Foundation's Edge

By Isaac Asimov

The fourth novel in Isaac Asimov’s classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series

THE EPIC SAGA THAT INSPIRED THE APPLE TV+ SERIES FOUNDATION

At last, the costly and bitter war between the two Foundations has come to an end. The scientists of the First Foundation have proved victorious, and now they return to Hari Seldon’s long established plan to build a new Empire on the ruins of the old. But rumors persist that the Second Foundation is not destroyed after all—and that its still-defiant survivors are preparing their revenge. Now two exiled citizens of the Foundation—a renegade Councilman and a doddering historian—set out in search of the mythical planet Earth . . . and proof that the Second Foundation still exists.

Meanwhile someone—or something—outside of both Foundations seems to be orchestrating events to suit its own ominous purpose. Soon representatives of both the First and Second Foundations will find themselves racing toward a mysterious world called Gaia and a final, shocking destiny at the very end of the universe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Feb 22, 2012
• ISBN: 9780553900934

Reviews for Foundation's Edge

[snotbottom-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good continuation of a classic storyline. Especially considering it was written years after the originals!

[stormraven_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the fourth book in the Foundation series, and was written after a long hiatus after the publication of the first three. This book picks up some time after the crisis of the Mule in Second Foundation, and builds on the idea that the Second Foundation is manipulating events to keep the Seldon Plan on track. It also introduces the idea that a third, unknown, more subtle, and powerful force is manipulating the Second Foundation itself with an agenda all its own.Through various political machinations and subterfuges, the main characters of the book all leave their respective homes and set out across the remnants of the Galactic Empire in search of either Earth, or the mysterious third force that is apparently manipulating everyone. The novel culminates in a three way showdown between the various forces, and a solution provided by the central character of the novel.Ultimately, it is the ending of the novel that doesn't work for me. Asimov reveals his belief that people can't be trusted to make decisions for themselves, but rather must be taken care of by those who are smarter then they are, or simply superior at decision making. The main character cavalierly casts aside individual choice in favor of security against an ill-defined and possibly nonexistent threat.Despite the weak ending, the novel is better than many of the later Foundation books, and is certainly better than the poorly thought out Robot-Foundation ret cons that dominated Asimov's later output.

[hskey-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really had no idea how much Asimov's Robots/Empire/Foundation series would appeal to me. I'd heard of I,Robot and seen the movie, but beyond that I was completely clueless. The Robots novels quickly ushered in a new love for reading I'd long since missed; a sense of adventure and wonder. Trying to schedule each day of the week to get at least a few chapters in. Seeing these scenes in my head as clear as day. Gladly being manipulated with great characters, twists and turns, and big questions. I've never read a novelist who could make the events and story FEEL so big with such a small cast. Most epics require a massive cast and thousands of pages. Not so with Asimov. The themes present in the Robots books are so fundamental to the human spirit that it's impossible not be captivated; exploring ourselves, exploring the unknown. Emergence, fear and reliance on new technology. Philosophy. Religion. Psychology. History. It's all so MASSIVE and Asimov makes it easy to follow every step of the way.The Empire novels were fluff, but a nice palette cleanser before the Foundation novels. I enjoyed the first three Foundation books, but this was on another level. You could tell he'd refined his writing over the 30 years inbetween Second Foundation and Foundation's Edge. This is a tremendous journey, with no real traditional antagonists, certainly not on the level of the mule. Finally bringing back Robots into the story, the Three Laws of Robotics and Earth brought me even closer to the characters and I felt like I was an observer through humanity's most critical moments, throughout the cosmos and time itself. Brilliant. Trevize, Gendibal, Sura Novi, Pelorat were fantastic characters, all with believable motivations. I read this in about 5 sittings and cannot wait to start Foundation and Earth. The Foundation series has already cemented itself as one of my all time favorites.

[justifiedsinner_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Archaic style. Bloated dialogue.

[comfypants · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's overly long and repetitive, with clunky prose. But its ideas are fun and interesting, and kept me excited and wanting more.

