Register Guidelines E-Books Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   MobileRead Forums > E-Book General > Reading Recommendations

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 11-17-2009, 07:05 PM   #1
pakiyabhai
Zealot
pakiyabhai began at the beginning.
 
Posts: 129
Karma: 14
Join Date: Dec 2007
Device: pakiyabhai
Isaac Asimov - Foundation Series Help

Hello,


Having never read anything by Isaas Asimov(yes) , I wanted to get started on his famous foundation series , but there are so many prequels , stories that I am lost.

Could anybody point me to how do i start and which ones to read in it ?
pakiyabhai is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2009, 07:10 PM   #2
desertgrandma
Enjoying the show....
desertgrandma ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.desertgrandma ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.desertgrandma ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.desertgrandma ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.desertgrandma ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.desertgrandma ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.desertgrandma ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.desertgrandma ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.desertgrandma ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.desertgrandma ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.desertgrandma ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
desertgrandma's Avatar
 
Posts: 14,270
Karma: 10462841
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Arizona
Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir
Quote:
Originally Posted by pakiyabhai View Post
Hello,


Having never read anything by Isaas Asimov(yes) , I wanted to get started on his famous foundation series , but there are so many prequels , stories that I am lost.

Could anybody point me to how do i start and which ones to read in it ?
Go here,
www.fantasticfiction.com

Enter Isaac Asimov into the author search bar. It will come up with a list of his books in chronological order.

Last edited by desertgrandma; 11-17-2009 at 07:17 PM. Reason: corrected link
desertgrandma is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 11-17-2009, 07:14 PM   #3
ardeegee
Maratus speciosus butt
ardeegee ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ardeegee ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ardeegee ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ardeegee ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ardeegee ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ardeegee ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ardeegee ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ardeegee ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ardeegee ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ardeegee ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ardeegee ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
ardeegee's Avatar
 
Posts: 3,292
Karma: 1162698
Join Date: Sep 2009
Device: PRS-350
IMHO, when you are reading a series, you always go in the order of the date of publication, even if some of the latter books are meant as "prequels."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundat...ation_Universe

But (again, IMHO) a bit percentage of "golden age" science fiction just has not aged very well, so you may not actually like the material enough to try to read all of it.
ardeegee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2009, 07:23 PM   #4
Alfy
Liseur de Bonne Aventure
Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Alfy's Avatar
 
Posts: 374
Karma: 2176666
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Paris, France
Device: PRS T1
IMHO, it is still better to read the books in their chronological order of publication: the prequels spoil too much of the story otherwise. Hence, I'd advise you to start with the original trilogy, Foundation, Foundation and Empire and Second Foundation, in that order.

Enjoy the reading, they're great books!
Alfy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2009, 07:24 PM   #5
Alfy
Liseur de Bonne Aventure
Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Alfy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Alfy's Avatar
 
Posts: 374
Karma: 2176666
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Paris, France
Device: PRS T1
Argh, my typing was too slow!!!
Alfy is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 11-17-2009, 08:36 PM   #6
pakiyabhai
Zealot
pakiyabhai began at the beginning.
 
Posts: 129
Karma: 14
Join Date: Dec 2007
Device: pakiyabhai
aaah guys , thanx u so much for such swift reply . I am going to go ahead with the original triology as suggested by Alfy
pakiyabhai is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2009, 10:30 PM   #7
emellaich
Wizard
emellaich ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.emellaich ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.emellaich ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.emellaich ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.emellaich ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.emellaich ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.emellaich ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.emellaich ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.emellaich ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.emellaich ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.emellaich ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 1,101
Karma: 4388403
Join Date: Oct 2007
Device: Palm>Ebookman>IPaq>Axim>Cybook>Kndl2>IPAD>Kndl3SO>Voyager>Oasis
It's interesting how it worked out. In the end, Asimov tried to tie (almost?) all the science fiction he wrote into a single history. Many authors seem to do this, and I'm never quite sure how much of this was planned from the beginning versus how much was revisionism from later in their career.

As mentioned above, the foundation series was a three book series originally. The prequels and sequels also pulled in his robot stories and his galactic empire stories. Some of which were chronologically published before the Foundation trilogy. So the argument of what really came first can be quite muddy.

