Last week I raved about Terry Pratchett, one of my very
favorite authors. Okay, perhaps I didn’t so much rave as worry about his
long-term place in the annals of literature. Since I’ve started on that track
let me mention that today I finished reading The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. It was so much better
than Strata. One of the things
Pratchett likes to do is take a story and satirize it in the Discworld. This
story was the Pied Piper of Hamelin. He’s also done some Shakespeare, and The Phantom of the Opera. Maskerade, his version of Phantom, I especially liked.
But this isn’t going to be another post about Terry
Pratchett, though if necessary I could probably write a series of essays on his
work that would essentially function as hero-worship love-letters. No, tonight
I want to write about one of my favorite Science Fiction authors. And by
favorite I mean he’s basically the only science fiction author I read. To whom
could I possibly be referring? Isaac Asimov of course! Interestingly, I choose
to do this by talking about a book he didn’t write.
If you haven’t noticed I can be rather obsessive about
things. Steve Perry, and Terry Pratchett
just to name two. As a further example, I’ll tell you I’ve never seen the last
two Lord of the Rings movies the
whole way through, and then promptly point out to you exactly where the movies
diverge from the books. Most of them I’m okay with as they’re simply functions
of movie time constraints or whatever. The one that really grates is Faramir
taking Frodo to Minas Tirith, which unless I’m greatly mistaken Tolkein wrote
could not happen.
With that as your backdrop you can probably understand why I
might have some issues reading a novel set in Asimov’s universe of the
Foundation written by another. Which brings us to Foundation’s Fear by Gregory Benford. Now, I understand that the
Asimov estate basically commissioned this novel and the two others making up
the Second Foundation Trilogy. I just, don’t feel another novel, especially
what was essentially another prequel covering Hari Seldon’s life was necessary,
especially given the content. I was able to buy in somewhat more after reading
the afterword, which ironically I read before I finished the book. I can
understand having the scientific contradictions between books as Asimov alters
things to match the current science. Hence I’m basically okay with travel via
wormholes instead of Jumps, though it still seems weird. But the main thing
around which the story revolves is the existence of aliens living in Trantor’s
internet. As far as I know Asimov’s Foundations books never had storylines that
contradicted each other. The Alien’s in
this book flat out contradicts Foundation
and Earth in which Golan Trevise makes the choice of Gaia over Foundation
because Seldon’s psychohistory equations were made with the assumption of no
intelligent alien life, an assumption Seldon wouldn’t have made if the events
of this book had taken place. Maybe I’m just nitpicking. Whatever. What I’m
really saying is I don’t see the need for this novel, especially seeing as the
main elements here didn’t really exist in the others and Forward the Foundation ended on what I consider to be the strongest
emotional point in the series.
Wow, this has actually been a fairly straightforward post.
It was meant to be long and rambling, covering diverse topics like the Eagles,
Rebecca Black, deconstructivism, and teachers I used to hate and why. This is
what I get for letting my mind ramble at work before I write instead of while I’m
writing. I didn’t even mention John Scalzi! What’s wrong with me? Oh, well, my
loss is your gain. Enjoy J
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