Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Graham
<Snip>
I never actually thought Foundation was that great, but it just got worse with time. Other "franchise" works based on Asimov's ideas are also cr@p.
<Snip>
|
The Foundation trilogy (not the later stuff) is something that you should read when you are young and new to SF. Don't forget that they were written in the first half of the 40s. I'd agree with you that they're not exactly one of the gems of English literature, but in their time they were some of the best SF available. One other thing; you quite often come across the claim that Asimov based the series on the fall of the Roman Empire. Yes, the basic premise, the unstoppable fall (due to historical circumstances) of a great empire and the emergence of barbarian successor states, is but the rest has a much vaguer connection. For example, it forgets that it was only the Western empire that fell; the Eastern empire survived for many more centuries. The other part that has a historical analogue is in, IIRC, Foundation and Empire where the last strong general is stopped because of jealousy on the part of the emperor. This brings to mind Justinian and Belisarius.