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Second Foundation: The Foundation Novels, Book 3
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Second Foundation: The Foundation Novels, Book 3
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Second Foundation: The Foundation Novels, Book 3
Audiobook9 hours

Second Foundation: The Foundation Novels, Book 3

Written by Isaac Asimov

Narrated by Scott Brick

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

In Second Foundation, Isaac Asimov addresses the phenomenon of genetic mutation and its potential danger to a civilization. This novel tells of an overwhelmingly powerful mutant human being, born with the ability to mold men's emotions and minds. He has brought down the First Foundation, and now only the Second Foundation remains.

Second Foundation is the third book in Asimov's Foundation series.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 20, 2010
ISBN9780307749741
Unavailable
Second Foundation: The Foundation Novels, Book 3
Author

Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov was the Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America, the founder of robot ethics, the world’s most prolific author of fiction and non-fiction. The Good Doctor’s fiction has been enjoyed by millions for more than half a century.

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Reviews for Second Foundation

Rating: 4.01913723493389 out of 5 stars
4/5

2,874 ratings48 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another great one in the series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Asimov finishes his masterpiece with intriguing plot twists.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Second Foundation, the third Foundation book to be published, but fifth in order of chronology, finds everyone looking for the Second Foundation. Hari Seldon, the last great scientist of the First Empire, has developed the science of human behavior to be distilled into a complicated mathematical equation. This science has the capability of predicting the future through human thought and emotion. Colonies of such scientists are camped out in Foundations, one at either end of the universe. In Part One The Mule, calling himself First Citizen of the Union, and his Regime are desperate to find the Second Foundation. Does it even exist? He enlists the help of Bail Channis, the one individual not afraid of him or influenced by his power.The fascinating thing is Channis is not the plant but rather his knowledge is the true decoy.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Second Foundation picks up where Foundation and Empire left off - with the Mule hunting for the Second Foundation, which constitutes the only real threat to his hegemony. Like Foundation and Empire, the book is divided into two main parts.The first part details the Mule's continued efforts to find the Second Foundation, and the Second Foundation's attempts to foil those efforts. Finally, the Second Foundation protects itself by simply modifying the Mule's thoughts so that he has no interest in fidning them. Since the Mule is a mutant, the Second Foundation reasons that the plan can be placed back on track after he dies and his ability to control other people dies with him.The second half of the book takes place after the Mule's death and covers the Second Foundation's efforts to hide itself once more following their "outing" during the reign of the Mule. It is revealed that the Second Foundation was a mirror of the original Foundation - while the Foundation was stocked with experts in the physical sciences and specifically included no psychohistorians, the Second Foundation was made up of psychohistorians and experts in "mentalics" (telepathy and related psionic abilities). With the Mule gone, the Foundation regains its independence and smashes his now leaderless empire. But, they are offended that they might be manipulated by the Second Foundationers and try to find them themselves, using their physical science expertise to develop an anti-telepath device. Knowing only that the Second Foundation is at "stars end" or the "other end of the galaxy" they reason the Second Foundation must also be on Terminus (since that would be the "end" if you went around the galactic disk), and find and eliminate what they think is the threat.They are wrong, of course, and the whole affair was set up by Second Foundationers to hide their existence again. Since they are made up of experts in psychohistory, they have been safeguarding the plan and keeing it on track (the Mule notwithstanding), but they couldn't do that if