Rating: 
Summary: Decent, and better writing than the previous "Foundation's"
Review: "Second Foundation" is the third book in the "Foundation Novels," and is pretty good. It is a nice conclusion to the original trilogy. One big problem, however, is the fact that the writing style is so much different than the first book. It is almost like another author wrote this book. This is not such a bad thing, except it just has a totally different feel to it from the rest of the series thus far. I like my multi-book series's to have a continuity of voice and prose that make it just seem like one big novel, broken up into little pieces.
The problem lies in the characters (or lack there of) between the books. "Foundation" had so many more characters and each of them was in the book for a very short amount of time. Then, in "Foundation and Empire," there are fewer characters, and each is in for a little more time - not much, but a little. Then in "Second Foundation," the characters are in the book for... [wait for it...] the WHOLE BOOK! It's a good book, just drasically different from the previous books in the terms of writing style. It seems that each book in the series has grown by a factor of ten as being a well written story.
Hopefully if this continues, then "Foundation's Edge" will be a blowout, except I think I recall saying that in my "Foundation and Empire" review. All in all, good book, but definately not the best.
Rating: 
Summary: On with the Foundation...
Review: Again, like Foundation, it is a little dry, but character development is hard in a story that spans over multiple centuries...something that is easier to manage in the Second Foundation because it is more focused on one generations struggle for their part in the evolution of the Foundation. A very solid read and classic Asimov.
Rating:
Summary: An Exciting Web of Intrigue to Close the Trilogy
Review: Asimov's classic original trilogy comes to a close in this ambitious finale. Here Asimov has really gone over the top with political and intellectual intrigue, which propels the two main plot elements. As with the two previous Foundation novels, there are actually two shorter stories here that take place decades apart. In this installment Hari Seldon's plan gets back on track after being disrupted by the mutant known as the Mule, with the mythical Second Foundation starting to peek out from behind the scenes. Who works for whom, who's a traitor or not, and whether or not the Second Foundation even really exists are all intricately played out by a series of intelligent and conspiratorial characters in relentlessly tangled webs of intrigue. In fact, this book has the most well-defined characters yet to appear in the Foundation series, especially the young Arcadia. The original Foundation saga is wrapped up nicely here as the original trilogy comes to a close. Of course, Asimov's creation is so expansive that there was plenty of room for more speculation and development of the story, leading to the prequels and sequels that Asimov continued to crank out for this classic series.
Rating:
Summary: The ending of the original classic Foundation Triology
Review: By the time you get to �Second Foundation,� the final volume in the original Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov, there is no real need to keep on with the effort to persuade you to keep on reading. Instead it would be more beneficial to look at the original trilogy as a whole and consider why it stands out as one of the greatest in the realm of Science Fiction & Fantasy.Simply compare the Foundation Trilogy with the two other, admittedly more popular, trilogies: �Lord of the Rings� and �Star Wars.� In the former it is established that the One Ring has to be destroyed and from that point on Tolkien�s story is devoted to getting that accomplished and trying to return peace to Middle Earth. In the latter it becomes clear at the end of the first film (of the original trilogy) that the story will end when Luke Skywalker kills Darth Vader at the end of the third film, which means that Darth will have to defeat Luke at the end of the second. That is indeed what happens, although George Lucas did throw a big twist into the picture. In comparison the genius of the Foundation Trilogy is that the three volumes are so different. �Foundation� establishes the theory and practice of psychohistory, as Hari Seldon�s master plan for reducing the inevitable barbarism of the time between galactic empires to a single millennium. But then �Foundation and Empire� finds the plan disrupted by the threat of the genetic mutant the Mule, and the careful progression of the first novel is replaced by a crisis that is an unforeseen Seldon Crisis. However, with �Second Foundation� there is a new agenda, as both the Foundation and the Mule search for the location of the titular entity. The purpose of the hidden Second Foundation is to protect the first, but the members of the original Foundation do not like the idea of its existence any more than does the Mule. Consequently, the race is on to discover the truth. What Asimov has created is a classic example of a dialectic, more so in terms of claim, challenge, and correction rather than thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. Not only does it represent the dialectic, the Foundation Trilogy embodies it as well, because that is the principle behind how the Seldon Plan works and adjusts to changes both small and large as the universe plays outs its history. It does not have the great depth and richness of Tolkien�s �Lord of the Rings,� or the style and flair of Lucas�s �Star Wars.� But then Asimov always represented striped down narratives, where the characters would have intense discussions about scientific principles, which usually boiled down to his belief that science could solve any and all human problems. Because the Foundation Trilogy is a landmark in the history of science fiction it now enjoys a significance that goes beyond its merit as a story. Eventually Asimov would connect this series with both his Empire and his Robot novels, but it is still important to remember the Foundation Trilogy on its own terms. Even with �Second Foundation,� there is something intrinsically enjoyable in the way that Asimov offers plausible solution after plausible solution before revealing the solution that was true.
