Two questions:

I’d like to start reading the Foundation series. What order should I read them in? I’ve seen a recommended reading order by Asimov himself posted in /c/Foundation, which is in order based on when the events take place, but I’ve seen it suggested to instead read them in publication history order to avoid spoilers and so that things make sense. Which order would you recommend?

Also, where’s the best place to pick up hardcover editions? I’d love to add them to my library. Is the Robot series sold as a hardcover collection anywhere?

  • vettnerk
    6·
    1 year ago

    I answered rather lengthily about the reading order once upon a time when someone asked something similar. Hang on, I’ll see if I can find it.

    EDIT: I’m a lazy bum, and I found my reddit post in my native language. So I ran it through google translate, and it produced the following. Note that the below was a comment reply I made to someone who had started watching the TV series.

    ‐----------------

    This question is more complicated than you might think, and I’m too lazy to answer the phone. Check back in a couple of hours when I have a keyboard.

    It is worth noting that the series takes quite a lot of freedom in relation to the books, but I think that is necessary in order not to end up having to find new actors for each season, as the books take place over several thousand years.

    Hokay, reading order…

    I read them in the order in which they were released:

     Foundation (1951)

 Foundation and Empire (1952)

 Second Foundation (1953)

 Foundation's Edge (1982)

 Foundation and Earth (1986)

 Prelude to Foundation (1988)

 Forward the Foundation (1993)

    …and it worked fine for me. But since you’ve started watching the series, I’d recommend changing it up a bit, as the series starts a bit before the 1951 book and enters the prequel books (the two “last”), so I’d recommend you start with the two . So then we land on the order:

     Prelude to Foundation (1988)

 Forward the Foundation (1993)

 Foundation (1951)

 Foundation and Empire (1952)

 Second Foundation (1953)

 Foundation's Edge (1982)

 Foundation and Earth (1986)

    BUT, it so happens that there are also some other books that Asimov wrote, which were actually originally unrelated to Foundation. But after the Foundation books from the 80s and 90s came out, these became quite relevant after all, as the two series are connected by a number of common characters and background history:

     The Caves of Steel (1954)

 The Naked Sun (1957)

 Mirror Image (1972) <--- Short story that is not as important as the others.

 The Robots of Dawn (1983)

 Robots and Empire (1985)

    …These work very much as the basis for worldbuilding, and might be a good idea to start with ahead of the Foundation series. Here you will find out what the thing about Demerzel is. Regardless, it’s a good read.

    In conclusion, I would like to say that Asimov usually wrote short stories, so the list of books is not as scary and long as it might seem. With that said, I would recommend checking out a lot of the other stuff he wrote. My favorite is “The end of Eternity” (1955), as well as a good number of the short stories he wrote.

    • The Giant Korean@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Thank you for such a detailed reply! I really appreciate it!

      Asimov included I, Robot along with the rest of the Robot series in his recommended reading list for Foundation. Do you think this is necessary or can it be skipped?

      • vettnerk
        3·
        1 year ago

        I’ve read it, and while it’s a good read I don’t think it’s important background for Foundation.

  • Jordan Lund@lemmy.oneEnglish
    5·
    1 year ago

    The trick is, as the series went on, he dovetailed it into the Robot novels.

    First, good hardcovers here:

    https://www.foliosociety.com/usa/the-foundation-trilogy.html

    Now, that being said, reading order, I favor publication order:

    1. Foundation (1951)
    2. Foundation and Empire (1952)
    3. Second Foundation (1953)
    4. Foundation’s Edge (1982)
    5. Foundation and Earth (1986)
    6. Prelude to Foundation (1988)
    7. Forward the Foundation (1993)

    Now…

    Foundation and Earth (the last book chronologically, 6 and 7 are both prequels) hooks it into the Robot stories and serves as a capstone to BOTH the Foundation series and the Robot series.

    1. Mother Earth (1949)
    2. I, Robot (1950)
    3. The Caves of Steel (1954)
    4. The Naked Sun (1957)
    5. Mirror Image (1972)
    6. Bicentennial Man (1976)
    7. Robots of Dawn (1983)
    8. Robots and Empire (1985)

    3, 4, 7, and 8 are the “Robot series proper”.

    Complicating matters, some of these are short stories and there have been MULTIPLE compilations of them over the years.

    Bicentennial Man (1976) started as a short story and was reworked into the novel The Positronic Man in 1992, but it’s the same story.

    Collections are:

    The Rest of the Robots (1964)
    The Complete Robot (1982)
    Robot Dreams (1986)
    Robot Visions (1990)
    Gold (1995)

    • The Giant Korean@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      So with regard to the Robot series and publication order, would you suggest that I start with the Robot series first, then Foundation? Looking at the dates, it seems like it would be weird to read both series together in publication order.

      • Khanzarate@lemmy.world
        3·
        1 year ago

        I have yet to read the robots series but I have read all of foundation.

        I’m doing a reread and I intend to read the robots series with it this time, after Second Foundation. That’s the part where they blend more and I can tell I’m missing some context from Robots.

      • Jordan Lund@lemmy.oneEnglish
        3·
        1 year ago

        To get the most out of both series, it would probably look like this:

        1. Mother Earth (1949)

        2. I, Robot (1950)

        3. Foundation (1951)

        4. Foundation and Empire (1952)

        5. Second Foundation (1953)

        6. The Caves of Steel (1954)

        7. The Naked Sun (1957)

        8. Mirror Image (1972)

        9. Bicentennial Man (1976)

        10. Foundation’s Edge (1982)

        11. Robots of Dawn (1983)

        12. Robots and Empire (1985)

        13. Foundation and Earth (1986)

        14. Prelude to Foundation (1988)

        15. Forward the Foundation (1993)

        Those final two, chronologically, would be inserted prior to Foundation (#3), but because they were written SO MUCH later, you should save them for last.