The Foundations of Modern Science Fiction (Foundation - Isaac Asimov)

Member Name: Truman III

Product:	Foundation - Isaac Asimov
Date:	16/07/01 (162 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An engrossing read

Disadvantages: Not long enough!

I first came across Isaac Asimov's novels not more than a month ago. I had recently found a passion for Classic Science Fiction novels and Asimov was one author who, despite his prolific output, I hadn't given a chance. I was somewhat wary at first as there are a lot of pulp novels out there that are pretty poor and it seemed to me, flicking through the first few pages of an Asimov novel in Borders, that the author had written so many books that he must just be writing to satisfy the lowest common denominator. How wrong I was. After reading the first few pages of 'Foundation' I was hooked.

The novel is a truly enthralling one, centred around the decline of a truly galactic empire. It seems that for everyone in this futuristic utopia that the end of History has been reached. Everyone that is except Hari Seldon, a psychohistorian, who believes that the empire will crumble in the near future and a new Dark Age will set in. Psychohistoy is a very interesting idea, a cross between sociology and mathematics, allowing Professor Seldon to predict future trends in the galaxy. Seldon shows through his psychohistorical analysis that, if he is allowed to gather the knowledge of the galaxy into an 'Encyclopaedia Galactica', and able to work to minimise the effects of the decline, then the Dark Ages will last for only one millennium, rather than the 30,000 years than he otherwise predicts.

The story plots the decline of the empire from the perspective of the people of the planet Terminus, a people who have been transplanted to this outpost at the edges of the galaxy by Hari Seldon, ostensibly to collate the combined knowledge of the galaxy before the inevitable decline sets in. The reality is never quite what it seems however and we quickly learn that the people of Terminus will lay the foundations of a new galactic empire that will be far stronger than the present one.

The people who are incubating this new foundation gradually
come up against increasing threats that they, a peaceful community on the outskirts of a crumbling empire, with the onset of regional interests and localised struggles are ill-equipped to resolve. They do have an helping hand, however, as we find that, using his psychohistorical skills, Hari Seldon has selected Terminus as the place that is most likely to survive the Dark Age and one whose events can be predicted and controlled with a high degree of accuracy in the years to come. It is thus the case that with the growth of local interests through authoritarian rule, religious civilisation and the prosperity from trade, the people of the Foundation are able to control the growth of their rivals at every stage and to expand their influence over progressively more and more of the outlying seats of power.

I found the book to be an incredibly immersing read and one that I could barely put down. Although it seems to be a fairly straightforward read, by the end, you have nothing but admiration for the level of planning that Asimov must have put into it to create a story that constantly takes unexpected twists and remains fresh, imaginative and difficult to predict. Asimov, like the heroes within his book, always stays one step ahead of the game.

There are several imaginative ideas raised in this book, now around fifty years old. The idea of Psychohistory is fascinating, and yet based upon very simple precepts. The notion of decline in an empire that is seemingly perfect gives rise to the notion that there is no such thing as Progress in History and that, without a lively and innovative society, the only things to greet us in the future is stagnation and decline. This is quite a disconcerting thought for those of us that believe that surely everybody can learn from their history and experience and that we are not stupid enough to make the mistakes of the past. The novel gives rise to the idea that not only is a waxing and waning of Progress is inevitable,
but in order to stop it, we must keep moving on, improving. Even the 'Encyclopaedia' is seen as insufficient to bring about the Renaissance that the Encyclopaedists hoped for, says Mayor Hardin, one of the movers and shakers early on in the history of Terminus: “Your bunch here is a perfect example of what’s been wrong with the entire Galaxy for thousands of years. What kind of science is it to be stuck out here for centuries classifying the work of scientists of the last millennium? Have you ever thought of working onward, extending their knowledge and improving upon it? No! you’re quite happy to stagnate.”

In all, this has to be a highly enthralling way to get into the genre of Science Fiction. The book helps to dispel the idea that Science Fiction is not the preserve of greasy anorak-wearing nerds, but another highly useful way of charting, feeling and explaining the best and the worst of the human experience. I cannot wait to begin the sequels and prequels to the Foundation Saga.

If anyone decides to follow my advice and read this book, and furthermore, if you enjoyed it as much as I did gaining an interest in the genre, may I take the liberty of recommending some further reading. I am personally a huge fan of the epic scale of James Blish’s 'Cities in Flight', another work of a supreme imagination, and Olaf Stapledon’s 'Star Maker' a book which was written in the 1930’s but provides a vivid and unique look at the future of the universe. Both of these books chart the end of history, raising interesting questions along the way and I will profile these marvellous works individually in due course.

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