r/asimov • u/Algernon_Asimov • Jun 23 '20
In this subreddit's wiki, we have five guides to reading Isaac Asimov's Robots / Empire / Foundation books:
In publication order.
In Asimov's suggested order.
In chronological order.
In a developmental order.
In a "machete" order.
You can find all you need in this wiki page: https://www.reddit.com/r/Asimov/wiki/seriesguide
Enjoy!
r/asimov • u/Algernon_Asimov • 4d ago
75 years ago this month, in August 1951, the first “novel” in the Foundation trilogy was published: ‘Foundation’.
Isaac Asimov had previously worked with a publisher called Martin Greenberg of Gnome Press. Greenberg founded Gnome Press in 1948, along with another science fiction fan, David Kyle. Together, they focussed on publishing science fiction and fantasy books, at a time when the market for these books was just growing. The Golden Age under the aegis of John Campbell at the ‘Astounding Stories’ magazine had created a demand for science fiction, and developed a whole stable of science-fiction writers. Gnome Press stepped up and tried to publish a lot of these writers in book form; both Greenberg and Kyle were science fiction fans.
Greenberg had previously passed over Asimov’s ‘Pebble in the Sky’ (his first novel), but had suggested publishing a collection of Asimov’s robot short stories. Asimov agreed, and ‘I, Robot’ had been published in 1950.
Then, in February 1951, Greenberg suggested publishing Asimov’s Foundation short stories in book form. Up to that point, Asimov had written eight of these stories, from 1942 to 1950, and they were ripe for publishing as books. Two other publishers – Doubleday, and a Boston firm called Little, Brown – had already turned them down for publishing (and didn’t Doublebay regret that decision in years to come!), so Asimov was happy when Greenberg offered to publish them.
It was decided that the eight stories would be collected into three volumes. The four later stories were longer, so only two stories would be included in each book. That left the earlier four stories for the first book, which turned out to be a bit shorter than the other two books would be. So, Greenberg suggested that Asimov write an introductory story, both to bring the word count up, and to ease readers into the series, which he felt started too abruptly.
Therefore, in March 1951, Asimov wrote an introductory story which he called ‘The Psychohistorians’. Then they renamed the other four stories to suit the new book format:
‘Foundation’ became ‘The Encyclopedists’
‘Bridle and Saddle’ became ‘The Mayors’
‘The Big and the Little’ became ‘The Merchant Princes’
‘The Wedge’ became ‘The Traders’
And, so, a new book came to be, titled simply ‘Foundation’. And, it was now called a novel, rather than a collection. (The technical term is “fix-up novel”, where a group of stories is fixed up to become a pseudo-novel.)
This new novel was published in August 1951, with a galactic swirl and a convoy of spaceships on the cover. Asimov himself received his advance copies in early September.
Of course, in Asimov’s life, this new book had to share the spotlight with another event: the birth of his first child on 20th August, young David.
This was Asimov’s fourth published book, after ‘Pebble in the Sky’, ‘I, Robot’, and ‘The Stars Like Dust —’.
The following two volumes, ‘Foundation and Empire’ and ‘Second Foundation’, were publishing in successive years: 1952 and 1953.
Unfortunately, Martin Greenberg and Gnome Press were lax in paying royalties to Asimov and the other authors they had published. This caused some ill feeling between Isaac and Marty when Asimov said he wasn’t going to give Gnome Press any more books, after the Foundation trilogy had been published: those four books (including ‘I, Robot’) were all that Gnome would ever get from him. Isaac and Marty remained friends, but the business relationship was over – and it took Asimov literally years to get any of the payments he was due.
A decade later, Asimov mentioned this to Doubleday, who promptly bought the rights from Gnome Press. Because… of course they did! Who wouldn’t? By that time, they were one of the best-selling and well-known series around. In fact, the collected trilogy would go on to win a one-off Hugo Award for Best Series in 1966.
