Prelude to Foundation

Asimov, Isaac. Prelude to Foundation. New York: Doubleday/Foundation, 1988. Rpt. [S. F.] Book Club, 1988 (no ISBN).

Sequel, in a sense, to IA's Robots and Empire and the first book of the Foundation series in order of Foundation history. Prelude to Foundation presents the early history of Hari Seldon and the adventures that helped him develop his theories of psychohistory. Includes an "Author's Note" giving a list of IA's Robot, Foundation, and Empire books (ix-x). See PtF for the city-planet Trantor and IA's continuing examination of the motifs of containment, inside/outside, and the City vs. the Garden. See also for the heroic Dors Venabili (a female robot, who becomes the wife of Hari Seldon) and for R. Daneel Olivaw—who turns out to be quietly controlling Seldon's adventures, the story, and the galaxy. Rev. Donald M. Hassler, Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Review Annual 1989: 174-75. See IA's The Robots of Dawn, Robots and Empire, Foundation's Edge, and Foundation and Earth. (RDE, rev. 01/07/93)