In contrast with the previous book, where action exploded off each page, in Isaac Asimov's Foundation, not a lot of action actually occurs. I'ts all talk, all postulating, all philosophizing. Whereas Ready Player One was dumb but fun, Foundation is dull but thoughtful.
Perhaps "dull" is too harsh. The book is interesting, entertaining even. It's comprised of several stories across many years concerning the rise of a civilization called Foundation on the edge of a declining space empire. The stories feature different sets of characters facing different problems over the course of Foundation's history.
Asimov's vision of the future, 12,000 years from now, isn't particularly inventive... People still smoke cigarettes and dial telephones to talk, and nuclear power is still the hot new technology - the best that advanced civilizations travelling light years across space can somehow muster. Women apparently have no role in this new world. All the characters are male except for a few secretaries and other unimportant roles.
Foundation seems to be Asimov's attempt at transposing his ideas about our world onto another, which I suppose is true of much science fiction. He tackles religion, science, philosophy, government, etc, and plays with them all 12,000 years into the future.
Perhaps "dull" is too harsh. The book is interesting, entertaining even. It's comprised of several stories across many years concerning the rise of a civilization called Foundation on the edge of a declining space empire. The stories feature different sets of characters facing different problems over the course of Foundation's history.
Asimov's vision of the future, 12,000 years from now, isn't particularly inventive... People still smoke cigarettes and dial telephones to talk, and nuclear power is still the hot new technology - the best that advanced civilizations travelling light years across space can somehow muster. Women apparently have no role in this new world. All the characters are male except for a few secretaries and other unimportant roles.
Foundation seems to be Asimov's attempt at transposing his ideas about our world onto another, which I suppose is true of much science fiction. He tackles religion, science, philosophy, government, etc, and plays with them all 12,000 years into the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment