Isaac Asimov's 1951-53 Foundation trilogy is a rough-hewn classic of far future SF, honored with a unique 1965 Hugo for Best All-Time Series. It begins with "psychohistorian" Hari Seldon mapping the best possible course for humanity's next millennium, after the fall of the doomed Galactic Empire. Late in life Asimov revisited the series and awkwardly linked it with his popular robot stories--introducing vast conspiracy theories to explain the Empire's total lack of visible robots.

Asimov's estate authorized three SF notables to fill out Seldon's life in the Second Foundation Trilogy, which David Brin here wraps up after Gregory Benford's Foundation's Fear and Greg Bear's Foundation and Chaos. Chaos is the new keyword, because chaos theory seemingly makes nonsense of psychohistorical prediction. Whole planetary populations can lapse into chaotic rebellion despite secret mind-controlling agencies behind the scenes. So Seldon makes his last interstellar journey, harried, lectured, and even kidnapped by the warring factions of robots and not-quite-robots that have long manipulated humanity. The robots' dilemma:

"We are loyal, and yet far more competent than our masters. For their own sake, we have kept them ignorant, because we know too well what destructive paths they follow, whenever they grow too aware."

Brin does his best with Asimov's overcrowded legacy, skillfully steering Seldon to an insight about the much-foretold future that satisfies both the old man and the reader, with a spark of human free will and constructive chaos shining through the grayness of predestination. Asimov would have approved. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk


From Publishers Weekly
With the permission of the estate of Isaac Asimov, Gregory Benford (Foundations Fear), Greg Bear (Foundation and Chaos) and Brin, collectively billed as the Killer Bs, took on the Second Foundation Trilogy. Unhappily, Brins preachy, gelatinous conclusion deserves another Bfor Boring. Having followed the adventures of the galactic Foundation founder, Hari Seldon, in previous volumes, Asimov aficionados here find Seldon retired, aged, infirm and on the brink of death. Then a chance encounter with a low-level bureaucrat stimulates Seldon into creaky action against chaos, a mental disease afflicting all humanity. Seldon travels fitfully through an upside-down universe 20,000 years into mankinds future, when humans have become impotent, amnesiac creator-gods. Their creations, Asimovs positronic robots led by the enigmatic R. Daneel Olivaw, really control the universe. Brin (The Postman, etc.) resurrects many characters from the five previous Foundation volumes, but their lack of vitality makes these featureless humans as bland as robots. And he divulges these characters secrets in laborious sociological theorizing little better than a thin stream of platitudes. After so much recycling of Asimovs original, the wear and tear is showing, badly, but enough loose plot ends dangle to suggest that yet more sequels may be coming, someday. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Near the end of his life's work, an aging Hari Seldon embarks on one final adventure that may reveal to him the ultimate secrets necessary to the unfolding of his grand plan for the future. Veteran sf author Brin (The Postman, 1985) combines a sense of completion with one of several possible new beginnings in his conclusion of a new trilogy set in the world made popular by the late Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" and "Robot" novels. Along with the other two volumes in the trilogyAGregory Benford's Foundation's Fear (LJ 3/15/97) and Greg Bear's Foundation and Chaos (HarperCollins, 1998)Athis title deserves a wide readership and belongs in most sf collections. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.



"The three new "Foundation" novels-- the third and the jolliest, Brin's Foundation's Triumph, appears this spring-- are far more than just new pieces of the same story. They add up to a deeply affectionate work of literary deconstruction."


