Rating: 
Summary: It opend the door for poorer future volumes...
Review: I really liked Foundation. Then I really liked the first part ("The General") of this. And then the Mule showed up... First, Asimov always had trouble writing a mystery. I identified the Mule the first time he showed up, and I figured out the basics of his mutation as soon as the Visi-Sensor was described. And that leads me to my second nitpick. The Mule didn't need to have such a powerful ability to affect others. The ability to read minds plus high intelligence would give the Mule the same ability to predict reactions as a trained psychohistorian, and the Visi-Sensor would give him the tool to exploit it. The story itself would go much the same way, with the Mule's ability to force predicted reactions replacing his ability to force actions, but with a tighter integration with the ideas of the previous book. Furthermore, it would have meant none of the psychic conspiracies which proceeded to dominate in the books Second Foundation, Foundation's Edge, etc. The ability to twist minds transforms psychohistory from the powerful science of Foundation to simply a method of forecasting the societal impact of psychic manipulation. It also transformed the Foundation series from moderately hard SF stories about the impact of a new science to just another set of stories about mind control magic. BTW, I like fantasy and soft SF -- I just wish Foundation didn't change genres in mid-trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Of The Original Trilogy
Review: This is the second of the three novels in the original "Foundation Trilogy", which was published in 1952 by Gnome Press. An edited version of it was published by Ace Books in the 1950s under the title "The Man Who Upset The Universe". It consists of two sections which are taken from shorter fiction that was published in "Astounding Science Fiction" in the 1940s. While better than the first novel in the series, there are still some weaknesses as a result of age. Asimov himself wrote in 1982 that the knowledge of astronomy at that time was "primitive" and that he could now take advantage of electronic computers in his stories, which hadn't been invented until he was halfway through the series in the 40s.
The two sections of "Foundation And Empire" are:
"The General" - In this story, the Foundation is attacked by what is left of the Empire. The Empire, though much weaker than it once was, is still stronger than the Foundation. This was first published as the novelette "Dead Hand" in the April 1945 edition of "Astounding Science Fiction".
"The Mule" - Perhaps the best of the Foundation stories; in this one the Seldon plan is destroyed by its inability to predict a singular event. The Foundation is threatened by a person known only as The Mule. He is mysteriously able to defeat more powerful forces, with inferior forces. This was first published as the novella "The Mule" in "Astounding Science Fiction" in November and December of 1945.
The trilogy has been recognized by readers and critics alike over the years. In 1952, it was rated as the 15th best book overall by the Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll. It moved up to 12th on the same poll in 1956, and then to 1st in 1966. In 1975 it was ranked 6th on the Locus poll for All-Time Novels. In 1987 it was 6th on the same poll for SF Novels. In 1998 it was ranked 4th on the same poll for novels before 1990. It also received the 1966 Hugo for All-Time Series, beating out Tolkien's "The Lord Of The Rings", Smith's "Lensman", Heinlein's "Future History", and Burroughs' "Barsoom" series for the award.
Rating:
Summary: The General, the Mule, and Psychohistory
Review: In this sequel to "Foundation," Asimov continues to channel Edward Gibbon, charting the rise and fall of the Galactic Empire and the subsequent rebirth, like a phoenix from the ashes, of a new and improved federation.
On its own, "Foundation and Empire" suffers from an acute case of Middle Chapter Syndrome--and this is somewhat surprising since Asimov originally published his trilogy as a series of nine novellas. The reader who isn't familiar with the first "Foundation," with its extended prologue and four installments, will be at a loss. In the previous book, each chapter details a different interplanetary chess match between (on the one hand) the long-dead "psychohistorian" Hari Seldon, who had predicted the empire's demise and who initiated events that will accelerate the rise of a second empire, and (on the other) various individuals who struggle in vain to change the course of that inexorable future.
"The General" and "The Mule," the two episodes in this volume, will surprise the reader by departing from the pattern in the previous book. The first and shorter story is the lesser of the two; all the "action" occurs offstage, and the protagonists wait in suspense for a catastrophe that never really materializes. It's a bit of a letdown, but Asimov presents this incident to make a point: those who think they know when and where historical crises will next occur might miss out entirely on the real predicament at hand.
The meat of the book will be found in "The Mule," which is presented as a mystery of sorts (although I find it difficult to imagine the reader who won't discern the Mule's "secret" well before its unveiling). More successfully, this novella is an extended chase scene--it would make a great space adventure movie--in which the Mule's minions pursue our heroes through the far reaches of the universe. The unexpected appearance of a mutant species, represented by the Mule, throws into chaos Seldon's psychohistorical calculations--or does it?
Asimov's prose style has always been a bane to language mavens, and the experimental qualities of "Foundation and Empire" serve to spotlight many of his most pervasive faults. Even by the loose standards of pulp fiction, these two stories suffer from more than their fair share of tautologies, pleonasms, comma splices, sentence fragments, and worse. (No chapter should open with a sentence like either of the following: "There was reason to the fact that the element known as 'pure science' was the freest form of life on the Foundation." "The blockade was run successfully.")
But Asimov's fans--myself included--don't turn to his novels for their literary qualities. Instead, we enjoy his ability to present a complicated story and tie up all the loose ends, to weave politics and philosophy and science into his fiction, and to make us think.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than "Foundation" by ten-fold but....
Review: That's not saying much since I thought that "Foundation" was pretty poor.