[chris4graham_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The storyline is starting to waiver I fear

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the fourth in a series after a lapse of decades when it was the established Foundation Trilogy. Although there's enough given here for this to stand alone--at least that I didn't feel a need to brush up and reread--it would be a mistake to read this first. A lot of its pleasures is watching Asimov not only use the material of the previous trilogy, but weaving in this Robot universe and other stand alone novels--even the standalone The End of Eternity gets a nod here.Generally, I think Asimov is strongest in his short stories, not his novels. He's not the kind of writer that impresses with lovely prose, nor is his strength in creating appealing, memorable or complex characters--with few exceptions. As an Asimov fan to discuss his books, and what would get discussed are the ideas, the plot--rarely the characters, if you can even remember the names. That was very evident to me in the first half of the book, which seemed lackluster to me. People talk to each other--endlessly--in unnatural ways. Yes, we have infodump. But it is, at least, interesting, lucidly explained infodump. And half way, the book finally took fire for me. It's not that the characters gained in interest--I finished rereading the book yesterday and I've already forgotten their names. But the ideas are first-rate, even though I'm not particularly sympathetic to Asimov's worldview; he favors a very planned, centrally run future--and this is no exception in the alternatives seen for humanity's future. But he has a gift for setting you to thinking that makes him worth reading.

[shofichoudhury · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A nice book indeed.Gaya mystery leaked now.

[ragwaine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not as good as the original 3.

[jbreedlove_6 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The best of the Foundation series that I've read. Except for a bit of multi-universe background ranting toward the end a smooth and easy read. Looking forward to the next in the series.

[johnfair_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book (in order of publication) to deal with the Foundation since Asimov's original books back in the forties and is the first book to deal with the Foundation - those earlier stories were made up of short stories - and as we find out what has happened in the Foundations in the hundred and twenty years since the stories in those books and this, we find out more about the Second Foundation only to find it isn't quite the high minded organisation that it had been portrayed as. The one thing that I really enjoyed about this book was Trevise and Pelorat's starship, the Far Star with a gravitic drive and a human/machine interfaced computer to die for. In this book Trevise and Pelorat are manipulated into leaving Terminus and exploring the galaxy for Pelorat's long desired planet of origin, Earth, long lost in the mists of Time but as their search carries them through the galaxy they find that practically all mentions of Earth have been stricken from the records, even on the World Mind planet of Gaia where Trevise is required to chose which type of galaxy he wants - military domination by Terminus, the mental domination of Trantor or Galaxia championed by Gaia.

[mohi_11 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sequel to the foundation trilogy. Foundationer Trevize tries his hand at something that has eluded many before him, find the elusive Second Foundation. Good continuation of the dynamic of the two Foundations that was left open in the trilogy.

[karlstar_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Continuing the Foundation novels, as the people of the Foundation search for the elusive Earth, and Asimov builds the link between the Robot novels and Foundation universe.

[drbrewhaha · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A continuation of the Asimov Foundation series. This book discusses the tension between the First and Second Foundation and a new, third-party, Gaia, who is manipulating everyone. This book introduces the idea of Earth as the first planet and robots and Asimov's Three Laws of Robots. The book is written in a different style from the first three. In some ways it feels like an unnecessary add-on to an already classic series, but it is still a good read mostly because the original series still had some loose ends to tie up.

[iamandypieters · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book takes off a few hundred years after the adventures of Arkady Darel, almost 500 years after Harry Seldon, and halfway through the interregnum set out in the Seldon plan. The plan, and thus the galaxy, are facing with their most important crisis yet. Amidst it are the various chess pieces. A second foundationer here, a power hungry mayor there, and several pawns, and at one point, even a stalemate. Yet despite all of this, there is still plenty of wonder, affection, and even love.

[borg6mx5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Why add to one of the greatest sci-fi trilogies of all time? Maybe it was the bucks, but Asimov finally gave it a shot. He did fall short.