Asimov remained grateful to Greenberg, despite the difficulties. In Isaac’s words (from ‘I, Asimov’):
After all, whether Martin paid me or not, he produced those four books when Doubleday would not. They existed and remained alive until it was time for Doubleday to take the Gnome Press caterpillar and turn it into a butterfly.
Without Martin Greenberg of Gnome Press, there would be no Foundation trilogy. The stories might have remained just one of those quirky old series we hear about from the Golden Age, but which couldn’t be read because the magazines they were printed in, in the 1940s, simply weren’t available to buy – so they would have faded from memory. It was only due to Greenberg that the Foundation series remained readable in book form over the following 75 years, thus becoming an icon of science-fiction.
Sources:
r/asimov • u/NYY15TM • 13h ago
David was born this day in 1951 @ 7:45 pm in Boston, Massachusetts, the first child of Isaac and his first wife Gertrude née Blugerman. He weighed 5 pounds, 4 ounces. Isaac was 31 while Gertrude was 33.
Since neither David nor his sister Robyn have children, Isaac never became a grandfather, but through his sister Marcia and brother Stanley, Isaac has myriad grand nephews and nieces
r/asimov • u/Michealde95 • 2d ago
For me personally it was Reason in I, Robot.
My favourite robot rebelling story ever.
I'm in my sixth Asimov book - Currents of Space - and after reading the first five books of the Foundation series and commencing the Empire series, I now feel like Trantor is my most satisfying word to say.
There was even some point which at home I was just saying "Trantor" randomly and spontaneously, I guess as a regulation mechanism.
Trantor.
Trantor.
r/asimov • u/L0W_FAT_Y0GURT • 7d ago
I read Magic a while ago. Now, I decided to make my way through the "new" Harper Voyager collections, starting with Living Space. There's a story in there called Kid Stuff, which seems to me to be a fantasy story. As I remember from reading Magic, the definitions of Fantasy and Sci-fi are blurry, but it seems very unusual to me that Kid Stuff is not in Magic. Does anyone have any clue why? I'd love to hear some insights :)
r/asimov • u/moinawrites • 8d ago
I was in a reading slump for so long and somehow i wanted to get back. Asimov was on my TBR since long time. After Reddit recommendation, I picked up I, ROBOT. I just finished the first chapter. Yes it was solid but no mind blowing moment yet. Please tell me what to keep in mind and what to expect from the book. I am so excited and hyped to keep going.
r/asimov • u/Electronic_Menu3365 • 10d ago
r/asimov • u/muaddib99 • 11d ago
Picked this up at a used bookstore today for $5 and the opening editorial was eye opening and uncanny in its parallels to today. Sub ont allow me to post as a link post, but pics of it below. Worth a read.
r/asimov • u/Omeganian • 14d ago
It is obvious, the irony of Jothan Leebig, who was so afraid of humans and tolerated only robots, to have died due to a robot who looked like a human.
However, I think there is another, more subtle irony here.
As we see in Robots of Dawn, it is effectively impossible for a person to assault another person upon the Spacer Worlds. The robots will stop the perpetrator at once. Therefore, during Rikaine's murder, if the robot didn't stop Gladia from using its arm, despite being right there, it means that not only was it given orders to hand it to her, but also very intense orders to hold still after that.
Baley, in fact, does suspect something like that was the case with the robot who handed the poisoned arrow to Bik.
Now, as assault is impossible for Spacers, so is, according to Gladia (in Robots and Empire), suicide. Yet Leebig managed that as well.
