Second Foundation

Second Foundation brings the original trilogy to a satisfying, albeit cerebral, close. The narrative is a complex detective story where the location of the Second Foundation is the ultimate prize. Asimov excels here in depicting the battle of intellects; the "battles" are conversations laden with double meanings and psychological traps. It explores the ethics of the Seldon Plan - is a benevolent dictatorship of mentalists better than chaos? The twists are plentiful, and while the resolution relies heavily on exposition, it restores the grandeur of the psychohistorical vision. The result is a testament to the power of intelligence over brute force.

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.