the Foundation knew they were being manipulated, so they arranged to hide again, and return to "stars end" - Trantor.The events in this book are, to me, what separates the Foundation books from most of the science fiction that preceded it. Instead of huge battles between starships settling things, the battles are a sideshow. What is more important is the manipulation of the people who control the starships, and the ability to misdirect, allowing for the manipulators to take a long view of history. This book shows the mechanics of the Seldon plan, without cheapening them, which is a difficutl task (many books that expose the hidden details of a setting or plot often detract from its impact, see for example, Prelude to Foundation and the other later written Foundation books). The book is disturbing in some ways, as an elite group of self-appointed shepherds end up directing things from the shadows, which I find to be an unsettling prospect (the wisdom of which is annoyingly never really examined in any of the books of the series, not the original trilogy, not the sequels, and not the prequels). This, with the rest of the original Foundation trilogy, should be on every science fiction reader's bookshelf.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I believe the entire Foundation story is more than the sum of its parts. Since I started with the Robots series, I have huge expectations going forward. It was clear early on that Asimov got better as he got older. Since these were written REALLY early in his career, they're not quite as good. Characters are a bit loose, and I often feel like I'm playing catchup. That being said - really enjoyed this book. The whole concept of the two Foundations, Hari Seldon's Plan, the Mule, the psychological/physical war between space civilizations is absolutely compelling and exciting to read. It's easy to put yourself thousands of years in the future. I loved Arkady's story, although I still feel the whole book was disjointed as it was basically two short stories mushed together. Still, fantastic stuff and another great ending. The location of the Second Foundation definitely surprised me but, as always, made sense in the world Asimov's created.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the final novel of Asimov's original Foundation trilogy, and the individual novellas of which were first published at the end of the 1940s and in book form in the 1950s - where the series ended until the author returned to it in the early 1980s. Like Foundation and Empire, it is a book of two parts, with the first third concerning the Mule's unsuccessful attempt to locate the Second Foundation. As one of the most interesting and memorable characters in the saga, it is a pity we see no more of him after this. The bulk of the book concerns the attempts by scientists of the first Foundation on Terminus to locate their counterpart, set up by Seldon "at the other end of the Galaxy" hundreds of years before. This also features only the second proper female character in the trilogy, Arkady Darrell, a precociously intelligent 14 year old and the granddaughter of Bayta Darrell, who defeated the Mule at the end of the second book. But I don't think the narrative drive of this section works as well as in that book, so overall this novel is not quite as enjoyable as its predecessors.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Started well but got a bit snarled up in the 'found the 2nd Foundation game'. It's interesting how it has dated - referencing TV and videos - but most of all the transcriber, voice recorded straight to writing on paper and you have to start again if you make a mistake! What jarred the most was the casual import and export of wood and potatoes around the galaxy. Published 1953 and hugely influential, and still readable.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This series did not improve as it went developed. It became repetitious instead of innovative.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This many years later after my first read, threequels still don't work well. The Mule segment was a reach, and the last chapter was too cliche. I read scifi with the time of writing in mind when looking at the technology guesses, but I'm less forgiving on the social aspects. Locked into the lack of vision of so many from the pulp era...and too close to the air raids of WWII. I like the simple take on technology...not too much time spent on silly explanations for impossible things. I won't ever get past the mysogyny (addressed somewhat in the next book, but Asimov doesn't stretch himself far in that respect.)

