Foundation Books in Order: How to read Isaac Asimov&039s series?

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I probably should have used the title “how to read isaac asimov’s robot, empire and founding series?”, but I didn’t want to make a title that was too long. So, let’s talk about the great Isaac Asimov and some of his most famous works.

what is the base series?

The original founding trilogy is one of the most celebrated works of science fiction. Originally, it was a series of eight short stories published in an amazing magazine in the 1940s.

You are reading: Foundation books reading order

It all starts in a future where the mathematician Hari Seldon has developed the concept of psychohistory that he used to predict the future, but only on a large scale. he foresees the fall of the galactic empire and, in order to ensure a favorable future for mankind, he gathers talented minds to basically become the foundation of a new society.

Soon, they were faced with difficult decisions that will determine the future or the end of humanity. asimov says that when he wrote ‘base’, he had no idea that he had started a series of stories.

After the original trilogy, he wrote new books and expanded the universe with connections to the robot series and the empire series.

basic books in order:

There is no single, simple answer to that question. so I will propose two alternatives and you will do what you want.

let’s start with my proposal, then with the one that isaac asimov himself wrote in the ‘author’s note’ of the prelude to the foundation.

me. the original founding trilogy

Let’s be honest, it’s best to start with the best and the heart of the story. these three books make up the original trilogy.

foundation – the galactic empire has ruled supreme, but now it is dying. only hari seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see the future. To preserve knowledge and save humanity, Seldon brings together the best minds in the empire, both scientists and scholars, and brings them to a shadowy planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for a future generation. he calls the sanctuary of him the foundation. but soon the fledgling foundation finds itself at the mercy of the corrupt warlords that arise in the aftermath of the empire’s retreat.
the foundation and the empire: the foundation has outlived the greed and barbarism of its neighboring warrior planets. however, now he must face the empire. When an ambitious general determined to restore the glory of the empire leads the vast imperial fleet toward the founding, the only hope for the small planet of scholars and scientists lies in the prophecies of hari seldon.
second foundation – the story begins after years of fighting, the foundations are in ruins, but it is rumored that there is a second foundation hidden somewhere at the end of the galaxy, established to preserve the knowledge of mankind through the long centuries of barbarism. The fate of the foundation falls on the young Arcadia Darell, only fourteen years old and burdened with a terrible secret.

ii. the prequels and sequels

it’s a bit like dune. first, you continue with the sequels and then you go back to the beginning. why? because the two prequel books change your perspective, but you’ll have a better appreciation of the beginning, you know where it’s all going. and asimov wrote them knowing exactly where the story was going, so it’s better imho to have the same knowledge, somehow. That’s my opinion, and that’s why I’ll recommend that you follow asimov’s chronology if you disagree.

Foundation Edge: The first sequel to the original trilogy. Finally, the costly and bitter war between the two foundations had come to an end. The victors return to Hari Seldon’s long-established plan to build a new empire. now the two exiled citizens of the foundation set off in search of the mythical planet earth and proof that the second foundation still exists. Soon, representatives of the First and Second Foundations will find themselves racing towards a mysterious world called Gaia and a shocking final destination at the very end of the universe.
Foundation and Earth – councilor golan trevize wonders if he was right to choose a collective mind as the best possible future for humanity over the anarchy of conflicting individuals, nations and planets. To prove his conclusion, he decides that he must know the past and goes in search of the legendary land, the references to which have been erased from the galactic libraries. societies encountered along the way become talking points in a book-like colloquium on the fate of man, conducted by trevize and bliss, his fellow traveler, who is part of the first world/mind, gaia.
prelude to foundation – the first prequel. it is the year 12,020 e.g. and emperor cleon i sits uncomfortably on the imperial throne of trantor. hari seldon has come to trantor to present his paper on psychohistory, his remarkable theory of prediction. little does he know that he has already sealed his fate and the fate of humanity.
forward the foundations – as hari seldon struggles to perfect his groundbreaking theory of psychohistory to ensure the humanity’s survival, the great galactic empire teeters on the brink of apocalyptic collapse.

