Welcome to my monthly book recommendation for November! Every month, I recommend a book that I’ve personally read and find worthwhile enough to recommend to my own readers. In each monthly post, I’ll introduce the book, discuss why I found reading it worthwhile, and the major themes the book touches upon. I won’t include any major spoilers, but I may discuss some of the characters and specific details or locations from within the book.
My recommendation for November 2024 is Foundation by Isaac Asimov.
Foundation - Isaac Asimov
Available on Amazon
Author: Isaac Asimov
Genres: Science Fiction
Description:
For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future—to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire—both scientists and scholars—and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.
My Thoughts
Isaac Asimov was one of my favorite authors during my time in high-school, roughly 15 years ago. During my sophomore and junior years, I read a small handful of his books and short stories, including Foundation, the first in a series of books chronicling a galactic empire’s decline from within and a small, powerless organization working to prepare against the impending intergalactic dark ages. Fifteen years later, I decided to re-read this classic piece of literature to see what new themes I’d pick up on that I’d missed as a child.
Asimov’s writing style is simple and accessible. Compared to the last book I read by H.P. Lovecraft, it felt as if I was floating on a cloud casually breezing through the sky. Simple doesn’t mean simplistic; Asimov had no trouble weaving in complex story lines with numerous moving parts into the pages of the book, and he even managed to insert the occasional clever, witty line. His pacing is on point, and his ability to build suspense is impeccable. Most would have no trouble reading the book cover to cover and following along with the plot at large, but only an engaged and active mind will observe and understand the subtexts within the dialogues, the nuances of the politics at play, and the author’s unique interpretation and expression of human nature.
Foundation offers both an intriguing temporal perspective and a fascinating perspective of time itself. Similar to HBO’s House of Dragons, Foundation spans over centuries, and its major sections are split into discrete blocks of times, each with its own unique characters and political contexts. However, there are elements at play that make you question where in time you, the reader, are viewing these events. The fictional science of psychohistory and its application raises questions about the nature of the future. Asimov is well known for his singular ability to dream of captivating, thought-provoking science-fictional concepts, and some of his best are at play within Foundation.
There are major plot points and creative concepts I’d love to talk about here, but unfortunately can’t do so without spoiling the book for you. Some of these are the primary motivating factors that drove my decision to make this my monthly book recommendation for November 2024. I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of this book; I guarantee you’ll enjoy it enough to continue on with the subsequent books of the series.
