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Author: Greg Bear
Publisher: HarperPrism
Year: 1999
ISBN: 0061056405
Description: 401 pages
The original Foundation Trilogy series by Isaac Asimov impressed me, way back when I first read it, with its massive scope. An incredibly large interstellar empire -- covering billions of star systems -- is about to fall apart, taking with it civilization. The prediction of disaster comes from Dr. Hari Seldon, the creator of the nebulous science of psychohistory. Through psychohistory, Seldon knows that the Empire is doomed to collapse, and that its collapse will bring about a Dark Age that will lasts tens of thousands of years. But Seldon has come up with a plan that will ameliorate the disaster. The Empire itself can't be saved, but the Dark Age that is to follow can be shortened to a mere 1,000 years.
Asimov never went to much detail about Seldon and what he endured during the fall of the Empire. Instead, he wanted Seldon to come across as a near-mythical figure, appearing (in recorded form) whenever a predicted crisis loomed. Seldon was portrayed as nearly-infallible, with his ability to suddenly appear and describe (normally unerringly) the crisis that the descendants of his followers were experiencing.
Greg Benford, Greg Bear and David Brin were selected by Asimov's estate to write a new Foundation Trilogy -- telling, in detail, how Seldon and his small group of university academics and students manage to endure the political plots and subterfuges to create the Foundation, and the ultra-secret Second Foundation. In Foundation and Chaos, Seldon is struggling to accomplish his tasks before his impending trial, and anticipated execution. Meanwhile, his daughter and son-in-law are attempting to gather together a group of "psionic" humans, to establish the secret Second Foundation. But while they are trying to accomplish this goal -- imperative if Seldon's plan is to succeed -- a powerplay erupts in the highest circles of the Empire that threatens to destroy all that Seldon and his group are trying to accomplish. Meanwhile, Seldon's secret "handler", robot R. Daneel Olivaw, is having troubles of his own, as one of his key operatives has suffered damage to his positronic brain, and is no longer under control.
Score: 85 out of 100. The "killer B's" (Benford, Bear and Brin) have attempted to duplicate the massive scope of the original series, while focusing in on Olivaw's plots and the plots and subterfuges of those holding the reins of power within the Empire. This book (and the trilogy) fills in a lot of gaps from the original Asimov books, making the entire story more complete. Even as a standalone book, it's very entertaining and rich in texture.
