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Isaac Asimov Audio Collection
Anyone who enjoys science fiction (NOT science fantasy--science FICTION) will enjoy the works of Isaac Asimov.He writes of a future of humans as humans, and logical advances of scientific gadgets (in the 1940's he wrote of Dr. Seldon using his pocket calculator, and punching in entries; needless to say, the pocket calculator, nor even true computers didn't exist when he wrote this).His stories are pleasant, and it is easy to use your imagination when it involves human beings as we know them.They just happen to have been born in the distant future, and live lives as we understand, and Isaac Asimov works them into plots, easy to understand, and at the end you will be baffled as to why you didn't see the logical outcome he so brilliantly brought to you. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio - Excerpts    2. Audio - Fiction - Excerpts    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Science Fiction - General    5. Fiction / Science Fiction / General   

Editorial Review

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The Messianic Era
I first read these books when I was in high school and although
Good idea competently realised, but...
Not surprisingly this is a second reading - I first enjoyed this classic about twenty years ago.
Romans in Space
I like Foundation because it's a solid piece of sci-fi from olden days.(George Lucas's stealing of Asimov's city-planet for his Coruscant - tsk tsk, Georgie - amazed me most.) Foundation does have peculiarities.People hundreds of thousands of years in the future speak like us.They use phrases like us. They also have the same atomic technology as people did in the 1950s.Asimov got a bit lazy here; he could've imagined something cooler than nukes.The galaxy is a metaphor for a crumbling Roman empire.Perhaps Terminus is Ireland.As for A's style, I found his use of long adverbs rather funny.In sum, a good book if you can ignore this stuff. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Fiction/Science Fiction & Fantasy    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Science Fiction - Series    4. Non-Classifiable   

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The Messianic Era
I first read these books when I was in high school and although
The Mule is out there!
Here in the second installment of Azimov's fantastic Foundation epic, you have a continuation from the first that at first seems a let down. Then the Mule shows up and the action really gets going.
Individuality in the Face of Psychohistory
Once again, Asimov serves up a thrilling read for the sci-fi fan.The two story-lines followed in the text pertain particularly to the question of if/how spectacular individuals can alter the Plan of Hari Seldon.The first pertains to a final thrust of the Empire while the second pertains to the question of an anomalous power known as the Mule.
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A Superb Collection
FOUR SCIENCE FICTION CLASSICS is an exceptional compilation of the absolute best the genre had to offer in the 1940s and 1950s. It is composed of six powerful stories which transcend the decades in which they were written, stirring the heart and mind as powerfully now as when they were first published. Interesting combination
I only wanted "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" and it did come separate on tape and even on vinyl at one time. It did not hurt to get the rest of the tapes. Foundation: The Psychohistorians is what the Foundation trilogy is all about and the newer foundation books you can read the separate reviews. The Martian Chronicles is ok but I do not want to spend time reviewing this section, as better reviews will be under the book description.Read more

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The worst science fiction book of the best science fiction writer- 2.7 out of 5
In the twenty-fouth century, humanity will look back at the twenty-third century as a simpler time- a time where plotlines were slow and dialogue was interesting but accomplished nothing, a time where authors repeated things over and over again over a span of hundreds of pages, a time where books were so boring you wanted to strangle everyone associated with it. Ah yes, the twenty third century was a time when humanity first began to reach for the stars and write terrible books about it. Classic Asimov
This is an excellent Asimov novel, especially for those that appreciate his style.

Surprisingly boring...
I was quite excited to dig into this novel, as it was my first experience with Asimov's work. And it will most likely be my last.
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The Messianic Era
I first read these books when I was in high school and although
An Excellent Conclusion to the Original Foundation Series
This final installment of Asimov's Original Foundation Series is an excellent, although incomplete ending to a monumental accomplishment by the beloved science fiction author.It is perhaps more beautifully arranged than the others but also lacks some degree of coherence because of its overall twisty-turny plot line.Nevertheless it is an excellent, exciting story which pursues the interrelation between the individual and the whole.
Best book in the foundation series
Asimov takes it to the next level with Second Foundation. It has more charecter development, more technology, more suspense, more cunning, and an unsuspected ending for once. This book is great.
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Subjects:  1. Audio - Science Fiction / Fantasy    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Science Fiction - General    4. Non-Classifiable   

Editorial Review

In this collection, one of the great classics of science fiction, Asimov set out the principles of robot behavior that we know as the Three Laws of Robotics.Here are stories of robots gone mad, mind-reading robots, robots with a sense of humor, robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world, all told with Asimov's trademark dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction. ... Read more

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A great collection about robots
If you have any interest whatsoever in robots, this is a must read for you.The three laws that Asimov creates to govern robot behavior seem so simple, but Asimov exposes and analyzes every possible loophole in them.Usually each story focuses on some way that a robot malfunctions or apparently breaks one of the three laws.Liar! and Little Lost Robot stick out as the best stories from this collection; both are very suspenseful and shocking at the end.These stories are a great introduction to Isaac Asmiov's work.After reading these, I was hooked and have since read about 15 books by Asimov.He was truly a brilliant man.

