From archive (archive) Subject: Book Review, Black widowers From: bs@augusta.UUCP Organization: Gould Electronics, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Date: 13 Jun 86 09:58:00 SDT While not strictly a Science Fiction book, it seems reasonable to review the latest of Isaac Asimov's collections of Black Widower's stories _Banquets_of_the_Black_Widowers_, here due to the fame of the author in that field. For those who have not read any Black Widowers stories, they are light mysteries, set at the monthly banquet/meeting of the Black Widowers club. This club is loosely based on a real organization (The Trap Door Spiders, if anyone cares) to which Mr Asimov belongs. Each meeting is hosted by one of the 6 members who brings along an invited guest. Each guest always seems to have some sort of problem which serves as the basis of the mystery. The club members (Phd's all) take turns trying to extract clues and make guesses as to the solution. In the end the genteel waiter, Henry, always comes up with the correct solution. --- mild spoilers follow --- In this book, the gimmicks for the mysteries are as clever as always, but the writing seems overly terse. There is an assumption that the reader is already familiar with the characters. This is not an unreasonable thought as it is the 4th book of tales, and complete repitition of character descriptions in each story would be out of the question. Still it would have been nice to expand the first story in the book to flesh out the members a bit for the new readers, and help the memory of those of us who haven't read the series in several years. I am by nature a poor 'solver of mysteries', but I plead a good excuse in these cases. While the gimmicks are clever, they are ofter based on trivia of the highest order. For example in one story the puzzle hinged on knowledge of the date of the first performance of the Gilber and Sullivan operetta Pinafore. Another required knowing the French word for beef steak. Two required knowing a famous sonnet and poem respectively. Not everyday stuff (at least for me). I did enjoy reading the book, but I would recommend it in short doses. Say one story before bed each night. Also I would suggest that readers new to the series start with an earlier book to get more insight into the characters and their personalities. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "To the systems programmer, the customers and users serve only to provide a test load." - P. DesJardins Burch Seymour -Gould C.S.D. at ....mcnc!rti-sel!gould!bseymour ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From archive (archive) THE NORBY CHRONICLES by Janet and Isaac Asimov Ace, 1986, $2.95. A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper When I first saw this, complete with subtitle "More Asimov Robots!", I thought it might be part of his "real" robot series. However, a quick perusal indicated that this was not the case; it is in fact a juvenile totally unrelated to his other works. The other thing I noticed was that J. O. Jeppson (a.k.a. Janet Jeppson) had finally given in to the pressures of business and is now writing under the name "Janet Asimov." Be that as it may, the question is, "Is it any good?" Well, it's been a long time since I was of an age to really appreciate a juvenile novel, but I just had this feeling that this wasn't one. Jeff Wells, our teenage hero, has a older brother named Farley Gordon (he's called "Fargo Wells") and a second-hand robot named Norby ("one of the very ancient R2 models", which looks just like R2-D2 on the cover) and gets into trouble with them and eventually saves the Solar System from Ing the Ingrate and other nasties. Typical juvenile fare, but the situations are so unbelievable that no child old enough to read would believe it, or should. Example: the Inventors Union wants to take Norby apart to see what makes him tick. But Admiral Yobo is so friendly with Jeff that he breaks all sorts of rules to help them escape. Kids today are too sophisticated to believe that (I hope). Just to see if I had gotten out of touch with juvenile novels, I re- read DAVID STAR, SPACE RANGER. I had remembered it as being better than THE NORBY CHRONICLES and it was. I must conclude that this novel (actually two novellas "Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot" and "Norby's Other Secret") was marketed to capitalize on Asimov's name. Pass it by. Evelyn C. Leeper ...ihnp4!mtgzy!ecl (or ihnp4!mtgzz!ecl) From archive (archive) From: duane@anasaz.UUCP (Duane Morse) Organization: Anasazi, Inc., Phoenix, Az. Subject: _Prelude_to_Foundation by Isaac Asimov (mild spoiler) Date: 16 Aug 88 14:28:19 GMT Time: relatively far future Place: Trantor, central planet of the Galactic Empire SF elements: psychohistory (mathematical modeling of social history); galactic empire; advanced technology Introduction: This is the early history of Hari Seldon, the founder of psychohistory. After giving a talk on the subject at a math convention on Trantor, he has an audience with the Emperor, who wants Seldon to either predict his future or act as his puppet and publicly "predict" good things for the Empire. Seldon explains that psychohistory is a theoretical subject and that it may be impossible to calculate anything; further, he himself doesn't know enough about history to even start. After the meeting, Seldon is harrassed, presumably by imperial agents. Main storylines: Seldon's adventures in various sectors of Trantor as he tries to avoid imperial agents and, at the same time, see if there's any way psychohistory can be made real; friendship with a female historian. Critique: This book has a number of serious flaws. First, there's too much dialogue; my impression is that about 80% of the book is dialogue. As a result, the surroundings don't have much depth, the atmosphere is shallow, and the pace isn't very fast. Another problem, oddly enough, has to do with the level of technology. I would expect the computer systems on Trantor to be much more sophisticated than they are represented. The story is episodic, though a common theme runs through all. I've never been particularly fond of this style of writing; it's too much like stringing short stories together. I had looked forward to learning quite a bit about psychohistory and about Hari Seldon, since I am a fan of the Foundation series; I was disappointed to learn little about either. Rating: 2.5 out of 4.0 (good). This one's hard for me to judge because my expectations were pretty high. -- Duane Morse ...!noao!mcdsun!nud!anasaz!duane (602) 861-7609 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu May 6 17:14:29 1993 Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Path: lysator.liu.se!isy!liuida!sunic!mcsun!Germany.EU.net!news.netmbx.de!mailgzrz.TU-Berlin.DE!math.fu-berlin.de!fauern!ira.uka.de!howland.reston.ans.net!gatech!udel!news.intercon.com!eddie.mit.edu!uhog.