Introduction
I was introduced to the world of Science Fiction through a novel by the name of "I, Robot". Starting that day I became an avid fan of Isaac Asimov and to this day all his novels hold a strange kind of intrigue and hold on me. Isaac Asimov is the only author in the history of Sci-fi to have won the Hugo of the Hugo award which he won for his Foundation Series. Apart from his Foundations Series, the Robots series and Empire series are also hugely popular. One amazing fact is that Asimov through the years has managed to connect each of his book in a time spanning eons of time.

Coming to the object of this review "Foundation" is the first book in the original Foundation trilogy, the other two books being Foundation and Empire and Second Foundation. Asimov came back from self imposed exile to write two more books in the Foundation series. This series was carved out from a set of short stories which Asimov originally published in a sci-fi magazine. Looking at this, the series has shaped out brilliantly as an out and out winner.

Backdrop
The novel is set at the end of magnificient days of the Galatic Empire. An whole Empire which has grown to its absolute and now which is beginning to crumble under its own sheer weight. Human civilization has spread far and wide to a huge network of planets, now the planets have gone so far from the Centre of the Empire, Trantor, that direct control is near to impossible. So anarchy is beginning to set into the great Galatic Empire.

Plot
The plot centers around a mathematician, Hari Seldon, who is working on an approximate science of estimating the future based on statistical analysis of mass. He calls this science PsychoHistory. Hari Seldon, with his approximate science is able to determine the flow of mankind and the years of anarchy that are going to follow the slump of the empire. So based on his estimation he sets up a grand plan to cut out the years of anarchy. His plan is simple, set up two unrelated worlds at two different locations which are totally cut off from the rest of the Empire. When these two worlds become self sufficient and powerful enough, they would start expanding and setup a new Empire. The reason of having two worlds at different stages of maturity is so that in case one of the world fails to establish an Empire, the other would come around to take its place. These worlds were known as First and Second Foundation. The soul behind this idea is secrecy. The empire should not know about First Foundation else it would destroy it. First Foundation should not know about it else that would destroy the Second Foundation as soon as it comes to power.

Given this larger picture, Foundation is split into two major parts:
a) Last days of Empire: The novel starts with this part, where in the novel talks about how huge and wide the Galactic Empire is and how good its glory days were. This also introduces us to Hari Seldon and his science of PsychoHistory. This portion sets the tone for the general plot of the novel and introduces the major concepts involved. It evolves slightly slowly and for newbies to Sci-fi it might be slightly boring as well. The pace starts picking up towards the end of this portion.

b) First Foundation Days: The fun begins in this part, especially when Salvor Hardin, the first Mayor of the Terminus City comes to his own with his set of one liners. The story evolves as Foundation faces its initial challenges on its own before facing a crisis which was predicted by Hari Seldon. Hari had set up a mechanism by which even after his death as when crisis arises he is there for consultation. So Salvor Hardin and the foundation look forward for Hari's divine intervention. Hari's advice and Salvor's political expertise helps Foundation out of the first crisis, only to head straight into crisis number two.

This time foundation is less perturbed because Hari would come again. But, surprise surprise, Hari never turns up!! Now what?? Hardin is at it again, he interprets Hari's clue correctly and goes about solving the crisis. No no, I am not taking the bait and revealing what the crisis is or it would spoil your fun!!

Pacing
The book starts slowly, then starts to jog a bit and once Salvor Hardin enters it enters a fast paced frenzy. The details of the end of the Empire days seem to stretch out a bit, and once you pass that stage the novel grips you leading to a great climax.

Novelties
Some of the novelties I felt with this novel and series as a whole are:
1) Galactic Encyclopedia: This is a book that records all of Galactic History. Every chapter in the book begins with a description of an historic event from this book which has relevance to the following chapter.

This is a great way of fast forwarding a story onto the next era without any uneasy glitch.

2) PsychoHistory: Asimov takes great pains to try and make the idea of pshychohistory plausible. I think the scientist in him takes over here.

Characterization
Here I would like to disagree with one or two reviews where people were not happy about the characterization. I think the characterization was very good. Especially, the two central characters Hari and Salvor have been very carefully etched. Other characters also have been decently carved out. My feeling is Asimov matured in characterization as he went on the series. Novel 2 and 3 in the series have excellent characters.

Dialogs from the book
The review would have been a hollow one if not for some of the great dialogs of Salvor Hardin. Here are a few, just to wet your appetite:

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."
"It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety."
"A fire-eater must eat fire even if he has to kindle it himself."
"An atom-blaster is a good weapon, but it can point both ways."
"To succeed, planning alone is insufficient. One must improvise as well."
"Only a lie that wasn't ashamed of itself could possibly succeed."
"Nothing has to be true, but everything has to sound true."
"Don't let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right!"


Verdict
I don't have to give the verdict on this book. The public and jury have already done it for me. Hugo Award, Hugo of the Hugo Award, do I need to say any more.

An absolute must on any Sci-fi fan's library.

Asimov's Other Novels
Check out these other great novels from the stable of Asimov!!
http://www.epinions.com/content_55680142980 - Inferno
http://www.epinions.com/content_55451750020 - Utopia
http://www.epinions.com/content_42546990724 - I, Robot
http://www.epinions.com/content_41654980228 - Fantastic Voyage
http://www.epinions.com/content_40998243972 - Nightfall
http://www.epinions.com/content_85825588868 - Caves of Steel

Recommended: Yes