"Foundation and Earth" by Isaac Asimov

After reading five books in the Foundation series, I'm tired of Isaac! Even though every book is somewhat similar yet entirely unlike the previous one, the style, the plot twists, and the characters become too "familiar." Especially Trevize and Pelorat — I got so tired of them. If Isaac virtuously shuffled and interconnected the characters in the first four books, this time, the whole book is about these two (plus one) people.

The first half of the book was disappointing from the sci-fi standpoint. The author introduced too few cool scientific concepts in it! However, the second half is denser with the events and fascinating tech. If I had to drag myself through the first 50%, the rest was almost a breeze to read.

The ending explains everything, but in Asimov's nature, it happens in roughly the last 15-20 pages of the book. I could also see how Isaac worked on connecting the Foundation series to the Robot series. Even though I want to read the Robot series, I don't think I have enough endurance to push through any more Asimov in the next little while. Not to mention the two prequels to the Foundation series — I can't make myself spend more time with Isaac now. Or considering the ending of the Foundation series — I don't know if the prequels are worth reading, knowing the plot points from the last chronological book.

However, I have to note that the concepts Asimov came up with in the Foundation series were groundbreaking, and I could see how it inspired the "Remembrance of Earth's Past" trilogy (I mean, Liu Cixin outright mentions it in one of the books). Reading the source material that inspired a lot of sci-fi is fascinating.

Overall, I'd recommend reading the Foundation series to familiarize yourself with where all the sci-fi came from. However, maybe, unlike me, start with the prequels so that you have the strength to finish the whole saga.