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!nobody From: sbrock@teal.csn.org (Steve Brock) Subject: Review of Forward the Foundation by Isaac Asimov Message-ID: Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Sender: news@news.media.mit.edu (USENET News System) Organization: Colorado SuperNet, Inc. Date: Mon, 3 May 1993 21:18:14 GMT Approved: wex@media.mit.edu (Alan Wexelblat) Lines: 44 REVIEW This - this - was my life's work. My past - humanity's future. Foundation. So beautiful, so alive. -- Hari Seldon The publication of the seventh novel in the Foundation series will, unfortunately, be the final one. "Forward the Foundation" was completed three months before the prolific and beloved author's death just over a year ago. Prior to the publication of this novel, Asimov wrote two Foundation trilogies: Foundation (1951), Foundation and Empire (1952), and Second Foundation (1953), and Foundation's Edge (1982), Foundation and Earth (1986), and Prelude to Foundation (1988). The series has entertained readers for over forty years. "Forward the Foundation" is a philosophical look back at the Foundation's creation by Hari Seldon, creator of the theory of psychohistory, the science of using physical and philosophical theories to chart human events. Psychohistorical research has foretold the collapse of the first galactic empire (roughly paralleling the fall of the Roman Empire), and Hari prepares for what will rise from its ashes. Seen primarily as a holographic image in prior volumes, he now is observed, late in life, as a wise, yet occasionally too-trusting leader with a vision. Hari must rush to preserve the achievements of humanity before they are extinguished in an apocalypse. Those who believe must act quickly and courageously, and Asimov makes them perform believably. There is even a guest appearance of R. Daneel Olivaw from Asimov's "Robot" series of novels. "Forward the Foundation" culminates with the rise of the Second Foundation, entrusted to his daughter, Wanda. It is with sadness that I highly recommend the climactic finale of one of the most entertaining and educational writers the Earth has seen. Tristar Pictures has the film rights to the Foundation stories, on behalf of Roben-Cavallo Entertainment, who are working on a motion picture. No information was available on its progress at the time of this posting. %A Asimov, Isaac %T Forward the Foundation %C New York %D April, 1993 %G 0-385-24793-1 %I Doubleday Publishing, 666 Fifth Ave., N.Y., NY 10103 %O $23.95, cloth %P 415 pp. From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Dec 2 12:31:21 1993 Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!uunet!news.sprintlink.net!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: Erich=Hurst%Mfg=Sys%IM=Hou@bangate.compaq.com Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Review of NIGHTFALL, by Asimov and Silverberg Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: Date: 01 Dec 93 01:25:19 GMT Lines: 304 [This is going to be a pretty long review for a book that has already been out three years. I haven't written a real book review in a very long time. Even the reviews I've written so far for the Internet have been real quick-and-dirty don't-waste-my-time-with-details type reviews. So, this was mostly an exercise for me to see if I could do it, and how well I could do it. I'm trolling for compliments here, so if you read this review, I would appreciate any criticism or comments you may have, either on the review itself, or on the subject matter of the review.] [Spoiler note: No real significant spoilers in this review, although there is a general tendency to assume that you have read the short story "Nightfall", by Isaac Asimov.] _NIGHTFALL_ by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg Review by Erich Hurst "If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore, and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God!" This quotation by Ralph Waldo Emerson is used to introduce one of the best science fiction stories of all time, "Nightfall", by Isaac Asimov. That claim is not one of conceit on my part. It is one of admission by the Science Fiction Writers of America, thirty years after the story was written. The sci-fi public seems to agree. "Nightfall" is a true classic of the genre. It is a standard that sci-fi fans go back to time and time again, generation after generation. And even though Asimov himself disagreed that it was the "best science fiction story ever written", it was definitely a turning point in his career, as he tells us in his autobiography, _In Memory Yet Green_: "...after 'Nightfall' appeared [in the September 1941 issue of 'Astounding'], I was no longer a minor writer, hovering about the fringes of science-fiction fame. Finally, after three years of trying, I was accepted as a major figure in the field...." "Other world! There is no other world! Here or nowhere is the whole fact." This quotation, also by Emerson, was added to the first and used to introduce _Nightfall_, by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg, the novel based on "the best science fiction story ever written". Is it "the best novel ever written"? No. It is easily argued that each of these authors have written more significant and more entertaining novels than this one. So why write it? "Nightfall" was a "perfect" short story. "A jewel of a story", as a friend of mine put it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? Why risk putting a flaw in that