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Synopsis: After successfully laying down the theoretical basis for the development of Psychohistory, Hari Seldon finds more obstacles in his path to prevent the Fall of The Galactic Empire. From rabble rousers, to assassins to simple monetary difficulties, Seldon must find a way out or else allow for a Dark age that would last for millennia.
WARNING! The comments contain spoilers to the previous book in the series Prelude To Foundation proceed at your own risk :)
Comments: This is Isaac Asimov's last novel. All too sadly, he died shortly after its completion. He dedicated this book to all his gentle readers, a fact that made me shed a tear or two.
Anyway, Forward The Foundation isn't as good a novel as Prelude To Foundation. It's very solid work but it's told in scenes set at ten year intervals, so it lacks the kind of continuity of a more conventional novel. It reads exactly like it is: a succession of major events in Seldon's lifetime.
There is more of the detail on Trantor's physical workings, as well as the planet's diverse populations (though not nearly as much or as interesting as in Prelude) And there is more character development of Hari, Doors and Raych Seldon. Yugo Amaryl, a minor character in Prelude has a larger role here, too, as Hari's right-hand man.
Emperor Cleon and Eto Demerzel/Daneel Olivaw also make a second appearance, though Daneel/Demerzel leaves too soon and in a not entirely convincing manner. There is a reason for this: it is Seldon's story, not Daneel's. Daneel has his own story in the Robot Novels. However, I do wish the Good Doctor had done a little bit better.
The intrusion of financial difficulties in Seldon's work is a very nice touch, reminiscent of the economic forces at work in the next book, Foundation (remember it was written in the forties, long before the prequel work he did at the end of his career). Seldon not only has to know how, he also has to have the means.
That in itself is obvious. However, Dr. Asimov manages to make this obvious point into a turning point in the story of the Galaxy. I won't spoil your reading by spelling it out, but I'll say that future history would have been very different had Seldon been a very wealthy man.
This also challenges Seldon's own thesis that one person is not a decisive historical factor. I think Seldon missed a chance to incorporate that lesson into Psychohistory, as you will find out in the fourth book Foundation and Empire.
All in all, Forward The Foundation is a book that will seem more valuable when you look back at it from the perspective of the rest of the series. But it is a good enough read on its own.
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