[isabelx_21 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Where is the weakness, young man, that you should brand the Plan as meaningless?"Gendibal stood stiffly upright. "You are right, First Speaker. The Seldon Plan has no flaw.""You withdraw your remark, then?""No, First Speaker. Its lack of flaw is its flaw. Its flawlessness is fatal!"Four hundred and ninety-eight years since the Foundation was set up the Seldon Plan is going well, having returned to its path after the Century of Deviations caused by the Mule. But are events now too perfectly aligned with Hari Seldon's original plan to be believable? On Terminus, newly elected Councilman Galon Trevize becomes convinced that the Second Foundation still exists and is manipulating events to keep the plan on track, while Stor Gendibal, the most junior of the Second Foundation's twelve Speakers, starts to suspect something even more alarming.Unlike the original Foundation Trilogy, this book was not written as separate short stories, so it reads like a novel. I found it a quick and enjoyable read, even though both Trevize and Gendibal are rather annoying characters.

[sgerbic · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Reviewed March 1998 Well it's over 500 years sense the establishment of the Foundation and fans forced Asimov's publishers to make him continue the series. Again the characters are better developed an there are more roles with women in power. In this installment we meet the mayor of the 1st Foundation and the hero, Councilman Trevize. Also, we see the interactions of the 2nd Foundation and its soon to be first speaker, Gendibal. Adding to the mix we have a new world, Gaia whose residents remind us of what much have happened to all those satellite worlds in the Robot Books. All in all the plot is interesting and leaves you needing another sequel, which I already possess and should be the next entry.

[tadad_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Thirty years after he wrote the original trilogy, Asimov decided to add to it giving the quite refreshing reason of, "the size of the payment offered by the publisher." :-)This volume and Foundation and Earth not only extended the original books, they tied in his Robots series and his other novels set in the Galactic Empire. I don't think they worked as well as the original books and, like many Grand Unification plans of authors, I wish he had just left the stories separate.

[aarondesk · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brilliant! This book is an excellent addition to the Foundation series. I just wanted to keep on reading.

[olyra_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

it is one of my favorite science fiction series, by one of my favorite authors.

[ensorceled_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pretty good. While I would say the original 3 foundation books are "Must reads", I'd say this one is for fans only.

[chrisada_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The notion and convention of Asimov's future is fell established at the time of this story. I found the political game on both foundations interesting, and the hidden hand that manipulate the manipulator is neat. With some mathematics & science background, this story will be enjoyed even more.

[jpsnow · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Asimov continued this series with a 4th installment almost 30 years after the Second Foundation. In this tale, the First and Second Foundation both vie for control of the future of the Seldon Plan, realizing that the Second Empire can be formed and the leadership can be chosen now. A naturally intuitive Councilman from Terminus is caught in the middle of the quest and is eventually forced to decide which of three options will become the future model of the galaxy.

[john257hopper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Foundation series is my all time favourite science fiction series. This was Asimov's return to the series after a gap of several decades and the difference in style of a novel written in the 1980s to the original stories in the 1940s and 50s is stark. This one is even more than its predecessors a novel of ideas and concepts, not of action. Nevertheless there are slightly more rounded characters than in those earlier novels. I think this lacks slightly the impact of those books, but builds on their sweeping future history and is still an excellent novel of ideas.

