Lorayger
This was an emotional read... huh... T~T (As I'm writing this, I am listening to "Oxygene, Pt. 18" by Jean-Michel Jaare.)
I read a bit of Foundation novel before finishing this. So, it was a good thing. Now I know the chronological order better: Read all chapters of Forward the Foundation, then read the first chapter of Foundation, then come back to read Epilogue of Forward the Foundation. If you're interested in reading this epic in chronological order, this is my list: https://hardcover.app/@AtlaSSS/lists/robot-foundation-world-chronological-order
I understand why many dislike this book (and its prequel Prelude to Foundation) because they read these two after reading the Foundation trilogy. Not just that. The book was messy. I know. The main reason is Asimov's health status; he was still working on it when he passed away. So, I rather not be too strict.
I didn't like how Dors was entraped. As if she was only loosely made with The Laws of Robotics. It wasn't explained, when and by whom she was built, and how Dani found her and put her on Trantor, or if Dani was involved with her being built, which is more likely. It was definitely worth exploring, maybe even more than those parts when the story goes off-road from sci-fi to fantasy and into telepathy. I didn't like telepathy. I genuinely expected to see a futuristic-made-up-scientifically reason for Wanda's brain working that way when her dna was examined. I would have accepted it way easier than... than... this... . Now with several mentions of Second Foundation, I know what that book is gonna be about now and honestly, I'm not looking forward to it if it's gonna be like this. It is a spoiler but even without it, I still don't enjoy space fantasy.
It's a shame he didn't explain when and where Yugo introduced the ideas of Foundation to Hari.
The rest was quite interesting and I enjoyed reading it a lot.
About why it struck me on a deeply emotional level:
First, in the first chapter of Foundation, that is about Hari, there is no sign of the two prequel characters who were close to him. I could guess that Dors dies here. It was inevitable in my opinion but I couldn't believe it when Asimov even killed Raych and Manella and the little Bellis. What the hell man? Couldn't they just go live in peace? Hari already had a tragedy losing Dors. Or do you think that is emotionally not enough because she was a robot?! Uh... Tragedy after tragedy, and totally out of nowhere the song "In my remains" by Linkin Park was replaying in my head... T_T
Second, knowing this book was published a year after Asimov passed away, I couldn't help but think of Asimov himself when I was reading the epilogue; Hari's reflection on his life, his regrets, his desire to show Daneel what he has achieved, his last moments, his funeral, and Dani being there... As if Hari's death wasn’t just an ending for the character, but also for Asimov’s own life and the epic sci-fi series of the century. I can't help but to think that Asimov may have seen Daneel in his final moments. It makes my heart ache so much. I kept remembering "What Goes Up" by "The Alan Parsons Project". I held my tears back and then burst after finishing the book.
P.S.: Alan Parsons made a full album being inspired by Asimov's works called "I Robot" and even contacted Asimov about it. Unfortunately, he had to remove the comma symbol from the album title because Asimov had sold his rights to his books and Parsons wasn't allowed to just use the title I, Robot.
This was an emotional read... huh... T~T (As I'm writing this, I am listening to "Oxygene, Pt. 18" by Jean-Michel Jaare.)
I read a bit of Foundation novel before finishing this. So, it was a good thing. Now I know the chronological order better: Read all chapters of Forward the Foundation, then read the first chapter of Foundation, then come back to read Epilogue of Forward the Foundation. If you're interested in reading this epic in chronological order, this is my list: https://hardcover.app/@AtlaSSS/lists/robot-foundation-world-chronological-order
I understand why many dislike this book (and its prequel Prelude to Foundation) because they read these two after reading the Foundation trilogy. Not just that. The book was messy. I know. The main reason is Asimov's health status; he was still working on it when he passed away. So, I rather not be too strict.
I didn't like how Dors was entraped. As if she was only loosely made with The Laws of Robotics. It wasn't explained, when and by whom she was built, and how Dani found her and put her on Trantor, or if Dani was involved with her being built, which is more likely. It was definitely worth exploring, maybe even more than those parts when the story goes off-road from sci-fi to fantasy and into telepathy. I didn't like telepathy. I genuinely expected to see a futuristic-made-up-scientifically reason for Wanda's brain working that way when her dna was examined. I would have accepted it way easier than... than... this... . Now with several mentions of Second Foundation, I know what that book is gonna be about now and honestly, I'm not looking forward to it if it's gonna be like this. It is a spoiler but even without it, I still don't enjoy space fantasy.
It's a shame he didn't explain when and where Yugo introduced the ideas of Foundation to Hari.
The rest was quite interesting and I enjoyed reading it a lot.
About why it struck me on a deeply emotional level:
First, in the first chapter of Foundation, that is about Hari, there is no sign of the two prequel characters who were close to him. I could guess that Dors dies here. It was inevitable in my opinion but I couldn't believe it when Asimov even killed Raych and Manella and the little Bellis. What the hell man? Couldn't they just go live in peace? Hari already had a tragedy losing Dors. Or do you think that is emotionally not enough because she was a robot?! Uh... Tragedy after tragedy, and totally out of nowhere the song "In my remains" by Linkin Park was replaying in my head... T_T
Second, knowing this book was published a year after Asimov passed away, I couldn't help but think of Asimov himself when I was reading the epilogue; Hari's reflection on his life, his regrets, his desire to show Daneel what he has achieved, his last moments, his funeral, and Dani being there... As if Hari's death wasn’t just an ending for the character, but also for Asimov’s own life and the epic sci-fi series of the century. I can't help but to think that Asimov may have seen Daneel in his final moments. It makes my heart ache so much. I kept remembering "What Goes Up" by "The Alan Parsons Project". I held my tears back and then burst after finishing the book.
P.S.: Alan Parsons made a full album being inspired by Asimov's works called "I Robot" and even contacted Asimov about it. Unfortunately, he had to remove the comma symbol from the album title because Asimov had sold his rights to his books and Parsons wasn't allowed to just use the title I, Robot.