Rating: 
Summary: The Books, Like Dust...
Review: This book is the 7th Foundation book I've read...actually I've read them in order of their printing dates (with the exception of reading "Forward the Foundation" beofre "Prelude"...becuause of this I was able to think critically of the way in which a younger (yet still fiesty and stubbourn) Hari Seldon comes into his life long struggle with an abstract theory "psychohistory" When reading the books in the order that I have, I was able to get an idea of what Seldon's glorified, andsometimes Cannonized legacy became the basis of a new culture and society. In "Foundation" you get a tiny glimpse of Seldon as an old yet proud man...warry that the end is near....and that's it...no more. in the next two books inthe trillogy you get hints of him further, but still...you wonder..who was this man? Was he indeed a man? was he not a figure head for a much larger mind, group, or collective? You are given a sence of his omnipotence, this I think Asimov achieved with litle less than Perfection!
then later In Foundation's Edge you get some answers. Of course Hari Seldon was just a man..and because of this his Psychohostory could not be perfection, he is a man, and human's make mistakes. So if you are or were wondering how a Plan such as his could maintain integrity and not sway (except where the Mule is concerned) and wonder if really the efforts of the Second foundation in it's (in contrast to the population of the galaxy...some 25 million inhabited plannets) small numbers could really keep the plan going...well you get your answer here.
When you then continue into "Foundation and Earth" (which I really consider this to be the same book as the previous, as it follows right after "..Edge") You are suddenly brought back into a much older story..the story of R.Daneel Olivaw. Now if you know your Asimovian history then great if not..you'll be forced to quickly find all the Robot and Empire novels to satisfy yourself (as I did). Now to get to the point. Reading Prelude to Foundation is very IMPORTANT!!! this book is the key to joining the old empire and Earth with the revolutionary times of Hari Seldon...this book is wonderful and perfectly relaized. It gives you the knowledge you need to understand who Hari Seldon is..What Daneel's role in this is and to answer your own personal questions about the future of the Plan. The book itself is Exciting and awe inspiring. You get to imagine Trantor in its Hayday and Daneel and Hari both in their prime (well In Daneel's case he's always Prime.) However I did Enjoy Reading Forward the Foundation Before reading Prelude..only because I liked the fact that I didn't know what Dors realy was and I did not know her fate was imminant...I understood that she was not human...with Asimov's slight hints (these hints..in all his books...should be referred to as "Asimovian Slights.")I still enjoyed the surprises surrounding her.
So to wrap up, I'd say Prelude to Foundation is a key brick or Cinder block in the structure of Asimov's Foundation...which strangly enough has grown into an amazing piece of prophetic architecture!
thanks..and Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have ever read
Review: I started reading this book in 6th grade and I first thought it was going to be bad but it was a very good book that I read. Isaac Asimov is like the best author ever. I couldn't even think of a book that is better than is one. I would really recommend that whoever likes SF books to read this one. I liked all the parts in the book especially when Hari Seldon starts his work on predicting the fall of the Galactic Empire. I even liked when all the actions started to happen like almost at the end when Rashelle was about to kill Hari Seldon. Isaac Asimov is my favorite author. I really enjoyed reading this book that he published.
Rating:
Summary: A marvelous work of science-fiction.
Review: I read this a very long time ago when I was in my early teens. This book sets the stage for the Foundation series.... Young Hari Seldon journeys around the technotronic planet Trantor and unravels the future of the empire... This book was written after Foundation and the other novels... but is sequenced as the first in the series. It is frequently skipped, but I consider it among the best novels in the series. It really sets the background for anyone jumping into the Foundation series.
Rating:
Summary: This book was my introduction to Asimov
Review: I was never a science fiction fan, and still am not for that matter. I came across this book by accident and absolutely loved it. This was the introduction to Asimov that prompted me to read the entire series 2 different times. This book, being the most recent, is the easiest to read of the series and seems to progress better. That, combined with a more compact timeline, keeps the reader married to the story and suspense. If you have never read Asimov, I highly recommend the Foundation Series. This book is you starting point.
Rating:
Summary: Chalk one up for Asimov
Review: Isaac Asimov's Foundation series has managed to take on many of the complex social issues of his (and our) time: racism, sexism, politics, technology, and religion, to name a few. This latest addition is no exception. Finally, we learn the full story of Hari Seldon, who appeared only as a figure of mythological proportions in the original novels. Seldon, an assisstant professor of mathematics, has devised a system (known as "psychohistory," a major player in later novels) in which the probability of certain future events can be calculated with a decent degree of accuracy. Soon, he runs afoul of nearly everyone in his time on Trantor -- from politicians who merely see psychohistory as a way to further their own ends, to a group of caste-conscious miners, to an extremely conservative, patriarchal cult that seems to have a tie with the mythical planet of Earth. In between is a hunt for the truth about humanity's origins, and a search for the last remaining robot. Be prepared for a surprise ending!
Rating:
Summary: Essential reading.