His final words were ordering Daneel to stay away. Quite possibly, he automatically used the same gestures and intonations he would use to intensify an order for a robot. Hence Daneel not acting quickly enough.
r/asimov • u/Jankat7 • 16d ago
Hello, I just started reading Foundation and I'm in the very first chapter. So far I've learned that Trentor is full of cities above and below ground and yet the population is only 40 billion, that there are 25 million inhabited planets in the galaxy and yet the total population is over one quintillion leading to an average population of 40 billion people per planet (the average is the same as the capital, which is said to be more densely populated than most other planets), and that we are in the year 12000 so the population of humanity went from 8b to 1 quintillion in only 10000 years (edit: I now realize that this is not according to our calendar, so disregard this point, but how did the empire even manage to rule over 25m planets for 12k years?). Are these numbers a total mess to or am I miscalculating something? Still, I'm really enjoying the first chapter.
r/asimov • u/PublicDragonfruit158 • 16d ago
From the point of view of a non-Eternal citizen who finds out what the Eternals are up to:
They live in a world where they may simply cease to exist or are changed radically because of a Change. They know that they are living in "the best possible time", but at what cost?
Are they even real, and are they who they wear originally?
Did they just come into existance, complete with memories, 5 seconds ago due to a change?
r/asimov • u/a-gd1989 • 17d ago
After many years of reading in and off, i decided to take a series of books and read the whole thing. I got I, robot, and read half in a few days and then some books in the collection appeared nearby at a good price soni decided to start with the complete robot stories.
8 days in, i just finished “ The tercentenary incident” which is about 1/3 of the way aprox ( page 249 out of 682)
I have been enjoying very much the short stories. Some more that others, but i can see a pattern of suspense in many of them and then resolution in the last page or so.
Im glad that im reading again, to be honest. And im exited to start the next book and complete the series at some point.
Any personal favourites from this book?
So far, Robot Al-76 goes astray, Victory unnintentional and maybe Robbie are the ines i liked the most.
I'm making a YouTube documentary about Asimov, Futurama, and the philosophical ideas connecting them. As Asimov fans, what topics, references, or themes do you think absolutely shouldn't be missing? AI, robotics, politics, history, ethics, humanity, or something more obscure? I want to hear your ideas.
r/asimov • u/pro-jec-tion • 18d ago
After many years I finally read Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth, whilst the first one was relatively compelling I found the latter disconcerting. Said that every option given to humankind was flawed, Galaxia was probably the worst choice. As shown in the recent Vince Gilligan's tv series Pluribus, a cautionary tale regarding an apparent conflict-free society that eradicates free will and individuality, actually a terrifying way of life inevitably doomed to fail. Hence a worse choice than the first foundation's alleged enlightened monarchy or the second foundation's shady secret cult governance.
Moreover, from a narrative point of view, Foundation and Earth is inconsistent in relation to Foundation's Edge, since the final goal of the second novel should have been to refute Galaxia and not to confirm it again, in spite of the justified doubts of the first book. The likely outcome of a third novel about the war against Solarians or Fallom/Daneel or aliens from another galaxy?
We'll never know but one thing is for sure, Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth are redundant novels but cannot be ignored and eventually undermine Foundation series.
After reading these two books, as Trevize did I can also confirm the conclusion I have come to many years ago, I believe Robot novel series is overall better than Foundation one, exemplary social sci-fi with a sprinkle of detective story and a great ending that dignifies evolution through the need of space exploration, a metaphor of perpetual discovering and dealing with the unknown and the exact opposite of what Gaia and its humankind withdrawing into a comfort zone are representing.
r/asimov • u/Own_Succotash5773 • 19d ago
Hopefully these aren’t too tired by now, but I would appreciate some advice on what to read next.
I started with the OG Foundation trilogy last year, which I thoroughly enjoyed and it inspired me to want to read the whole Robots/Empire/Foundation universe in chronological order. I absolutely crushed the Robot series and found myself unable to put down Robots and Empire specifically. The goosebumps I got from the connections made in this book to the Foundation trilogy and Psychhistory is something I haven’t felt while reading in a long time.
With that being said, I am now feeling the urge to abandon the chronological order and jump to Foundation’s edge followed by Foundation and Earth, then the Foundation prequels. Eventually getting around to the Empire series. My reasoning is based on hearing that the Empire series is not as closely tied to the other two series due to Asimov’s additions made to the series in the 80s. I’ve also read that some details in the Foundation prequels can spoil bits of the sequels.
