Rating: 
Summary: Only for the devoted
Review: Without second thought I would say Asimov is my favourite SF author and the Foundation series is one my SF favourites. Precisely because I am so fond of both, I was very disappointed with Foundation and Earth. The storyline does have its interesting moments and on the whole I found the quest for Earth ironically amusing from the reader's point of view. The fluency of the plot however, is continually hampered by long and unnecessary lectures. I have always respected and admired Asimov's scientific philosophy but in this occasion his reflections on individuality as opposed to collectivism are embedded in an endless and tiring debate between the Gaian Bliss and Trevize. The debate of this single topic is repeated so many times with such great length that after some time you become annoyed every time they start lecturing, wishing that they would arrange a scientific forum somewhere else, resolve the issue for once and all, then shut up for the rest of the plot. The plot aside, the problem with this Foundation novel is that it is without the Foundation! Having been taken care of in the previous novel, the First and Second Foundations are only vague and trivial references within the novel. While two of the main characters (Trevize and Pelorat) are Foundationers, it wouldn't have altered the plot much if they weren't. The real disappointment for me however was how the novel was concluded. The motivation of Asimov for this and the previous Foundation novel, I believe, was the fusion of the Foundation series with his excellent Robot literature. While he does so, in a reasonabl elegant fashion, the result and the ending, I am afraid, ridicules the Foundation saga in favour of the robots. It is almost as if one might not have read the Foundation trilogy at all. Still I do not regret having bought and read this book. While I did not want the Foundation saga to end in this way I certainly would not leave the concluding book out of my shelf. I recommend this book only to devoted fans of the great master.
Rating:
Summary: Ponderous
Review: I've been an Asimov fan for many years and remember treasuring the original Foundation series. I liked "Prelude to Foundation" too because it moved quickly and had frequent flashes of humor. This book in contrast was cool, flat and ponderous. Someone would have to be a strong Asimov admirer, or be completing a Foundation collection, to sit through this book. I listened to the book in audio form as I commuted to and from my work. It was a fairly good way to pass 13 hours of travel, and the time didn't pass disagreeably, but I don't think I'd want to hear it again or to read it. Much of first hour or so consisted of discussions between Trevize and Bliss about the merits of Gaia versus isolate individuality. The second and third and subsequent hours revisit this topic. The same arguments will occur over and over and Trevize and Bliss will never come to agreement. Trevize staunchly defends his individuality over any kind of merge. He also loves his ship's computer and loves merging his mind and will with the computer. Oddly enough, the book never calls attention to this discrepancy between his beliefs and his behavior. I'm sure Asimov's science is sound in this book too because he explains it often enough. There are multiple thinly disguised lectures on the formation of planetary systems, binary stars, and gas giants. Ecological systems get detailed attention. There are also lectures on the origins of mythology and folk history. All of these are interspersed with brief - very brief - periods of plot action and danger. The emotional tone of the book ranges from flat to chilly. Some of the characters are described as not liking each other, and I didn't like them either. I found myself especially disliking Trevize, who is supposed to be the hero. I didn't find the Gaian Bliss to be any more interesting, nor was the bond between Bliss and Pelorat convincing; and the child who joins the group part-way through the journey has only a few moments of honest emotion. This book was written at the end of Asimov's life, and perhaps is filled with the weary characters of a weary author. Other reviewers have commented that the ending seemed to call for another book. I agree that the ending was open, and I don't want to give it away, but I don't know how Asimov would have written a sequel to the situation he finished with. Perhaps it is best that it ended there.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring and repetitous
Review: To start, I loved the first 4 books. But this was really bad. The characters were very unlikable. Golan was a child hating old grump and Bliss almost broke down in tears every time she stepped on a blade of grass. The same arguments over and over, no action and then he had to throw in a sex, like it's mandatory for the hero to sleep with at least one woman per planet visited or something. Yuck! This and _Prelude to Foundation_ should have never been written or at least cut down to a reasonable size. Each book could have dropped about 150 pages with absolutely no effect on the plot. If you really want to find out what happens, do the abridged version on tape and save yourself from this trash.
