largely empty framework

Foundation by Isaac Asimov
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I recently read an article online (theverge.com) saying that Apple had announced plans to create a TV series based upon the Foundation book series by Isaac Asimov. I had never heard of the books, and had some dangling BandN gift card credit, so i picked up this title to read. Just from this first installment in this seven book series, i was not impressed. While Asimov introduces some interesting concepts in this story, psychohistory being one, the tale itself is nothing more than a largely empty framework for a galactic empire's fall and the plan to recover and build anew. I think that the overall framework is interesting but leaves much potential for others to fill in the multitude of missing details. There is almost no character development possible, mainly due to the accelerated pace of the tale. Many generations pass in these fewer than 300 pages. But i think perhaps the greatest contribution of this book (series?) is the fact that it creates a large scale framework on which to build and the inspiration to do so. Having watched hundreds of episodes of the many Star Trek episodes, as well as the many Star Wars films, i can see that these series and films probably drew much of their inspiration from the Foundation series. Asimov was visionary and when this was published in 1951, it provided a rich and fertile field on which to build some of the really great science fiction that has been created in my lifetime.

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