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A review by leeroyjenkins
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
This was excellent.
It's the best Asimov I've read. It doesn't get mired in the science or tech with boring explanations of how the nifty gadgets work. It's more palace intrigue than anything else. But it all happens on an inconceivably grand scale - a galactic scale - a map 100,000 light years across spanning generations of humanity.
Yet the story is accessible. It is readable and understandable because it is told in human terms. The science is an accessory. It is not the point. The setting is necessary for scale but people are people and people tend to react certain ways. It could have been set in Europe, for example. Foundation's story relies (no hinges) on the fundamental truth of human nature.
Human stories - those which speak to human truth - are the most satisfying stories. You know it when you read it. You see parallels to your own world - to the power structures with which you are familiar. The characters have relatable motivations. They speak and interact with one another in a realistic manner. All this; regardless of setting.
It helps that Foundation is well written. The language flows. It's not clunky. There are no interminable info dumps. There is no endless exposition. The pacing is spot on. I blew through this in, what, three sittings over two days? I found it hard to put down.
The world is built much like language immersion classes. You're dropped into it on your first day at work, as it were, and you learn from there. Eventually you simply understand how things work. It's a stellar, completely natural introduction.
It's a classic for a reason. I'm sorry I put off reading it until now. I was intimidated by the scale. But that's gone now. I'll start the second book in the series as soon as I can. Honestly, this blew me away.
It's the best Asimov I've read. It doesn't get mired in the science or tech with boring explanations of how the nifty gadgets work. It's more palace intrigue than anything else. But it all happens on an inconceivably grand scale - a galactic scale - a map 100,000 light years across spanning generations of humanity.
Yet the story is accessible. It is readable and understandable because it is told in human terms. The science is an accessory. It is not the point. The setting is necessary for scale but people are people and people tend to react certain ways. It could have been set in Europe, for example. Foundation's story relies (no hinges) on the fundamental truth of human nature.
Human stories - those which speak to human truth - are the most satisfying stories. You know it when you read it. You see parallels to your own world - to the power structures with which you are familiar. The characters have relatable motivations. They speak and interact with one another in a realistic manner. All this; regardless of setting.
It helps that Foundation is well written. The language flows. It's not clunky. There are no interminable info dumps. There is no endless exposition. The pacing is spot on. I blew through this in, what, three sittings over two days? I found it hard to put down.
The world is built much like language immersion classes. You're dropped into it on your first day at work, as it were, and you learn from there. Eventually you simply understand how things work. It's a stellar, completely natural introduction.
It's a classic for a reason. I'm sorry I put off reading it until now. I was intimidated by the scale. But that's gone now. I'll start the second book in the series as soon as I can. Honestly, this blew me away.