Foundation and Earth

De: Isaac Asimov

Narrado por: Larry McKeever

The Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov are among the great masterworks of science fiction. An ingenious blend of nonstop action, daring ideas, and extensive world-building, they chronicle the struggle of a courageous group of men and women determined to shield enlightened humanity from a ceaseless threat of darkness and ultimate annihilation.

Golan Trevize, former councilman of the First Foundation, has chosen the future, and it is Gaia. A superorganism, Gaia is a holistic planet with a common consciousness so intensely united that every dewdrop, every pebble, every being, can speak for all - and feel for all. It is a realm in which privacy is not only undesirable, it is incomprehensible. But is it the right choice for the destiny of mankind? While Trevize feels it is, that is not enough. He must know.

Trevize believes the answer lies at the site of humanity’s roots: fabled Earth...if it still exists. For no one is sure where the planet of Gaia’s first settlers is to be found in the immense wilderness of the galaxy. Nor can anyone explain why no record of Earth has been preserved, no mention of it made anywhere in Gaia’s vast world-memory. It is an enigma Trevize is determined to resolve and a quest he is determined to undertake, at any cost.

Listen to all of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, including (in chronological order):

Prelude to FoundationForward the FoundationFoundationFoundation and Empire Second FoundationFoundation's EdgeFoundation and Earth

©1986 Nightfall, Inc (P)2011 Random House Audio

Excellent book, poor narration

I love the storyline after listening to the previous 4 recordings from Audible, but the narration of this one makes listening into more of a chore than something enjoyable. For some reason the series switches from Scott Brick's excellent narration to what sounds like an 80s Speak & Spell for the last installment. The lack of differentiation between characters is disconcerting, especially having just listened to Foundation's Edge where the narrator gives the main characters (who return in Foundation and Earth) very distinctive tones.

Great continuation of the series! Drab narrator.

What did you like best about this story?

It's great to hear a continuation of the

Would you be willing to try another one of Larry McKeever???s performances?

Almost certainly not. His reading style reminds me a educational films in high school. There's inflection, but very little enthusiasm. I don't feel like the narrator is engaged at all in telling the story.

Good story, poor narration

I'll keep this short, it's really difficult and jarring to go from a high quality narrator like Scott Brick to Larry McKeever. I'm sure that Larry on his own is a quality narrator, but when compared to Scott Brick it seems like amateur hour. I also find it difficult to go from Edge of Foundation where Scott Brick's voice is established as Trevise etc and then go to McKeever voicing the same characters, it's a bit odd.

This would have been much better with Brick narrating.

monotone reader......

Loved the story. Very different from the other books, but still enjoyable. The narrator was.... harder to listen too. He was very monotone for all characters.

Great content reader was ok

The content is great but the reader is very robotic. I thought I would get over it after a while but it was just too much.

Quite enjoyable despite negative reviews

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I am quite enjoying this. I'm about half way through so far. This narrator certainly does less vocal performance, but I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing. There are plenty of times where I find the more enthusiastic vocal performances to be somewhat cringe inducing, so its refreshing to have a narrator who doesn't embellish. Not that I find the narrator on the other audiobooks to be bad, I just find the performance can be a bit extreme at times whereas this focuses purely on the story which is, of course, excellent as it is written by Isaac Asimov. I also believe that there is some issues with the actual recording equipment in earlier chapters that caused a slight saturation effect which people are interpreting as robotic, but by no means does it make the audiobook unenjoyable - I could be wrong here though, I honestly don't have an issue with the performance.

Good Book

If you could sum up Foundation and Earth in three words, what would they be?

Great Follow Up

What did you like best about this story?

The fact that it picks up where the other foundation books end and continue with the story.

What does Larry McKeever bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Good reader easy to listen to.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The interaction between the characters.

Any additional comments?

I don't think the Narrator was bad, he read clearly and was easy to listen to, don't understand the other comments that run him down.

The reader was a robot

The monotone and monopaced reader made this a difficult listen. It was only the quality of the story that kept me going.

A Masterpiece from Asimov

A great book. Growing up with Asimov's stories, it was so fun to go back in time & absorb Earth series again. A wonderful make - Believe Galaxy to travel with an incredible Spaceship.

A departure from the Foundation

Fun story, thoroughly enjoyable. Still, I cannot help but wish for a return of the Seldon plan story arch.
Overall it was a good way to connect Asimov's two series.