From Booklist
Following preceding volumes by Gregory Benford and Greg Bear, Brin concludes the second trilogy about Isaac Asimov's famous universe, the Foundation. Hari Seldon escapes house arrest on Trantor to investigate what is sowing chaos in the galaxy so quickly that it threatens the downfall of civilization. Rebels from the "chaos worlds" oppose him, robots, and the empire, and R. Daneel Olivaw, the Immortal Servant, is trying to prevent a civil war between the Giskardian robots, who are willing to harm individual humans in the long-term interests of all humanity, and the Calvinians, who remain loyal to the famous old three laws of robotics. R. Daneel and Seldon finally meet on a ravaged, primitive Earth, which recalls Asimov's charming Pebble in the Sky, and agree that the robots likely will evolve into an independent race while protecting humans from their own weaknesses. This literate, intelligent coda to a grand vision of human evolution will be appreciated even by those who think four of sf's most powerful talents have spent too much time making Asimov's universe coherent. Roland Green


From Kirkus Reviews
Extending the late Isaac Asimov's original Foundation Trilogy, this Second has each entry tackled by a different author (previously Gregory Benford's Foundation's Fear, 1997, and Greg Bear's Foundation and Chaos, not seen). Brins wrap-up volume comes from the author of Heaven's Reach (1998), etc. Hari Seldon, the father of psychohistory, is old and ready to die. The main narrative strand, among others too numerous to mentionBrin often seems to be pursuing complication as an end in itselfis a plot, inspired by robots following their prime directive, to kidnap Seldon, temporarily rejuvenate him, and send him 500 years into the future in order to safeguard the Seldon Plan, which will revive galactic civilization after the collapse of the present empire. Some of the characters involved with the various plots, schemes, struggles, and conspiracies, are: Lodovic Trema, a robot unconstrained by robotic laws, free to act and react as any human; Seldon's robot wife, Dors Venabili; and Horis Antic, one of planet Trantor's Grey Man bureaucracy, curious about certain odd mathematical correlations. The prime mover in all this is the wise 20,000-year-old robot, Daneel Olivaw, who plans to create Galaxia, a galactic integrated intelligence that will safeguard human survival forever. Among the problems facing Daneel are chaos viruses that drive entire planets to madness, cyborgs, wars among robots, elusive pirate captains, and cunning aristocrats. Nobody's what they seem, and everybody's plotting against everybody else. The jury's still out. Was this enterprise a wonderful idea, brimming with possibilities? Or was it merely a sterile retrospective rewrite? Still, readers of the first two volumes, and fans of Asimov's original yarns come to that, will want to explore. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
A Second Foundation Is Set
Isaac Asimov's original Foundation trilogy is rightfully hailed as one of the classic cornerstone series of SF; in 1965 it even won the author a prestigious Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series." Taking up where the late great master left off, a second Foundation trilogy has been completed by bestselling modern authors Gregory Benford Foundation's Fear , Greg Bear Foundation and Chaos , and now David Brin, who delivers the concluding chapter, Foundation's Triumph .

For those unfamiliar with the series, here's a little background: Humanity constitutes a vast galactic empire so widespread and chaotic that it is doomed to crumble and leave the governments and cultures of 25 million worlds in utter ruin, paving the way for a dark age of barbarism that will last centuries. Hari Seldon, a brilliant mathematician, is the only man capable and willing to do what must be done in order to avert such a disaster. He is the "father" of psychohistory, a science/philosophy capable of scientifically predicting the far future. Hari creates the Encyclopedia Galactica, a storehouse of data that will contain the vast knowledge of all of humanity. A race of immortal robots is also doing all it can to aid the long-term interests of the human race, sometimes working with Hari but more often than not simply using him for itsr own ends. Hari's "Foundation" for a better tomorrow will be carried on by future generations, including his own granddaughter, Wanda, and others known as "The Fifty."

In Foundation's Triumph we discoverthatHari Seldon, now quite elderly, is prepared to die: His Foundation is doomed to fail, but he's already provided for that fact. The Fifty will ensure that a superior second Foundation will prevail. Still, Hari is haunted by the concept of chaos planets — worlds that originally draw the brightest and most artistic people to them for a renaissance of art and science, but which eventually lead to debauchery and apathy. These worlds might disrupt his plans, and despite his long-range designs, he has many doubts. When a young mathematician named Horis Antic developes a new theory that deals with cosmic currents and how they affect the soil of worlds and the evolution of planetary life, Hari is off on one last wild adventure.

