Vakıf Kurulurken (Prelude to Foundation)

Original Title: Prelude to Foundation (Foundation, #1)
Turkish Title: Vakıf Kurulurken (Vakıf, #1)

English Title: Prelude to Foundation (Foundation, #1)

Author: Isaac Asimov

Pages: 651

Rating: 4/5

Applicable Challenges: 50 Books A Year, Awesome Author Challenge 2010, Chunkster Reading Challenge

WHY THIS BOOK?

I have always wanted to read a book of Asimov but for some reason I managed NOT to read any of his books till the age 31 (Yes, that’s how old I am). A friend of mine started forwarding a series of his articles to me at the beginning of this year: “How Did We Find About Germs?” followed by “How Did We Find About Dinosaurs? and “How Did We Find About Vitamins?”. I totally enjoyed all of them and decided to start the first book of the Foundation series.

THE STORY:

Written over 30 years after the first Foundation book, Prelude to Foundation is the story of a 32-year old mathematician who has just delivered a paper on the theoretical possibility of psychohistory at a mathematical convention in the planet-city of Trantor. Right after his presentation some power-hungry people showing a great interest in his theory start going after him.

The Emperor is the first to try to recruit Seldon to make him predict the glorious rule of his dynasty in the future. When Seldon stubbornly insists psychohistory is just theoretical, the Emperor apparently releases him but under the surveillance of the sinister Eto Demerzel. By accident, Seldon meets a journalist by the name of Hummin, who takes him in a wild flight from the Imperial Forces across Trantor.

Accompanied only by the pretty Dors Venabili, a history professor, Seldon shuttles from one sector of the city to another, trying to get some inspiration that might help him resolve the complexity of making social predictions in a Galaxy with 25 million inhabited worlds. Everywhere he runs into trouble with the sector citizens whose customs he refuses to accommodate.

MY COMMENTS:

When I read the reviews of other bookworms on the net about Prelude to Foundation, I was surprised to see that for the majority it was an “OK” book. Well, I liked every bit of the book and read it in a short period of time. I was so impressed with the ending and maybe I’m a bit naïve but I just couldn’t guess the ending, which was considered as “extremely obvious” by many users. I haven’t read any other books from the Foundation series so I cannot make any comparisons with the other books. Becky in her blog says that if she had read Prelude to Foundation at the very beginning, she might not go on with the series. Well, I am sure I will. I ordered the second book a few days ago.