Foundation’s Fear by Gregory Benford

Foundation's Fear book cover

The Second Foundation Trilogy is a venture initiated by Asimov’s Estate. Gregory Benford was approached to work on the project, and eventually Greg Bear and David Brin finished the series. I remember from my previous experience with Foundation’s Fear back in 2000 or so that I didn’t like it. I made a point of keeping track of details that bugged me throughout the novel so that I could provide some constructive criticism. I tried to do my best to keep an open mind, but it wasn’t long before I remembered why I didn’t like this novel. There will be minor spoilers, but hopefully they will help you save some time reading this 597 page (paperback) monster.

  1. Worm Holes: There is a vast network of wormholes that appears to be part natural and part artificially created and maintained which links the Empire together. This is completely new concept which is added, apparently from out of the blue. Where were these worm holes in the rest of the series by Asimov? Benford makes no attempt to reconcile this inconsistency. Asimov himself would always apologize after the fact after technologies or theories he integrated where found to be impossible, but I don’t see why there is a need to ADD technology a series that is so well established.
  2. Tiktoks: robots with simple minds are used for labor. These are not seen or mentioned by Asimov at this point in the timeline. Mechanical beings are taboo. Benford makes the leap and associates the taboo only to the mental function, to the appearance. I don’t think Asimov would have approved.
  3. Sims: I was bugged by the Joan of Arc and Voltaire sim story arc the first time I read this, and this hasn’t changed. Sims are also taboo in the same category as Robots. Essentially 150-200 pages are dedicated to character exposition for these two sims and the question of whether digital life is ‘alive’ or posses souls. I’ve seen reviews that suggested the novel is much better by just skipping this section, and I’d have to agree. If you like theological dialogue which has no real bearing on the overall story, go right ahead and read it.
  4. Panucopia: This section is approximately 100 pages, but I think that the ideas could have been presented much more concisely. However, this was probably the fastest 100 pages of text throughout the whole novel. Benford definitely kept me interested, as I read the whole section in one sitting, which is unusual for me especially for this novel.
  5. Errors: Dors Vanabili should be spelled Venabili. If you are continuing the works of a grand master such as Isaac Asimov, at least double check the character names! This reminds me of Mark W. Tidemann’s switching of Ariel Welsh (formerly Katherine Burgess) to Ariel Burgess in Mirage.
  6. Everything Else: There is new technology constantly being introduced and overly explained throughout the book. It was only about page 30 or so that I noted this first. It makes the Empire seem much more advanced and not as much in decline.
  7. Other: There are several other spoiler filled inconsistencies which bug me, but I won’t list. The fact that Benford doesn’t try reconcile these new ideas is the main thing that bugs me.

In general, the book reads very slow most of the time. Aside from the Panucopia section, I rarely read more than a few chapters at a time without breaking it up with some other activity. The novel begins right after Cleon I announces he wants Hari Seldon for First Minister. The rest of it involves the many assassination attempts on Hari and his attempt to win over the council so that he can be approved as First Minister. Intertwined between these adventures Hari tries to advance his understanding of psychohistory through technology ranging from ancient personality sims, immersion in primitive beings, and virtual reality.

As I’ve said earlier, much of the technology is explained to the point of tedium, and much of it can be skimmed over. As a completist for this project, I forced myself to read this again, but I doubt I will ever return to it now that I have my notes and personal review completed. I can only recommend reading this with attention paid to what can be skimmed, as it forms the foundation (sorry bad pun there) for the next two novels in the series. From what I remember, and other reviews they are far better than the first of this series.

