Foundation
Foundation by Isaac Asimovby Isaac Asimov
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 9 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Asimov's classic space opera, praised for its ideas and the first book. The Apple TV series is liked for its production and cast, but critics say it departs sharply from the novels.
Asimov's classic space opera, praised for its ideas and the first book. The Apple TV series is liked for its production and cast, but critics say it departs sharply from the novels.
59 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 43
- criticize it
- 16
- approval share
- 73%
Recommended in 12 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 43 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 12 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Classic ideas and first book
“Ender's Game and Foundation are timeless classics”
Comment from 16 May 2026 in “Accelerando (2005)” “The book was just as brilliant as before”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Why Read Novels?” “The first book is outstanding.”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “Review of 1984 by Isaac Asimov (1980)” - Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Neuromancer (TV Series) – IMDB”
Lee Pace's performance
“Lee Pace did an awesome performance recently in Asimov's Foundation.”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)” “He's also really great in the show Foundation”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)” “Foundation (also Lee Pace and also stellar).”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)” - Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”
- Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”
- Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”
- Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”
Strong production and cast
“the plot of Apple's "The Foundation" is an infuriating insult to the original series. However, the production is great”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)” “foundation has an incredible cast but even among such talent he's a clear outlier”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)” Dynasty storyline highs
“The idea of the genetic dynasty with brothers Dawn/Day/Dusk, as well as how Demerzel fits in has been pretty great, and none of that was in the novels.”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “Rendezvous with Rama” “Foundation has decent highs especially with the dynasty and invictus in season two, but the lows are loooww.”
Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “Tim Cook to become Apple Executive Chairman”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
TV plot contradicts the novels
“the plot of Apple's "The Foundation" is an infuriating insult to the original series. However, the production is great”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)” “My problem is that the show essentially "says" the opposite of the novels.”
Comment from 19 Feb 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)” “write rambling, uninspired sequels that ruin the original work”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “Review of 1984 by Isaac Asimov (1980)” - Comment from 19 Apr 2026 in “Apple TV's Upcoming Cyberpunk Series Will Be the Matrix Meets Blade Runner”
Superpowers and mind control plot
“I liked that the original was about more or less competent people making decisions”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Neuromancer (TV Series) – IMDB” “Foundation is so disappointing because the science of civilization turned out to be a front for mind controllers”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “What the Fuck Happened to Nerds”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Foundationby Isaac AsimovThis page | 43 | 16 | 73% | 12 | — | Approved |
What people said
40 of the 64 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“If you're looking for something outside the Trek formula, one recommendation I'd share is "The Foundation"”
“those I revisit and watch when and if I've got time”
“listened to Foundation and I definitely recommend all.”
“We've built a new context layer for organizations called Foundation.”
“I've also built an open source FAL/OpenRouter”
“Almost everyone having superpowers feels like a betrayal of the values of the books.”
“I liked that the original was about more or less competent people making decisions”
“All the current popular city builders work fine (eg. Timberborn, Foundation, Manor Lords).”
“Foundation is so disappointing because the science of civilization turned out to be a front for mind controllers”
“Ender's Game and Foundation are timeless classics”
“Foundation has decent highs especially with the dynasty and invictus in season two, but the lows are loooww.”
“pretty terrible at understanding what the books are about”
“It's done really well personally, but hey, this is a way to make the money come in longer.”
“it's been long enough since I read them that I didn't feel too annoyed”
“The idea of the genetic dynasty with brothers Dawn/Day/Dusk, as well as how Demerzel fits in has been pretty great, and none of that was in the novels.”
“I actually like the Apple TV version, but it's definitely its own thing.”
“My problem is that the show essentially "says" the opposite of the novels.”
“He's also really great in the show Foundation”
“Is it good? Yes, sorta. But it's not Foundation, by any stretch.”
“best appreciated as an original space opera that just happens to have the same name”
“the plot of Apple's "The Foundation" is an infuriating insult to the original series. However, the production is great”
“Lee Pace did an awesome performance recently in Asimov's Foundation.”
“some say he carries the show”
“Lee Pace was also excellent in "Foundation".”
“he carried that entire show”
“foundation has an incredible cast but even among such talent he's a clear outlier”
“Foundation (also Lee Pace and also stellar).”
“I loved how he killed it in Foundation”
“Not as good as Foundation but up there with Nightfall”
“Foundation is still worth the read despite the glaring and obvious fault.”
“write rambling, uninspired sequels that ruin the original work”
“The first book is outstanding.”
“You can't just stop with the first book.”
“I enjoyed reading "Foundation" recently. The total lack of female characters was jarring to say the least. Worth the read if you haven't.”
“Apple has proven with numerous shows over the past few years that they can be trusted with this task.”
“The book was just as brilliant as before”
“Both very enjoyable reads, but quite different from the modern interpretations.”
“there's really good stuff that I've loved”
“It was delightfully retrofuturist (or whatever the opposite of anachronistic is).”
“doesn't seem to know or care exactly what the rules of its universe are”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.