Book Review: FOUNDATION'S EDGE (Foundation # 4) by Isaac Asimov

Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"All humanity could share a common insanity and be immersed in a common illusion while living in a common chaos."

A friend and fellow Asimov admirer (hi Rich!) told me that Books 4 and 5 are completely different from the original trilogy.

And upon finishing Book 4 in the series, I do agree.

Perhaps it's only to be expected. When Asimov wrote the first part of what would later become the original FOUNDATION novel, it was the '50's. The world changed so much in thirty years, and so did his concerns. FOUNDATION's EDGE was written in the '80's, an entire generation later.

If the original FOUNDATION trilogy could be read as a metaphor for the struggle between democracy and fascism, this fourth book introduces a new enemy: AI.

Who is more powerful? The man with a gun? The man who controls the will of the man with a gun? Or an artificial intelligence (with the hive mind power of an entire planet under his/their control) capable of controlling both men?

What is more essential for humanity? Free will? Peace and order? Or life and growth?

"However small the chance of catastrophe might be, if enough people take enough chances, the catastrophe must happen eventually."

I am left with an urgent need to continue with Book 5 straightaway, since the TV series starts in a week! And with a bit of horror and despair comes a dawning realization that I need to read Asimov's other series of books (the Robot ones!!) if I want to be able to fully appreciate the mind-blowing epic that is FOUNDATION.

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