[scottcholstad · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Spectacular! Finally, a Foundation book worthy of its reputation and legacy. I found the Foundation Trilogy to be quite mediocre, at best, and even gave the second one just one star and couldn’t even finish it, it was so bad. The writing was horrible in the first three books, the characters undeveloped, the plotlines flat, the technology rather pathetic with far too much reliance on nuclear energy 20,000 years in the future. The books sucked. But this one, written 30 years later, shows a maturity in the writing style, a certain growth, and while no one can ever confuse Asimov’s ability to create character development with “real” writers, he certainly improves it in this book. So, too, the plot is decidedly better, more intricate, more intriguing, the book may even be viewed as a page turner! What a pleasant surprise.Foundation's Edge focuses on Foundation Councilman Golan Trevize, whose ideas about the existence of the Second Foundation get him in a great deal of trouble. Likewise, a young Speaker of the Second Foundation, also aware that something is completely wrong with the Seldon Plan, is viewed as a troublemaker. Trevize is arrested and exiled for his challenge to the Mayor of the Foundation. He is given a secret mission – to find the Second Foundation and determine what it is up to and then to report back. The Second Foundation’s Speaker's goal is to find who is manipulating the Seldon Plan outside the Second Foundation, as he is now convinced is happening. These two mysteries and men are destined to find one another and then, what happens, happens.Trevize takes historian Jan Pelorat, an unknown academic who believes, bizarrely, that humans, now spread over a zillion planets, actually originated on a single planet: Earth. Pelorat unwittingly joins Trevize as a cover for his search for the Second Foundation. Pelorat is obsessed with Earth. Why did people leave Earth 20,000 years ago? For instance, why are there no records of its history or location anywhere, just rumors? Was Earth destroyed by radioactivity? Did a war between robots and humanity force humans to flee the planet to establish new worlds?Speaker Gendibal takes as his companion a Hamish woman named Novi, whom he will use as a mental alarm in the event anyone or anything attempts to take his mind over. Novi ends up playing a significant role in this book. Foundation Mayor Branno leads a fleet of five warships to the mysterious planet Trevize and Pelorat locate, Gaia, a planet found on no maps or in no databases anywhere. Trevize, Gendibal, and Branno all appear at Gaia simultaneously and discover something unbelievable. And something unbelievable happens to end the novel.There is another book Asimov apparently wrote after this book and this one was so good that I’ll probably buy that one and read it too. I hope it’ll be nearly as decent as this was. I also know there are now preludes to the original trilogy, but as I hated the trilogy so much, I doubt I’m interested in reading any preludes. This book is superior, a most excellent book, and while it helps to have read the trilogy, I’m not certain it’s necessary – it can probably be read as a stand alone book. Even though it’s over 425 pages, it doesn’t feel long and is a quick read. Definitely worth the investment. Strongly recommended.

[dbsovereign · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Foundation series (there are seven books in all though the three originals - _Foundation_, _Foundation and Empire_, and _Second Foundation_ - are the best of the series) is classic sci-fi and some of Asimov’s best. His characters are rather flat, his plots bog down in ideas and are rather short on action. That being said, these books can still thrill you if you’ve never read them and if you’re a sci-fi fan, you will probably love them. Asimov reminds us that history repeats itself and this a _Decline and Fall_ set in the future.

[tobinelliott · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While this series still shows its age (especially this one, I think simply due to all the explanations of how computers work, etc.), I have to say I enjoyed this one a bit more.

While still displaying all the hallmarks of a typical Asimov Foundation>/i> novel, which is to say, at least three people engaged in at least one discussion of "Haha! I've outsmarted you!" "Haha! You only believe you have! But had you considered X, you would see that it is I that has outsmarted you!" "Bwha-haha! You are both fools! I have outsmarted both of you!", this one seemed to open up an already large, yet strangely claustrophobic universe through the additions of both Asimov's Robots and his Eternals.

Yes, the robots, if you read the books in series order, were added in one of the prequel books, but this gives them a place in the proceedings. A seat at the table, as it were.

Overall, I've accepted the fact that Asimov will never be a great writer, yet, this book, written three decades after the first trilogy, is much better written (even if latter books became dreadful to read). Now that I'm well into the back half of the series, this one gives me a bit of hope that the next four books won't be quite as painful as the first ones were.

[seriousgrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Golan Trevize is convinced the second Foundation is controlling events on the planet Terminus. Instead of having him imprisoned or executed for treason, Mayor Harla Branno sends him on a quest - find the second Foundation if you are so convinced it exists. I dare you. The catch is he cannot return until he finds evidence one way or another. To help him with this quest Trevize is assigned a partner, professor of Ancient History, Janor Pelorat. Only Pelorat has another motive. He wants to discover the mythical planet of Earth...which sets up the next book in the series.Trevize and Pelorat discover the second Foundation does exist on the planet Trantor. Turns out, Trantor has similar fears about the first Foundation. So the battle of misconceptions starts.