perfect jewel? I am not the person to answer that question. You would have to ask publishers, editors, and/or authors that question. What questions I can answer, though, are: is it any good? Did I enjoy it? Is it as good as the short story? Does it ruin the short story? (This last question undoubtedly is asked by those who are aware of the horrible movie that was made, based on the short story. "We've been burned once already.") "NIGHTFALL" VERSUS _NIGHTFALL_ Given the fame of its source material, it would be impossible to review _Nightfall_ without comparing it to "Nightfall". Therefore, I won't even try. Besides, comparing it to the original is probably what you are most interested in hearing about, anyway. First of all, I can tell you, if you are worried that _Nightfall_ damages "Nightfall", then lay your fears to rest. _Nightfall_ makes, in my opinion, very little changes in the short story. And before you say, "Aha! I KNEW it would change the story," let me explain what those "little changes" are. The smallest changes are in some names. The planet Lagash is now Kalgash. The six suns are no longer Alpha, Beta, Gamma, etc., but Onos, Dovim, Trey, Patru, Tano and Sitha. The Hideout is now called the Sanctuary. The Cultists are now the Apostles of Flame. Aton 77, the Director of Saro University, is now Athor 77, head of the Observatory at Saro University. Athor's name bothered me a bit, but the suns' new names actually sound better than just "Alpha", "Beta", etc. The rest I was completely ambivalent about. All of the main characters from "Nightfall" are here. Theremon, the newspaper columnist; Aton/Athor, the Observatory Director; Beenay, an astronomist and co-worker of Athor; and Sheerin, the psychologist. Even Faro and Yimot, the two grad students who unsuccessfully tried to simulate the Stars with a make-shift planetarium. But, there are some additional characters. Siferra, a female archaeologist, is the most notable addition. She plays a key role in the discoveries that reveal the coming crisis on Kalgash. Another major addition is Folimun, a top aide to the High Apostle Mondior, head of the Apostles of Flame. The Apostles play an important role in this novel, a much bigger role than the Cultists in the short story. Folimun is the key to their role. Not all of the events in "Nightfall" are handled the same way in _Nightfall_. Some events occur sooner than in "Nightfall", some later. It still feels completely natural, though. In fact, with more room to work with in the novel, the sequence of events in _Nightfall_ feels more natural than the ones in "Nightfall". The short story had to cover a lot of background material quickly, to establish the crisis. The novel takes a more leisurely approach. But perhaps the most important point for the nitpicker is that all the major events in "Nightfall" do occur in _Nightfall_. Nothing is left out. Finally, Silverberg does bring the language and dialogues of _Nightfall_ up-to-date. Compare these two passages, the first from the short story: Aton stared in consternation and said peevishly, "Now what the devil are you doing here, Sheerin? I thought you were going to stay behind in the Hideout." Sheerin laughed and dropped his stubby figure into a chair. "Hideout be blowed!" And the second, from the novel: Athor stared in consternation and said peevishly, "Yes, what *are* you doing here, Sheerin? I thought you were going to stay behind in the Sanctuary." Sheerin laughed and dropped his tubby figure into a chair. "Sanctuary be damned!" Minor changes, yes, but it does give the dialogue a more modern feel to it. So, like I said, some minor liberties were taken with the short story. But not enough to destroy or damage it. That was a very comforting factor to me, knowing how easily it would be to damage it. PLOT AND CHARACTERS "Alright," says the sceptic, "so maybe _Nightfall_ doesn't damage 'Nightfall'. So what? That doesn't make _Nightfall_ a good book. It just keeps it from being a HORRIBLE book." But, I reply to the sceptic, _Nightfall_ IS a good book. Silverberg does manage to improve this "perfect" story. And he manages to improve it by using the two advantages a novel has over a short story: character development, and plot development. This isn't any profound discovery, just an observation based on the fact that novels have more opportunities (i.e., words) to develop characters and plot. You can probably guess pretty easily how the plot is developed beyond the one in "Nightfall". The book is divided into three parts: "Twilight", "Nightfall", and "Daybreak". The second part is basically the short story re-told, modified to keep the continuity with the rest of the book. The first and third parts relate the events preceding and succeeding "Nightfall", respectively. The majority of "original" effort in this book is concentrated in the first and third parts -- which again shows how the original short story is "protected" in the novel. "Twilight" establishes the three discoveries that lead to the crisis in the novel. Sheerin investigates the psychological effects that the Tunnel of Mystery at the Jonglor Centennial Exposition has had on people that rode it. Siferra makes a tremendous archaeological discovery -- a human city that has been burned down and rebuilt on the same site nine times, at an interval of roughly two thousand and fifty years between each burning. This is a breakthrough discovery because common knowledge said that human history was only two thousand years old. Beenay discovers that Kalgash's orbit around and through the six suns does not obey Athor's relatively new Theory of Universal Gravitation. When confronted with this, Athor leads a search for the "missing factor", and discovers Kalgash Two. Those of you who've read the short story will remember that all of these discoveries were made sporadically years or decades before the events in "Nightfall". In the novel, though, all of these discoveries occur almost concurrently, a year or two before the eclipse. It is a less-than-perfect contrivance, I admit. But overall, it is still a minor point. The second part of the novel, (also called "Nightfall", which might make this discussion even more confusing than it