Also involved here is Dors Venabili, Hari's robot wife, who was forced to leave her husband for the greater good of humanity, as dictated by the 20,000-year-old robot, Daneel Olivaw. Daneel has been planning in secret to create Galaxia, an expansive universal intelligence that will watch over humankind. However, also at work behind the scenes is Lodovic Trema, the robot who is no longer a robot, a rebel free from robotic laws and in essence "human," who feels that humanity would be better off without Daneel overseeing its interests.

Brin has created the most human volume of either Foundation series, with a huge cast of characters who emote, react, fear, loathe, waver, and desire throughout. Brin was in the unenviable position of tying up an enormous and complex narrative saga spanning 20 centuries into the future and another 20 into the past. The author should be commended for realizing that the only way to draw all the elements together is by focusing on the emotional underpinning of the main characters as the Foundation looms closer. Brin skillfully and cleverly weaves the complexities of plot of an entire, lengthy historical chronicle into a relatively short novel that brims with imaginative energy and impassioned resolve. Foundation's Triumph is an ambitious, fascinating conclusion that will astound and satisfy fans of the original novels.

—Tom Piccirilli

FROM THE PUBLISHER

One Last Adventure!

Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy is one of the highwater marks of science fiction. The monumental story of a Galactic Empire in decline and a secret society of scientists who seek to shorten the coming Dark Age with tools of Psychohistory, Foundation pioneered many themes of modern science fiction. Now, with the approval of the Asimov estate, three of today's most acclaimed authors have completed the epic the Grand Master left unfinished.

The Second Foundation Trilogy begins with Gregory Benford's Foundation's Fear, telling the origins of Hari Seldon, the Foundation's creator. Greg Bear's Foundation and Chaos relates the epic tale of Seldon's downfall and the first stirrings of robotic rebellion. Now, in David Brin's Foundation's Triumph, Seldon is about to escape exile and risk everything for one final quest-a search for knowledge and the power it bestows. The outcome of this final journey may secure humankind's future-or witness its final downfall...

Author Biography: David Brin has degrees in astronomy and applied physics but has been a full-time science fiction writer for many years. He has won the Hugo Award for Best Novel for both The Uplift War and Startide Rising, which also won the Nebula Award. He has also won the Hugo Award for short story. His novel The Postman was recently made into a feature film starring Kevin Costner. He lives near San Diego, California, with his wife and children.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

With the permission of the estate of Isaac Asimov, Gregory Benford (Foundations Fear), Greg Bear (Foundation and Chaos) and Brin, collectively billed as the Killer Bs, took on the Second Foundation Trilogy. Unhappily, Brins preachy, gelatinous conclusion deserves another Bfor Boring. Having followed the adventures of the galactic Foundation founder, Hari Seldon, in previous volumes, Asimov aficionados here find Seldon retired, aged, infirm and on the brink of death. Then a chance encounter with a low-level bureaucrat stimulates Seldon into creaky action against chaos, a mental disease afflicting all humanity. Seldon travels fitfully through an upside-down universe 20,000 years into mankinds future, when humans have become impotent, amnesiac creator-gods. Their creations, Asimovs positronic robots led by the enigmatic R. Daneel Olivaw, really control the universe. Brin (The Postman, etc.) resurrects many characters from the five previous Foundation volumes, but their lack of vitality makes these featureless humans as bland as robots. And he divulges these characters secrets in laborious sociological theorizing little better than a thin stream of platitudes. After so much recycling of Asimovs original, the wear and tear is showing, badly, but enough loose plot ends dangle to suggest that yet more sequels may be coming, someday. (May)

