The Foundation Series

The Foundation Series is an epic science fiction series written over a span of forty-nine years by Isaac Asimov. It consists of ten volumes (about one million words), which, although they can be read separately, are closely linked to one another. The term 'Foundation Series' is often used more generally to include the Robot Series and Empire Series, which are set in the same fictional universe. They have a combined length of fourteen novels and dozens of short stories written by Asimov, and six novels written by other authors after his death.

Related Topics:
Science fiction - Isaac Asimov - Robot Series - Empire Series

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The premise of the series is that mathematician Hari Seldon has spent his life developing a branch of mathematics known as psychohistory, a concept devised by Asimov and his editor John W. Campbell. It uses the law of mass action to predict the future on a large scale, such as of planets or empires. Using these techniques, Seldon foresees the fall of the Galactic Empire, which encompasses the entire Milky Way. He also predicts that there will be a thirty-thousand-year dark age before the next great empire rises. To prevent this, he decides to create a small haven of technology in a corner of the galaxy (on the planet Terminus) called the Foundation, whose job it will be to preserve knowledge after the collapse, thus reducing the time required for the next Empire to rebuild. If done properly, it will take only a thousand years before the next empire rises.

Related Topics:
Hari Seldon - Mathematics - Psychohistory - John W. Campbell - Mass action - Galactic Empire - Milky Way - Dark age - Terminus

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~