Foundation and Chaos

Foundation and Chaos is an all right book-- like the others in the Second Foundation Trilogy, its real success is in sketching out the milieu of Asimov's Robots/Empire/Foundation series more, tying the books together and providing a lot of detail on the politics and organization of the Galactic Empire. This one also goes through some effort to retcon out some of the stupider bits of Foundation's Fear, like the galactic wormhole network. But the plot ranges from nonexistent to uninteresting, as everyone is swept up in either psychohistorical forces or R. Daneel Olivaw's machinations. Which is really par for the course for an Asimov book, isn't it? (originally written November 2007)

Yes, this is really a Foundation novel! One of three that fills in the gap in the Foundation novels, covering the time period between when the Foundation was started, and the rest of Hari Seldon's lifetime on Trantor. It ties in the Foundation novels and the Robot novels quite nicely, and felt like an Asimov book, even if it was a bit longer than an Asimov novel.

Long after Hari's brief and disasterous stint ass First Minister, Hari was a scholar of little account to the masses of Trantor but those in power such as the Commissioner of Public Safety Linge Chen and the Emperor Klayus he's become known as Raven Seldon as the predictions of the Great Fall escape from the precincts of the Psychohistorical Cabal into the wider political networks. As Hari and Gaal Dornick stand trial for treason and sedition leading to exile to Terminus, Hari's secret friend Daneel faces a threat from a source he had thought loyal after a freak accident wipes Lodivik Trema's loyalty to the Three Laws. This isn't quite the metaphorical rollercoaster ride of Foundation's Fear and by staying fairly close to Trantor, it show more didn't warp my mind too much though Bear (and Brin in the next book) pushes Seldon and Psychohistory out of the centre. Otherwise a good book. show less

When another author takes the helm of a series after the previous author has passed away or otherwise abandoned their universe, the fans reaction is not always pleasant. The biggest argument you'll hear is that "it's never as good." The authors have to blend their own writing style while trying to mimic the style of their predecessor, and the end result is not always great.

The Second Foundation trilogy, authorized by the Asimov estate, may be one of the few posthumous continuations you could read.

Bear follows Benford (and is thus followed by Brin, making them the "killer b's"), providing a sequel to Foundation's Fear.

FaC takes place at the same time as the first part of Foundation. The main character, R. Daneel Olivaw, takes the show more limelight away from Hari Seldon, the inventor of Psychohistory.

Olivaw has to deal with an angry sect of Calvinian robots who do not agree that robots have free will, I mean, have the capabilities of the Zeroth Law (a law that supersedes the other three laws and puts humanity above individual humans). Meanwhile, he's affecting the mentality of humanity so as to keep them in check until they can be more responsible.

Featured also are the rising telepaths, such as Seldon's granddaughter, who go on to form the Second Foundation, as well as a return of someone near to Seldon.

Don't come to these books expecting more Asimovian craftsmanship. The Killer B's are not Asimov, which comes apparent while reading it. If you obsess about this point, you'll hate the series, but if you accept that they are not Asimov, but are simply writing books set in Asimov's universe, then you will definitely enjoy it more.

If you're a fan of Foundation, or even of Bear, I'd recommend reading this book. Just be sure to familiarize yourself with Foundation's Fear, first, so you don't miss out on any vital plot details. It might also help to read the rest of the Foundation books, so, uh, clear your calendar. show less

Well, guess this trilogy too deep/profound for me or something -- not a good story. Too much philosophy and not enough story (or even a good job carrying the what-if theme of everything in Asimov's original vision). Take away name of title, places and characters and I would never have suspected this had anything to do with Foundation novels.

Probably my favorite thus far of the entire series - perfect pace and most interesting presentation of culture. Solid integration with all past books (some of which would happen in the future.

This is the second book in the second Foundation trilogy, following on from Foundation's Fear, which I didn't enjoy. This book on the other hand is quite good. Its not the best book I've read recently, but its faithful to the universe that Asimov built, as well as resolving all the silly plot elements that made Foundation's Fear such a bad book. It also fills in some of the gaps between the end of Asimov's robot stories and the Foundation stories, which is good.

http://www.stillhq.com/book/Greg_Bear/Foundation_and_Chaos.html