It is, once again, time to re-read Asimov's Foundation "Trilogy"

[PCIntern]

which of course expanded as he wrote more books...but the first three stand as the framework for the perennial problem in America - McCarthyism/HUAC at the time of the original writing - creeping FOX-fascism of today - that those who are in a position to 'control' at the unimaginable levels of corporatocratic wealth and power are occasionally 'checked', if only for a short time, by events and the occasional outbreak, usually quelled quickly, of TRUTH.

Unfortunately for us, we cannot flee, nor would most of us wish to give up the creature comforts of Earth for a distant planet, though metaphorical, but the notion that we could 'escape' the onerous bureaucracies, shabby and narrow politics, and general pettiness, is appealing, especially on a bright, beautiful, quiet Sunday morning in which some reflection is possible.

[BootinUp]

1. Great stuff.

Haven't read it in at least a couple of decades. I don't really remember connecting it to McCarthyism, certainly it was very much focused on the damage corporations unchecked can do.

[PCIntern]

2. The initial confrontation was based upon the HUAC

hearings...

Robert Wise, who directed the original The Day the Earth Stood Still (and Star Trek, The Movie), talked about how Science Fiction was the only medium that was not censored by publishers and studios for political content.

[starroute]

7. The first Foundation story was written in 1941

So it certainly wasn't a reaction to McCarthyism. You might be thinking of something Asimov wrote in the 50's. (Caves of Steel, maybe? I'm not sure -- it's been a long time since I read it.) But not the Foundation stories.

[BootinUp]

16. Caves of Steel is my favorite of the robot novels

and it most definitely has nothing to do with McCarthy.

[PCIntern]

17. thank you...you're right...

My copy of the first book says first Edition, 1950, so I had assumed that that was when it was first published, but I was wrong.

[Fumesucker]

3. I'm reading "Psychohistorical Crisis" by Donald Kingsbury right now..

It's an extension and update of the Foundation Trilogy by an author who is sometimes described as someone who writes horror stories for smart people.

http://www.amazon.com/Psychohistorical-Crisis-Donald-Kingsbury/dp/0312861028

From an Amazon reader review:

Hi,

I have often browsed book reviews online but have never written one. Until now.

Psychohistorical Crisis is a work of surpassing brilliance but it is not for everyone.

If you're looking for a quick read, look elsewhere: Donald Kingsbury has decided to immerse you in Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" universe and show you what a galaxy with 100,000 years of history might be like. Any science fiction writer can waves his hands and say "thousands of years," but Kingsbury can make you feel those years.

If you're looking for epic space battles, look elsewhere: A character in Asimov's original Foundation trilogy says that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. This is a galaxy ruled by mathematicians.

If you're looking for extensive character development, look elsewhere: To write this novel, Kingsbury did not merely imitate Asimov's style but absorbed it, warts and all. This homage to the Foundation universe is more true to the original than the prequels authorized by the Asimov estate or even the Asimov's own sequels.

If you didn't like the Foundation trilogy, look elsewhere: This book is the true inheritor of the Foundation trilogy, though the serial numbers have been filed off. If you haven't read the Foundation trilogy, that's the place to start. Then read Pebble in the Sky.

If you have read a Kingsbury book before and didn't like it, look elsewhere: Somehow, Kingsbury has written a book that is true to his own style and themes while being true to those of the original Foundation.

Psychohistorical Crisis is a novel of ideas in the tradition of classic science fiction, but is itself an extremely modern book that takes an unflinching and sometimes unflattering look at the ideas implicit in the original Foundation. Each work is very much of its time.

I'd love to talk about the themes of Psychohistorical Crisis, but wouldn't it be better for you to read the book for yourself?

Psychohistorical Crisis is the true Second Foundation.

Anyway,

KenK

[CrispyQ]

4. Ohhhhhh, I'm going to check it out!

The Foundation series & the Empire series were the frist sci fi books I ever read.

[PCIntern]

5. thanks...will take a look!

Much appreciated!
PC

[bananas]

6. Thanks, sounds good. nt

[Odin2005]

8. I WANT THIS BOOK NOW!!!

[dickthegrouch]

9. Just ordered from Amazon

Thanks, I'd never heard of this. It is so hard to find written sci-fi that I enjoy these days. Foundation is my all-time favorite series and I've read all 7 (8?) books regularly. Salvor Hardin's "Violence" quote is the one I remember from the first time I read it at 10 years old.

Even though I despise religion, Frank Herbert's Dune series was excellent, but his son's follow-ups have always ended up in the trash and I refuse to waste my money on any more. Precisely because of the gratuitous orgiastic violence.

It will be refreshing to pick up on an intelligent and thoughtful series again.

[Fumesucker]

10. I also enjoyed "Calculating God" by Robert J Sawyer.

http://www.amazon.com/Calculating-God-Robert-J-Sawyer/dp/0812580354

And I have Stephen Baxter's "Manifold Time" on my to-read pile.

http://www.amazon.com/Manifold-Time-Stephen-Baxter/dp/034543076X

Baxter's book is the first in a trilogy I believe.

[PCIntern]

12. Note my sig line for the past few years...

stated by Salvor Hardin

[Electric Monk]

11. How do you say Foundation in Arabic? Al Qaida.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/aug/24/alqaida.sciencefictionfantasyandhorror

Apparently (according to some accounts) Osama Bin Laden fancies himself as Hari Seldon.

[Fumesucker]

13. bin Laden certainly did an excellent job of predicting America's response to his actions..

The mark of a true psychohistorian, eh?

[msu2ba]

14. Can anyone help with the order?

I want to pick up some of the series that disappeared during various moves. Is there an established sequence for the Foundation, Empire and Robot books?

Thanks.

[LAGC]

15. It's been several years since I read them all...

But if you're talking chronological order, I believe the Robot series takes place first (near future, on Earth) even though they were written after the first Empire and Foundation books (which are set in the far-future, where Earth is long forgotten). The Galactic Empire trilogy takes place long after the Robot series, but before the Foundation series, if I recall correctly.

The fifth Foundation book he wrote (Foundation and Earth) ties the Robot and Foundation series together, when they finally find Earth. Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation both take place before the first Foundation book, even though they were written last.

I remember when Asimov died in 1992 -- I was just a young teenager then -- it was all the talk on an Austin, TX BBS that I frequented, and I didn't really know or care who he was at the time. It wasn't until a decade later that I started reading his works that I realized what a great mind was lost. He contributed so much to the advancement of not just science fiction, but the cause of science itself as well.

[Occulus]

18. His books are good reads, but

he couldn't write character dialogue to save his life. There were many character interactions in the Foundation books that made me cringe, particularly where female characters were involved.

Stilted and wooden barely scratch the surface. Still good books, with a good premise, buuuut.....

[PCIntern]

19. It was primitive, but I grew up

on the Analog and F&SF pulp mags which were even worse in the terms you described...but great stories and novellas.