VOYA - Diane Yates

Hari Seldon, the developer of the master plan that is to save humanity from thirty millennia of Dark Ages, is now old and frail, his work supposedly over. He is persuaded to take one last journey into space to search for that elusive answer to a problem that has haunted him all his life. The journey is interrupted time and time again by different factions of humans and robots, each of whom kidnap Hari and his companions until being outmaneuvered or killed by the next faction. All of them want Hari to help them or vindicate their position. All think they have the answer to preserving humanity forever, but they differ on how to do it. In the end, it is the robot charged with protecting humanity, Daneel Olivaw, who will shape the future as he sees fit. Three hard SF luminaries, Gregory Benford (Foundation's Fear [Harper, 1998]), Greg Bear (Foundation and Chaos [HarperPrism, 1998]), and David Brin have undertaken to complete Isaac Asimov's epic Foundation series. They all chose to focus on the mature Hari Seldon. All are novels of ideas, not action. They are not driven by plot or characterization, but by cosmic questions. There is no need to push this book to the Foundation's many older teen fans; that series is perennially popular. At the same time, no one unfamiliar with the earlier books will plow through this philosophical treatise, which is long on words and short on action. VOYA Codes: 3Q 2P S A/YA (Readable without serious defects; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult).

Library Journal

Near the end of his life's work, an aging Hari Seldon embarks on one final adventure that may reveal to him the ultimate secrets necessary to the unfolding of his grand plan for the future. Veteran sf author Brin (The Postman, 1985) combines a sense of completion with one of several possible new beginnings in his conclusion of a new trilogy set in the world made popular by the late Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" and "Robot" novels. Along with the other two volumes in the trilogy--Gregory Benford's Foundation's Fear (LJ 3/15/97) and Greg Bear's Foundation and Chaos (HarperCollins, 1998)--this title deserves a wide readership and belongs in most sf collections. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Steven H. Silver

David Brin has provided a worthy successor to Asimov's works in the form of Foundation's Triumph. What Brin seems to have done, is gone back and re-read the 14 novels and myriad short stories Asimov wrote, along with the related novels written by Roger MacBride Allen, Gregory Benford and Greg Bear...With master-craftsman skill, Brin has managed to write a relatively short novel which addresses all of these issues and provides reasonable explanations for nearly all of them... Brin has incorporated enough aspects of Asimov's earlier works that fans might even want to have copies of Asimov's books on hand so they can flip through to find the references...Brin has proven that there are authors who can handle Asimov's material with his voice and add to his legacy.
— SF Site

Kirkus Reviews

Extending the late Isaac Asimov's original Foundation Trilogy, this Second has each entry tackled by a different author (previously Gregory Benford's Foundation's Fear, 1997, and Greg Bear's Foundation and Chaos, not seen). Brin's wrap-up volume comes from the author of Heaven's Reach (1998), etc. Hari Seldon, the father of psychohistory, is old and ready to die. The main narrative strand, among others too numerous to mention—Brin often seems to be pursuing complication as an end in itself—is a plot, inspired by robots following their prime directive, to kidnap Seldon, temporarily rejuvenate him, and send him 500 years into the future in order to safeguard the Seldon Plan, which will revive galactic civilization after the collapse of the present empire. Some of the characters involved with the various plots, schemes, struggles, and conspiracies, are: Lodovic Trema, a robot unconstrained by robotic laws, free to act and react as any human; Seldon's robot wife, Dors Venabili; and Horis Antic, one of planet Trantor's Grey Man bureaucracy, curious about certain odd mathematical correlations. The prime mover in all this is the wise 20,000-year-old robot, Daneel Olivaw, who plans to create Galaxia, a galactic integrated intelligence that will safeguard human survival forever. Among the problems facing Daneel are chaos viruses that drive entire planets to madness, cyborgs, wars among robots, elusive pirate captains, and cunning aristocrats. Nobody's what they seem, and everybody's plotting against everybody else. The jury's still out. Was this enterprise a wonderful idea, brimming with possibilities? Or was it merely a sterile retrospective rewrite? Still, readers of the firsttwo volumes, and fans of Asimov's original yarns come to that, will want to explore.