Base Trilogy, Part 2: Foundation and Empire

Author: (USA) Isaac Asimov / Ye Lihua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Traditionally, the past is history, and yesterday is history. However, Isaac Asimov is different. His Foundation series writes "the history of the future," "the history of a distant future," and "the history of tomorrow!" Asimov, this "historian of the future," this "American Sima Qian," uses an "epic" brushstroke and the grand chapters of the Foundation series to narrate the thrilling and story of the "Galactic Empire," the "Foundation" (often simply called "Foundation"), the Second Foundation, and the "Mule," dedicating "the history of the future" to the readers in a vivid manner. Asimov's science fiction always introduces innovative and fantastical elements, becoming a model for later science fiction works. The reason a master is a master lies in their ability to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary with a single stroke. His three major series—the Robot, Empire, and Foundation—each have their unique charm. Even now that we are very familiar with his works, we still cannot help but admire his creativity back then. Foundation and Empire is the second book in the Foundation trilogy. At this point, the Foundation, founded by the great psychohistorian Hari Seldon, has firmly established itself at the edge of the galaxy, but it still faces pressure from the Galactic Empire. The dying Empire still possesses the most powerful military force in the galaxy. An ambitious general leads a space fleet toward the Foundation, and the scholars and scientists living on the asteroid where the Foundation is located can only hope for a sliver of survival, all tied to the language left behind by Seldon before his death. However, even Seldon could not have foreseen that there was an even more threatening external force lurking in the galaxy—the "Mule," a galactic mutant. Faced with the Mule's strange mental powers, even the strongest person would bow in submission and become a loyal slave. The Mule's black fleet effortlessly accepts the three hundred years of history it has been founded upon, seeking to conquer the universe. Both the Mule and the loyalists are searching for the Second Foundation. The Mule's Wave Search operation is stopped by an ordinary woman named Banda, giving the Second Foundation enough time to launch its counterattack plan.