already is!), as I said above, basically re-tells the original short story. (Some of it verbatim!) It is exciting reading it, though, after the "Twilight" section. The feeling I had as I was reading it was similar to the feeling you get watching a favorite movie after you've seen the "Behind the Scenes" special. "Daybreak", the third part of the novel, unfortunately does not carry this momentum that has built up in "Nightfall". Part of that is due to the very nature of what this section must tell -- the morning after. If you have read Stephen King's _The Stand_, or Frank Herbert's _The White Plague_, or any other post-apocalyptic anarchy-run-amok story, then "Daybreak" is not going to interest you very much. The problem is, we've seen this kind of stuff before. Whereas King and Herbert used biological viruses that wipe out entire civilizations, Silverberg uses the psychological disease, "madness". The end result is the same. Anarchy. Rampant violence. Barbarism. Society and all forms of government completely wiped out. It is left to the survivors to sort it out and bring a new order to the chaos. The other disappointment in "Daybreak" also could not have been avoided, and that is the reader's inclination to view all of "Daybreak" as denouement. The short story climaxed right there at the very end, with Nightfall itself and the revealing of the Stars. That same climax exists in the novel, at the end of the second part. But the novel goes on -- to "Daybreak." The reader keeps waiting for "Daybreak" to just stop and say "okay guys, that's a wrap." But it can't. It tries to build up to a climax itself, and although it does have a climax, it can't compare to the climax in "Nightfall." It is literally a let down. Okay, that's the bad news. The good news is that "Daybreak" is still full of action, excitement, and new ideas. The characters which we've come to know and identify with in the first two parts now must face the horror that could not be avoided. The characters are not free from the anarchy and barbarism that results from Nightfall, they actually PARTICIPATE in it. They are fighting for their survival -- not just physically, but mentally. "Daybreak" does build up to a satisfying conclusion -- to me. It simply is not as exciting a conclusion as "Nightfall". I don't think everyone is going to be satisfied with this ending in "Daybreak", but the nature of the ending is such that that would be expected. I can't tell you why, because I don't want to spoil it THAT much. Suffice it to say, a decision has to be made at the end by the main characters, and while some or most won't like the decision that is made, (and "making a decision", as an ending, is nowhere near as exciting as a whole planet going mad) it is the right decision to make. The "Daybreak" section provides one other advantage. It brings home exactly what is so horrible about Nightfall to this society. With the short story, you basically have to take everyone's word for it that Kalgash/Lagash society will crumble. The horror of their society collapsing is an academic, impersonal event to the reader. In the novel, you are shown what will happen. It is made real and personal to you. You are there while Theremon, Sheerin, Beenay and the rest fight for their lives in the aftermath of this catastrophe. It's effective. Through the whole long episode of the coming of the Darkness, from the first moment that he had heard from Beenay and Athor that such a thing was likely, Sheerin had bounced around from one end of the psychological spectrum to the other, from pessimism to optimism and back again, from hope to despair to hope. His intelligence and experience told him one thing, his naturally resilient personality told him another. Perhaps Beenay and Athor were wrong and the astronomical cataclysm wouldn't happen at all. *No, the cataclysm will definitely happen.* Darkness, despite his own disturbing experiences with it at the Tunnel of Mystery two years before, would turn out not to be such a troublesome thing after all, if indeed it did come. *Wrong. Darkness will cause universal madness.* The madness would be only temporary, a brief period of disorientation. *The madness will be permanent, in most people.* The world would be disrupted for a few hours and then go back to normal. *The world will be destroyed in the chaos following the eclipse.* BOTTOM LINE I like reviews with a Bottom Line, and if I were to give one for _Nightfall_, I would say that it is a good book, and a worthy successor to the short story. But, if you haven't read the short story, you really should, whether you go on to read this novel or not. "Nightfall", the short story, really is one of the best examples of science fiction out there, by Asimov or anyone else. It is a very easy story to find, since it has been reprinted many, many times in the last 52 years. Try finding a copy of the book _Nightfall and Other Stories_ in a used book store. Better yet, get a copy of Asimov's _Complete Stories, Vol. 1_. Do you HAVE to read "Nightfall" before _Nightfall_? No, I don't think so, since _Nightfall_ contains "Nightfall" more or less intact. But I definitely would discourage anyone from reading the novel before the short story, because there is so much more to the novel. If you do read the novel first, the short story will have nothing exciting and new to offer you. Other than that caveat, if you have read "Nightfall" and are bound and determined that nobody could improve "Nightfall", and you resent Silverberg even trying, (I just know that there are some of you out there) then just give up now and ignore this book. You won't like it, because it IS different from the short story. And it does not propose any radically new ideas that you will benefit from. But if you are less than a 100% Purist, like me, give _Nightfall_ a try. Believe me, I am a HUGE fan of Asimov's science fiction and particularly of "Nightfall", and this book is GOOD. %A Asimov, Isaac %A Silverberg, Robert %T Nightfall %I Doubleday %C New York %D November 1990 %G ISBN 0-385-26341-4 %P 339 pp. %O hardback, $19.95 %O also available in paperback %O based on the short story, "Nightfall", by Isaac Asimov. Erich Hurst Compaq Computer Corp. Houston, Texas Erich=Hurst%Mfg=Sys%IM=Hou@bangate.compaq.com From rec.arts.sf.written Thu Mar 10 23:46:43 1994 Xref: liuida rec.arts.sf.written:52231 rec.arts.books:78957 alt.books.reviews:2750 Path: liuida!sunic!EU.net!