The second act introduces Arcadia Darrel, descendent of the protagonists of Foundation and Empire‘s second half. I suppose that’s only to be expected, when Hari Seldon and his Foundations have everything planned out ahead of time. Now, while there is a conspiracy afoot and an active plot, there’s no real sense of threat to proceedings. We get viewpoints from various inconsequential characters, and much of the story piece consists of seemingly inconsequential dialogue. This first act is also odd in that very little happens. A truly sympathetic antagonist, he is largely kept off the page this time around, but the shadow he casts is a long one. Again the Mule proves to be one of Asimov’s greatest characters. The first act follows on directly from the events of the second book, with the Mule triumphant and now on the hunt for the Second Foundation. As with Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation is formed of two novellas, set several decades apart. Second Foundation marks the end of the original trilogy formed of Asimov’s ‘Foundation’ short stories. But the Mule cannot be content with his victory, for somewhere out there is the last threat to his power: Hari Seldon’s Second Foundation. The Foundation has fallen, conquered by the superhuman Mule. spoilers for the entire Foundation universe.
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