Foundation

Okay, this is not the review that will win awards on WWE. I read this back in February and can't remember much about it, which is a shame but does point to the fact that there is not a lot of meat in the book, in terms of characters or narrative. It is four or five really good short stories however, and I enjoyed them quite a bit in that fashion. I had never read Asimov, I always thought he would be boring and old-timey, but actually revealed a lot of sociological insight by modelling of sci-fi situations on the decline and fall of the Roman empire. (and could make interesting comparisons with the current U.S. empire project)

I don't know Asimov's own political views, but I'm sure there's quite a bit in this book to analyze. The story itself is clearly four different short stories he threw together with some loose thread to bind them, a fix-up in sf terms. Almost felt postmodern, because the different stories had so little in common in specifics, but thematically tied together well.

I was not inspired to finish the series, mainly due to a lack of interest in any particular characters or empire sub-factions, but the stories were well-written and not nearly as dated as I thought they would be. I might dip my toe in Asimov again, but I migrate to the really weird writers of the SF New Wave, and this is not that.