Review: There's no such thing as a bad Foundation novel (as long as you don't count the new trilogy by people other than Asimov). "Prelude" is no exception. It is exactly what its name implies, the origins of Asimov's great Foundation. When I reread the series recently, I started with this book, and it really helped make the whole series more complete. It is crafted with the same care for detail as the rest of the series. The characters a great, the story is great, and it is just great. Did I mention that it's a great book? The Foundation series is Asimov at his finest, and there isn't much reading better than that. If you're a fan of the series, read this. If you're new to the series, read this and all the others. It is definitely worth your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Suffering from the one-sequel-too-many syndrome.
Review: Like the old friend who doesn't know when to quit the party, this sequel has overstayed its welcome. Producing one-sequel-too-many seems to be an occupational hazard that strikes many writers of popular fiction, but it especially afflicts authors of science fiction. Herbert should have stopped after his first Dune novel. Clarke should never have added any further digits to 2001. And Asimov, who created what is arguably the best trilogy in the genre, should never have produced the dish-watery addendums that have made up each of the sequels to the three masterful originals. The original Foundation trilogy worked in part because it struck the right balance between exposition and mystique. As the founder of psychohistory (one of the most inventive creative achievements in the SF genre), Hari Seldon may have been no more than a man, but Asimov wisely invested him with an almost mythical allure. This mystique was derived by maintaining a certain distance between the reader and the character, a remoteness that was necessary to sustaining the enormity of the books' setting. In making Seldon a larger than life figure, Asimov produced an archetype: a personification of knowledge; a symbol of intellectual potency; a prophet for the totality of human history. It is unwise to flesh such a figure out too fully. By limiting our knowledge, Asimov frees our imaginations to impart an element of majesty to the archetype that a more detailed exposition would only have destroyed. In this book, and in each of the subsequent sequels, Asimov makes the mistake of demystifying Seldon. In so doing, he demystifies the universe that he so painstakingly created. We can no longer lose ourselves in the vast historical sweep of a galactic empire. Instead, our attention is diverted from the large drama of its collapse to the small drama of one man's struggle. In losing the mystique, we also lose the wonder. To be sure, in the hands of a literary genius, stories setting off the life of a single individual against a backdrop of immense historical forces can be very compelling. But Asimov is no Hugo or Tolstoy. As a writer, his strengths are not to be found in his characterizations, his finesse, or in his facility with high drama. Like all great science fiction writers, Asimov's primary strength is his imagination. A galactic empire; a planet-straddling galactic capital; human behaviour reducible to mathematical laws; mental manipulation of emotions; the delicate balance of the human mind; the empathic relationship between the individual and the group; these are the themes that show him in the best light. When he sticks to them, as he does in the original trilogy, he invents a future that is overwhelming in its texture and its scope. When he departs from them, as he does here, the shallowness of his characters doom us to a disappointing stroll through the merely mediocre.
Rating: 
Summary: Fleshes out the history of Foundation
Review: This book (while not part of the original Foundation trilogy) is great read if you like the Foundation Series and need more of it. It's a prequel to Foundation and fleshes out the world in which Foundation takes place. It was written in the 80's when he went back to writing Foundation books.
Rating:
Summary: Unbeatable
Review: A compelling story that took me a couple weeks to read because I couldn't put it down. The character, plot, action, and love in this story were very realistic and has a great surprise ending! This is a definite!
Rating:
Summary: The Adventures of Hari Seldon
Review: For readers of the original Foundation novels, this novel actually depicts Hari Seldon as a person, not as a God figure. Really the best bridge between the Robot, Empire, and Foundation series, in this novel we are finally allowed to see Trantor, the Galactic Empire's capital, before the Empire's fall has truly begun. Seldon, a mathematician, has developed a theory which in concept might be applied to predict the general outcome of events affecting humanity, but only on a very large scale. But the theory is essentially useless -- impractical. This failing is brought to light very early, and provides the drive for the story, as Hari tries to observe humanity so as to develop interpretive Laws to make his theory, Psychohistory, practicable after all. He proceeds to visit various locales of the planet, each region almost a world unto itself on the great city-world that is Trantor. He is alternately pursued, assisted, and hampered by scheming factions in the Imperial structure. Asimov does provide us some info on the adventures of Seldon, but there are really no surprises in this book. From the first meeting with some of the characters I had their nature identified. Although Seldon is ignorant and very often surprised by the unsettling behavior of people he encounters, in keeping with his ignorance of humanity. Seldon is presented almost like a country bumpkin gone to the city. Nevertheless, having read the Robot and Empire novels (in the latter of which should this novel be counted, not purely as the first Foundation novel, in my opinion) this is a good bridge leading into the Foundation series. If you have not read the Empire novels, nothing really would be lost, but some confusion may result from not reading the Robot novels first. In fact, if the Robot series were not read, some of the obvious clues to which I earlier referred would not be caught. In any case, this novel does a good job of presenting the problems with the Galactic Empire, which in my mind has many similarities to the Old Republic from Star Wars (A decrepit government ruled from a single large city-planet, e.g.), and thus leading very well into the Foundation series.
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