Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Series

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I’m getting really into reading second hand science fiction from the 1950s onward. I read a few (but nowhere near all) of the Foundation series as a child, and I remember liking them a lot. Stolen from Wikipedia as well as other online sources, here is a list of the books in The Foundation series in Asimov’s suggested reading order…

The Robot Short Stories

Short storyPublication year of primary anothologyContained in The Complete Robot?Notes

I, Robot

Robbie1950Yes.Readings: one; two.

The first collection, all present in The Complete Robot.
RunaroundYes.
ReasonYes.
Catch That RabbitYes.
Liar!Yes.
Little Lost RobotYes.
Escape!Yes.
EvidenceYes.
The Evitable ConflictYes.

The Rest of the Robots

Robot Al-76 Goes Astray1964Yes.Readings: one.

The second collection, all present in The Complete Robot.
Victory UnintentionalYes.
First LawYes.
Let's Get TogetherYes.
Satisfaction GauranteedYes.
RiskYes.
LennyYes.
Galley SlaveYes.

Robot Dreams (only the stories not in the previous two books)

Robot Dreams1986No.Readings: one.
Breeds There a Man...?No.
HostessNo.
SallyYes
StrikebreakerNo.
The Machine That Won The WarNo.
Eyes Do More Than SeeNo.
The Martian WayNo.
FranchiseNo.
JokesterNo.
The Last QuestionNo.
Does a Bee Care?No.
Light VerseYes.
The Feeling of PowerNo.
Spell My Name with an "S"No.
The Ugly Little BoyNo.
The Billiard BallNo.
True LoveYes.
The Last AnswerNo.
Lest We RememberNo.

The Complete Robot (only the stories not in the previous three books)

A Boy's Best Friend1982Readings: one.
Point of View
Stranger in Paradise
...That Thou Art Mindful of Him

Robot Visions (only the stories not in the previous four books)

Robot Visions1990No.Readings: one.
Too Bad!No.
Feminine IntuitionYes
The Bicentennial ManYes
SomedayYes
Think!
Yes
SegregationistYes
Mirror ImageYes
Christmas Without RodneyNo.

Recommendations: read The Complete Robot end to end, and then read the new stories only found in Robot Dreams and Robot Visions.

 

Year Title Notes
1992 The Positronic Man Robot novel based on Asimov’s short story The Bicentennial Man, co-written by Robert Silverberg.
1954 The Caves of Steel Robot novel.
1957 The Naked Sun Robot novel.
1983 The Robots of Dawn Robot novel.
1985 Robots and Empire Robot novel.
1993 Isaac Asimov’s Caliban Caliban trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen. These three books were quite hard to get, as they’re no longer for sale.
1994 Isaac Asimov’s Inferno Caliban trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen. These three books were quite hard to get, as they’re no longer for sale.
1996 Isaac Asimov’s Utopia Caliban trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen. These three books were quite hard to get, as they’re no longer for sale.
1951 The Stars, Like Dust Galactic Empire series.
1952 The Currents of Space Galactic Empire series.
1950 Pebble in the Sky Galactic Empire series.
1988 Prelude to Foundation Foundation novel.
1993 Forward the Foundation Foundation novel. Finished by Asimov’s wife after his death from unfinished work. Combines a series of short stories: “Forward the Foundation”, became Part I, “Eto Demerzel”. “Cleon the Emperor” became Part II, “Cleon I”,
and “The Consort” became Part III, “Dors Venabili”. Also includes “Wanda Seldon” and “Epilogue”.
1951 Foundation Foundation trilogy.
1952 Foundation and Empire Foundation trilogy.
1953 Second Foundation Foundation trilogy.
1997 Foundation’s Fear Second Foundation trilogy by Gregory Benford. The general consensus seems to be that this book isn’t very good, but the other two are worth reading. Perhaps skip
this one (although the other two will make less sense unless you read a plot synopsis of this book).
1998 Foundation and Chaos Second Foundation trilogy by Greg Bear.
1999 Foundation’s Triumph Second Foundation trilogy by David Brin.
1982 Foundation’s Edge Final chronological Foundation books.
1986 Foundation and Earth Final chronological Foundation books.

Next step, read them.

Updates: This Foundation Series timeline is useful too. This page contains a useful list mapping short stories to later Foundation books. I have also reworked this post to be more helpful in a re-read of the best of these books in 2025 onwards.