    Only two more in the Foundation universe, unless I someday decide to read the filler novels.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the end of what I consider to be the "classic" Foundation series. I last read it decades ago. Keeping in mind its age, I enjoyed the stories (the novel is really two distinct stories).As the title suggests, this is where we find out so much more about the Second Foundation. It is an interesting look at the idea that societies may be guided along paths -- an idea that has a certain timelessness about it. The trappings around this theme are certainly a product of when the novel was written. While his female characters were decidedly stronger than some in that time, this is where the novel shows its age the most, aside from technological advances that have leapfrogged over what was imagined. Some day I'll read Foundation's Edge, but I don't feel any urgency to do so.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This volume of the trilogy breaks free from the Seldon plan. Although each volume had a distinct cast of characters, this one has always seemed more interesting than the second one. Many others have reviewed the book with a synopsis: let me just say that Arkady Darrell, in my mind, will always be a sharp teenager, and the Galaxy owes her a great debt! Will owe? Bah, time-tenses are easily tangled!!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Very dated language, but the basic plot is ok
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A little disappointing at the end but another good easy read in the Foundation series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Last read this trilogy as a teenager, it has aged well both in terms of the passage of time and, hopefully, slightly more mature tastes on my part. Although I don't find it a particularly profound meditation on free well, the law of large numbers, and the great man theory of history. Not sure if is intended to be, but it is a great story.The trilogy really picks up with the introduction of the Mule in the second half of this book. It runs at a fast pace through the end of Second Foundation. At some point it has a slightly Scooby-Doo feel as successive masks are pulled off characters/plots. And ultimately it is a bit dehumanizing. Except for social psychologists (who seem a lot like economists) who end up in charge of the galaxy. Only fair.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The first foundation trilogy of which Second Foundation is the third (and last for decades) are among the best Asimov ever wrote among his science-fiction novels and among his most influential. Hari Seldon predicts through "psychohistory" the empire will fall within 300 years and establishes a foundation to manipulate history to shorten the dark ages that will follow. In the other books we see the galaxy pass through several predicted "Seldon Crises" until in Foundation and Empire "the Mule" a mutant--and thus unpredictable--throws a joker into the deck.The Mule from that last book and this one is one of Asimov's most complex character and Second Foundation also features a strong female character--Arkady Darell. The first three books in the series were written in the early 1950s, and at times it shows. Asimov considered himself a feminist and created strong female characters (especially Susan Calvin in his Robot stories) but even so there are blindspots and occasional gender fail, because class? This was the fifties! The trilogy is dated in other ways--technological and social advances Asimov didn't foresee, but for all that I think this is still a fantastic read rich in ideas and this novel is no exception.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Pritcher left his air car at the old vice-regal hangars and entered the palace grounds on foot as was required. He walked one mile along the arrowed highway--which was empty and silent. Pritcher knew that over the square miles of palace grounds, there was not one guard, not one soldier, not one armed man. The Mule had need of no protection. The Mule was his own best, all-powerful protector. Pritcher's footsteps beat softly in his own ears, as the palace reared its gleaming, incredibly light and incredibly strong metallic walls before him in the daring, overblown, near-hectic arches that characterized the architecture of the Late Empire. It brooded strongly over the empty grounds, over the crowded city on the horizon. Within the palace was that one man--by himself--on whose inhuman mental attributes depended the new aristocracy, and the whole structure of the Union. In the third book of the Foundation Trilogy, the mysterious Second Foundation comes to the fore. Firstly they have to deal with the Mule, as he tries to track down the location of the Second Foundation, but this causes more problems. The people of the original Foundation on Terminus, suspecting that the Second Foundation stopped the Mule in his tracks by using similar mental powers to his own, come to believe that the Second Foundation is all-powerful and can easily keep the Seldon Plan on track. This causes them to stop reacting naturally and further threatens the plan which has already been compromised by the Mule, so the Second Foundation somehow need to get the plan back on track.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    By GALAXY! This was a fun trilogy. This is why I love science fiction.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A strong "finish" to the series. The purpose of the Second Foundation is finally explored. The Seldon plan faces great challenges and may even be wrong. Asimov truly created a masterpiece.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Book 3 of the trilogy that is the best science fiction of all time.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Kind of disappointing. The first, shorter story (of two) is good. The second story has no likable characters; I wouldn't have guessed that characters are so important to this kind of science fiction, but they are. Also, by the time the second story starts, there's no side that you could call the good guys; I can't go into why without spoilers, so I'll just say that I don't think Asimov intended the audience to feel that way.