Foundation and Empire

The premise of the Foundation series is that even if the behavior of individuals isn't predictable that of large groups of people is. The great Psychohistorian Harri Seldon uses this to to create a Foundation that will tighten the gap between peaceful eras in mankind's history and provide a second Empire after the first has inevitably fallen.

The only problem is that the first Empire hasn't quite fallen quite yet, and Empires are not in the habit of welcoming their replacement with open arms. Luckily for the Foundation, Seldon's predictions remain true, and they survive against a complete bombardment by one of the Empire's brightest generals.

Fast forward a few generations. The Empire has finally died and the Foundation is on the verge of Civil War. This has all been predicted by Seldon. But then something strange happens. The war never happens, and into the picture comes a mutant capable of twisting one of the fundamental assumptions of Psychohistorical analysis, that the psychological makeup of mankind will remain relatively the same. Much of the book is spent on the struggle against this new threat.

Compared to some of Asimov's stuff I find the writing in the Foundation series to be a little dry. There are some good turns of phrases, and the characters are always fun to read, but I was not blown away as I have been by some of Asimov's shorts. The identity of the Mule was obvious from the beginning, though I forgot I had known all along by the end and was surprised when it was revealed for a moment. I didn't expect the -method- Asimov used to reveal this secret.

Part one and Part two of Foundation and Empire were initially published seperately. They're lackluster alone, but work very well together. The assumptions that Asimov builds up in the first half are all torn down in the second. I am certainly eager to see if Seldon's science prevails in Second Foundation, or if the Mule is the one thing that can destroy it.