The excitement created by Foundation and Empire, the second in the
trilogy, is hard to resist.The Mule leaves the Darells
on Trantor to go
and reign over the Foundation.The reader looks forward to the Mule
being defeated by the Second Foundation in this book with all eagerness
and excitement.
The book is divided into two parts.
Part 1: Search by the Mule
The Mule, a mutant though he may be, like any other human being, is not
satisfied just by being in full control of the First Foundation.He
embarks upon an ambitious search for the Second Foundation, and as
expected,is defeated innovatively by the latter.However, this part of
the book makes a very disappointing and boring read, and causes the
outbreak of the contagious 'Foundation Fatigue Flu' amongst the
readers.The reader can skip this part without any heartburn.
Part 2:Search by the Foundation
This part comes as a revitaliser and according to me is the best part
of the Foundation
Trilogy.The Foundation is back in power following the
Mule's defeat.The main character is Arkady Darell, Bayta Darell's
granddaughter.This is one of the rare novels by Asimov where a female
plays the lead role.Arkady's father and his team, residing on Terminus,
are on a mission to find the Second Foundation.This part is
fast-paced,full of twists and turns, exciting and has an unbelievable
and ecstatic ending.I would not like to play spoilsport and disclose
more details about the same.It is THIS part that makes this book one of
the best end-plots in the history of Science
Fiction and it neutralises
the boredom created by the first part.It is in this part where Asimov
displays his brilliance at characterization- something very rare in
most of his novels.
If I were a publisher, I would eliminate the First part and expand the
Second.As a whole the book does not disappoint and is worth the
cost.Any avid science fiction fan must have this book in his
collection, if not the entire Trilogy.