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Second Foundation

By Isaac Asimov

(101)

| Hardcover | 9780553803730

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Book Description

So far the Foundation was safe. But there was a hidden Second Foundation to protect the first. The Mule has yet to find it, but he was getting closer all the time. The men of the Foundation sought it, too, to escape from Mule's mind control. Only Arkady, a 14 year-old girl seemed to have the answer,Continue

4 Reviews

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The best Asimov is here.

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sexy said on Oct 2, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Third book in the Foundation series.

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Jikoaite said on Aug 29, 2009 about the School & Library Binding edition | Add your feedback

*** This comment contains spoilers! ***

"Second Foundation" by Isaac Asimov

The third book in the original Foundation trilogy. Like the previous book, there are two parts, which are two separate stories. The first part is a continuation of where we left off in the previous book: the Mule is searching for the Second Foundation to complete his conquest of the galaxy. Because ... (continue)

The third book in the original Foundation trilogy. Like the previous book, there are two parts, which are two separate stories. The first part is a continuation of where we left off in the previous book: the Mule is searching for the Second Foundation to complete his conquest of the galaxy. Because of the power of the Second Foundation, the Mule does not succeed - but unfortunately the Second Foundation had to reveal themselves to the First Foundation in order to do so. This brings us to the second part of the book: the Mule has passed on, and the Foundation is once again its own master. Because the Foundation knows of the Second's existence (and their superiority) they seek to destroy it. This part has a bit of a convoluted plot, but by the end, the Foundation is convinced that they have destroyed the Second Foundation (they haven't).
Upon finishing this book, I am convinced that Asimov (at least when he wrote these first three books) was a misogynist. In this book especially, women are almost always described as being interested in trivial things (like clothes, appearance) - women are trivial. At first it might seem that this is not entirely the case with Arcadia, since she often outsmarts the men in the story, and plays a major role in the "defeat" of the Second Foundation. However, by the end of the story, we find that she was mentally "adjusted" by the Second Foundation at birth to be intelligent - so basically, the only reason an intelligent woman exists is because a bunch of powerful men decided it should be so. Even Arcadia's grandmother, Bayta, is suggested to have been controlled to an extent by the Second Foundation. Women are never involved in official politics, are always interested in trivial things, and are sometimes useful to men. I'm sorry Asimov, I love you, but your a misogynist.
The first part of the book has some very interested discussions on mind control and emotional control. However, these themes were introduced in the previous book, so this serves more as an elaboration (at the risk of being overkill). Although it is a logical continuation of the Mule's story, and set's up the second part quite nicely.
Something that disturbed me about the Foundation in this book was how, at the end, they killed the supposed Second Foundationers in completely cold blood. I understand wanting to be in control of your own destiny, but mass murder is pretty extreme. The way in which the Second Foundation sacrificed these people was also a bit disturbing - killing 50 people for the sake of the Seldon plan? That's starting to sound like religious extremism to me. As for the Seldon Plan itself, this act complicates its role for the Foundation. If Seldon intended for the Second Foundation to be a part of the plan, doesn't this suggest that the Foundation have abandoned the plan? These complications are something I like about the Foundation - it's not exactly "good", in a heaven vs. hell kind of way, but we are still seeing everything from its perspective (they aren't exactly "bad" either). For me, this adds a sort of "reality" to the world Asimov is creating. Its interesting stuff.
Recommended. If you want to read this one, at least read "Foundation" and "Foundation and Empire" first.

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Scott said on Jun 10, 2009 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Haha, I actually read this one second, before Foundation and Empire, because I thought it was the second book cause of the title. It's actually the third one. Still great though, didn't really ruin anything.

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audioreader said on Aug 15, 2008 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback