In what order should you read the Isaac Asimov Foundation series?

Isaac Asimov’s seminal work on the Foundation series spans 40 years of his life and seven books, changing the face of science fiction forever. However, the Foundation books move forward and backward in time, not to mention spanning gala🌺xies, so knowing which order to read them can be a little confusing.

The right order to read The Foundation Series

♔Now, like any list, this is subjective, and there are many differing opinions on which is the correct order to tackle the . However, I have read them all, some of them a few times, and I consider myself familiar with the universe. This is how I think you should go about it, combined with my further rabbit hole of research.

Start at the beginning I say, doing away with the internal chronological order of Foundation and iꦏnstead starting where Asimov did. Th🀅e is a series of short stories spanning huge areas of time, but it is the, ahem, foundation for everything that is to come.

This is a worthy starting point, but due to its format, it often loses many readers. However, it is essential reading for the Foundation series, so stick it out and get ready for the nꦦext.

is a story in two parts, one leading on from the other a century after the first. It further fleshed out the Foundation universe, giving more content to the i༒deas Asimov has already started to develop.

In a universe where Hari Seldon’s predictions essentially rule the way everything works, witnessing it fail pulls the empire into panic. Without the Seldon Plan to rely on, the people of the Empire are lost. They set out to find the location of the Second Foundation to restore peace.

leads directly on from the first, addressing the issues raised in the second of the Foundation series both chronologically and by publication. More is learned about the Seldon ♈Plan, and efforts are made by the elusive Second Foundation to restore order.

Now, this is a point of contention between fans of the Isaac Asimov Foundation series and what order they should be read. Many will put at the beginning, but I feel that placing them in the enormous 29-year gap between Second Foundation and Foundation’s Edge is tactical for a few reasons.

The gap in Asimov’s writing leads to both a change in style and tone. By reading his Robot series I feel that the change can be traced nicely, growing with him as a writer. The Robot series is a fantastic collection of books and will explain much more about the history of the universe created by the Foundation books. Although chronologically they come before the Foundation series, I like to read them here.

The reason I place after the Robot series is due to the cliffhanger it finishes on, prompting you to pick up Foundation and Earth immediately after. This, for me, is the correct order to read the Foundation series, as I expect Asimov didn’t want people to forget too much of this book before the next.

Without giving too much away, the Foundation is, 𒀰as usual, not alone. There are threats to the Seldon Plan, and huge decisions need to be made to determine the future of humanity.

is, chronologically, the final book in the order, bringing together many of the powers and ideas brought to fruition in the previous four books. As a conclusion, it is satisfying and carries the gravitas it needs to round the universe up. Although it is the last book chronologically, it isn’t the last one in the series.

If you’re feeling the empty space of a finished science fiction saga, never fear. Isaac Asimov was a prolific writer who published, according to some, 500 books. Of course, he wasn’t finished with the Foundation series. Like Frank Herbert, he couldn’t put his pen down.

These next two books are set chronologically . It follows the steps of Seldon himself as he proposes his paper on the Seldon Plan. This principle allows him to accurately predict the f꧋uture for generations to come, laying out the framework for everything the future of humanity is based on.

sees the execution of the Seldon Plan in practice, setting up the previous novels. However, Seldon is di🥂senfranchised with the way🔥 things are being run using his calculations, and so decides to do something about it.

Although these books are chronologically first in order, I feel that they are the perfect ending to the science fiction saga Asimov made with the Foundation series. There are callbacks to characters from the previous books and references to the principles and organisations that we have gotten to know so well. Finally, understanding the origins of so many of the elements in the Foundation seri𝓀es fleshes the books out and leaves a completed feeling to the whole saga.