2 thoughts on “Foundation’s Fear by Gregory Benford”

  1. I am a fan of Benford’s, Timescape was the first of his novels that introduced me to his writings. However, ‘commissioned’ work seems not his forte; delving into the foray of Asimov’s Foundation-verse filling-in the gaps of the Seldon story poses a question whether anyone needed in the first place.
    I tried to decide what route did he wanna go throughout the book; it seems that’s a thing that Benford struggled to answer it hiimself: Foundation’s Fear during/upon reading feels like a pastiche of Dan Simmons’ Hyperion, some William Gibson for good measure, bit of Avatar (albeit the book came out much earlier than the movie) and then some of Asimov stuff mainly in protagonists’ names only.
    True to form, Benford states in the book’s Afterword that he tried to explore ideas in the Foundation series not touched or barely hinted at by Asimov, so in essence he wrote a Benford book set in the Foundation universe, rather than writing an Asimov style book piece. And as such, it works well.
    However, to me, plot-wise the book doesn’t further any more in-depth progression of the Foundation mythos. Honestly it felt boring at moments.
    Long time fans of the Foundation series could skip this freely without fear of missing any piece already included in the previous or subsequent Foundation books.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please prove you are a human * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload the CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Post

Foundation and Empire by Isaac AsimovFoundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov

Foundation and Empire book cover

Foundation and Empire is broken up into two longer stories, rather than five shorter ones that appeared in Foundation. The first story, The General, begins almost 200 years after the Foundation was established on Terminus. The second story, The Mule, takes place just over 300 years into the Foundation Era. I think I liked this book more because the stories were longer and the character development was a bit deeper. Also, it seemed that the action picked up noticeably compared to the last book. (more…)

I, Asimov: A Memoir by Isaac AsimovI, Asimov: A Memoir by Isaac Asimov

My favorite science fiction writer by far is Isaac Asimov (1920-1992). One of the main reasons I started this website was to document my re-reading of his Robot and Foundation books. I recount my introduction to his writing in my post celebrating his 90th birthdayThere I mention starting to read his autobiography. That actually was the first volume, In Memory Yet Green (1970) covering his life from 1920-1954. It was an out of print low quality hard back copy. I still have that volume, but for some reason I never got around to finishing it. My last bookmarked page was 167 of 708. His next volume was In Joy Still Felt (1980) covering his life from 1954-1978. I fully intended on reading both of those, then finally his third volume (for this review) I, Asimov: A Memoir (1992).

Since my post in 2010, I’ve shifted almost all of my reading to ebook formats. Unfortunately I could not find any of the old volumes on ebook. My physical copy of In Memory Yet Green sat on the shelf collecting dust, literally! Sometime last year there was a sale on this book on the Google Play Store for just a buck or two. I snatched it up immediately and put it on my short list to read after finishing John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series which I was in the middle of at the time.

For a while I was frozen with indecision. Should I dig harder and try to find the first two volumes in ebook format? Drudge through the physical copy I had and then find the out of print second volume? Luckily I checked out some of the reviews. This third volume isn’t just 1978-(present at time of publish), but covers his entire life. The format is also not strictly chronological, but jumps from subject to subject. I was hesitant at first, partially from having a tendency to want to read things chronologically, even if they are published out of order (see my reading project). The more I thought about it, the closer I came to realizing it didn’t matter! I could read the third volume, then go back and read the first two, and maybe the third again! There is actually a 4th autobiography, It’s Been a Good Life (2002) that was edited after his death by his second wife Janet Jeppson Asimov. I plan on reading as well, possibly before the first two volumes.

If you are at all interested in Isaac Asimov, or science fiction in general, you must read this book. Having already had a false start on In Memory Yet Green, I can say I enjoyed this format better. Most “chapters,” which I will call topics, are at most five to ten pages in length. This makes for easy stopping points. I found myself reading many topics throughout the day, with several back to back during my lunches, where I normally spend most of my time reading. (more…)

Foundation and Chaos by Greg BearFoundation and Chaos by Greg Bear

Foundation and Chaos book cover

For those that read my previous review on Foundation’s Fear, you will be pleased to find that Greg Bear manages to save this series with his masterful work in Foundation and Chaos. If there were ever two books on the same subject that could be so different as to compare night and day, the first two parts of the Second Foundation Trilogy are it. While the first volume kept putting me to sleep with rambling on about simulated minds and aliens, Foundation and Chaos goes back to the roots more in line with the universe Asimov made me fall in love with. (more…)