"Foundation and Empire" was pretty good, but still lacked in certain
areas - mainly character development and also the first third of the
book had a very weak story line. The whole battle with the Empire by
the Foundation was very very weak, I cannot stress that enough. Maybe I
was just hoping for an epic battle between the renegade Foundation and
the dying Empire. Nothing really happened to spur the victory of the
Foundation, there wasn't even really a battle. But I guess that might
be the point that Asimov was making since Seldon predicted the choices
and decisions of the Emperor about the passion that the characters had
for the battle. It wasn't even a battle between the Empire, it was some
mission designed and orchestrated by some general in the navy that
thought it would be a good idea to take over the Foundation.
This book also lacked in strong characterizations, but not as much as
the first "Foundation" by a long shot. The last two thirds of the book
stick with the same characters the whole time. It also enters a
powerful mutant, the Mule. I won't give much away about the Mule and
his plans because I don't want to spoil the book but it sets up for the
sequel, "Second Foundation." Once again the idea of the Mule is a good
idea but is somewhat poorly executed until the ened when everything is
explained about the effects the Mule has on the Foundation and the
people in the main storyline.
Get ready for "Second Foundation" because it will probably be the best
of the first trilogy. This book is worth reading and if "Second
Foundation" is better than this book then I will recommend the
"Foundation Series" to anybody who can persist in their reading and
doesn't mind a long slow beginning.
Rating: 
Summary: On With the Foundation!!
Review: I always prefer to think of the foundation Trilogy as one book.They are meant to be read one after another and are also written that way.
While the first part(Foundation) gives us the historical perspective and a sketch of characters who influence the events,this book is where it gets better in a serious way!!
There is not much of a point in discussing the plot-lots of other people have commented on that.
But i'll tell you this - the 2nd part of this book- which talks about the Mule and his rise to power is THE best part of the ENTIRE FOUNDATION series ( Yes all the 7 books!!).
IT ends with the most famous twist on paper it will make your mind reel!! It sets up the things nicely for the Second foundation - the 3 book in the series.
I have read almost everything that Asimov's written.The foundation series and the End of Eternity are my favourites.
The difference between Asimov and the other Science Fiction writers is that he makes the Science Fiction believable.
Asimov is also a very good mystery writer(no kidding!! - he's right up there with the authors who write mystery alone).
It's easy to write a Sci Fi book with an amazing amount of Science and imagination- but how well you can bind it to a story and make it real, that is the deal.Apart from the idea the story has to be told well. This is where the good doctor excelled.
Trust me if you have not read the Foundation Series you are missing something which in indelibly written in the records as the one of the best books on paper.
Asimov's written it so that you are sufficiently intrested for more at the end of the book one , by the time you finish the second book you are thinking this is great stuff - desperate for more you go the 3rd book. By the time you are through you think this is soooo cool - it might be the best thing you ever read.
Do yourself a favour go read the Foundation and Empire , follow that up with the Second Foundation.You'll be glad you did when you return to it over the years!!
Rating:
Summary: A good story, but somewhat weak on characters
Review: This may be a classic and I may be a science fiction fan, but read Asimov's "The Gods Themselves" instead of this. His later work is definitely better. "Foundation and Empire" is like its predecessor ("Foundation") in that you get several stories told in different periods throughout Foundation history. Everything Asimov has come up with in these books is fundamentally good sci-fi story stuff, but the lack of character development makes you think while you're reading, "Why am I reading this?" I'll read the last in the trilogy ("Second Foundation"), but that's as far as I'm going to go with these.For great sci-fi, read "Hyperion," "Fall of Hyperion," "Ender's Game," "Childhood's End", "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep." For good sci-fi, read "More Than Human," "The Gods Themselves," "Slan," "The Demolished Man," "The Stars My Destination." TOO MUCH TO LIST, MY FRIENDS!!! Good luck and good reading.
Rating:
Summary: A true Science Fiction Master!
Review: As well as a trilogy that is as far-reaching as it is set in a far-distant time with characters and galactic backdrop unrivaled by any other book. Definitely one of the great science-fiction classics just like "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Childhood's End", along with modern-day cyberpunk like "Neuromancer", "Count Zero", "Prey", "Cryptonomicon", "Snow Crash", "Darkeye: Cyber-Hunter", etc.
Rating:
Summary: The Golden Age Classic Continues
Review: Asimov's Golden Age classic Foundation Trilogy is one of the early milestones of the science fiction genre. This second installment is less episodic than the first volume, focusing on just two specific stories. The first volume, "Foundation", sets up the whole idea of the Seldon Plan, a mathematically based view of sociopolitical forces that enables one brilliant scientist to grow a new galactic empire from a foundation of one hundred thousand scientists and their families. "Empire" starts off in the same vein, showing how the Foundation staves off annihilation at the hands of the currently decaying, but still dangerous Galactic Empire. Once again, the magic of this section is the subtle means by which the Foundation overcomes impossible odds, and the convincing arguments Asimov uses to make the solution seem inevitable. Part Two involves an internal struggle between the Foundation's authoritarian central government and the Independent Traders who spread that government's economic power. While the Foundation is threatened with civil war, the rise of a new warlord on Kalgan poses a danger to the entire human race. Because each story is substantially longer than those in Foundation, this volume focuses more on individual characters. In fact, it is not too much to say that a major theme is the historical question, "Do individuals matter?" As a result, the characters are developed slightly more, and there's even a wistful love triangle, and considerably more action than was featured in the first volume, which tended to be distant and impersonal. If you liked Foundation, you'll surely enjoy this and the climax to the series, Second Foundation. Although these books will strike many as hopelessly dated, Asimov's sweeping historical vision should not be missed by any fans of speculative fiction. They have a directness and honest charm about them that is rare in contemporary science fiction. Later additions to this series, both sequels and prequels, don't adhere to the tone of these original novels, and really add very little except bulk.
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