Looking for a link between two story lines

April 19, 2003 5:21 PM from

Yes I know this is a skinning site, but there are a lot of literate folks on this board, so I hope for an answer.

This question involves the Robots series and the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov.

At the end of the last book of Robot series, Robots and Empire, R. Giskard gave R. Daneel telepathic ability and then ceased functioning (very sad). Giskard had also been toying with the theory of Psychohistory and had discussed it with Daneel.

The first book of the foundation series that I can find Prelude to Foundation, has Hari Seldon as the inventor and founder of Psychohistory.

So, there is a missing book, it would seem. What ever happened do Daneel? How did the idea of Psychohistory get from Daneel to Hari Seldon? Was this just two parallel lines of thought by two different individuals. If anybody knows I would appreciate it.

Thanks,

werewolf

3,669 views 15 replies

Reply #1 April 19, 2003 6:50 PM from

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werewolf,
I have the books of the Foundation Trilogy listed as Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. I read them over 20 years ago so I don't really remember much about them. If you can't find these books drop me a note.

Reply #2 April 19, 2003 9:02 PM from

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Great series Hole lot of ins and outs In that one

Reply #3 April 19, 2003 9:06 PM from

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Actualy one of the books has R Daniels pretending to be a very influncial human through most of the book then gets revealed to be the none other infamous R DANIELS But I cant remember the book Title good Luck (Goog God)

Reply #4 April 19, 2003 9:15 PM from

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The Fondation 'series' was one of those typical SF 'trilogies' written by an author who failed math.
It 'was' a trilogy....the first book was called 'Foundation'. 'Prelude', 'Robots and Empire' etc were all written later, as I recall...

Even 'Dune' was a trilogy once....Dune, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune'....but both Asimov and Herbert couldn't count for nuts....

Reply #5 April 19, 2003 10:34 PM from

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I think it was Piers Anthony who at one point after completiing his latest Xanth novel at that time jokingly said he'd just finished the 8th book or so in the Xanth Trilogy

Reply #6 April 19, 2003 10:52 PM from

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or Douglas Adams when he released the fourth book in "the inappropriately named Hitch-hiker trilogy".

Reply #7 April 20, 2003 6:02 AM from

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I Robot, The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, The robots of the Dawn, Robots and Empire, The currents of Space, The Stars like Dust, Pebble in the Sky, Prelude to Foundation, Forward The Foundation, Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Second Foundation, Foundation's Edge, Foundation and Earth.

I guess thats the complete Asimov Foundation Series, there were a bunch of books set in the universe, not written by him that fit in there somewhere but i dunno.

Jafo - Asimov could certainly count - HE never referred to the Foundation stories as a trilogy - Remember - they were written and published in serial form in the magazine 'Astounding', and only put in book form (as a trilogy) by the publisher, much, much later

Reply #8 April 20, 2003 6:15 AM from

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or Douglas Adams when he released the fourth book in "the inappropriately named Hitch-hiker trilogy".

Actually there were five books in the trilogy

I've read them all

Reply #9 April 20, 2003 6:21 AM from

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Bring back the Lensman series, they were great reading

Reply #10 April 20, 2003 6:24 AM from

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Jafo: of course they can count. money - years of expenses + wildly popular franchise = 5 book trilogy.

Reply #11 April 20, 2003 8:10 AM from

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Cavanaugh is right, of course....but the Q is...in what order were they written?...

Reply #12 April 20, 2003 9:09 AM from

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Thanks folks for your input. I have pretty much all of Asimov's science fiction books (short stories, collections and the like)...takes up a pretty nice chunk of my library

I thought I might have missed one somewhere. I am also aware of all of the other Foundation books written by other authors and am not really interested in those. I have done research on this 'missing link' but just can't come up with the transition of knowledge from Daneel to Seldon. So, it's time I get a life

and just go on. I'm re-reading, for the umpteenth time the whole robot, empire, and foundation series' and was just trying to get the books timeline correct. Asimov is just awesome.

Reply #13 April 20, 2003 10:32 PM from

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hrm - im not quite sure what order they were written in - but i gave the chronological storyline order

Reply #14 April 20, 2003 10:34 PM from

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So was the second "Second Foundation" before or after the first "Second Foundation"?

Reply #15 April 20, 2003 10:39 PM from

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Guess I better put down my J.R.R. Tolkien books and read these...NOT! Long live Frodo and SF.

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