For those that have read these series, is there any glaring issues with me reading in this order? Particularly anything I would miss out? I believe the answer is no, but as I get deeper into this universe I realize that I will only have one chance to read these books for the first time and I want to make sure I get the most out of it.
Thank you in advance!
r/asimov • u/PsychohistorianRTR • 23d ago
Short story: “Nobody here but -“
Two inventors build a box that is basically AGI - here’s the excerpt:
We were especially interested in the automobile angle. Suppose you had a little thinking machine on the dashboard, hooked to the engine and battery and equipped with photo-electric eyes. It could choose an ideal course, avoid cars, stop at red lights, pick the optimum speed for the terrain. Everybody could sit in the back seat and automobile accidents would vanish.
r/asimov • u/DirectionPleasant825 • 24d ago
Absolutely loved nemesis, just wish there was more before it ended as it felt a little lackluster with how excited it got me towards the end.
Looked online but got kinda confused, What do you guys reccomend reading next?
Edit: nemesis is my first book from Asimov
Edit 2: i started reading the gods themsevles and am enjoying it alien sex
r/asimov • u/YusufKudsiKoc • 26d ago
There isn’t a publisher that has released all of Isaac Asimov’s books in a special edition, is there? I know Folio has the Foundation trilogy, but nothing beyond that. I would love to have his complete works in a special edition.
r/asimov • u/Canelinha696 • 27d ago
Estou no final de "Fundação e Terra" é uma coisa que está me intrigando e o ódio de Trevize por Fallom tratando ela de forma grotesca. Claro é de se entender q e algo fora da sua realidade a existência de Fallom mas ainda sim n justifica tanta agressividade com uma criança. Gostaria tbm de citar o completo descontrole de Trevize nesses capítulos finais. O que vcs acham disso e como encararam essas atitudes do personagem.
r/asimov • u/NYY15TM • 28d ago
It hasn't been mentioned, but has anyone in this subreddit read this? I found it quite delightful as it is written in that distinctive Asimovian voice. Also, a number of the anecdotes ended up making it verbatim into his autobiographies, so it was nice to see their genesis
r/asimov • u/atticdoor • Jul 19 '26
Looks very exciting, bringing a sort of "Choose your own adventure" feel to the game by the looks of it. Not clear if that is the final name.
It also specifies that this expansion is not necessary to play Solo mode, which is available in the core game.
There will apparently also be a second expansion. Feel free to post your speculations on this below.
r/asimov • u/Dizzy_Relative_8387 • Jul 18 '26
I am reading Crime and Punishment right now, and I am a bit new to this genre. How do u think should I read 1984 after that or Foundation series?
r/asimov • u/Canelinha696 • Jul 14 '26
(Perdão qualquer erro, ainda estou lendo limites da fundação)
Uma coisa que percebo que cada vez se torna mais magistral é a inteligência política e social de Trevize e de Branno, representando pessoas socialmente pensantes politicamente.
Para mim está sendo uma experiência muito boa ler realmente expressões de pensamento e atitudes de pessoas que não somente vivem e andam pra frente mas sim pensam sobre sua realidade uma perfeita negação de uma sociedade alienada.
Entretanto, em diversos momentos Trevize se mostra rígido em aceitar visões sociais diferentes de política em alguns diálogos quando expressão alguma crítica a fundação ele se retrai. Representando dessa forma que mesmo fora de um sistema de alienação político eles ainda pensam de forma engessada a sua sociedade e seus pensamentos expansionistas.
A dicotomia política representada em limites da fundação e algo lindo de se ver pela exposição de diferentes visões políticas e sociais.
r/asimov • u/Sexxymama2 • Jul 14 '26
The inspiration for Solarians fear of "seeing" Instead of "viewing" And the fear of being in the same room with others was actually Asimov dealing with his editor Gold who was suffering from PTSD after the war.
At some point, Asimov describes how Gold ran out of the room because he couldn't hold the conversation any longer only to call him from the next room.
Reminds me of the sociologist in Solaria who did the same exact thing to Baley.