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Second Foundation concludes the original Foundation Trilogy (it was preceded by Foundation and Foundation and Empire), and almost manages to recapture the energy and sense of fun of the first book that was nearly frittered away by the doldrums of the second. Consisting of two previously published stories (well, a novelette and a novella: "Now You See It --," retitled here as "Part I: Search By the Mule," and "-- And Now You Don't," retitled here as "Part II: Search By the Foundation"), Second Foundation explores the aftermath of the (First) Foundation's biggest defeat, at the hands of a super-powerful, telempathic mutant, called The Mule (his more dignified title, once he's essentially assumed control of the [First!] Foundation's budding empire, is "First Citizen," probably a play on Asimov's part on the Roman title "Princeps," from whence comes the word "prince"; incidentally, The Mule's psionic powers -- the ability to read and manipulate the emotions of another person -- are at least as powerful as those of Professor Charles Xavier of Marvel Comics' X-Men comic books, given that The Mule is capable of altering and controlling an effectively infinite number of people at the same time), and the search by some members of the First Foundation for the nigh-mythical Second Foundation -- hence the book's title. The Foundation, of course, was the creation of one Hari Seldon, who managed to wed statistical analysis to mass psychology and thus was able to predict with phenomenal accuracy the shape and flow of large human societies (at least 40 billion people were needed as a sample in order to get accurate predictions), and recruited enough followers to form a small, select scientific society to guide human history from the shadows and ensure that "civilization as we know it" (in this case, in the galactic empire sense) and scientific knowledge won't be lost to hundreds or thousands of years of barbarism when the original galaxy-spanning Empire, as empires must, falls. Whereas the First Foundation was a public, technocratic organization, the Second Foundation was a super-secret, inward-looking group of psychologists -- "parapsychologists" wouldn't be inapt here, given how much they seek to reactivate their own dormant "wild talents," to use Jack Vance's phrase for psionic powers, such as telepathy and telempathy -- who were set up to make sure that the First Foundation didn't fail, or become suborned by corrupting influences. The first section of Second Foundation is by far the weaker: pat, rote, more of an amusement or exercise than a developed story. The second section starts out even worse, given Asimov's inept handling of the POV of a 14-year-old girl genius named Arcadia (later styled "Arkady") Darell, granddaughter of a major character from the second part of Foundation and Empire, but once he gets the plot rolling it picks up nicely enough. (Give it about twenty pages.) This second section comes the closest of any of the original trilogy to wedding conspiracy theory to pulpy sci-fi ("'It's always easy to explain the unknown by postulating a superhuman and arbitrary will'"; p. 171), which to my mind is a good thing. If Second Foundation doesn't come to a finish quite as rousing as Asimov apparently intended, at least it makes a fitting conclusion to the original trilogy. That said, the original trilogy did not endear itself to me to the point where I feel even a half-hearted desire to read any of its continuations, either by Asimov himself (some thirty years later...), or by his estate-sponsored successors (Gregory Benford, Greg Bear, and David Brin, among others). The only response I have to the fact that the Foundation Trilogy won a special, one-time Hugo Award in 1966 for the best all time science fiction series is, "What was the competition, aside from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings?"
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Omigod, Arkady. How a self-important, ridiculous dude like Asimov wrote such a fun fourteen year-old girl is beyond me. I wonder if I would have liked her character as much when I was a teen, or if it's the adult perspective that makes her so enjoyable. At the end is a fantastic satire of the "reveal", with four going in sequence, three right after another and then BAM, the fourth after a bit at the end. It's a hella snap and whether or not Asimov meant it as such a satire, it works wonderfully that way.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    One of the best science fiction novels of all time. Not complicated, but quite amazing in scope. If you are looking for a lot of action or giant space battles, this isn't the book for you, but it is a good examination of what human politics would be like on a galactic scale.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Second Foundation is a fitting end to the trilogy (or whatever it was, I can't quite get the exact number of books down straight). The plot ties together quite a few loose ends but also manages to leave quite a few ends completely resolutely untied. The whole concept of the Second Foundation is a disturbing and as I look back on the whole series, I'm kind of reminded of Sir Francis Bacon's New Atlantis. In that small volume, Bacon posits the existence of a fictional society that is completely run by scientists. Both Foundations have a bit of that but Asimov has the Second Foundation, the "psychologists" pulling the strings. I don't know if the parallels were intentional, but there are similarities.And like The New Atlantis, there's a lot of that bothers me. The whole concept of the Foundation winds up with a sort of positivist triumphalism that grates on my nerves. Our betters have conceived of a plan to control fate and only they can ensure its implementation. The rest of us are kept in the dark and move along like puppets at their beck and call. I'm not railing against science in the least, but the idea that science bequeaths superior general intelligence to its practitioners goes against my democratic tendencies. Are they really