Foundation's Edge
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- Create Date：2021-11-07 09:54:24
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Isaac Asimov
- ISBN：0008117527
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Summary
It is 498 years since the two Foundations came into existence – half-way through the Interregnum planned by Hari Seldon。 The Second Foundation has once more successfully concealed its existence so that the laws of psychohistory can operate to usher in a new Empire ruled by the mental sciences。
The Second Foundation is thought to be extinct…except by Councilman Golan Trevize。 Trevize fears that the mysterious Second Foundation will bid for power once a new Galactic Empire is established。 To prevent Trevize spreading alarm‚ the Mayor of Terminus exiles him to the abandoned ruins of Trantor。
Accompanying Trevize is Janov Pelorat‚ Professor of Ancient History at the University of Terminus。 Pelorat hopes to find on Trantor a clue to the location of the planet that gave birth to the human race。 His belief in the existence of Earth is considered as far-fetched as Trevize's belief that the Second Foundation endures。 But the truths discovered by both of them on Trantor are far stranger than they could have guessed。
The Second Foundation is thought to be extinct…except by Councilman Golan Trevize。 Trevize fears that the mysterious Second Foundation will bid for power once a new Galactic Empire is established。 To prevent Trevize spreading alarm‚ the Mayor of Terminus exiles him to the abandoned ruins of Trantor。
Accompanying Trevize is Janov Pelorat‚ Professor of Ancient History at the University of Terminus。 Pelorat hopes to find on Trantor a clue to the location of the planet that gave birth to the human race。 His belief in the existence of Earth is considered as far-fetched as Trevize's belief that the Second Foundation endures。 But the truths discovered by both of them on Trantor are far stranger than they could have guessed。
Reviews
Stevie
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Significant improvement over the first three Foundation stories。 Night/Day difference。
Thomas Olivent
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This one for me is a bit harder to review。 It wasn't a fast read by any means， it was merely an interesting book， but not necessarily one that I would recommend to anyone （as Asimov says it's a standalone novel）。 This one for me is a bit harder to review。 It wasn't a fast read by any means， it was merely an interesting book， but not necessarily one that I would recommend to anyone （as Asimov says it's a standalone novel）。 。。。more
Dunja MacAlister
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As always， Asimov doesn't disappoint， this was very well written and so intricately thought out， can't wait to read the conclusion to the whole story。 As always， Asimov doesn't disappoint， this was very well written and so intricately thought out， can't wait to read the conclusion to the whole story。 。。。more
Michael McKeever
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Read many times。 A great sci-fi story and part of a series that doesn’t let me down
Tony Leach
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Probably my favorite Foundation novel。 I really enjoyed the different worlds and how they pushed intriguing philosophical questions。 Minus a star for the “man saving the party by seducing a woman” bits。
Borislav
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Excellent continuation of the original trilogy。 Double the size and double the story。 It felt natural from the first three books， which had longer and longer stories as they kept going， distancing themselves from the original short stories format。Definitely some great twists， as are expected。 I advise reading the Robot series before starting this， as they begin to get mildly mixed together and an appreciation of Robots might increase satisfaction if one has read them before Edge。Mild worry comes Excellent continuation of the original trilogy。 Double the size and double the story。 It felt natural from the first three books， which had longer and longer stories as they kept going， distancing themselves from the original short stories format。Definitely some great twists， as are expected。 I advise reading the Robot series before starting this， as they begin to get mildly mixed together and an appreciation of Robots might increase satisfaction if one has read them before Edge。Mild worry comes from the description of women， which was somewhat understandably mixed in the 40s and 50s， but by the 80s shouldn't be that difficult to present in a normal manner。 It's sad that some writers back then didn't know how to write women and forgot that what they're actually writing about are humans。 Hopefully this gets completely squashed in the final book。 I am giving the high rating because of the ideas and quality of fiction， as social issues aren't what the book is battling， but it absolutely distracts and detracts from the book and ultimately lowers the pleasure from reading。 。。。more
Brian B
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Not as good as first three， can be skipped
Keegan Cherry
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（4。5 stars）This is by far the best Foundation book I have read so far。 Each of the original trilogy are good stories but none of them captured me like this one did。A great science-fiction novel that has adventure， surprise， and a great deal of philosophy。
Antonio
