# Foundation by Isaac Asimov

7 Hacker News commenters recommended Foundation by Isaac Asimov and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as an early classic that anticipated current AI and forecasting debates, with psychohistory at its core. Critics say it feels dated and the later sequels muddy the original.

## Why people recommend it

- Still very good today (3 comments): "foundation series is still very good (probably because it's not really character-focused)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46936356)) "A must read for anyone who hasn’t read it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46347019)) "I loved the Foundation series" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46909887))

## What people warn about

- Feels stuffy and dated (2 comments): "doesn't stop them feeling stuffy and dated now" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47810323)) "they just didn’t hold up as well as I hoped" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46398153))
- Sequels and prequels muddle original (2 comments): "Asimov pulled a Lucas and cluttered it with sequels and prequels that muddled it with connections to his robot novels" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47317013)) "retcon the most interesting concepts of the original book as ruses, conspiracies, and lies" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46913410))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir](https://hackerapproved.com/p/project-hail-mary.md): 117 recommend
- [There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/there-is-no-antimemetics-division.md): 98 recommend
- [Blindsight by Peter Watts](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blindsight.md): 96 recommend
- [Dune by Frank Herbert](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dune.md): 82 recommend
- [Accelerando by Charles Stross](https://hackerapproved.com/p/accelerando.md): 71 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Foundation+series+by+Isaac+Asimov&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Foundation by Isaac Asimov", https://hackerapproved.com/p/foundation-series/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).