I heard the word science fiction sometime when I was in school. It sounded cool and jazzy. But kind of scary also! I had already read Jeffrey Archer and Agatha Christie while I was still at primary school. But I still felt science fiction would be too tough to read and was reluctant to go anywhere near it. I did try one of the books from Rama series by Arthur C Clarke. But somehow I could not connect and did not proceed far. I am sure there are many an avid readers out there, who have a similar feeling towards science fiction.
When I went to college, I experienced class for the first time. There was a class of people, the social and intellectual elite. I did not belong and I was one of the nobodies living in the shadows. Though I used to scoff at them in public as snobs, I used to observe them in secret and try to imitate them in private. I first heard of Foundation series, when I heard some of these guys conversing. Immediately I went to the hostel library and picked up ‘The Second Foundation’. Initially when I started reading, I got a feeling of being disoriented. But I persisted and was rewarded. It was an immensely gripping read and I was just hooked on. At the end of it I was a convert – I went on read all books written by Asimov I could lay my hands on and eventually became a complete science fiction buff. That is the power of this master. It was one of those books that totally blew me over.
Click here to read the rest of this review on my other blog dedicated exclusively to science fiction.
6 comments:
Must read book it seems :)
Asimov is a legendary sci-fi author !
good info sir !
DeepaK
The Foundation series is excellent. I read Prelude, Foundation, Foundation's Edge, and Second Foundation in high school and I remember them with fondness. You've got me considering picking one of them up again this summer when my reading time becomes freer.
You must read it, Deepak.
Even though it is fiction, I feel Foundation and Dune are two series worth reading even for serious reader and for reading multiple time, Stan.
The foundation series is more reminiscent of a fantasy/quest type series than it is of a sci-fi series.
There was some poll (fairly famous but right now I cant recall its name) where people voted for their favourite series in any genre. Foundation series actually beat LoTR series.
I just don't understand why there isn't a movie on this yet!
Actually the line between science fiction and fantasy is often blurred. But I would not call Foundation a quest based fantasy definitely. And I feel it is difficult to make a movie out of it because there is less of descriptive physical elements and more of concepts which would not appeal to the masses..
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