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!news.umbc.edu!haven.umd.edu!cville-srv.wam.umd.edu!cbaker From: cbaker@wam.umd.edu (C. Douglas Baker) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.books,alt.books.reviews Subject: FORWARD THE FOUNDATION by Isaac Asimov Book Review by C. Douglas Baker Date: 10 Mar 1994 22:18:26 GMT Organization: University of Maryland, College Park Lines: 194 Message-ID: <2lo6bj$lsu@cville-srv.wam.umd.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: rac5.wam.umd.edu FORWARD THE FOUNDATION by Isaac Asimov Book Review by C. Douglas Baker FORWARD THE FOUNDATION is an excellent work and very entertaining. It is well written in the vein of the Foundation Series. But ultimately, FORWARD THE FOUNDATION is profoundly disappointing. FORWARD THE FOUNDATION is a biography of Hari Seldon filling in the areas of his life not previously covered in PRELUDE TO FOUNDATION. FORWARD THE FOUNDATION is written as a series of novellas covering major portions and events in Seldon's life as he continues his solidification of psychohistory and prepares for the establishment of the Foundation and the Second Galactic Empire. Hari Seldon is a fascinating character and many of his life experiences chronicled in FORWARD THE FOUNDATION were unexpected. FORWARD THE FOUNDATION probably could be enjoyed as a stand alone novel but it is not recommended. Without the background of the previous Foundation novels many of the events and explications of psychohistory would be much less significant to the reader. Two key questions remained after the last novel, FOUNDATION AND EARTH. First, how and why was the Second Foundation originally established? Second, was the Seldon Plan truly a failure and would Galaxia really be the future of humankind? FORWARD THE FOUNDATION clearly answers the first question. The First and Second Foundations were established to be complimentary to each other. The First Foundation is to be the backbone of the technological and political regeneration of humanity in the form of the Second Galactic Empire while the Second Foundation plays the role of advancing psychohistory and ensuring the survival of the First Foundation. While this is relatively clear in the previous Foundation novels, the Second Foundation seems vulnerable and venal in FOUNDATION'S EDGE and FOUNDATION AND EARTH. Both Foundations are more concerned with their own self interest as opposed to the interest of the Second Galactic Empire or the Seldon Plan in those novels. In FORWARD THE FOUNDATION we clearly see that they are meant to work together to complete the Seldon Plan. Ultimately FORWARD THE FOUNDATION is extremely disappointing as a denouement to the Foundation Series. The major question left from FOUNDATION AND EARTH, the latest chronologically of the Foundation Series, is the fate of humanity. It seems pretty clear at the end of FOUNDATION AND EARTH that Gaia or Galaxia, the all encompassing organic planet where every element is interconnected physically, will be the eventual fate of all humankind after Trevize discovers what he considers to be the fatal flaw of psychohistory and decides in its favor (for more detail see FOUNDATION'S EDGE and FOUNDATION AND EARTH). Trevize claims that psychohistory does not take into account the possibility of intelligent life in other galaxies. If such life exists then psychohistory is irreparably flawed (I think this is a terribly poor argument and lament that FOUNDATION AND EARTH was ever written). Therefore Trevize feels he must side with Gaia so that humankind can be united if it ever faces a threat from intelligent life outside the galaxy. Gaia is a very unpleasant and damning ending for humanity. Humankind as one large interconnected organism is defeatist. Unfortunately, FORWARD THE FOUNDATION does not explicitly state that the Foundation ultimately establishes a Second Galactic Empire and that Galaxia is aborted. FORWARD THE FOUNDATION, however, does strongly imply that Galaxia is not the ultimate fate of humanity and that the Seldon Plan works out. First, if the Foundation does not succeed why should readers, who have already seen the future, give a damn about the life a Hari Seldon? If Galaxia is the fate of humankind then Seldon would have played no role in the shape of humankind's future and would be unimportant in the long run. Surely Asimov would not have spent such effort writing about Seldon's life if Galaxia were to make Seldon's life ultimately purposeless. Additionally there is the continuing entries of the Encyclopedia Galactica which states at the end of FORWARD THE FOUNDATION [SPOILER]: It has been said that Hari Seldon left this life as he lived it, for he died with the future he created unfolding all around him... This passage could be interpreted that the Seldon Plan eventually molds the future of humankind. Whether my assumption that the Foundation ultimately establishes a Second Galactic Empire is correct or not, FORWARD THE FOUNDATION does not bring closure to the Foundation Series. If the Seldon Plan is successful, then we must wonder how the Foundations are able to thwart the establishment of Galaxia after the seemingly firm impetus it had at the end of FOUNDATION AND EARTH. If Galaxia is indeed eventually established, certainly the two Foundations did not acquiesce without a fight. And both Foundations had the resources and ability to fight for their own survival and the Seldon Plan. This conflict would have been interesting and would have made a great premise for a final Foundation novel. The original Foundation Trilogy is a true masterpiece. The intervening Foundation novels are of mixed quality and end with a very unsatisfactory solution in FOUNDATION AND EARTH. The key reason behind establishing Galaxia is to meet any threat that may be imposed by intelligent life from other galaxies. Humankind must be united to face such a challenge. Trevize argues that the Seldon Plan is flawed by not taking into account the