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This is surely the more lengthy of the Foundation books compared to the original trilogy， with the introduction of more characters which allowed several plot lines to develop， be thoroughly explored， and run （brilliantly） towards the final climax。 As always， the narration is pushed forward by the reasoning of characters that constantly evaluate the events through dialogue and thought， counterbalancing the risk of dullness by interesting and surprising ways the plots develop and intertwine。 This This is surely the more lengthy of the Foundation books compared to the original trilogy， with the introduction of more characters which allowed several plot lines to develop， be thoroughly explored， and run （brilliantly） towards the final climax。 As always， the narration is pushed forward by the reasoning of characters that constantly evaluate the events through dialogue and thought， counterbalancing the risk of dullness by interesting and surprising ways the plots develop and intertwine。 This is Asimov at its finest。Following the lead of the previous book， Asimov makes an effort to delve into the personality of the characters and the relationships between them， and this gives color to a story that would be otherwise undoubtedly bleak due to the complexity of the plot。Only note， part of the explanation of the events felt pretty weak and naive at the end， making me close the book with a small note of disappointment。 。。。more
Adam K
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3。5， maybe 3。75 stars rounded up to 4
Corbin
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So far this is the best story in Foundation series。 It’s almost great but not quite there for me。 There’s actually a fascinating mystery to be found here and an overarching plot I never imagined。 This is the one to read folks。 Much better than Second Foundation。 A definite recommend。
Steve Mahomet
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DNF 50 percent in。 This series and Asimov writing is just not for me。
Zee
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So 30 years later he still wrote in the same style， dry and boring， he had cool ideas but was no wordsmith， I just want to finish the series already。 I'm contemplating reading the robot series but I may give it some time。 So 30 years later he still wrote in the same style， dry and boring， he had cool ideas but was no wordsmith， I just want to finish the series already。 I'm contemplating reading the robot series but I may give it some time。 。。。more
Jan-Peter Kuiper
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I don’t really know how to score this book。 I have problems with the original trilogy that I don’t have with this book。 But I also have problems with this fourth book in the series that Indidn’t have with the originals。 One thing is that the characters are still very flat。 The women even more so than the men。 I would almost say that i had rather read a book without female characters， then badly written and developed ones。 Again there is not much world building and not much in the way of Big Idea I don’t really know how to score this book。 I have problems with the original trilogy that I don’t have with this book。 But I also have problems with this fourth book in the series that Indidn’t have with the originals。 One thing is that the characters are still very flat。 The women even more so than the men。 I would almost say that i had rather read a book without female characters， then badly written and developed ones。 Again there is not much world building and not much in the way of Big Ideas either。 Where the other books atleast had Psychohistory and the Seldon Plan as the Big Ideas， this book abandones those as ideas completely。 Instead we get a Single mind-Single organisme idea。 Which isn’t really worked out and not realy Science fiction either （more speculative fiction I’d say）。 And we get Robots。 Overall an underwhelming experience even considering my ideas about the other books in the series。 。。。more
Zachary
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Once again， the Foundation novels are some of the most interesting books I have ever read。 A wonderfully crafted mystery which Asimov builds with each book the way a master architect would build a grand temple brick by brick， it is difficult to wait for the next book to arrive。 I have read many sci-fi novels， but I cannot even think of any book or series worth comparing to it。 Please， do yourself a favor and read this series from Foundation to Foundation's edge， and even beyond。 It is a choice y Once again， the Foundation novels are some of the most interesting books I have ever read。 A wonderfully crafted mystery which Asimov builds with each book the way a master architect would build a grand temple brick by brick， it is difficult to wait for the next book to arrive。 I have read many sci-fi novels， but I cannot even think of any book or series worth comparing to it。 Please， do yourself a favor and read this series from Foundation to Foundation's edge， and even beyond。 It is a choice you will never regret。 。。。more
Chris Flower
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Not entirely unlike the previous book， I thought this started better than it finished。 The mystery leading up to Gaia was， in my opinion， well done。 The adventures were enjoyable， the twists were entertaining， and the development of the structure of the second foundation on Trantor did the previous work justice。After Trevize and Pelorat reach Gaia， however， I felt very let down。 The reveal felt too quick and out of the blue （with ample exposition）， and just a bit strange。 A planetary super consc Not entirely unlike the previous book， I thought this started better than it finished。 The mystery leading up to Gaia was， in my opinion， well done。 The adventures were enjoyable， the twists were entertaining， and the development of the structure of the second foundation on Trantor did the previous work justice。