If I was to start fresh, the foundation trilogy would be one of my preferred starting points, and I would look at Foundation, Second Foundation and Foundation and Empire.

However, as RDG noted, some of the 'classic' stuff does appear dated and I'm afraid that the Foundation might seem to be a bit dated. Even though the Foundation series is recognized as his most famous work, in many ways his Robot series has been more lasting. The recent I Robot movie took its name (not its plot) from a collection of his short stories. And Asimov's three laws of robotics are widely quoted by others. I do find this a bit strange because these laws would be better seen as design guidelines, but Asimov and his successor treat them as if they are truly natural laws and are inviolate.

Anyway, another approach would be to start with the robot series. Although I'm usually not a fan of short stories, I would begin with the "I Robot" anthology and then read The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun.

Good Luck

MLH
emellaich is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2009, 11:51 PM   #8
bbusybookworm
Tech Junkie
bbusybookworm knows the difference between 'who' and 'whom'bbusybookworm knows the difference between 'who' and 'whom'bbusybookworm knows the difference between 'who' and 'whom'bbusybookworm knows the difference between 'who' and 'whom'bbusybookworm knows the difference between 'who' and 'whom'bbusybookworm knows the difference between 'who' and 'whom'bbusybookworm knows the difference between 'who' and 'whom'bbusybookworm knows the difference between 'who' and 'whom'bbusybookworm knows the difference between 'who' and 'whom'bbusybookworm knows the difference between 'who' and 'whom'bbusybookworm knows the difference between 'who' and 'whom'
 
bbusybookworm's Avatar
 
Posts: 1,027
Karma: 10080
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Earth
Device: iPad, MotoXStyle, OnePlusOne
Quote:
Originally Posted by ardeegee View Post
But (again, IMHO) a bit percentage of "golden age" science fiction just has not aged very well, so you may not actually like the material enough to try to read all of it.
Its funny you should say this.

I've actually found that I prefer to read Golden age SF to more modern SF. It seems that while I'm not able to get into most of the modern SF published by Analog, Universe, etc I still love to read works by Asimov, Clark, Heinlein, Doc Smith, etc.

Some of my Favorite works such as the Lensmen Series by E.E. Doc Smith is lot more dated then Asimov's work, But Its still a lot of fun, especially if you are able to suspend your disbelief a little.

Going back to Asimov, I'll suggest Starting with the Original Foundation series and then Going to the Robot Series before reading the rest of the foundation series as lot of it may not make that much sense otherwise.
bbusybookworm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2009, 04:40 AM   #9
weedfreak
Addict
weedfreak can program the VCR without an owner's manual.weedfreak can program the VCR without an owner's manual.weedfreak can program the VCR without an owner's manual.weedfreak can program the VCR without an owner's manual.weedfreak can program the VCR without an owner's manual.weedfreak can program the VCR without an owner's manual.weedfreak can program the VCR without an owner's manual.weedfreak can program the VCR without an owner's manual.weedfreak can program the VCR without an owner's manual.weedfreak can program the VCR without an owner's manual.weedfreak can program the VCR without an owner's manual.
 
weedfreak's Avatar
 
Posts: 302
Karma: 185297
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Ankh Morpork
Device: calibre
There is somewhere, if I find it again I'll post a link, a complete list of the Asimov Robot and Foundation books arranged in story chronological order, starting with some early robot short stories before Susan Calvin invented the positronic brain.

Although the styles became a bit mixed at times I found it a very interesting way to read 10,000 years of human development and most story lines fitted well into the sequence. The complete reading list was about 4.5 million words so it took more than a weekend to read but overall, after several months, I was very satisfied with the reading.

I found the link to the list

Last edited by weedfreak; 11-18-2009 at 04:52 AM. Reason: lisnk found
weedfreak is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2009, 05:53 AM   #10
Sweetpea
Grand Sorcerer
Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Sweetpea ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Sweetpea's Avatar
 
Posts: 9,707
Karma: 32763414
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Krewerd
Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Quote:
Originally Posted by emellaich View Post
Anyway, another approach would be to start with the robot series. Although I'm usually not a fan of short stories, I would begin with the "I Robot" anthology and then read The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun.

