Foundation

Content Ratings

No Romance

There is no romantic content; the novel focuses entirely on political and historical forces at the civilizational scale.

Mild Themes

The novel explores the inevitability of civilizational collapse, the manipulation of societies through statistical prediction, and the tension between individual agency and historical determinism.

No Violence

Conflict is primarily political and economic; violence is referenced as a backdrop of galactic decline but is not depicted directly or graphically.

Synopsis

As the Galactic Empire begins its long decline, mathematician Hari Seldon uses the science of psychohistory to predict the coming dark age and establishes the Foundation on a remote planet to preserve civilization and shorten the period of chaos from thirty thousand years to one. Told through a series of linked stories spanning generations, the novel follows the Foundation's crises and political maneuverings as it navigates the collapse around it. A cornerstone of science fiction, sweeping in scope and propelled by ideas rather than action.