After Trevize and Pelorat reach Gaia， however， I felt very let down。 The reveal felt too quick and out of the blue （with ample exposition）， and just a bit strange。 A planetary super consciousness that has all imaginable power but is too ethical to use it unless someone， who they bizarrely deem to be mystically sure of himself， tells them it is okay？ It just feels too contrived。 Not only that， but I felt that each subsequent book in the series strayed further from the air of hard sci fi， and by this point was entirely fantasy。 Additionally， there aren't many redeeming female characters in this one （or any of the Foundation series really。） It doesn't usually bother me toooo much， but the character of Bliss was just so bad and I hated how Pelorat's entire character crumbles to dust when he meets her。 We spend the whole book hearing about Pelorat's singular desire and fascination with Earth and it just evaporates when he meets an attractive young woman who makes flirty comments。 Come on！！ Her robotic twist at the end made things slightly more interesting， but sheesh。 Anyway， I'm glad I read it， but the ending left a bad taste in my mouth。 。。。more
Benjamin
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Puts together the foundation books， and is free of some of the cringe-worthy cultural backwardness in the first three books， but lacks some of their energy。 Still， the ruminations in every chapter are well worth the time reading the books。
im here bcs of my wife
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It was a bit static for me， considering that it succeeds Foundation and Empire and Second Foundation。 Usually， Asimov makes sure to end the book with a huge twist。 Yes， there are many plot twists which i very much enjoyed， but the finale seemed less climactic than in his previous books。 I hope that Foundation and Earth will make up for all the technicalities of Edge of Foundation， considering its the last book of the series。
Rick
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IA should have rejected his flatterers。 Gawd awful it was。
Josh Roberts
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I loved this book！ You should definitely read the original trilogy before cracking this one open， as it builds directly off of them。 Spoilers ahead！I really enjoyed discovering the birthplace of The Mule。 And while I found pulling the robot books into universe a tad abrupt， I freaked out at the plot twist that Bliss was， in fact， a robot。This Asimov guy might just have a career in writing 😉 I was so impressed with all of the many theoretical scientific concepts Asimov was able to weave into this I loved this book！ You should definitely read the original trilogy before cracking this one open， as it builds directly off of them。 Spoilers ahead！I really enjoyed discovering the birthplace of The Mule。 And while I found pulling the robot books into universe a tad abrupt， I freaked out at the plot twist that Bliss was， in fact， a robot。This Asimov guy might just have a career in writing 😉 I was so impressed with all of the many theoretical scientific concepts Asimov was able to weave into this book so effortlessly。 The man truly was a master craftsman。Overall， this was a fun book that I didn't want to end！ 。。。more
Rpaul Tho
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I really hate to give this three stars especially after the original trilogy scored so high for me。 And although the ending to this book was gripping and reminded me of the original trilogy， the rest of the book didn’t follow through。 I felt like it was 200 pages too long and could have been much better had it been written like the first book in the original trilogy。 I certainly hope that the next book doesn’t have this similar drag along storyline。 I did like the tie in to his other series’ tho I really hate to give this three stars especially after the original trilogy scored so high for me。 And although the ending to this book was gripping and reminded me of the original trilogy， the rest of the book didn’t follow through。 I felt like it was 200 pages too long and could have been much better had it been written like the first book in the original trilogy。 I certainly hope that the next book doesn’t have this similar drag along storyline。 I did like the tie in to his other series’ though。 。。。more
Merve Bilgiç
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Uzun… Karışık… ve şaşırtıcı bir son oldu？
Matthew
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I want to see this series through but it is a struggle。 The writing is just so bland。 Dialogue is expository dumps。 When trevise and pelorat talk in space and I get ten pages of info dump on the ship and Galaxy。 I had to start skimming。 The last forty pages moved fast but the middle of the book was such a grind。 The speaker is functionally stuck in traffic and the characters on sayshell are just boring。 The women in the book bother me。 Both Novi and bliss are depicted as such boring simpletons a I want to see this series through but it is a struggle。 The writing is just so bland。 Dialogue is expository dumps。 When trevise and pelorat talk in space and I get ten pages of info dump on the ship and Galaxy。 I had to start skimming。 The last forty pages moved fast but the middle of the book was such a grind。 The speaker is functionally stuck in traffic and the characters on sayshell are just boring。 The women in the book bother me。 Both Novi and bliss are depicted as such boring simpletons and even the woman on the foundation table is often described with what feel like derogatory terms。 Pelorat is also weird。 For most of the book he is a naive simpleton。 Then he meets bliss and suddenly he can only make sexual innuendos。 The beginning drama on trantor was interesting but then it disappears as the book goes on。 So the limited payoff was underwhelming。 I wish I had stopped after just foundation 。。。more
