Classic Sci-Fi Reread: Foundation

Welcome to the first of a semi-ongoing series here at Confessions of a Serial Wordsmith. As a huge fan of science fiction, I've taken it upon myself to read the classics of the genre. Unfortunately, this was back when I was in Middle and High school and I was young and stupid and couldn't really appreciate them at the time. So the point of the Classic Sci-Fi Reread is to reread these classic sci-fi novels and give them a second look. And the first book we're going to take a look at is The first in Isaac Asimov's classic series, Foundation.

True story, my Dad bought me this book. Back in High School I was reading a lot of Star Wars Expanded Universe novels so he, always trying to keep me from ingesting too much crap entertainment, got me a copy of Foundation. His logic seemed to be if I liked space opera in Star Wars so much, I ought to read one of the original space operas. So the first time I read this it was mostly to humor him. I read through it, liked a few things in it, then was content to put it on the shelf and forget it.  I remember finding it boring. There wasn't any action or villains, it was mostly a lot of talking. At the time, I couldn't really get into it. There wasn't anything for me to latch onto.

This is the strange place I found myself in when I came back to read Foundation again. I had read it but  little of it left impact. And as I became more entrenched in science fiction history, I found out about the legacy this series has. Foundation is very influential, being the first to use ideas like planet-wide cities and feudal future societies. Even psychohistory, the fake sort-of sociology Asimov invented for the series, has become a real science. With all this in mind and barely remembering any of it from the first time, I dove back into Foundation.

Before I get on to what I thought about the book, a little plot synopsis. In the far, far future humanity has spread across the galaxy and created a great empire. Mathematician Hari Seldon has developed the science of psychohistory, using math to predict and map out the course of a large population over time. And what he found isn't good. The Galactic Empire is about to collapse and a Dark Age is coming. To prevent this, he establishes the Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving all human knowledge and shortening the coming dark age. But will they be able to protect themselves out in the barbaric galactic rim as civilization falls apart around them?

So what did I think the second time around? Honestly, It was pretty great. And it's for most of the reasons I didn't like it the first time. There isn't any action in that there aren't any fight scenes or space battles, but there's action of a different kind. Foundation isn't about victory through strength or battle, it's about victory through political maneuvering and adaptability. Each section of the novel is about the members of the Foundation tricking and manipulating their enemies so they come out on top. It's almost a pacifist space opera in a way. It makes for good drama to see the Foundation grow from this one tiny world to conquering their barbaric neighbors without firing a single weapon.

Second time around, I liked Foundation much more. It's interesting to see a big space opera where the heroes' best advantage is their brains. Asimov is great at creating seemingly hopeless situations where you're just wondering, "How are they going get out of this one?". Thanks for this one Dad.