Foundation & Earth by Isaac Asimov

Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this book we observe Trevize’s journey of enlightenment as he attempts to seek out the reason for his decision which he hopes to find on Earth while the whole concept of Seldon’s plan is abandoned. But first, he must find the missing planet. He’s accompanied by a new character who just happens to have strange powers. It’s quite weird that Trevize and Pelorat accept the concept of these powers even though they’ve only spoken to Bliss and Dom and don’t seem to take the opportunity to explore the rest of the planet. This is a theme that seems to echo their other planetary visits, though they later have good reasons for their latter visits. Of course, Trevize wants to ensure that’s he’s following his own chain of thought and that he hasn’t been influenced by another factor. But because of the deception that occurred in the previous books, how can we simply trust these characters? This is probably why Trevize insists on ignoring the legends that everyone is telling him and decides to check it out for himself. There’s also some long philosophical debates which I thought were a bit unnecessary for the plot and were more for the academic reader. Bliss does create some comic moments, although I found Fallom annoying and at most times Pelorat was the voice of reason. I love the idea of a whole planet orgy! And does Gaia grow if Bliss eats but doesn’t excrete? There’s also a bit of naivety as they head off to explore the Spacer worlds. What are the chances that they land near a sign with the name of the planet on it? Where in our world is there a sign that says welcome to planet Earth?! It’s not like it’s embedded into the atmosphere. Hopefully in the next book we’ll find out who is really in charge of the universe and that it’s not down to these guys. Then we’ll know who to complain to.

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