The second book in the original Foundation trilogy, this book basically picks up where the first book left off. The book consists of two parts, each part originally being two separate short stories. The first part continues in the tradition of the first book, presenting a 'Seldon crisis' and resolving it by the end. Here, we are presented with an Empire general who seeks to conquer the Foundation; due to the political instability of the falling Empire, however, the conquest proves impossible. By the time we reach the second part of the book, the Empire has basically fallen; yet we are presented with a mutant character known as The Mule. The Mule is the most fascinating character in the book: he can emotionally manipulate the people around him - making him a very powerful general. By the end of the book, we see that Seldon had never put the possibility of a powerful mutant into his equations, and the Foundation falls to The Mule (willingly, through his emotional manipulation). The Second Foundation, however, remains hidden from the Mule.

I found the idea of controlling people through emotional manipulation to be very thought-provoking. In certain ways (although not in the same manner as The Mule, of course) people are being controlled emotionally all the time. I have read elsewhere that The Mule was loosely based on Hitler and WW2 - although I think this is only a 'worst-case example'. Things like advertisements, patriotism, and religion are always exploiting human emotions. If we think back to the first Foundation book, even the Foundation itself was protecting itself by controlling the surrounding kingdoms by creating the religion of science.

In part two of the book, there is also this instrument called the Visi-Sonor which is just plain awesome. It is this instrument which seemed to combine the music with this intense visual experience. The descriptions of its effects were beautiful and mind-blowing. Awesome stuff.

Perhaps not quite as good as the first Foundation book, but a great continuation of the series nevertheless. If you've read the first one, I recommend continuing with this one. ( )

The Foundation comes up against the remnants of the Galactic Empire, and then a foe unpredictable by Hari Seldon's psychohistorical techniques, a mutant able to telepathically manipulate people's emotions.

Another quick read. Still having fun with these, despite remembering a huge spoiler from 35 years ago when I last read these. ( )

Things get hairy for the Foundation as it clashes first with remnants of the Empire then with the psychic mutant known only as the Mule. But the plot of the book itself seems very detached from the actual going ons. ( )

In the second series of Asimov's Foundation series, we are introduced to the Mule, a telepath with the ability to influence people's emotions. As the book progresses, he conquers more and more of the Galactic Empire. Eventually, he succeeds in the ultimate conquest, the fall of the Foundation. However, what he doesn't know is Hari Seldon set up a second Foundation and it's this Foundation that's hte important one. This is the one that will save the Galaxy.

The story isn't bad, but Asimov didn't write three-dimensional characters so it's hard to connect to anyone. While I'm reading the book, it's engaging but once I put it down, I don't want to pick it back up. Also, since I can't connect to any characters and I don't really care about them, I have a hard time remembering who is who. Asimov just seems to put in people so he can have someone do something. If you can get past that and read it for the broader scope of the book rather than connection with characters, then it's not too bad. Really, I promise. ( )

...Foundation and Empire, along with the others of its series, is an interesting exploration into the profound ideas of one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century and one of the cornerstones of modern-day science fiction. It is recommended for anyone interested not only in a good story but of understanding the story of humanity. And these are only small glimpses into the ideas of a great man. He has lots, lots more stories and ideas for readers. Who knows? This series might just get you interested in exploring the author more. (more) ( )