Foundation

Okay, I almost picked up a copy of Asimov's Foundation.

And I skimmed through it and it seemed like some bullshit L. Ron Hubbard would write. Is it that bad fantasy shit that only a nerd can enjoy? (you know the type. They liked the Matrix sequels for their story) Is it like all the other stuff in the Sci-Fi section in bookstores? It sure as hell seemed like it.

no the foundation is a collection of short stories with nice twists that asimov seems to really excel in. you'd enjoy the foundation not for its futuristc settings but for the unexpected endings.

>>1
Not even slightly. It starts on one of the most mind-bending premises in sci-fi, that it is possible to mathematically model future history, and influence it now that you know the controls. The short stories that make up the series are snapshots of significant moves in a game that has been planned out far in advance. The methods the Foundation uses to keep history "on course" are the story here.

Foundation is actually pretty decent. Can't say the same about most other Asimov's works, but the first two books are really prety nice. Nothing really special, and if you don't feel like it, you might as well skip that crap, but they aren't unreadable, and are pretty enjoyable.

Sure thing, though, if Asimov lived today, nobody would ever find his stories anything special at all. His popularity owes to him being one of the first. He started the whole robots thing, and was one of the first authors to portray a galactic empire.

>>4
Asimov in the dawn of the 21st century may not be as obviously visionary as Asimov in the mid-20th (pocket calculators!), but his themes still apply. Consider the three laws of robotics. Who has thought about the pitfalls of such a thing without reading it in Asimov first?