A man named Hari Seldon creates a secretive foundation to use psychohistory to shorten that time of chaos from millennia to just a thousand years. Asimov’s collapsing Galactic Empire is based on the Roman Empire and is on the verge of sliding into a dark age. It’s predicated on the development of psychohistory, a science that studies the movements of huge populations to identify patterns that can then predict the future with some accuracy. Taken as a whole, this “mega-novel” is an incredible achievement in terms of scale and complexity. Foundation TrilogyĪsimov’s first three Foundation novels ( Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation) combine to tell an epic story that is remarkably clear in both its thematic goals and the scientific concepts underlying the story. On the other hand, hope and awe in science’s potential never really go out of style, and the core concepts at the heart of his best work are evergreen. Asimov effortlessly combined brilliant ideas, real science, and sturdy plot and character work into some of the most famous speculative fiction ever written.Īsimov’s approach to sci-fi can feel a bit quaint in the modern age his stories invariably pivot on faith that humanity eventually gets it right and science eventually offers solutions. Few writers have been as productive as Asimov was throughout his 50-plus year career, but it’s his work in sci-fi that gets the most attention. He was also a prolific writer of science books aimed at non-scientists, mysteries, and many other subjects. Isaac Asimov is one of the most influential science fiction writers of all time.

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Books by asimov