Finished: Foundation (Asimov) My first venture into a truly Sci-Fi book and I liked it. :-) I'm not counting Brave New World and 1984. I guess I consider them more futuristic than Sci-Fi. Maybe it's the same thing? Anyway, obviously set thousands of years in the future, Foundation is the story of how one psycho-historian, Hari Seldon, is able to predict the downfall of the Galactic Empire, and so convinces the powers that be to let him set up refuge on two outlying planets with his fellow scientists, with the pretense of documenting the history of the galaxy. In reality, Hari Seldon knows, due to his ability to predict social behavior on a massive scale, that the empire will soon crumble and go into 30,000 years of darkness, barbarism, and turmoil, while all the outlying planets vie for power. With the creation of his foundation, and their strict following of his "plan" even after he dies, he declares that he can shorten that time of darkness to just 1000 years. The book itself doesn't see too much of Hari Seldon alive, but we see him at different intervals in messages that he brings to the other people in the future. I think my favorite of his followers, who comes 50 years after the creation of the foundation, is Salvor Hardin, who follows the Hari Seldon line of thinking to a tee. He rises in power on the small planet of Terminus and using peace and clever negotiating with the surrounding "kingdoms" of planets, is able to avoid war with one of the kingdoms that is trying to invade Terminus and incorporate the planet into its kingdom. Instead, Salvor ends up instilling foundation religious beings at each of the kingdoms, as they are the only ones who are in charge of the nuclear power...therefore associating the nuclear power with the religious and spiritual necessities of the people. In other words, he completely flips things around and gains control over the kingdoms. :-) My only problem with the book is that it is divided into five parts that take place years and years apart, so I only get to see some of my favorite characters briefly, and then they become a part of history...often referred to, but still history. Anyway, this book is a series and I might just read another one at some point. Hard to believe that Asimov was only 21 when he wrote this first book of the series!!