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Before Hari Seldon became the fearsome apostle of doom, and the legendary founder of psychohistory, he was an idealistic 30-year-old with an interesting scientific theory. He only meant to start a hypothetical discussion among fellow mathematicians, but ended up seriously pondering its practical applicability.

Running for his life through various sectors of the imperial capital, Seldon tries to delve into the origin of an Empire rumoured to be on its last legs. After all a working science of psychohistory could be invaluable in providing a means of salvation...



I had initially meant to read this book to discuss the changes in TV series with my book club, but ended up barely grazing the subject. I am not sorry though, because the amount and quality of the world-building here is just amazing. Twice as long as the Foundation (i.e. the 1st book, not the series), this book gives the reader a much better understanding of the early signs of the Empire's collapse, by introducing a clever tactic of ingenious inventions left abandoned, due to lack of resources for mass-production.

Set some 40 years before the start of the Foundation, we meet a much more naive and idealistic Hari Seldon, with a penchant for scientific flights of fancy and the occasional flirting session. I especially enjoyed seeing the clash between Seldon's scientific common sense, and Chetter Hummin's political one: both making excellent (if often contradictory) points.



The only thing that detracted from my enjoyment, was the protagonist's awkward attempt at flirting. I even suspected sarcasm initially, as Hari's sudden sleazy remarks felt rather out of character. It's funny how much I don't want to see romantic (sub)plots outside the genre anymore, when I could hardly picture a happy ending without it ten years ago.

Score: 4.8/5 stars

This was the book that made me fall in love with Asimov's stories, and now it's the book that brings back fond memories of the Robot series. I loved the clever Easter-Eggs that reference places and people from the 4 books, especially when Seldon tries to asses their accuracy.

"The more valued and the more carefully preserved particular information is, the more long-lasting and accurate it may be.�
“The key word is ‘particular.� What the Book may care to preserve may not be what you wish to have preserved and what a robot may remember best may be what you wish him to remember least.�

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Review of book 3 (chronological order): Foundation
Review of book 4 (chronological order): Foundation and Empire
Review of book 5 (chronological order): Second Foundation