Zach Lanshe
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As the series progresses the storyline unfolds and is more and more enticing。 I recommend this book entirely， Isaac Asimov is an incredible writer and is quite prolific。
Michael Chambers
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I sometimes say that Asimov is an acquired taste， but what a taste worth acquiring！
Ee Cheng Ooi
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Enjoyed this one， more so than the next。
Bongobongo
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Not having read the Robots novels at the time of reading Foundation's Edge， I was anxious to see what happened to Earth in more detail， and every chapter had me reading and holding my breath between every page。 The pacing is great， the setting is just as intriguing as Asimov's other books and the characters are very compelling （especially Branno， my favorite， but also Gendibal and Trevize）。 It was shaping up to become my next favorite Asimov novel。 And then， Gaia's reveal hit me like a brick。Not Not having read the Robots novels at the time of reading Foundation's Edge， I was anxious to see what happened to Earth in more detail， and every chapter had me reading and holding my breath between every page。 The pacing is great， the setting is just as intriguing as Asimov's other books and the characters are very compelling （especially Branno， my favorite， but also Gendibal and Trevize）。 It was shaping up to become my next favorite Asimov novel。 And then， Gaia's reveal hit me like a brick。Not only did Asimov create a secret， fully-functioning society of robot-human hybrids， but he also had them know of the Seldon plan and work to make it a reality in their own vision。 This reveal of a Third Foundation， unknown even to Seldon， was what I found to be my main point of contention with the book。I understand why it had to be done， why Asimov needed a magical third way so as not to send any messages by having either Gendibal's Second Foundation or Branno's First Foundation win the power struggle （and to be clear， the criticisms Dom expresses regarding each Foundation are very accurate and pertinent）， but the most compelling struggle of the book ended in such an anti-climax that it left me unsure whether or not it was worth reading the book at all。Everyone goes home thinking they won when actually the real winners are the space robot symbiote wizards who certainly have the most outlandish vision for the Galaxy out of all of them。 And why does Trevize side with them？ Because Pelorat was manipulated into loving Bliss， a girl half his age， and simply said some thing that made Trevize decide the fate of all eternity best rested in the hands of Gaia。 I won't even touch on the arguments that could be made that Gaia would be no different than the Second Foundation。Again， I understand why Asimov chose this route。 But damn it if I am not happy about it。 What could have been the greatest book in the series became quickly no more than an awkward footnote， perhaps of lower plot quality than the Foundation prequel novels。 。。。more
Ciaran McLarnon
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Excellent。 Not my favorite book of the series but definitely worth a read。 An engaging story well told， full of plot twists， Asimov seems to enjoy letting his imagination run free。
David St-Hilaire
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A good read！ This book surprised me a few times and kept me on the edge of my seat！ I'm very pleased with how this series is evolving。 It stays great all along！ A good read！ This book surprised me a few times and kept me on the edge of my seat！ I'm very pleased with how this series is evolving。 It stays great all along！ 。。。more
Mohammad Hossein
，
چقدر خوب این جلد شروع شد و ادامه پیدا کرد و هیجانانگیز شد و چه پایانی هم داشت :）برخلاف سه جلد قبل، این جلد بسیار منجسمتر هست و داستان رو از چند زاویه تعریف میکنه که در نهایت در انتها به هم میرسند。قلم جذاب و پلاتهای سادهای که در اصل بسیار لایهلایه و پیچیده هستند همینطور داره بهتر میشه و خلاصه تجربه خیلی خوبی بود و با لذت تمام کتاب رو خوندم。وقایع آخر کتاب رو واقعاً دوست داشتم به این سبب که قبل از بنیاد من سالها پیش سهگانه بازی Mass Effect رو انجام دادم و تکرار کردم و داستانی که داره رو وا چقدر خوب این جلد شروع شد و ادامه پیدا کرد و هیجانانگیز شد و چه پایانی هم داشت :）برخلاف سه جلد قبل، این جلد بسیار منجسمتر هست و داستان رو از چند زاویه تعریف میکنه که در نهایت در انتها به هم میرسند。قلم جذاب و پلاتهای سادهای که در اصل بسیار لایهلایه و پیچیده هستند همینطور داره بهتر میشه و خلاصه تجربه خیلی خوبی بود و با لذت تمام کتاب رو خوندم。وقایع آخر کتاب رو واقعاً دوست داشتم به این سبب که قبل از بنیاد من سالها پیش سهگانه بازی Mass Effect رو انجام دادم و تکرار کردم و داستانی که داره رو واقعاً دوست دارم و برام عزیزه، دقیقاً اون ۴ انتخاب آخر Mass Effect 3 کاملاً الهام گرفته از این جلد کتاب آسیموف هست و به شدت برام جالب بود که چه انتخابی انجام میشه و در نهایت ناامیدت نمیکنه و کتاب هم با یه روزنه بسیار عالی برای ادامه تموم میشه。اگه داستان Mass Effect رو دوست دارید، خوندن مجموعه بنیاد آیزاک آسیموف به شدت پیشنهاد میشه。 البته چیز تکراری نمیبینید، وقایع و پیامها و مسائل کاملاً متفاوت هستند و Mass Effect بیشتر از آسیموف، از چیزهای دیگه داره اما یجورایی که به هم متصل هستند و سر پایان مس افکت ۳ و پایان این کتاب که به شدت منطبق بر هم هستند （البته نتیجه و what's at stake ماجرا فرق داره） به نظرم تجربه بسیار خوشایندی باشه، همونطور که برای من بود。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Foundation's Edge
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Foundation's Edge&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Foundation's Edge&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0