see if they accomplish it.

Like many reviewers, I reread the original 3 volume Foundation novels in anticipation of the new TV series. I read all three volumes more than 50 years ago and had forgotten almost everything. I agree with many reviewers that the first volume was tedious due to the clumsy aggregation of a collection of short stories. The criticism of its misogyny is also warranted. The writing quality improved from the first to the second and more to the third volume. Three women play critical roles in the second and third volumes. Perhaps Asimov took notice of the criticism of the lack of women in the first work and made a needed adjustment. Overall, there is too much tedious dialog in all 3 volumes, but it is handled much better in the third one, “Second Foundation”. So, I enjoyed revisiting this work after so many years. However I found the TV version (first season so far) to be a very disappointing and disorganized mishmash that put me to sleep and a poor representation of the Asimov work.

This book in the classic Foundation Trilogy concludes the original story arc of the First and Second Foundations. Like the others, it relies on conversations, not action, to move the plot along. These are often intricate and “political,” often weaving and untangling conspiracies of various kinds.The premise of this book requires a secretive group of psychohistorians to defeat the Mule, a mutant with the ability to control other people’s emotions. The psychohistorians have mind-control abilities of their own, based on science and training, developing latent skills that the Mule gained through a genetic mutation. Throughout the book, no one knows who is controlling whom, and the wisest characters understand that they too may have their minds influenced by others. Asimov does not let the reader know the truth until the end.Unfortunately, such a premise can really only end in one way – essentially a battle of wizards from Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings, or a battle of X-men or superheroes from innumerable blockbuster movies. The winner does not reflect character but the needs of the box office. Rereading this trilogy more than forty years after I first read it, I see now how the subsequent books could only prove unfulfilling. I’m glad I re-read the original trilogy but I will not be continuing after this one.

To have a series hold up against the changing times is good, but to have the twists still carry their full weight is profoundly better. I cannot wait to read the next one.

Second Foundation is the conclusion to the original Foundation trilogy and focuses on the events following the Mule's conquest of the First Foundation. Can the Seldon Plan for a peaceful Second Empire recover from the severe damage inflicted by the mutant Mule? The first part of the book takes place soon after the awesome ending of Foundation and Empire and describes how the Mule is finally thwarted. The "final battle" with the Mule was somewhat anti-climactic but still made a good ending to the first part.The second part takes place a couple decades later and examines the First Foundation's search for the mysterious and hidden Second Foundation. This part comprises most of the novel and takes much more concentration to understand everything that's happening. There are several major twists throughout this second part so you must read carefully if you want to try to figure things out before Asimov reveals the answers!Essentially, the Second Foundation is desperately trying to get the Seldon Plan back on track (after it was bent by the Mule) and is forced to manipulate key individuals, something which was never done before. However, some smart people in the First Foundation figure out that individuals are being manipulated and deduce that the Second Foundation is at fault. So the search is on to find and destroy the Second Foundation before too many people are in their control.Second Foundation ties up virtually all loose ends introduced in the first two books and is a superb read. As with many Asimov novels, the last chapter has a major twist (actually, two) that gets you flipping back to see if it makes sense in the context of what happened before. As usual, it does. :-) I recommend reading Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation before reading the original trilogy. Now it's time for me to read Foundation's Edge and I can't wait!

Written 70+ years ago and originally published in segments, the story does same dated. Some technology predictions are laughably off and it’s a bit like reading the literary version of the old Flash Gordon cinema serials.But Asimov was a clever man and the underlying plot about psychohistory being used to enable the resurrection of civilisation is a clever idea. It’s an entertaining and enthralling read and , in the second book in the series, Asimov breaks with tradition somewhat by having a woman be the heroine.Revisiting this series after 40+ years and found it much more accessible than some of his contemporaries.

Huge in its scope with a story that encompasses time and space over centuries and unimaginable distances. Great characters who you can believe in and empathise with. The imagery of the vastness of the original empire and it's gradual but inexorable fall captured my imagination. And finally several laugh out loud moments related to the site of the Second Foundation.I read it several times 20-odd years ago and returned to it recently and it did not disappoint. A classic novel

Unfortunately, from truly epic beginnings the Foundation trilogy over time loses its ability to communicate big concepts and turns instead to a kind of parody of Machiavellian pile-up conspiracy theories, in the style of a vaguely Wildean farce. There were ideas in the first book that were hugely important in shaping the contours of sci-fi, and the echoes of these can be heard in a dozen fictonal universes. In book two, it was clear that things were slipping a little as the idea of a Seldon Crisis became more and more abstract and contrary to the original conception. By book three, it's a succession of 'Ah-ha, what you don't realise is,,,' followed by 'Ah, but what you don't realise that I realise is...'. It all becomes a little tiresome. 'I extracted this info from your operative!' 'Ah, my operative didn't realise that he didn't have the real information!' 'Ah, but I knew that he wouldn't have the information so...'. It reminds me very much of that Limmy's Show secret agent sketch where both participants are so confused by their own feints and counter-feints that they end up burning their own dossiers and drinking their own antidotes.Really though, it's not a bad book - it's just bad in comparison to the earlier highs of the first tremendous instalment.

Enjoyed the series in paperback many y3ars ago. This Kindle edition let's me reread it with ease, as I am sight impaired. Yes, it is a bit dated,but does that matter. You do need to read the two previous books first though, otherwise you will be confused and lack the background to the story.

This is indeed "The greatest science fiction series of all time", and the second volume written is just as enthralling as the first. No wasted words or padding, simply an incredibly imaginative story from a writer who was both brilliant and prolific.