Pure Science Fiction, But So Are Most of His Books.
This story is the basis for the movie of the same name.It is good to remember that robots are man-made machines and have no human attributes or emotions; no feelings or pain (Does it hurt to die?), no love for another robot or human being.No pain, no gain, no smiles or grins from ear to ear, no crying or frowns to compound an impossible situation.The movie was a bit much and never in a million years would you find a Chicago that sparse of beings and things.
Remembering the late, great Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was, of course, a mover and shaker not just in the field of science fiction, but as a science educator for the masses. His prodigious output of books and articles was one of the seven wonders of the modern world, yet it's a relatively small number of short stories and novels for which (I predict) he'll be remembered. Stories like "Nightfall," "Bicentennial Man," and of course his robot stories with their "three laws" will still be read and appreciated for years to come. By showing us how the three laws worked (or sometimes didn't) in these stories, he created a practical foundation for the future of robotics, and Carl Capek aside (who wrote one of the first robot stories, RUR, in 1921) Asimov is considered by many as the father of modern robotics. The Japanese in particular seem fascinated with robots and their potential, so it shouldn't be surprising that Honda named their sophisticated humanoid robot Asimo in his honor.
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Subjects:  1. Audiobooks    2. Fiction    3. Movie-TV Tie-In - General    4. Science Fiction    5. Science Fiction - General    6. Unabridged Audio - Fiction/Science Fiction & Fantasy    7. Fiction / Science Fiction / General    8. Reading Group Guide   

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Very good Dramatization of the first book.
This was a very well done "book-on-tape".It was actally a dramatization of it intead of just a boring reading.Very appropriate for the book.It is too bad they did'nt make any more of these based on the other books. ... Read more

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nifty stories
i enjoyed this compilation of many good sci-fi authors, i recommend it to anyone who likes sci-fi. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Science Fiction - Anthologies    3. Unabridged Audio - Fiction/Science Fiction & Fantasy   

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Fantastic!
Listen, no one likes really long or ending spoiling reviews, so here it goes, short and sweet.
An Older, Better Asimov
In "Foundation's Edge," author Isaac Asimov returns to the fascinating storylines he initiated in the Foundation trilogy some 30 years earlier. The older Asimov turned out a new novel that is not only better technically than its predecessors, it is much more subtle and nuanced. It is a thought-provoking and enjoyable book.
Third Foundation
Foundation's Edge won the 1983 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel of the year.Asimov himself, in his humble way, said that this prestigious award should go to some other younger writer.His own self-imposed controversy aside, this is a great novel and is arguably deserved of the Hugo Award for that year.That aside, it's the sequel to the original 1950's Foundation series, and thus with a 30 year gap between the two sets of books, it has a different flavor.I myself am leery of sequels.I thoroughly loved Dune and I suppose what could have been called the original Dune trilogy, but by the 4th Dune book became uninterested in following that series any further.But Foundation's Edge is worth reading.I haven't continued on with the series after this so I cannot comment on the subsequent books.However, after reading reviews of Foundation & Earth (which is the sequel to Foundation's Edge), it seems Asimov's novels follow the `Star Trek syndrome' of the movies with the original crew.It's not clear if there will be a follow up sequel so the books conclude fairly nicely, so that when the next one is released, it has to shake up the previous book's ending to continue.That's somewhat the case with Foundation's Edge.There's another entity that seems to manipulating events.It's not clear what this is (I don't know if Asimov planned Foundation & Earth when he wrote Foundation's Edge), but I've always thought of this new entity as possibly a Third Foundation, if not in name, then in spirit.
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Could have used a good editor
After getting hooked on the Foundation series over the past six months, "Forward the Foundation" was a real disappointment for me.I understand that this was the last book he wrote before passing away, and this explains a lot.But it still doesn't justify the sloppy inconsistencies of the storyline.
The end of an age.
This book pulls a lot of threads together, unifying the Robot stories and the Foundation stories to a far greater extent than the innuendo of Foundations Edge. Hari Seldon at last becomes a person with hopes and failings; We see his relationship with Robots, including our old freind R. Daneel Olivaw and finally we see how the first and second foundations came to be through a set of circumstances that has plot twists that only the master himself could have envisaged.
Excellent but Disappointing End to Foundation Series
Book Review by C. Douglas Baker
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The Fall of the Empire... and the Start of the Foundation, 3-1/2 stars, 403 Pages, Publ 1988
This novel has a subtle beginning.I would take a little to time reading the beginning to absorb Asimov's setting and style here.The science of psychohistory that laid out the Foundation had to start somewhere, and this is where it starts and with Hari Seldon.So there's a lot written of Seldon's early life and a lot about different sections of the Galactic Empire capital planet of Trantor.Seldon is not represented as some sort of superman, but if you've read other books in the Foundation series, as someone to admire, and is seen as a person outside of just psychohistory.Sort of like seeing the famous photograph of Albert Einstein riding a bicycle.And as others in the Empire see the potential power of psychohistory, even before Seldon does, thus begins the race to harness that power.The joy, and the point, in reading this novel is in the knowing the eventual power of psychohistory and thus how it develops.Seldon has to be persuaded to progress his theory of psychohistory by the other interesting characters in the novel.Can you imagine, early in the 20th century, having to go "come on Albert, will you at least *try* to develop the theory of General Relativity".
Science Fiction at its Best
If you have read Asminov's Foundation series many eons ago, this is a must read.It gives you an excellent idea of how everything started.I read the Foundation series years ago and never read the prelude.Since reading this I am reading the series again.It is fascinating and as always Asminov touches on truths.Anyone interested in Astronomy or any type of science for that matter must read this book and of course the whole series.
The early life of Hari Seldon
In his later novels, ASimov attempted to tie together his Robot, Empire and Foundation series into a cohesive whole.THis book is one of the main links in the chain.In the Foundation books written previously, Seldon was a legendary figure revered by the people who owed him their existence.In this story, the early adulthod of Seldon is revealed as he sets out on the path that will lead to his refinement of his psychohistory system.Asimov brings in several recurring themes from his books to unite the works.We see the legend of a mythical homeworld of humanity, the stories of robots and the myth of a unique long-lived robot dedicated to protecting humanity.All are linked with Seldon in this masterful story.He shows his ability to create a world of various cultures in Trantor.I try to read the series every few years and each reading rewards with a new insight each time. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio - Science Fiction / Fantasy    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Science Fiction - General    4. Non-Classifiable   