iii. the robot series

As you may know, the robot series can be read separately from the foundation series and the empire series. Since Asimov did not plan his series from the beginning, the connections came later. In that spirit, the robot series integrated the foundation’s continuity after the first trilogy. Since robot novels are really good, it’s a good follow-up if he hasn’t read them yet.

i, robot – collection of short stories exploring the famous three laws of robotics.
the caves of steel – the first robot novel a millennium in the future, two breakthroughs have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. This is the story of an unlikely partnership between a New York City detective named Elijah Baley and R. daneel olivaw, a humanoid robot, who must learn to work as a team when a prominent astronaut is killed under mysterious circumstances.
the naked sun – in the beautiful outer world of the planet solaria , a handful of human colonists lead a hermit existence, their every need attended to by their faithful robot servants. Detective Elijah Baley and the Robot R. Daneel Olivaw are sent from the streets of New York to solve an incredible murder that has shaken Solaria to its core.

Dawn Robots: Detective Elijah Baiey is called to the space world Aurora to solve a strange case of roboticide. The prime suspect is a robotics expert who had the means, motive, and opportunity to commit the crime, but Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw must prove the man’s innocence.
Robots and Empire – Solaria has been abandoned by its human population. countless robots remain there. And when merchants from the settler worlds try to save them, Solaria’s robots go on a killing spree, despite the Three Laws of Robotics. with madam gladia and d.g. baley, the captain of the settler merchants and descendant of the robot’s friend, Elijah Baley -, the robots Daneel and Giskard travel to Solaria where they uncover a sinister space plot to destroy Earth itself.

iv. the empire series

and now, the empire series. not as good as the other two, not as connected as the other two, and mostly optional in that sense. those books can be read independently of each other.

To return to the founding discussion, the empire novels take place before the founding prequels, but after the robot series. the connections to the founding universe are less strong than between the other two series. in fact, it’s pretty optional, but if you want more and don’t mind weaker stories, we’ll make them.

The Currents of Space: High above the planet Florinia, Sark’s squires live in unimaginable wealth and comfort. however, down there in the planet’s eternal springtime, native Florinians toil incessantly to produce the precious kyrt that brings prosperity to their Sarkitite masters. rebellion is unthinkable and impossible. The Trantorian Empire, whose grand plan is to unite all humanity in peace, prosperity and freedom, has allowed oppression to continue. Living among the workers of Florinia, Rik has been kidnapped and brainwashed. As his memories begin to return, Rik is driven by a cryptic message that he is determined to deliver: All in Florinia are doomed, the currents of space are bringing destruction.
Pebble in the sky – one moment joseph schwartz is a happily retired tailor in 1949 chicago. the next, he’s a helpless stranger on earth during the height of the first galactic empire. he soon learns that the earth is a backwater, just a pebble in the sky, despised by all the other 200 million planets of the empire because the people of it dare to claim that it is the original home of man. and the earth is poor, with large areas of radioactivity blighting much of its soil - so poor that everyone is sentenced to death at the age of sixty. joseph schwartz is sixty-two years old.
stars, like dust – biron farrell was young and naive when a radiation bomb planted in his bedroom transformed him from an innocent student into a the university of the land to a marked man. He soon discovers that many light years away, his father, the highly respected rancher from Widemos, has been murdered. Stunned, heartbroken and outraged, Biron is determined to uncover the reasons behind his father’s death and finds himself embroiled in an intricate saga of rebellion, political intrigue and espionage.

isaac asimov suggested reading order:

As I wrote before, asimov didn’t know that the foundation series would become so big and that it was going to connect the series with the robot and the empire. thus, in the ‘author’s note’ at the beginning of the foundation prelude, he offered his own reading order, a chronological order, to be precise.

I, robot
the caves of steel
the naked sun
the robots of dawn
robots and empire
the stars, like dust
the currents of space
pebble in the sky
prelude to the foundation
forward foundation: it wasn’t on asimov’s list because it hadn’t been written yet, but it’s the right place.
foundation
foundation and empire
second foundation
edge of foundation
foundation and earth

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Foundation Books in Order: How to read Isaac Asimov&039s series? – How To Read Me