The Foundation and Robot Novels
by Isaac Asimov

In the 1950s Isaac Asimov wrote two of the greatest science fiction series of all time: the Foundation series and a Robot series.

The Foundation series begins with a trilogy of loosely connected stories about the rise and fall and rise of a galactic empire. The series is unified by the character of Hari Seldon and his science of psychohistory, the concept that the behaviors of humanity as a race can be predicted statistically. Seldon arranges to leave for future generations a series of messages that attempt to help leaders shorten the period of chaos between the fall of one galactice empire and the rise of a new civilization.

The Robot series begins with two science fiction mysteries featuring Elijah Baley, a human detective, and his android partner R. Daneel Olivaw.

In the 1980s Asimov began to write a series of novels attempting to unify these two series. These novels are listed here in the order of their internal chronology, not in their order of publication. The timeline here begins shortly after The Naked Sun, Asimov's second robot mystery; Forward the Foundation, the last novel in this series, takes place just before the events of Foundation.

The Foundation Trilogy

• Foundation
• Foundation and Empire
• Second Foundation

In 1966 this trilogy won a Hugo for Best All-Time Series.

The Robot Mysteries

• The Caves of Steel
• The Naked Sun

Foundation and Robots

• The Robots of Dawn
• Robots and Empire
• Prelude to Foundation
• Foundation's Edge
• Foundation and Earth
• Forward the Foundation

Preview: This novel takes place two years after the events of The Naked Sun. Baley is summoned to Aurora to help premier roboticist Han Fastolfe acquit himself of charges that he sabotaged effors to use robots to colonize the galaxy by destroying the humaniform robot Jander Panell whom Gladia has taken for her husband.. Baley discovers that Fastolfe's robot Giskard can read human minds and is manipulating events to ensure that no humans come to harm and to determine whether Earthmen should be the ones to settle the galaxy.

Asimov initiates a discussion of psychohistory in this novel.

Preview: It is now 200 years since the events of The Robots of Dawn. The humanoid robot R. Daneel Olivaw and the telepathic robot Giskard work with a descendent of Elijah Baley and with Gladia to try to make peace between Settlers and Traders and to thwart a plot to destroy Earth. Giskard allows Earth to become radioactive and thus ensuring that Earthers will expand into the galaxy. Before Giskard dies he makes Daneel Olivaw telepathic and charges Olivaw with supervising the expansion of Earthmen throughout the galaxy and locating the Solarians.

Daneel posits and is able to act on the Zeroth (0th) Law of Robotics: A robot may not injure humanity or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm." He modifies the First Law to accommodate the Zeroth Law. 0