Book Review: Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov

This is the third book of the original Foundation trilogy. There are actually a few more (Foundation's Edge,  Foundation and Earth) which I've also read before, but my copy was a hardcover containing the first 3 books. This then is the culmination of the main arc of the Foundation story, revolving all around the mysterious Second Foundation.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Overall Impression

This was another two-part book, though unlike the prior one it keeps a tighter focus. The goal at every point is the Second Foundation and this bit of intrigue is a powerful driver for the plot, setting, and characters. Overall, it's a good and natural continuation of the series thus far.

Plot

Like the prior novel, this is divided into two main arcs, both focusing on the search for the Second Foundation. First is a search carried out by The Mule, a few years after he solidly defeated the Foundation. It feels short compared to the second half, with a very directed path that seems suspicious from the start. It does have a very nice confrontation at its conclusion. 

The second arc of the story is about 60 years later. The Mule is long dead and the Foundation is back on top of things, though shaken up by suspicions of other individuals with mental abilities. This arc feels more like a wild goose chase, going multiple places and getting distracted by a war in the meantime. And while it may lack the personal impact of the first arc, it feels more classic since at the end we get some overarching discussions of why what happened had to happen- again, harkening back to the style of the first Foundation books.

Characters

The characters get somewhat better in this book compared to the prior ones, with their classical emphasis on themes more than characters. In the first arc we have The Mule and Han Pritcher who also appeared in the prior novel. The second arc features heavily Arkady Darell, granddaughter of Bayta Darell who put a stop to The Mule's initial search at the end of Foundation and Empire. While they don't necessarily have their own growth arcs, they feel unique. I certainly remembered The Mule from my first read many many years ago.

Setting / World Building

The setting is where the Foundation books really shine as they are heavily focused in the concept of this prediction of history. We see in this book far more of the ultimate goal behind Seldon's Plan, which while still aiming to reduce the period of chaos between the two Galactic Empires, is now revealed to have a little bit more nuance to it with the particular mental abilities the Second Foundation has been developing. 

One of the cool aspects of this novel is the constant misdirection that the Second Foundation is throwing out there. First The Mule and then the Foundation are searching for it, and the Second Foundation is aware of it and from a position of limited strength just works to maneuver itself in such a way to provide just enough hints to guide them out of the true path. I had read this many years ago so I knew the "answer" as to where the Second Foundation really is, but it was still enjoyable to re-read this and see the characters justify their own hypotheses. While the solution seems somewhat obvious in hindsight, I can only guess that the Second Foundation itself was somehow acting to make even less so.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this was a fun book. I don't think it's as good as the first of the Foundation novels, but it still is pretty decent in continuing the story in that universe. It gives up some of the large time spans and grandiose scale to focus instead on a bit of a mystery which gives it a fresh take compared to the others. The Second Foundation is quite intriguing and makes you wonder how far along their plans will actually take them.