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Title: Foundation's Fear by Gregory Benford ISBN: 0-06-105638-3 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 01 March, 1998 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.31 (109 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Foundation's Drear
Comment: I disagree with those who criticize Benford for neither writing like Asimov nor adopting the now outmoded science underlying the great Foundation trilogy. Asimov himself developed a more polished style in later works, and, as a scientist, would doubtlessly approve the use of the most accurate technology. Such criticisms miss a more damning point -- that "Foundation's Fear" is a bad book by any standard. The book is bloated with pointless dialogue and description. The hamhanded plot telegraphs the "twists" so far in advance that their final arrival is cause for relief rather than surprise. The secondary characters are so paper thin that it's impossible to understand their motivations or to develop any sympathy for them. Benford does manage better with his main character. His exposition of Hari Seldon's character and of the development of psychohistory provide believable coverage for holes in Asimov's account. But Benford sacrifices some of the character's credibility by having Seldon engage in James Bondian heroics while avoiding a series of implausible assassination attempts. But worst of all are the scenes with the Voltaire and Joan of Arc artificial entities. Their actions and reactions to events around them are unrealistic, the development of their "characters" doesn't make sense, and and their philosophizing about artificial entities mostly rehashes points that have been made better by more skillful writers.
I borrowed this book from the library, and am glad that I didn't waste $6.00 on it. I advise everyone else to either do the same or skip straight to the vastly superior Greg Bear book, which can be read independent of "Foundation's Fear." If you insist on owning the book, wait to find it for 50 cents at flea markets, where it should be appearing in abundance soon.
Rating: 4
Summary: The sequel is never as good...but this one comes close.
Comment: I've read a LOT of Asimov, not just Sci-Fi, but nearly everything he's written. Since "Foundation's Fear" I've tried to read more of Benford's works as well. While I did not enjoy this work as much as the Robot series or the Empire series, this is at least a decent start to what could be a interesting sequel. My view is this, if you like the idea of Foundation or Asimov's original concept of it, this is an excellent book to add to your library. R. Daneel Olivaw was always my favorite character, since the early days in "Stars Like Dust" or "Naked Sun," and I was really glad to have him back. It seemed that Asimov's vision left a lot to be asked, very large holes could be seen even by mere mortals like myself. I found that while the writting style was a little too conversational for my tastes, it did fill a nice gap in the Foundation history. It focused on a certain time instead of leaping millenia into the future. I only hope the 2nd and 3rd books are as good.
Rating: 1
Summary: Possibly the worst book ever written...
Comment: I'm an avid reader. I swear I'll read anything...But this was too much even for me to handle!! I have never written a book review before, but I feel truly compelled to prevent others from spending money on this book.
Asimov must be turning in his grave to know that the Foundation has been used as the backdrop for this lame excuse of a story. It seems to me that Benford wanted an outlet to show the world how much useless information he had accumulated throughout the years, and he just threw everything together into a long book. I'm sorry, but this book has no plot, no climax, NOTHING!!! It is just an endless string of character introspections that have little to do with Asimov's vision of the future.
And what's up with the dialogues between Dors and R. Daneel??? Not one sentence is finished!!! They just keep interrupting each other. And then there's the "sims" -- Joan of Arc and Voltaire - Huh?? What??? How does this all tie in with the pans?? (I haven't finished reading the book, and don't know if I ever will, but I truly hope there's some sort of connection here.)
Lastly, the book contains too many inconsistencies with respect to the original series. If you're an Asimov fan, as I am, I advice you to stick to the original...otherwise, prepare to be very disappointed.
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Title: Forward the Foundation by ISAAC ASIMOV ISBN: 0553565079 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 February, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Foundation's Edge : The Foundation Novels by ISAAC ASIMOV ISBN: 0553293389 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 October, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov ISBN: 0553278398 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 March, 1989 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov ISBN: 0586071105 Publisher: Harper Collins - UK Pub. Date: 1987 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Second Foundation by ISAAC ASIMOV ISBN: 0553293362 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 October, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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