Books I've read since last posting

Unnatural Causes by P D James (very good)
The Compass Rose by Ursula le Guin (very good)
Winning Can be Murder by Bill Crider (very average)
Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov
Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov
Consider Her Ways and Others by John Wyndham (brilliant)

Foundation - Isaac Asimov

The first book of Asimov's most famous series, focusing on the fall of the Galactic Empire 10,000 years in the future and the attempts by one man to safeguard the knowledge and resurrection of civilisation.

Asimov's talents are more in the realm of concepts and ideas, rather than dialogue and characterisation. The book, however, has stood the test of time and is required reading to appreciate the later novels.