Rating:
Summary: Quite a Let Down
Review: Asimov simply couldn't end the Foundation series at the Second Foundation, instead continuing with two less-than-mediocre books which not only despoiled the legacy of the first three books (rendering them terribly, terribly moot) but introduced a kind of hippy everyone-loves-everyone vision for the future. Besides the disappointing ending, Foundation and Earth is rather badly-written, not at all like the thrilling first three books, and even Foundation's Edge kept you going through till the end. This book, as well the various spin-offs written by other authors (e.g. Prelude to Foundation) definitely let down this otherwise spectacular series.
Rating: 
Summary: not one of his best...
Review: ...and the ending really sank the series. I wish he'd have stopped with the original trilogy. Ursula LeGuin made the same mistake with the Earthsea books: three brilliant and a fourth turkey. This is the turkey, and Asimov kept fowling up after it. Bummer.
Rating:
Summary: Tedious reading
Review: Sorry, guys - bad news here.
I am supposed to be an Asimov fan. Having read a lion's share of his most famous works I expected to see an inspirational ending to Foundation Series.
However, I must admit that all four of his books written as supplement to original trilogy (that is two prequels and two sequels, including the one reviewed) pale sharply. Where 'The Foundation's Edge' could at least keep you on the edge of your seat (if not for disappointing ending), 'Foundation and Earth' is just a boring experience worth reading only if you are completely dedicated to finish the entire series and have lots of time to waste.
Asimov gave a fair warning to its readers in the foreword by mentioning the challenges set by the publishers. Apparently, some people still judge books by its sheer size, not by the idea. Unfortunately, those 'some' included late Asimov himself.
The book introduces not a single fresh idea, recycling his entire repertoire plus possessing some from classical SF found (see Solaria and Alpha chapters and compare them to some of the stories by Arthur Clark). To cup it all, almost half of the book is spent in seemingly endless repetitious debates between Trevise and Bliss (two main characters) around the Galactica future. I could almost forgive all that, yet another bad ending ruined it completely. Asimov managed in a matter of three pages to throw away his entire Foundation legacy and all good that was with it. We saw a hint of it in Foundation's Edge, but not to that extreme! The only explanation I can imagine in sudden introduction of Alien Worlds, is that publishers wanted to squeeze another two to three books out of poor man, and Asimov had nothing to do but to give in to their greed.
If you did not read his classical works like short stories collection, the Foundation Trilogy, The Robot Trilogy, or End of Eternity - go ahead and read it right away. For the rest of us - move on to other writers. There are many grand masters of SF that are as good as Asimov (just to mention few in no particular order: Heinlein, Simmons, Herbert, Clark, Brin and many, many more).
Rating: 
Summary: Great "end" to the series....
Review: Wow! This last book in the Foundation series definately kept me turning the pages way past my bed time. It was generally less gripping and satisfying than the original series. However since this book was written much more recently than the trilogy, Asimov's adaptation of 30+ years of scientific theories and insights is very insightful and intriquing. The ending however, is quite a disturbing one. It hints that there is indeed more to this supposed "ending" to the Foundation series. I cannot say anymore in fear of throwing spoilers into this review... all I can write is that it's killing me... for there seems to be more than meets the eye to the formation of Galaxia. Oh ya, very strongly recommended you read Asimov's Robot series and of course the original Foundation series and Foundation's Edge. I read Edge before the Robot novels and frankly in hindsight it would have been much more enjoyable and made more sense if I had done otherwise.
Rating: 
Summary: Foundation
Review: I've read all fifteen Robots-Empire-Foundation novels, beguining with "I, Robot" and in my opinion, Foundation and Earth is a great ending. It's true that you may think it's a little bit long, but it was necesary. Asimov had left some ideas opened in his previous books that he had to close. It was part of his magic.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Beginning and Ending for Asimov's Foundation
Review: This is one of Asimov's best works. If I had not read this one, Î probably would have never read anymore of his books. After reading Foundation and Earth I went back and read everything I could of his foundation and robot series. The ending was not quite finished, but I believe he attended to finish it with another book. If you really want to start reading Asimov, you should try this one first, you will love it. If you cannot find it try "The Caves of Steel". You will want to read more of Asimov's science fiction.
Rating:
Summary: masterful
Review: The last (in terms of story chronology at least) book in the series, and definitely the best. The story flowed beautifully, perfectly plotted, expertly written. It has an amazing timeless quality, and feels as though it left the framework set by the other books in the series to fly freely into the future.
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