Isaac Asimov – Foundation / Galactic Empire / Robot Series
Any serious Sci/Fi reader will have cut their teeth on Isaac Asimov who stands alone (in my opinion) as the greatest writer of that genre of the twentieth century. Starting with the Foundation Series, which he started writing in 1942, then on to the Galactic Empire Series and finally to his Robot Series, he continued to build an ever unfolding story until his death in 1992.
He invented the terms robotics, positronics and psychohistory, along with the Three Laws of Robotics.
His wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov) is perhaps the most comprehensive I have ever read. His prolific outpourings in many fields (history, Sci/Fi, popular science, etc) show his amazing creativity.
I can now confirm that I have read every one of the books mentioned below. It was not actually a chore, as the story enthralled me from the start. The stories slowly unfold - it does not pay to be a hurry when reading Asimov. But I am never in a hurry when reading a book.
First a bit of an explanation.
The Foundation Series was published as a series of short stories in 1942–50, and subsequently expanded into a complete set of 7 novels.
Prelude to Foundation (1988)
Forward the Foundation (1993)
Foundation (1951)
Foundation and Empire (1952)
Second Foundation (1953)
Foundation's Edge (1982)
Foundation and Earth (1986)
In parallel, Asimov wrote a number of stories which now form the Robot Series, which reads as follows in chronological order
The Robots of Dawn (1983) - third Robot series/R. Daneel Olivaw novel
I, Robot (1950)
The Bicentennial Man (1976)
The Complete Robot (1982)
Robot Dreams (1986)
Robot Visions (1990)
Gold (1995).
I, Robot (1950) - a standalone fixup novel of 9 short stories about robots
The Positronic Man (1992) - a standalone robot novel, co-written with Robert Silverberg, based on Asimov's 1976 novelette "The Bicentennial Man"
Nemesis (1989) - a standalone novel, loosely connected to the Robot/Empire/Foundation series, set in the early days of interstellar travel
The Caves of Steel (1954) - first Robot Series/R. Daneel Olivaw novel
The Naked Sun (1957) - second Robot Series/R. Daneel Olivaw novel
The Robots of Dawn (1983) - third Robot Series/R. Daneel Olivaw novel
Robots and Empire (1985) - fourth Robot Series/R. Daneel Olivaw novel
The Stars, Like Dust (1951) - first Empire Series novel
The Currents of Space (1952) - second Empire Series novel
Pebble in the Sky (1950) - third Empire Series novel
Prelude to Foundation (1988) - first Foundation Series novel
Forward the Foundation (1993) - second Foundation Series novel
Foundation (1951) - third Foundation Series novel
Foundation and Empire (1952) - fourth Foundation Series novel
Second Foundation (1953) - fifth Foundation Series novel
Foundation's Edge (1982) - sixth Foundation Series novel
Foundation and Earth (1986) - seventh Foundation Series novel
The End of Eternity (1955) - a standalone novel, loosely connected to the Robot/Empire/Foundation series, about a time-altering organization
After Asimov's death and at the request of Janet Asimov and the Asimov estate's representative, Ralph Vicinanza approached Gregory Benford, and asked him to write another Foundation story. He eventually agreed, and formed a plan for a trilogy with SF writers Greg Bear and David Brin.
Foundation's Fear (1997) takes place chronologically between part one and part two of Asimov's second prequel novel, Forward the Foundation;
Foundation and Chaos (1998) is set at the same time as the first chapter of Foundation, filling in background;
Foundation's Triumph (1999) covers ground following the recording of the holographic messages to the Foundation, and ties together a number of loose ends.
These books are now claimed by some to collectively be a "Second Foundation trilogy", although they are inserts into pre-existing prequels and some of the earlier Foundation storylines and not generally recognized as a new Trilogy.
I give Asimov 5 stars for his Sci/Fi legacy which has inspired so many writers over the years.
Interestingly, tbe first season of Apple + streaming TV series Foundation has just been released in September 2021, with a second season now bankrolled and soon to start filming. It will be interesting to see how truly it follows the books. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_(TV_series.
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