possibility of intelligent life in other galaxies. What Trevize (and Asimov when he wrote FOUNDATION AND EARTH?) do not realize is that as long as humans are isolated and do not come into contact with other intelligent life then the Seldon Plan will continue to operate. If the Second Galactic Empire is eventually established before any competition or invasion by other intelligent life occurs then a united human community could meet such a threat. Presumably the Second Foundation would continue to improve upon psychohistory, allowing them to take into account contact with intelligent beings from other galaxies if and when such contact is made. In sum I must say I am disappointed in the ending of the Foundation Series. For the most part FORWARD THE FOUNDATION is well worth reading in the context of the preceding novels. Unfortunately, we are left to speculate about the impending conflict between Galaxia and the two Foundations. I would have rather speculated about the interlude in Seldon's life filled by FORWARD THE FOUNDATION. Addendum: Order of reading the Foundation Series. I recommend reading the Foundation Series in order of their publication. The Foundation Trilogy, the first three novels consisting of FOUNDATION, FOUNDATION AND EMPIRE, and SECOND FOUNDATION are classics of the science fiction genre. The reader's knowledge of the events in these novels, specifically the development of the two Foundations, will make the succeeding novels more interesting. The Foundation Trilogy can be easily read as stand alone novels. Asimov followed SECOND FOUNDATION (1953) almost thirty years later in 1982 with FOUNDATION'S EDGE where Asimov introduced the concept of Galaxia where all elements in the galaxy, including humans, would be physically interconnected. This was followed in 1986 by FOUNDATION AND EARTH which continues the quest began in FOUNDATION'S EDGE and seems to firmly place humankind on the road toward Galaxia, a concept created and put in motion by the robot R. Daneel Olivaw. Many, including myself, consider this to be a most disappointing chronological end to the Foundation Series. The last two Foundation books written by Asimov return to the life of Hari Seldon and his development of psychohistory: PRELUDE TO FOUNDATION (1988) and the last, FORWARD THE FOUNDATION (1993). %T Forward the Foundation %A Isaac Asimov %C New York %D 1993 %I Bantam Spectra $5.99 (pbk) %G ISBN 0-553-56507-9 (pbk) %P 480 %T The Foundation Trilogy (Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation) %A Isaac Asimov %C New York %D 1951, 1952, 1953 %I Doubleday and Company %G ISBN 1-56865-059-0 (SFBC Edition) %P 227, 227, 225 %T Foundation's Edge %A Isaac Asimov %C New York %D 1982 %I Doubleday and Company %G ISBN 0-385-17725-9 (SFBC Edition) %P 366 %T Foundation and Earth %A Isaac Asimov %C New York %D 1986 %I Doubleday and Company %G ISBN 0-385-23312-4 (SFBC Edition) %P 356 %T Prelude to Foundation %A Isaac Asimov %C New York %D 1988 %I Doubleday and Company %G ISBN 0-385-23313-2 (SFBC Edition) %P 432 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri Mar 11 16:33:34 1994 Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!uknet!demon!news.sprintlink.net!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: C_Douglas_BAKER@umail.umd.edu (cb52) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: FORWARD THE FOUNDATION by Isaac Asimov Book Review by C. Douglas Baker Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: <9403102208.AA15775@umailsrv1.UMD.EDU> Date: 11 Mar 94 03:34:25 GMT Lines: 199 FORWARD THE FOUNDATION by Isaac Asimov Book Review by C. Douglas Baker [Spoilers] FORWARD THE FOUNDATION is an excellent work and very entertaining. It is well written in the vein of the Foundation Series. But ultimately, FORWARD THE FOUNDATION is profoundly disappointing. FORWARD THE FOUNDATION is a biography of Hari Seldon filling in the areas of his life not previously covered in PRELUDE TO FOUNDATION. FORWARD THE FOUNDATION is written as a series of novellas covering major portions and events in Seldon's life as he continues his solidification of psychohistory and prepares for the establishment of the Foundation and the Second Galactic Empire. Hari Seldon is a fascinating character and many of his life experiences chronicled in FORWARD THE FOUNDATION were unexpected. FORWARD THE FOUNDATION probably could be enjoyed as a stand alone novel but it is not recommended. Without the background of the previous Foundation novels many of the events and explications of psychohistory would be much less significant to the reader. Two key questions remained after the last novel, FOUNDATION AND EARTH. First, how and why was the Second Foundation originally established? Second, was the Seldon Plan truly a failure and would Galaxia really be the future of humankind? FORWARD THE FOUNDATION clearly answers the first question. The First and Second Foundations were established to be complimentary to each other. The First Foundation is to be the backbone of the technological and political regeneration of humanity in the form of the Second Galactic Empire while the Second Foundation plays the role of advancing psychohistory and ensuring the survival of the First Foundation. While this is relatively clear in the previous Foundation novels, the Second Foundation seems vulnerable and venal in FOUNDATION'S EDGE and FOUNDATION AND EARTH. Both Foundations are more concerned with their own self interest as opposed to the interest of the Second Galactic Empire or the Seldon Plan in those novels. In FORWARD THE FOUNDATION we clearly see that they are meant to work together to complete the Seldon Plan. Ultimately FORWARD THE FOUNDATION is extremely disappointing as a denouement to the Foundation Series. The major question left from FOUNDATION AND EARTH, the latest chronologically of the Foundation Series, is the fate of humanity. It seems pretty clear at the end of FOUNDATION AND EARTH that Gaia or Galaxia, the all encompassing organic planet where every element is interconnected physically, will be the eventual fate of all humankind after Trevize discovers what he considers to be the fatal flaw of psychohistory and decides in its favor (for more detail see