Foundation and Chaos – Greg Bear

The second part of “The Second Foundation Trilogy” was written by Greg Bear.
This part continues the story of Hari Seldon’s life where Foundation’s Fear left it; just before the trial that will send the Encyclopedia project to the far reaches of the universe.Where the first part of this trilogy was marked by questionable technology this second part leans more towards questionable psychics. The book delves deeper into the reasoning and setup of the Second Foundation, the group of people that is supposed to go and “lead” humanity through the chaos years into a new galactic era.

When compared to the stories written by Isaac Asimov I personally get the feeling there is way too much action and way too little analysis. Asimov was the master of the actionless science fiction novel where not much really happened except in the minds and speech of people. Novels that were full of philosophical dilema and deductions. Sociomathematical (or psychohistorical as one might call it?) reasoning.

The trick is, as stated with the first part of this trilogy, to read it not as an Asimov book but more as a story set in an Asimovian setting. All major characters and major locations are there but the entire goal of the book is different from what we’re used to from Mister Asimov. And when taken out of that shadow, Greg Bear is a phenomenal writer of fiction. The descriptions he sets down of the dawning of a new incarnation of humans and the reactions to that of the “Master of Robots” is well thought out (although I do find the trigger coming from the sims a bit forced).

Foundation and Chaos is definately an addition to the Foundation universe. It gives answers to questions that previously remained unanswered. It manages to do so in a way that makes the book a good read as well. In that way it does transverse it’s predecessor (Foundation’s Fear). The most important question that keeps bothering me throughout all of the Second Foundation Trilogy, though, is the fact that Asimov described Hari as being un-influencable by the mindbenders of the second foundation, yet in this trilogy he regularly does get mind-bent by the robots….. It’s a flaw in this trilogy.