In fact, though, the bulk of Asimov’s science fiction pages were actually dedicated to long, probing conversations among small groups of people. An intrepid team of desperate scientists, exiled to a barren world, secretly plot to save a decaying galactic empire from itself-with trillions of lives at stake! Dashing traders! Imperial raiders! Palace intrigue!

In summary the plots of Asimov’s stories often sound like they should be exciting, the Foundation stories very much included. In the WWII-era Golden Age of science fiction, Asimov helped advance the genre by defying the conventions of pulpish adventure stories writing puzzle-like plots informed by his study of science and world history as well as his fondness for mystery stories. would be a matter of particular interest to Asimov: it’s Foundation, the forthcoming Apple TV+ series based on what the trailer describes as Asimov’s own “groundbreaking novels.” The late grand master, who reserved the more dignified abbreviation “s.f.” for literary science fiction, held out hope that one day, “visual science fiction may graduate from sci-fi to s.f.” Whether the epic spectacular described above will qualify as eye-sci-fi or s.f. “Since the show-business people and journalists who talk about image-science-fiction refer to it, abominably, as sci-fi, suppose we call image-science-fiction i-sci-fi or, better yet, eye-sci-fi.”

“In the movies and television, science fiction deals primarily with images, so we might call it image-science-fiction,” he wrote in 1979. An awe-inspiring display of sweeping vistas rendered with the latest special effects technology: vast cities! Towering idols! Brave stands! Smoldering kisses in steamy pools! Vast spacecraft erupting in explosions, while desperate soldiers in armored suits pummel each other with the butts of laser rifles. Fire raining down from space onto a planet besieged.

Foundation by Isaac Asimov