FOUNDATION'S EDGE and FOUNDATION AND EARTH). Trevize claims that psychohistory does not take into account the possibility of intelligent life in other galaxies. If such life exists then psychohistory is irreparably flawed (I think this is a terribly poor argument and lament that FOUNDATION AND EARTH was ever written). Therefore Trevize feels he must side with Gaia so that humankind can be united if it ever faces a threat from intelligent life outside the galaxy. Gaia is a very unpleasant and damning ending for humanity. Humankind as one large interconnected organism is defeatist. Unfortunately, FORWARD THE FOUNDATION does not explicitly state that the Foundation ultimately establishes a Second Galactic Empire and that Galaxia is aborted. FORWARD THE FOUNDATION, however, does strongly imply that Galaxia is not the ultimate fate of humanity and that the Seldon Plan works out. First, if the Foundation does not succeed why should readers, who have already seen the future, give a damn about the life a Hari Seldon? If Galaxia is the fate of humankind then Seldon would have played no role in the shape of humankind's future and would be unimportant in the long run. Surely Asimov would not have spent such effort writing about Seldon's life if Galaxia were to make Seldon's life ultimately purposeless. Additionally there is the continuing entries of the Encyclopedia Galactica which states at the end of FORWARD THE FOUNDATION [SPOILER]: It has been said that Hari Seldon left this life as he lived it, for he died with the future he created unfolding all around him... This passage could be interpreted that the Seldon Plan eventually molds the future of humankind. Whether my assumption that the Foundation ultimately establishes a Second Galactic Empire is correct or not, FORWARD THE FOUNDATION does not bring closure to the Foundation Series. If the Seldon Plan is successful, then we must wonder how the Foundations are able to thwart the establishment of Galaxia after the seemingly firm impetus it had at the end of FOUNDATION AND EARTH. If Galaxia is indeed eventually established, certainly the two Foundations did not acquiesce without a fight. And both Foundations had the resources and ability to fight for their own survival and the Seldon Plan. This conflict would have been interesting and would have made a great premise for a final Foundation novel. The original Foundation Trilogy is a true masterpiece. The intervening Foundation novels are of mixed quality and end with a very unsatisfactory solution in FOUNDATION AND EARTH. The key reason behind establishing Galaxia is to meet any threat that may be imposed by intelligent life from other galaxies. Humankind must be united to face such a challenge. Trevize argues that the Seldon Plan is flawed by not taking into account the possibility of intelligent life in other galaxies. What Trevize (and Asimov when he wrote FOUNDATION AND EARTH?) do not realize is that as long as humans are isolated and do not come into contact with other intelligent life then the Seldon Plan will continue to operate. If the Second Galactic Empire is eventually established before any competition or invasion by other intelligent life occurs then a united human community could meet such a threat. Presumably the Second Foundation would continue to improve upon psychohistory, allowing them to take into account contact with intelligent beings from other galaxies if and when such contact is made. In sum I must say I am disappointed in the ending of the Foundation Series. For the most part FORWARD THE FOUNDATION is well worth reading in the context of the preceding novels. Unfortunately, we are left to speculate about the impending conflict between Galaxia and the two Foundations. I would have rather speculated about the interlude in Seldon's life filled by FORWARD THE FOUNDATION. Addendum: Order of reading the Foundation Series. I recommend reading the Foundation Series in order of their publication. The Foundation Trilogy, the first three novels consisting of FOUNDATION, FOUNDATION AND EMPIRE, and SECOND FOUNDATION are classics of the science fiction genre. The reader's knowledge of the events in these novels, specifically the development of the two Foundations, will make the succeeding novels more interesting. The Foundation Trilogy can be easily read as stand alone novels. Asimov followed SECOND FOUNDATION (1953) almost thirty years later in 1982 with FOUNDATION'S EDGE where Asimov introduced the concept of Galaxia where all elements in the galaxy, including humans, would be physically interconnected. This was followed in 1986 by FOUNDATION AND EARTH which continues the quest began in FOUNDATION'S EDGE and seems to firmly place humankind on the road toward Galaxia, a concept created and put in motion by the robot R. Daneel Olivaw. Many, including myself, consider this to be a most disappointing chronological end to the Foundation Series. The last two Foundation books written by Asimov return to the life of Hari Seldon and his development of psychohistory: PRELUDE TO FOUNDATION (1988) and the last, FORWARD THE FOUNDATION (1993). %T Forward the Foundation %A Isaac Asimov %C New York %D 1993 %I Bantam Spectra $5.99 (pbk) %G ISBN 0-553-56507-9 (pbk) %P 480 %T The Foundation Trilogy (Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation) %A Isaac Asimov %C New York %D 1951, 1952, 1953 %I Doubleday and Company %G ISBN 1-56865-059-0 (SFBC Edition) %P 227, 227, 225 %T Foundation's Edge %A Isaac Asimov %C New York %D 1982 %I Doubleday and Company %G ISBN 0-385-17725-9 (SFBC Edition) %P 366 %T Foundation and Earth %A Isaac Asimov %C New York %D 1986 %I Doubleday and Company %G ISBN 0-385-23312-4 (SFBC Edition) %P 356 %T Prelude to Foundation %A Isaac Asimov %C New York %D 1988 %I Doubleday and Company %G ISBN 0-385-23313-2 (SFBC Edition) %P 432 C. DOUGLAS BAKER Email: cb52@umail.umd.edu From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Apr 27 01:25:35 1994 Path: liuida!sunic!trane.uninett.no!eunet.no!nuug!EU.net!howland.reston.ans.net!cs.utexas.edu!convex!news.duke.edu!eff!news.kei.com!hookup!news2.