Foundation and Empire

Foundation and Empire marks the turning point of the saga, introducing the element of chaos into Seldon’s orderly equations. The book is divided into two distinct halves: the first is a fascinating study of a rigid institution (the Empire) fighting a flexible one (the Foundation), while the second shifts into a psychological thriller. The introduction of The Mule is one of sci-fi’s great plot twists, shattering the feeling of invincibility established in the first book. Asimov masterfully deconstructs his own premise, asking what happens to a deterministic history when a single individual has the power to change the rules.

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) was a Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry. A member of the "Big Three" of science fiction (along with Heinlein and Clarke), he was a frequent author known for the Foundation series and the Robot series.