Review: Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov

Blurb:

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

THE EPIC SAGA THAT INSPIRED THE APPLE TV+ SERIES FOUNDATION

Led by its founding father, the psychohistorian Hari Seldon, and utilizing science and technology, the Foundation survived the greed and barbarism of its neighboring warrior-planets. Now cleverness and courage may not be enough. For the Empire—the mightiest force in the Galaxy—is even more dangerous in its death throes. Even worse, a mysterious entity called the Mule has appeared with powers beyond anything humanly conceivable. Who—or what—is the Mule? And how is humanity to defend itself against this invulnerable avatar of annihilation?

Filled with nail-biting suspense, nonstop action, and cutting-edge speculation, Foundation and Empire is the story of humanity’s perpetual struggle against the darkness that forever threatens to overwhelm the light—and of how the courage of even a determined few can make all the difference in the universe.

Review:

Foundation is one of the best science fiction books I’ve ever read. Knowing how instrumental this series is for the genre as a whole, I was eager to pick up the sequels. And well, here I am. 

Foundation & Empire is actually two novellas that were edited into one book. And they both read like two distinct stories, so I’ll be reviewing each separately here. Mostly because I had a very different experience with both. 

Spoilers Ahead!

The General

I’m just going to rip the band-aid and say I did not enjoy this one bit. Bel Riose was an interesting character, one who could have been a great antagonist to the Foundation. Sadly, the whole story was so dull in its execution, I almost don’t remember what even happened.

Asimov’s characters are little more than conduits of his ideas, but in this one, the characters failed to even be that for me. They were so uninteresting, I had to force myself to pay attention. The way the Empire’s fleet attacks the Foundation, and the way the Foundation deals with it, could have been more compelling if seen through the eyes of better characters. Sadly, it ended up feeling like a filler arc. 

I’m not even sure what ideas are being explored here, because I just couldn’t bring myself to engage with this story the way I did with every single part of the first book. Maybe it’s because this one felt like a lazy formula. Foundation faces a new threat, Foundation deals with the threat because Seldon Plan predicted it, the end. Did I miss anything?

The Mule

The Mule is hands down one of the best antagonists of all the Asimov books I’ve read so far. A complete contrast to The General, this story was a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller that really pushed the Foundation and Seldon’s Plan beyond their limits. 

Seldon, a near-god-like entity now with his unquestionably perfect Plan, is thwarted for once because he had not foreseen the appearance of a mutant like the Mule. This breaking away from the predicted path of psychohistory actually raised the stakes of this story, with the Foundation’s fall feeling like a personal defeat. The unwavering, invincible Foundation actually fails in this one, and that was an exciting experience. The Mule is always one step ahead of the Foundation. Kind of like the Joker in the Dark Knight. His very existence is antithesis to the Foundation and the Seldon Plan, making every plot point in the story count for something.

I’ll admit, I did not particularly like the ending. It’s a good ending, honestly, with Ebling Mis figuring out the location of the Second Foundation, and the Mule failing to learn it because Mis is killed. But it felt a little incomplete. Which is why I picked up Second Foundation almost immediately after finishing this one. 

Side Note: the twist is very much predictable, but the concept of this psychic mutant and the way he has manipulated the Foundation are both super interesting reflections.

In Conclusion:

While I did not enjoy The General, The Mule was a near-un-put-down-able story. The book as a whole might not have been as epic and mind-blowing as Foundation, but it still holds many interesting ideas worth exploring. Even in the modern age. 

TL;DR: 

What I liked: The General was boring, the ending of The Mule felt a tad incomplete.

What I didn’t like: Apart from the ending, almost everything about The Mule was perfect. Best antagonist so far.