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Robots and Foundation: A Reader's Guide to Isaac Asimov's Future History
Spanning 14 novels and 37 short stories, Isaac Asimov's future history is a singular achievement by the polymath author who became science fiction's first household name. This comprehensive but approachable guide helps readers navigate their way through Asimov's engrossing world and understand the stories in the context of the author's life and times.
In the Golden Age of Science Fiction, Asimov created two of the best-loved series in the genre's history: the Foundation stories told the epic tale of a fallen Galactic Empire, while Asimov's robot stories were shaped by his vastly influential Three Laws of Robotics. Then, at the height of his success, Asimov put his career in science fiction on hiatus to focus on writing nonfiction, penning books on everything from biochemistry to the Bible.
In the final decade of his life, he returned to his classic series with the staggeringly ambitious goal of uniting the robot stories and the Foundation saga. Through several new bestselling novels, Asimov forged his iconic stories into a single series following humanity from little Gloria's first encounter with the lovable robot Robbie through the rise and fall of a Galactic Empire and into the 242nd century, when an extraordinary revelation forces humans to rethink everything they thought they knew about the course of their own history. In this book, the first of its kind to encompass Asimov's entire unified future history, critic Jay Gabler provides a detailed guide to each and every novel and story in the series, drawing connections across the narrative and enriching readers' appreciation of the author and his historical context. It's a clear-eyed view for the 21st century reader, both a celebration of an extraordinary writer and an acknowledgement of his limitations, including a problematic personal life that was partially reflected in his fiction.
Whether you're a lifelong Asimov aficionado or a reader who's just discovering his dazzling worlds, "Robots and Foundation" is an invaluable guide to the sprawling, fascinating future history that helped give shape to science fiction as we know it.
In the Golden Age of Science Fiction, Asimov created two of the best-loved series in the genre's history: the Foundation stories told the epic tale of a fallen Galactic Empire, while Asimov's robot stories were shaped by his vastly influential Three Laws of Robotics. Then, at the height of his success, Asimov put his career in science fiction on hiatus to focus on writing nonfiction, penning books on everything from biochemistry to the Bible.
In the final decade of his life, he returned to his classic series with the staggeringly ambitious goal of uniting the robot stories and the Foundation saga. Through several new bestselling novels, Asimov forged his iconic stories into a single series following humanity from little Gloria's first encounter with the lovable robot Robbie through the rise and fall of a Galactic Empire and into the 242nd century, when an extraordinary revelation forces humans to rethink everything they thought they knew about the course of their own history. In this book, the first of its kind to encompass Asimov's entire unified future history, critic Jay Gabler provides a detailed guide to each and every novel and story in the series, drawing connections across the narrative and enriching readers' appreciation of the author and his historical context. It's a clear-eyed view for the 21st century reader, both a celebration of an extraordinary writer and an acknowledgement of his limitations, including a problematic personal life that was partially reflected in his fiction.
Whether you're a lifelong Asimov aficionado or a reader who's just discovering his dazzling worlds, "Robots and Foundation" is an invaluable guide to the sprawling, fascinating future history that helped give shape to science fiction as we know it.
349 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 1, 2020
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3 people want to read
About the author
Jay Gabler
13 books144 followersI'm a writer and editor living in Duluth, Minnesota, where I write about arts and entertainment for the Duluth News Tribune. From 2013 to 2022, I was a digital producer at Minnesota Public Radio's The Current, where among other projects I hosted/wrote our Rock and Roll Book Club feature. I'm also a co-founder of The Tangential and a member of the National Book Critics Circle. Recent books I've written or co-written include 100 Things To Do In Duluth Before You Die (2025), Sociology for Dummies (second edition, 2021), and Robots and Foundation (2020). I'm on Bluesky, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, TikTok, and Letterboxd. Gmail: jaygabler.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 7, 2023
As a reader of all of Asimov's Foundation novels, Robot novels, and two of his Empire novels I found this guide to be very interesting and it me back to each of the novels while I was reading it. I haven't read all the robot short stories yet but intend to do so, and this book gives a short summary of each of them. It's been a while since I've read some of these novels, decades for some of them, and it felt like a refreshing visit with an old friend while revisiting the plot points.
This is one comprehensive book. Asimov wrote from 1950 until his death in 1992 (he got HIV from a blood transfusion). The author takes a deep dive into all aspects of the novels, not just the analysis of the particular story which is super comprehensive and interesting. Some of the things also thoroughly covered were what was going on in Asimov's personal life at the time each novel was written, how world events shaped the plots, and how technology advancements and gender role changes over the 72 years affected what he wrote. This is really interesting context for fans who are familiar with his books set in his Empire-Robot-Foundation universe.
In addition to covering the science fiction stories and novels individually, the book contains such chapters as: Isaac Asimov 101; Why Asimov Matters; How to Read Asimov; and Asimov, Sociology, and the Mid-Century Movement. I mean this book is everything Asimov. There is a complete Asimov bibliography at the end.
This isn't all just fanboy gushing, either. The author points out the troubling things found in Asimov's writing and in his personal life. The world changed since 1950 and some things are a product of the times and don't age well as we readers know.
As an Asimov bobo I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was fun revisiting all the books again and I learned a lot about Asimov the man. His autobiographies were mention a number of times in this book. I have not read them but I may have to some day. Not only was Asimov one of the pioneers of science fiction but he was one of the most prolific writers of my lifetime - he wrote or edited over 500 fiction and nonfiction books.
This is one comprehensive book. Asimov wrote from 1950 until his death in 1992 (he got HIV from a blood transfusion). The author takes a deep dive into all aspects of the novels, not just the analysis of the particular story which is super comprehensive and interesting. Some of the things also thoroughly covered were what was going on in Asimov's personal life at the time each novel was written, how world events shaped the plots, and how technology advancements and gender role changes over the 72 years affected what he wrote. This is really interesting context for fans who are familiar with his books set in his Empire-Robot-Foundation universe.
In addition to covering the science fiction stories and novels individually, the book contains such chapters as: Isaac Asimov 101; Why Asimov Matters; How to Read Asimov; and Asimov, Sociology, and the Mid-Century Movement. I mean this book is everything Asimov. There is a complete Asimov bibliography at the end.
This isn't all just fanboy gushing, either. The author points out the troubling things found in Asimov's writing and in his personal life. The world changed since 1950 and some things are a product of the times and don't age well as we readers know.
As an Asimov bobo I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was fun revisiting all the books again and I learned a lot about Asimov the man. His autobiographies were mention a number of times in this book. I have not read them but I may have to some day. Not only was Asimov one of the pioneers of science fiction but he was one of the most prolific writers of my lifetime - he wrote or edited over 500 fiction and nonfiction books.
June 7, 2021
Interested in reading Isaac Asimov, but not sure where to start? Ready for a re-read with a closer eye to these iconic stories' cultural and literary context? Looking to fill some gaps in your SF (Asimov hated the term "sci-fi") background? I wrote this book both to help other Asimov readers and to follow my own curiosity about the vast, but not unproblematic, legacy of the author who may be the best-known in the history of the field.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews