Foundation and Empire

So far, so good. As much as I've loved Foundation, the first volume, "Foundation and Empire" lacks the novelty of discovery. But it is nonetheless griping and, as seems usual with Asimov's books, is very very well written indeed. It really shows that Asimov really cares about the story because I've been stuck in the book from cover to cover for the last 4-5 days.

Let me sum the story up now. The book as two parts:

• Part I : The General : The first part of the book covers the war between the falling Empire and the Foundation. The Foundation has lifted from nothing to the most powerful state in the galaxy in just about 2 centuries. Bel Riose, a young and brilliant general dedicated to the Empire, with the help of Brodrig, the "corrupted faithful" servant of the Emperor, will try to defeat the Foundation and the "dead hand" of Hari Seldon and its history path; and to achieve this goal, he's deploying and inclosure of ships to overtake planets and surround Terminus. Lathan Devers, an independent trader, and Ducem Barr of Siwenna, a long-time Empire rebel, will do all they can, and will even kill Bel Riose on their way, to stop the Empire; but their acts amount to nothing. Contrarily to the previous 4 Seldon Crises, no man will single-handedly save the Foundation, but the Foundation victory, in the form of a recall of all ships to the Empire, is largely due to sociological and historical factors. In the end, it's the emperor Cleon II himself, who remains strong because he allows no strong subject, who allows the Empire defeat. The Seldon plan has foreseen right, and can go on.
• Part II : The Mule : The Mule conquers worlds effortlessly : in just a couple of years, he has conquered his first base on an asteroid, then a planet, then the world of Kargan, a rich leisure-world, and its navy, and then... the Foundation. But the Mule - the man - no one has seen. The Mule is said to be a mutant, of great - but unknown - power. Just married Bayta (a young Foundation girl) and Toran (a trader from the Periphery) will try to save the Seldon plan. With the help of Captain Han Pritcher, they save Magnifico, the Mule's terrified clown and their only eye-witness, but all they get is that the Mule uses this as a pretext to trigger the war on Foundation. Down in the Vault, with psychologist Ebling Mis, they witness the 5th apparition of Hari Seldon, awaiting his help as to how to counter the Mule: but Hari Seldon quietly explains that the power of the Mayor is too strong and that of the trader is too independent: a common agreement must take place between them. That is true (all the more so since the Mayor is no longer elected, but is the heir of his father; and since the traders are largely rich and independent, but politically rebellious), but that also means that Hari Seldon had not foreseen the Mule: the Seldon Plan is in shatters! Tora, Baytan, Magnifico and Mis flee to Trantor, the metal-covered planet, the ex-capital of the mighty Empire, in order to find traces of the second Foundation, to warn them of the Mule. Since the great Sack of the civil war, Trantor is left in ruins; the remaining inhabitants tear the metal open to reveal the grounds and revert to agriculture. There, Ebling Mis works feverishly, rebuilds part of Seldon's psycho-history in the library, to find the location of the second Foundation and, just as he is about to reveal it, Bayta kills him. The truth had fallen on her : Magnifico is the Mule, and he must not found the second Foundation; The Mule, ruler of the new Empire, who can point any human's emotion to his will, has been fooled by Bayta, he'll have to find another way to the Foundation.

I can't wait to read the third volume!