Foundation and Empire
Series: Foundation Series / Book: 2
I went and read the second book in the Foundation series by the well known Isaac Asimov. This book “takes off” (as with this series there are chunks of time in between stories) where the first novel leaves us. This book focuses on what is known as the Fourth Sheldon Crisis. The Foundation is ruled by a mayor and the governing traders of the near by planets. They have navigated the previous Sheldon Crises and have come out victorious…until now. Currently they are up against a mutant enemy that they have never encountered before, and he has the ability to crumble the Foundation.
This book was a bit different from the first novel in the way that this one takes an entire book to deal with one Crisis, while the first book time hopped through the first three Crises. The characters are just as well written and interesting as in the first novel, but I will have to admit I wasn’t loving this installment nearly as much as Foundation. In the first novel there seemed to be more action, and the arch of each mini story made it feel like there was a quick pace to everything. This one has a lot more plotting for survival and battle type conversations through the middle of the book. Follow through with it though, because the end left me with my jaw on the floor! There are several shocks that had me in love with the story in the end….it’s a slow burn, but totally worthy of praise.
I would recommend this to readers who loved Ender’s Game or Starship Troopers (the book, not the movie). I honestly can’t wait to see what's next in store for the Foundation.
Malia's Pizza Rating
The Mule – with chicken, sautéed onion, and ginger.