so much superior to the rest of us that they and only they can guide us? In point of fact, even that is an oversimplification of the Foundation. One man, Hari Seldon, and his trained followers can lead us. Gad-freakin-zooks.The character of the Mule, in that light, really doesn't stand out as much of a villain to me. He's not really a hero (Asimov turns him into a genocidal maniac by the end), but he's more complex. His manipulation isn't any different than that of the Second Foundation in any meaningful sense, except that his is more individualists and theirs is committed to a plan. Is this any different than those committed to an unerring religious prophecy? Seldon's math is so complex that few even understand its basic precepts. The people follow it blindly and knowing only the vaguest outlines.And this is why I loved the Foundation trilogy so much. It made me think in a way that few books have, science fiction or otherwise. I don't know Asimov's intent or specific bias in writing the book (though I have my suspicions), but that doesn't matter to me. His writings engaged me and forced me to look at things in an entirely different manner. Can science become a new form of religion? Can we trust our futures to the teachings of the scientists? All good questions worthy of consideration and dialogue. For me this is what a great writer can do. Asimov's technical writing isn't all that inspiring and his characters are all a bit flat. His plot development isn't all that engaging to me, either. But despite all these literary problems (and there are more), this is worth a read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A great conclusion to the story of The Mule and the unveiling of the Second Foundation.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Reviewed March 1998 Again another detailed woman character who leads us into adventure, and also again we learn that she doesn't control her new destiny. We see the end of the Mule and the next crisis of Sheldon. Again Asimov leaves you wanting more, I can't imagine fans of this series having to wait until 1982 for the next in the series, "Foundation's Edge" for more answers/questions... 12-1998
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    While the concept in itself is very good, Asimov doesn't quite manage to keep it up in this book. Or, should I say, these two books. This is a compilation of two short stories, and it shows. They are more or less completely separated from each other, except for the basic premise that binds all the books together.The language is nice and reads in a very relaxing way. It doesn't demand too much of you and stays in the background, letting you focus on the more important parts of the book. Most of the time, this is good. Still, it would be good if it somehow managed to hide the fact that the twists in the plots are not very good and that the oh so smart people sometimes seem to be less than that.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Second Foundation is a novel in two parts: Part I describes the Second Foundation's game of cat-and-mouse with the Mule and his eventual defeat; Part II describes the Second Foundation's cat-and-mouse game with the First Foundation.Unlike the first two novels in the series, this third novel is chock full of intrigue and plot twists galore. The entire premise of the Second Foundation is subterfuge - its existence was never really disclosed - its location never mentioned - and its purpose was never clearly defined. As deduced in "Foundation and Empire", Hari Seldon's Plan for the Second Foundation was to handle crises that the First Foundation couldn't. And the Mule was the first of those crises. I actually suspected the primary Second Foundationer from the moment of his entry - but the final confrontation between the Mule and Second Foundation was not at all what I suspected. And, in fact, what happened to the Mule seems to mirror Robert Jordan's concept of "gentling" of male channelers in Jordan's "Wheel of Time" universe.But if the first part of the novel was full of mystery and plot twists, the second part was a Gordian knot of "double double double doublecrosses". The audacity of Asimov to suggest that any psychological science could progress to the point where the plot of this story could have been planned and executed is just phenomenal. If not for the entire premise of the Seldon Plan, then the neatness with which the knots get untangled at the end would make the story seem like an incredibly cheesey gumshoe mystery with layers of the onion unpeeling to unravel deeper and deeper conspiracies. But, given the Seldon Plan, it all fits and is perfectly consistent... and incredibly deep. And, again, if not for the fact that the series spans centuries, then a plot that takes decades to come to fruition would seem contrived...To a great extent I empathize with the First Foundationers... and I'm curious as to who Asimov and his successors handle the final consolidation of the two Foundations... Hopefully one of the sequels will detail that integration...Ready 1/2008
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I’m still digesting this novel and the series, after reading. The last book concludes the final chapter in this epic quest to safely unify and ensure the prosperous future of human civilization throughout the galaxy, for all time. If you’re reading this series, then get ready to strain the limits of your mind. This empire has been formed without a gun, but with a menagerie of mental debates and emotional discussions that will sway and twist entire worlds into the ultimate reunification of the 2 Foundations and the new concept of ‘Empire.’ It’s hard to swallow in one sitting, but the words are beautifully drawn from the writer’s mind and speak sincerely to your conscience. This is series that will leave you philosophizing over each character for days afterwards. The depth of heart placed into the story, the characters, as a considerable gift to the readers; this is what reading a book is all about.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Excellent novel full of twists and turns. The dialogue was a bit heavy but worth listening too.