I really like how Asimov wraps up the extended Foundation series. Specifically, I’d previously complained while reading Pebble in the Sky that it was hard to believe that everyone simply forgets that they originated on Earth — this book and Foundation’s Edge go a long way to resolving that annoyance for me. Its also good to find out what happened to Aurora and Solaria finally — especially given the Solaria mystery has been bothering me since Robots and Empire.
Speaking just about this book so a moment, I do find the use of sex as a plot development method quite odd. There are three examples that bother me — when Bliss is slipped through interstellar customs with the explanation that she’s just a whore and therefore not important enough to make an issue of; the second is when Trevize basically shags his way out of an awkward situation, despite the other protagonist being quite hostile initially; and finally where he bonks someone on a rural world. I find all three of those incidents a little out of place with the rest of the book, and in fact the rest of the series. Other authors use those kinds of plot elements, but they seem out of place in Asimov’s work.
Overall, I loved this book and it was a good conclusion to the series.
[isbn: 0586071105]