I really loved Foundation, so naturally I wanted to read the next book in the series, Foundation and Empire, fairly soon... What I found was a very different book from the first one, much more "concentrated," and with a very different tone!
In fact, one of the weak points of the book is going to affect the review, because Foundation and Empire's plot is littered with deliberate surprises, to the point that it's a hard book to review without major spoilers, but I'll try.
This book has two parts instead of five, meaning a lot more focus on a smaller cast of characters and a lot less of a perspective through time. The first part details the attempts of the dying Empire to defeat the Foundation, where we find some interesting philosophy (including Why the Empire Can No Longer Conquer) and some good tension and action. This part follows an Empire general's efforts to justify and prosecute a war against the Foundation, with limited success.
This part of the book has a lot of good tension, and the chapter titled "Bribery" is very well-executed. Most of the PoV of this part is from a trader and an old patrician, which means it's kind of passive, but still interesting, at least. The action in the last chapters of Part 1 is quite good, too.
One of the things I learned from reading this book is to keep your PoV character as close to the action as you can. Asimov should have done more of that.
Part 2 is where the book kind of flounders. It follows two people, Toran and Bayta, around the galaxy and the reader gets to see a few neat details about how espionage, war, tactics, and technology combine in Asimov's universe. Through Toran and Bayta we see the collapse of the Empire from the inside, as well as a final, desperate offshoot of the Empire as it perishes. It's a very cool depiction of a decaying capital.
However, Part 2 is also full of surprises that are integral enough to the plot that I prefer not to spoil them.
All in all, Foundation and Empire is still good, but it's a very different book from Foundation. The first was a schemer's paradise, with lots of well-planned intrigue and bluffs. It was subtle. Foundation and Empire is much closer to the adventure story mold, with lots more physical conflict and action.
A wasted opportunity in this book, compared to Foundation, comes from the fact that there are far fewer parts. You'd think a more concentrated story would give more opportunities for character depth and elements like that, but unfortunately we don't get much of that. I felt the characters were a lot more flat in this book, as opposed to the previous, where they had to be subtle. The fact that there is less time explored in this book means less time for long-term character development, too.
The itinerant nature of Toran and Bayta hurts the depth a bit as well, with weaker worldbuilding and a lot of time used up in transit. There are fewer perspectives and accordingly it feels a lot more black and white than Foundation.
On the plus side, we get some additional fun from seeing the predictions of psychohistory going awry, based on one of its axioms being proven wrong, as well as some interesting ideas in the form of mutation of humanity. It's even a bit Lensman-y in that sense.
We also get some nice little futurism hooks, like details of hyperspace travel, descriptions of ready-made space food, the idea of the Visi-Sonor (I won't spoil it), and the somewhat uneconomic concept of "credits."
Compared to the first book, this one was much more of a mixed bag for me. I felt "along for the ride" but not really as invested. However, there were some fun and interesting story elements and some nice action scenes. It's a step down from Foundation but still worth reading. I'm worried that Asimov will continue to keep our PoV away from the action in the next one, though...
Grab a copy here.
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