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Great fun
It's just plain fun and intriguing to listen to Isaac Asimov himself read his stories.There's no better way to get them.Listening to these allows me to go read his other works and have a little bit of insight into how he might have read those -- what things he would emphasize, what inflectionshe'd have, what sort of emotion he brings to his work...You get a littlefeeling this way for what the stories meant to him.And, of course,they're great stories.Did he write any bad ones ever?I don't think so.Maybe some would say you have to be a science fiction fan to enjoy Asimov'sstories.I think you only need to be a fan of stories. ... Read more

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Doesn't deliver on what it promises
Decades ago sci-fi grandmaster Isaac Asimov noted the similarity between detective stories (whodunit?) and science fiction "puzzle" stories (how do you solve the problem?).Avoiding some of the obvious pitfalls, he began to write stories that contain elements of both of these popular genres.But of the various stories in this collection, only Larry Niven's "ARM" really lives up to the title, combining the imagination of science fiction with the action and drama of a detective story.Asimov's "The Singing Bell" comes close, and shows off the master's skill with "puzzle" stories, but the armchair detective doesn't really lend itself to exciting reading and would be a serious disappointment to fans who expect some action.As for the rest, only Poul Anderson's "The Martian Crown Jewels" and "Time Exposures" by Wilson Tucker are bona fide sci-fi detective stories, and both are eminently forgettable.Donald Westlake's "The Winner", Robert Silverberg's "Getting Across", and Philip K. Dick's "War Games" are all very good science fiction stories, indeed are the highlights of the collection, but there are no detectives in them.Perhaps the most memorable sci-fi detective is Philip Jose Farmer's Herr Ralph Von Wau Wau, the intelligent canine of "A Scarletin Study", a humorous send up of the whole cross-genre concept.In sum, while perhaps the blame lies more with the form than with the editing, this book fails to deliver what it promises; the overall collection isn't that strong as "just" science fiction, and the advertised combination of sci-fi and private detective fiction never really coalesces.Readers interested in this idea would do better to pick up one of Asimov's many fine collections.

PRIVATE EYE REVIEW
I thought the book was very good describing the plot, storyline, and characters.However, the book was pretty easy to predict.It's whole storyline was old and boring.The absence of twists and any newdevelopments killed any suspense.Overall the story gets a 3 out of 5. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Science Fiction - Anthologies    3. Unabridged Audio - Fiction/Science Fiction & Fantasy   

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Fiction/General    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Audiobooks    4. Fiction    5. Science Fiction    6. Science Fiction - General    7. Science Fiction - Short Stories    8. Science Fiction And Fantasy    9. Short Story    10. Unabridged Audio - Fiction/Science Fiction & Fantasy   

Subjects:  1. Audio - Science Fiction / Fantasy    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Audiobooks    4. Science Fiction - Series