Rating: 
Summary: Great reading - Asimov outdid himself.
Review: It was hard for me to read ..oh.. the first 10 pages, I believe. Asimov has-- er, had (may he rest in peace) for writing novels that grasp your hands and don't let you put the book down until you're done. This book is 400 pages long and I read it in 3 days! An exciting story, well-defined characters, and a nice ending. Absolutely worth the read. 5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: An interresting book - a tour of pre-Foundation Trantor
Review: This is the first novel I've read by Asimov and I must say it kept my interest all the way through. The ending, especially, I found quite clever. It certainly made me want to begin the Foundation Trilogy. Essentially, the novel is the story of how once mathematician Hari Seldon announces his theory of psychohistory he is forced to seek asylum from place to place on the Imperial Planet Trantor. While this allows Asimov some latitude in describing the various "city-states" of the underground civilization of Trantor, it is no exaggeration to say that his sociology is at times stereotyped and rudimentary. Additionally, his extrication of Seldon from tight spots can seem artifically contrived. Indeed, Asimov's characterization of Seldon is often unrealistic and iritating. That said, however, I nonetheless found the novel a compellingly quick and ultimately satisfying read.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting after the first 200 pages.
Review: It took me a while to actually get started on this book. I started it several times, but could not get into it until I made myself do it, knowing that I would enjoy it. This book is meant to get you ready for the rest of the series, and is full of the background information you need (if you are going to read them in chronological order). The first 200 of the 400 pages are real hard to turn, but once you make it past that barrier, the pages turn themselves. The book gets exciting, and made me want to read the rest of the series!
Rating:
Summary: I didn't know what to expect but it was a great book!!!
Review: This was for me the first book of the Foundation series, but I loved it and would recommend it to everybody how loves science fiction. I give it only a 8, because the only book I ever reed that get's a 10 is Dune by Frank Herbert.
Rating:
Summary: By far, the very SF book I've ever read.
Review: This fantastic piece of work by late Grand Master Asimov, is a "prequel" (now that the word is fashionable) to the Foundation Trilogy. It is about the youth of Hari Seldon, the mathematician that developed the science of Psycohistory to predict the future. In this book we can see the galactic capital world of Trantor during the reign of emperor Cleon I. As usual, Asimov uses the various situations in the novel to analize contemporary or historical sociological topics, such as rural-urban migration, religious beliefs and economic influences in culture. The climatic ending of this novel, which is the cornerstone of the 3 great sagas of Asimov (Robots, Empire and Foundation novels) sets Hari Seldon on his way to develop the future of the galaxy and his beloved Foundation project.
Rating:
Summary: It's good, but not the best
Review: I had the oportunity of reading this book in the Spanish version and I can say It is a good book , but not the best, due to the fact that in some chapters it becomes a little bit boring. What is interesting is the way that it finishes, because we don't expect that Hari's mind work in such a strange way to guess that Etho Dermezel is what it is. So I grade it with a 8 and I'll recommend to read this book first to get interested on the Foundations Trilogy, and to understand it better.......
Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Book! Not to be missed
Review: "Prelude to Foundation" has captured my interest for the Foundation series with an iron grasp. The way that the society in the future relates to our current society is amazing. Definetely will be on my bookshelf for all time.
Rating:
Summary: I really enjoyed it!
Review: Even though I usually hate reading books a second time, I read this one at least twice. Its a very famous book, and it sure deserves its fame!
Rating:
Summary: A guided tour of Trantor...and not much else.
Review: Okay, I'm really sorry about not giving this book a very good rating. But while Asimov's style never seemed dated, some of the ideas presented in _Prelude to Foundation_ are just plain silly. Such as the ridiculous shades of color worn on Imperial Trantor, or the Mycongenians who shave their entire bodies and feel hair to be socially unacceptable. Stuff you'd find in the really bad science fiction of the pulp era...but that's not the worst part. The worst part is this book's plot is so thin (quite unlike every other book in the series) that Asimov soon turns it into nothing more than a tour of Trantor and a vehicle for some of the ideas he thought would be interesting in the Imperial era. Microfarms? Well, fine. Interesting perhaps. But did he need to devote five chapters of this book to showing us inside one of them? And did he need to use the climax of those five chapters to introduce us to the concept of a book with words that scroll up the page, that oh by the way happens to be the Mycogenian holy book, on which Hari and Dors spend another five chapters that lead them both nowhere at all? But I shouldn't bash the book too much, and you probably should read it anyway, since it leads directly into _Forward the Foundation_,which I loved as much as the original books written in the 1940s. If not for Forward the Foundation, I would've given this book a six. But you can't understand _Forward..._ without this, so read them both in the order they were published (which is actually what you should do for the whole series-read this after Foundation's Edge). You'll be glad about it, if not just for how great Forward the Foundation is
Rating:
Summary: stunning...on the edge of my seat!
Review: Man this is one helluva book. I was shocked at the end. Everything was put in place like clockwork!!
I couldn't stop turning the pages and readin'. It was full of suspense and strange new people. I loved it. This was my first Asimov book and I highly regard it! Too bad this rating system only goes up to ten.
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