Good Luck

MLH
I'd continue till Robots and Empire myself.
Sweetpea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2009, 06:24 AM   #11
Dr. Drib
Grand Sorcerer
Dr. Drib ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Dr. Drib ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Dr. Drib ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Dr. Drib ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Dr. Drib ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Dr. Drib ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Dr. Drib ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Dr. Drib ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Dr. Drib ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Dr. Drib ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Dr. Drib ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Dr. Drib's Avatar
 
Posts: 44,704
Karma: 55613375
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Peru
Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One
There's always a first time!

Asimov is a fun writer to read.

You might also check out his robot stories and novels, as well.

Have fun!


Don

Last edited by Dr. Drib; 11-18-2009 at 09:33 AM.
Dr. Drib is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2009, 09:13 AM   #12
sony_fox
Zealot
sony_fox has learned how to buy an e-book online
 
Posts: 109
Karma: 84
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Manchester
Device: Kobo Auroa H2O
Another useful source for all sorts of reading order information is LibraryThing

They list a few different series orders for the Foundation Series. The complete one is Here - Related Series' are links in the green sidebar on the right.
sony_fox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-19-2009, 10:31 PM   #13
Treven
Addict
Treven will become famous soon enoughTreven will become famous soon enoughTreven will become famous soon enoughTreven will become famous soon enoughTreven will become famous soon enoughTreven will become famous soon enough
 
Treven's Avatar
 
Posts: 222
Karma: 680
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: the Left Coast
Device: iPad
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alfy View Post
IMHO, it is still better to read the books in their chronological order of publication: the prequels spoil too much of the story otherwise. Hence, I'd advise you to start with the original trilogy, Foundation, Foundation and Empire and Second Foundation, in that order.

Enjoy the reading, they're great books!
I certainly agree with this. I probably have read this trilogy 4 or 5 times over the years, and each time I get something new that I didn't see before. I think the original poster can't go wrong beginning with this series.
Treven is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-19-2009, 11:18 PM   #14
JSWolf
Resident Curmudgeon
JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
JSWolf's Avatar
 
Posts: 73,510
Karma: 126422064
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
When a series is written out of chronological order, forget published order and got for chronological order and let the spoilers be dammed.

Here is a good list of the Foundation books and those set in the same universe in chronological order.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundat...ation_Universe

Last edited by JSWolf; 11-19-2009 at 11:26 PM.
JSWolf is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-22-2009, 01:15 PM   #15
ctol
Groupie
ctol ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ctol ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ctol ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ctol ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ctol ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ctol ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ctol ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ctol ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ctol ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ctol ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ctol ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 152
Karma: 303523
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Arizona
Device: Nook, Fire Tablet, Windows RT Tablet Windows Phone
Quote:
Originally Posted by pakiyabhai View Post
Hello,


Having never read anything by Isaas Asimov(yes) , I wanted to get started on his famous foundation series , but there are so many prequels , stories that I am lost.

Could anybody point me to how do i start and which ones to read in it ?
You might want to check out this link. Years ago I had actually pretty much read the novels in this order. Happy reading, Asimov can be an enjoyable read. Like with any classic writer though, these works reflect the time period they were written in, so please remember to read them accordingly.

http://stason.org/TULARC/education-b...der-shoul.html
ctol is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Science Fiction Asimov, Isaac: Youth, v1, 11 March 2010. Patricia BBeB/LRF Books (offline) 2 03-30-2010 07:11 PM
Science Fiction Asimov, Isaac: Youth, v1, 11 March 2010. Patricia Kindle Books (offline) 0 03-10-2010 10:36 PM
Science Fiction Asimov, Isaac: Youth, LIT v1, 11 March 2010. Patricia Other Books (offline) 0 03-10-2010 10:34 PM
Science Fiction Asimov, Isaac: Youth, v1, 11 March 2010. Patricia IMP Books (offline) 0 03-10-2010 10:33 PM
Discuss: The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov astrodad Reading Recommendations 8 06-02-2008 03:41 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 02:11 AM.


MobileRead.com is a privately owned, operated and funded community.