Foundation and Empire

Lore & Background

Foundation and Empire consists of two stories: 'The General' (first published as 'Dead Hand' in the April 1945 issue of Astounding Science Fiction) and 'The Mule' (first published in the November and December 1945 issues of the same magazine). The novel was also published in 1955 as Ace Double D-125 under the title The Man Who Upset the Universe, paired with 'The 1,000-Year Plan' by Robert Silverberg. Decades later, Asimov wrote two further sequel novels and two prequels, and later writers have added authorized and unauthorized tales to the series.

The plot of 'The General' follows General Bel Riose of the Galactic Empire, who investigates myths about the Foundation and declares war, only to be recalled and executed due to political machinations.

Reader's Guide

Foundation and Empire is significant as the second volume of Isaac Asimov's original Foundation trilogy, bridging the early Foundation's rise and the unexpected challenge of the Mule, a mutant whose emotional manipulation breaks the predictions of Hari Seldon's psychohistory. The novel's two-part structure—first a political-military conflict with General Bel Riose, then a psychological struggle against the Mule—expands the series' themes of historical inevitability versus individual agency. The Mule's victory over the Foundation introduces the concept of mentalics and sets up the later conflict with the Second Foundation. The book's legacy includes its Retro Hugo Award for 'The Mule' in 1996, and its influence on later science fiction explorations of psychohistory and mutant powers. The novel also reflects Asimov's interest in historical cycles, drawing parallels to the Roman Empire through characters like Bel Riose (based on Belisarius) and Cleon II (based on Justinian I).

Did You Know?

• The second part of the novel, 'The Mule,' won a Retro Hugo Award in 1996.
• The story 'The General' was first published in the April 1945 issue of Astounding Science Fiction under the title 'Dead Hand'.
• General Bel Riose is based on the Roman general Belisarius, and Emperor Cleon II is based on the Roman emperor Justinian I.

The Unified Future History

Asimov's most celebrated achievement is the Foundation series, a sweeping saga centered on the collapse of a vast space empire. The first three novels in that series earned the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. Beyond Foundation, he constructed two other major series: the Galactic Empire novels, set in the deep past of the same fictional universe, and the Robot series, which features landmark works such as The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun from the mid-1950s. In 1986, with the novel Foundation and Earth, Asimov accomplished something remarkable in speculative fiction—he wove the distant future of Foundation, the ancient past of the Galactic Empire, and the Robot stories into a single, continuous "future history." This act of retroactive worldbuilding unified decades of separate narratives into one coherent timeline, cementing the Foundation series as his signature contribution to the genre and demonstrating that a writer could reshape his own canon in real time.

Prolific Output and Genre Range

During his lifetime, Asimov was regarded as one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, standing alongside Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. His sheer volume of work is staggering: more than 500 books written or edited, an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards, and over 380 short stories. His genre range was extraordinary—he produced hard science fiction, mysteries, fantasy, popular science, and other non-fiction, with his output spanning nine out of the ten categories in the Dewey decimal system. Among his short stories, "Nightfall" stands out; in 1964, the Science Fiction Writers of America voted it the best short science fiction story of all time. For younger readers, he penned the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels under the pen name Paul French. This breadth and volume, combined with his reputation for rigorous, science-centered storytelling, made him a defining figure in mid-twentieth-century letters.

Early Life and Formative Influences

Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russian SFSR, to Russian Jewish parents—Anna Rachel Berman and Judah Asimov, son of a miller. In 1921, he and sixteen other children in the village contracted double pneumonia; he alone survived. The family emigrated to the United States, arriving in New York on February 3, 1923, when he was three. Growing up in Brooklyn, he taught himself to read at age five and became a naturalized U.S. citizen at eight. His parents ran a succession of candy stores that also sold newspapers and magazines, and Asimov credited this constant stream of reading material—including pulp science fiction—as a formative influence on his lifelong love of the written word. He began reading science fiction at nine, just as the genre was shifting toward a more science-centered approach. The family's surname itself carries a small story: it derives from azimy khleb, meaning "winter bread," and the father's 1923 decision to spell it with an S rather than a Z in the Latin alphabet gave the world the name "Asimov."

Legacy and Honors

Asimov's influence extends well beyond the printed page. He served as president of the American Humanist Association, reflecting his commitment to secular humanist values. Several entities bear his name in permanent tribute: the asteroid (5020) Asimov, a crater on Mars, a Brooklyn elementary school, and four literary awards. Perhaps most strikingly, Honda named its humanoid robot ASIMO after him—a fitting honor for a writer whose Robot series explored the relationship between humanity and artificial intelligence. His popular science books, including Guide to Science, the three-volume Understanding Physics, and Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery, explained complex concepts by tracing them back to their simplest historical origins. He also wrote guides to the Bible and Shakespeare, and covered topics ranging from chemistry and astronomy to mathematics, history, and literary criticism. This extraordinary range ensured that his name remained recognizable across disciplines long after his passing in 1992.