'Foundation and Empire' is the second instalment of Isaac Asimov's legendary Foundation series. Asimov was a prolific writer and is often cited as one of the 'Big Three' writers of the science fiction genre in the 20th century. Personally, the Foundation series has been my introduction to the genre of science fiction, and so far I am simply fascinated by the sheer extent and fertility of Asimov's imagination.
The Foundation series consists of three books: 'Foundation', 'Foundation and Empire' and 'Second Foundation'. If you haven't read my review of the first book, you can do so here before you continue to read this one as it will make more sense chronologically. None of my reviews contains any major spoilers, so you can read on safely!
In 'Foundation and Empire', we see that the Galactic Empire weakens significantly and dwindles down in strength, just as the great psychohistorian Hari Seldon had predicted in 'Foundation'. Now, psychohistory is without a doubt my favourite aspect or concept from this book series. It is essentially a science that combines the fields of psychology, sociology and statistical mathematics to predict how large populations of people will act in the future. This science does not work, however, when applied to individuals, and will only work if the population being analysed is not aware that it is being analysed. At different points in the book, we see the characters applying pyschohistorical reasoning to make sense of the events around them, and I found this to be pretty cool! The way psychohistory is presented and used as a plot device makes it seem like it could almost be a real science! Surely, this is a testament to Asimov's creativity.
Around the second half of the book, we see that the organisation known as 'the Foundation' has grown in economic and technological strength and is now stronger than the Galactic Empire. Once again, this is just as Hari Seldon predicted through psychohistory. What I find interesting here is that apart from all of the space travel and futuristic technology described, Asimov infuses a lot of real-world social issues into the plot. For example, the Foundation's strength mainly stems from the fact that it has expertise in nuclear technologies while others do not. It seems to mirror real-life political wars, where countries with nuclear capabilities have more leverage and can use it to their own advantage.
Additionally, the Foundation is a major trading centre, and there are several minor planets whose economies rely on Foundation trade. These planets are referred to as the Traders. The Foundation exercises its economic might over the Traders in a self-serving and often unfair manner. Naturally, the Traders and are displeased with this corrupt behaviour. This leads to the formation of a group of Trader planet citizens whose goal is to revolt against the Foundation. Once again, this mirrors what happens so often in real life, which is the way that powerful people use their status in corrupt ways with no regard for those who are not as fortunate. I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of such social issues, especially in a science fiction novel where I came in expecting everything to be solely about intergalactic space wars and high-tech gadgets.
That said, the futuristic gadgets infused throughout the plot were definitely delightful to read about and visualise! A few, in particular, stand out. At some point in the plot, we are introduced to what is known as a 'Visi-Sonor'. When played, the Visi-Sonor projects stunningly vivid scenes into the air using holographic light, and simultaneously creates beautiful melodies. What makes this even more wonderous, however, is that the Visi-Sonor is not actually producing any real light or sound! Instead, it somehow reaches the optic nerve inside of the listener's brain and causes them to imagine all of the vibrant effects. The way in which the Visi-Sonor's effect is described makes it seem like it would be a dreamy, almost ethereal thing to experience. A clown known as 'Magnifico', who is introduced in the second half of the book, is apparently a proficient Visi-Sonor player. When he plays, he is capable of conjuring the sound of a hundred instruments and can create holographic visuals of pulsating light spheres, glittering carpets, intricately ornamented palaces and more. The thought of such an instrument is really magical! I would love for such an instrument to exist, except of course one that actually creates the light and sound instead of using brain control since that does seem a bit creepy/dangerous.
Another thing I thought I'd discuss is Asimov's writing style. A common criticism of the Foundation Series is that Asimov's writing style is often very dry and matter-of-fact, with little to no character development. You can do a quick Google search and find that many reviews of the series complain about Asimov's writing style and how they find it to be boring. I can understand why people feel this way, having read 2 of the series' books myself. Personally, however, I find that this style of writing did not bother me at all. In fact, I found it rather fitting. This series is about the bigger picture of the Galactic Empire's fate, the fate of the Foundation, predicting the future through psychohistory, Hari Seldon's master plan and all of these other really mammoth concepts. These concepts in and of themselves were so incredibly unique and intriguing to me that I was never once particularly bothered by the lack of character development. Indeed, when we think about it in terms of psychohistory, which plays a huge role in the series, then the actions or thoughts of one individual don't really matter. Psychohistory can only work when applied to large numbers of people, and so when we think about it this way it seems fitting that Asimov does not spend too much time fleshing out individual characters.
Even so, if you read 'Foundation' and disliked it for the lack of character development but enjoyed the overall ideas and plot, I would encourage you to still continue and read 'Foundation and Empire'. This is because the second instalment of the series actually spends a significant amount of time developing a few of the protagonists, namely Toran and Bayta. Toran and Bayta are husband and wife, and the readers are given a glimpse into their romantic relationship through descriptions of typical relationship banter and moments where they are just being a young couple. When an antagonist known as 'The Mule' is introduced, we get to see how Toran and Bayta struggle together in an attempt to stop him. Even when things seem bleak for them, we see them enjoying small moments of laughter and relief together as a couple.
Overall, I found that I enjoyed the second instalment of this series far more than the first. The lack of character development in the first book did not bother me as I mentioned earlier. What did bother me about the first book, however, was the fact that the writing made it hard to follow along. The dialogue between characters and the overall style of narration made it hard for me to determine what was going on at times. I even resorted to Google to clear up my confusion sometimes. With the second instalment, however, I found that the plot was much easier to follow. I can't really seem to pinpoint why, but I think it's because the plot of 'Foundation and Empire' flowed much more smoothly and had far fewer jumps in time when compared to 'Foundation'.
As with 'Foundation', the major selling point of 'Foundation and Empire' is that Asimov is able to present the reader with some enormously imaginative ideas and an exciting plot with a few surprising twists here and there. I will be reading the third instalment of the series very soon, so watch out for another review!
And do let me know your thoughts in the comments section! Have you read any of the books from the Foundation series? If so, what are your thoughts and opinions? Feel free also to recommend any of your favourite reads as I'm always on the hunt for more books to add to my reading list!
© Shreya Alagramam
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