Rating: 
Summary: ...story
Review: i can't beleive for the reviews i read here - some guy say "i didn't like the story" and give the book 5 stars - why ? because it's asimov !. but beleive me, asimov wasn't a very bright writer. he had some cute books, and some interesting ideas (robots for instance), but was more like a juvenile SF book writer. this book is one of is last, and hance is pretty bad. this book suppose to tell you what and where was the second foundation all about(reffer to previews books in series), but of course it doesn't !. i didn't even understand what was the diffrence between the "mule" and the second foundation, since they used same technics and had similar goals. anyway, the second foundation doesn;t sound very good to me - a group of elite people, that has mental control over other people, and has the right to control history - too much risky !, sound like marks and eggels - this ideas maybee apeel to the teenagers, but loose their charm, when it comes for more muture readers.
Rating: 
Summary: Last in the trilogy
Review: I enjoyed the Foundation series very much, and I would recomend it to anyone. If you have read the first two then there is no reason to not read the Second Foundation, I just found it anti-climatic. I generally enjoy more of a firm ending, and I know that Asimov goes on to write more in the series, but I wanted an end with more of an explination about Seldon and his work.
Rating:
Summary: Last in the trilogy
Review: I enjoyed the Foundation series very much, and I would recomend it to anyone. If you have read the first two then there is no reason to not read the Second Foundation, I just found it anti-climatic. I generally enjoy more of a firm ending, and I know that Asimov goes on to write more in the series, but I wanted an end with more of an explination about Seldon and his work.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the ride
Review: If you've read Foundation and Foundation and Empire, I see no reason why you wouldn't want to read this last installment. Foundation and Empire ended on the most amazing twist ever put to paper. A review would be pointless. Besides, most reviews are a sharing of opinions between people who have read the books, rather than providing insight for those that haven't. If you haven't read them, please do, and do so like the first Foundation, blindly and with no knowledge of the secrets that are to come. By now you know who the Mule is, his powers, and his purpose. Asimov so far only hinted at the Second Foundation, and why it must be kept secret. To defeat the Mule, they had to reveal themselves. That makes up the first half of the book. What would happen when a group of psychologists with superior mental powers face a mutant with equal or greater powers? There is no actual "battle," and this might be disappointing. The anticlimax builds to a quick defeat for the Mule, but I think it was the only way Asimov could have handled it. Asimov wanted to end the series there, but his editor at the time, John W. Campbell, would have none of it. Good thing, too, because it gets more exciting. Now that the first Foundation is aware of the Second, their actions are now random, based on their belief that the Second Foundation will help them through any crisis, and therefore unpredictable. The Second Foundation must now come up with a plan of their own to convince the first that they no longer exist. No small feat. The first Foundation let themselves be guided for so long, that they no longer think or act for themselves, despite their military and economic might. Hmm, maybe we could learn something from this. The Foundation is not yet ready for a ruling class of psychologists, and would resent their authority. Is the Second Foundation therefore their enemy? You might ask yourself this. This last part of the book centers on Arcadia Darell, the granddaughter of Bayta Darell, whom you know from F&E. Her romantic and adventerous spirit leads her to stowaway on board a ship with her "uncle" to search the Mule's records, and find out more about the Second Foundation. Asimov is not only one of the best science fiction writers, he is also an excellent mystery writer, and "SF" reads like a great thriller. But don't skip to the end, which is just as amazing as Foundation and Empire. When you think you know everything, guess again. Each of the books stands on its own as a classic of science fiction, but I prefer to take these books as a whole. The other books in the series are okay, but redundant. All the excitement is concentrated into these three books.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful Close(?)
Review: Of course, we all know by now that the Trilogy was just the beginning of the Foundation story. We had prequels and sequels but these three remain the core of the saga. In FOUNDATION AND EMPIRE we were introduced to the Mule, a mutant with mental powers so great he could change the course of history. Since Seldon had set up two Foundations - one known, one unknown - it would be a catastrophe if the Mule ever discovered the location of the secret one. This is a tale of innocence, of a 14-year old girl (Arkadia) and her friendship with a man we come to discover is the Mule. The final battle - as in all books of this type - correct all wrong and allows us to discover that the location of the Second Foundation was at "Galaxy's End" - the center of the galaxy, Trantor, where Seldon had resided. The real trick now is creating the alternate robot stories that would intertwine and eventually unite with the Foundation Series creating a new entity.
Rating:
Summary: Found Second
Review: The last book in this trilogy sees the serch for that elusive Second Foundation Hari Seldon set up before his death. The rouge superbrained leader The Mule sets off on a journey to find it as well as a cunning and cleaver 14 year old girl Arkadia Darell. A battle of minds takes place and eventually humanity wins out. The victory comes as quite a shock for those who will read it and Hari Seldon's unpredicted crisis is over and the Second Foundation is saved right where he left it, in the Universty campus on the now rusted and tatty world of Trantor.
|
