Second Foundation

Second Foundation • Isaac Asimov

⭑ 4.3 Stars

A friend recently shared an opinion about Asimov that, despite my best efforts, I have failed to ignore in forming my own perspective. The opinion - that Asimov was simply not a good writer - started to rear its head as I worked my way through the third installment in his Foundation series, and has since firmly rooted itself in my own analysis - he really wasn’t a strong writer. People tend to confuse the volume of output with skill, and while there’s no denying that Asimov was a prolific storyteller, the stories themselves leave quite a lot to be desired.

Although the first and second books in the series held my attention well enough, the utter lack of detail that I first thought was used as a creative mechanic to entice the reader into filling in the gaps, has simply left me frustrated in Second Foundation, where the merry-go-round continues to circle a mundane plot filled with twists that are endlessly conjured by an ever-increasing-yet-minimally-detailed cast of forgettable characters.