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: sauron@ee.nus.sg (Soh Kam Yung) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Review: I.Asimov: a memoir Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: <9404250748.AA24951@eeserver.ee.nus.sg> Date: Tue, 26 Apr 1994 07:19:47 GMT Lines: 90 Review of _I.Asimov: a memoir_ by Isaac Asimov by Soh Kam Yung (sauron@ee.nus.sg,engp3010@leonis.nus.sg) Isaac Asimov is one of the people whom I admire. A prolific writer, I've read just about every science fiction story he wrote and quite a number of his non-science fiction works also. So, it should come as no surprise that when it was annouced that _I.Asimov_ was to be released, I made an advanced order for it. Well, I have it now and I've finished reading it. And I can say that it was worth it. _I.Asimov_ is NOT a linear continuation of his earlier autobiographies, _In Memory Yet Green_ and _In Joy Still Felt_. _I.Asimov_ is a complete autobiography in itself. It goes over the ground covered by his earlier autobiographies which continuing on where they left off. This may make the earlier parts of the book boring but it's still interesting to see those events again in this book because the emphasis in this book is not the same as his previous books. His first two autobiographies were written with chronological order in mind; _I.Asimov_ wasn't. _I.Asimov_ consists of many chapters (166 of them), each a few pages long and made up of one topic. That topic may be about friends or events that happen to him. In each chapter, he gives his thoughts and feelings about the topic and how they affect him. Not being tied down by chronological order, he can continue talking about it, showing us the consequences brought on by those actions. This makes this book more personal than his previous ones. Then, he concentrated on details of his life; now, he presents us with his inner emotions and thoughts. This gives a new perspective on Asimov and makes clear his stands and opinions on issue like humanism, religion and relations with such people as his family, Campbell, Clarke and his various editors; and also his feelings about his wife, Janet Asimov, his brother Stanley and, inevitably at the end of the book, about death. These parts are, perhaps, what make the book worth reading, even for those, like me, who already know so much about him through his other writings. Unfortunately, the book does have some flaws. At my first reading, I found one minor inconsistency between this book and his earlier autobiographies. At the con where he was presented a special Hugo for his science column in F&SF, he states that the envelope holding the award notice was unmarked. In his earlier autobiographies, he states that the envelope was marked innocuously to deceive him. The book list at the back also contains some mistakes. _I, Robot_ is called _I, Robert_. Robert Silverberg is not mentioned in connection with the books _Nightfall_, _The Ugly Little Boy_ and _The Positronic Man_. Some other sharp eyed readers in the newsgroup alt.books.isaac-asimov have also spotted other mistakes in the book list. And, if there is one thing that the book sorely lacks, it is an index. His previous autobiographies were indexed by book title and name. There is none here, making it hard to refer to events and people. Fortunately, the chapter headings help but not much. Hopefully, these mistakes will be dealt with in a second edition. One also wonders about what Janet Asimov said in the epilogue. She mentions that the publisher wanted the book severly shortened but she thought that it should be left much that way that Isaac Asimov wanted it. She leaves open the question as it whether the book was shortened or not. A 'true' Asimov fan would get this book. People interested in knowing about Asimov should also read this. It is personal, private, and very clear. As with his other writings, the words in this book come through crytal clear with very little attempt at being stylistic. No one should have any trouble enjoying this book. After all, to paraphase an often used phrase in this book, "Don't be silly, Isaac. Everybody will want to read this book!" -- Soh Kam Yung sauron@ee.nus.sg | engp3010@leonis.nus.sg %T I.Asimov: a memoir %A Asimov, Isaac %I Doubleday %C New York %G ISBN 0-385-41701-2 %D 1994 %P 562 %O Hard Cover, US$25.00 %K Asimov, Autobiography Path: news.ifm.liu.se!liuida!sunic!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!usc!rutgers!ezmail.ucs.indiana.edu!shsilver From: shsilver@indiana.edu (shsilver) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Review I. Asimov's _Gold_ Date: 4 Feb 1995 09:00:04 -0500 Lines: 29 Sender: daemon@rutgers.rutgers.edu Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: rutgers.edu Coming out in the next few weeks is Isaac Asimov's book _Gold), subtitled "The Final Science Fiction Collection_. The book is divided into three sections. The first consists of fifteen previously uncollected short stories with the implication that now all of Asimov's shorts have been collected (although I seem to recall other stories which appeared after Asimov's death which are not included). Section two, entitled "On Science Fiction", contains the introductions which Asimov wrote to various short story anthologies. While many of these are interesting in their own right, it would have been nice if the editor (Janet Asimov?) would have included a source description so the reader could look up the original anthology if so desired. The final section is entitled "On Writing Science Fiction" and contains short bits which Asimov wrote about writing. I was surprised to see that I had only read four of the short stories which appear in _Gold_, although the majority of the remaining eleven are short shorts and rather light weight. The section on introductions is nice, but, as I said before, under-referenced. The final section is also a good read. As with much of Asimov's writing, perhaps the primary quality is its easiness to read. Just as his 500+ page biography, I. Asimov, can be read in a day or two, so can the 342 page Gold. Steven H Silver = "And then the Renaissance SHSILVER@ucs.indiana.edu = came and spoiled everything." Indiana University = -C.S. Lewis, 1938 (You think Asimov would totally disagree with this quote by C.S. Lewis?)