Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov

 

 

Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Second Foundation closes one of Asimov's seminal masterpieces, initially published in the 1940s as a series of short stories. This is probably my third or fourth reading of the entire cycle (although three short books is not a huge undertaking) and, to me continued surprise, I still find it entertaining with glimpses of brilliance. To be fair, these glimpses  are primarily in the earlier parts of the cycle, but even in Second Foundation there are some cool concepts. All in all I would argue that Foundation has aged well, certainly compared to other classics from the same era. The most glaring sign of age is the peripheral social context, which looks suspisciously like 1940s America, but apart from that, most of it still stands. While I remembered the big twist in Foundation & Empire, I had only vague memories of Second Foundation and could therefore read it as if for the first time. Good stuff.