nelsonmilum’s #CBR5 review #07: Prelude to Foundation, by Isaac Asimov

Let’s read some fiction! My reviews so far have been predominantly outside of my literary comfort zone; non-fiction, contemporary, or autobiographical. I’m usually more of a light reader, so here are my thoughts on a classic. Over the next little while I’ll be reading the Isaac Asimov Foundation series. I’ve been reading fantasy style novels for the last 15 or so years, in that time I’ve been continually annoyed by the conflation of Science Fiction and Fantasy. The two are not a single genre and shouldn’t be thought of as such. But what makes people combine them? Why are Science Fiction and Fantasy so seemingly related that people often mistake them for the same genre? The biggest and in my opinion only similarity between Science Fiction and Fantasy is the more tangible escapism; you always know behind your suspension of disbelief that the story couldn’t be actually happening anywhere nearby. Science Fiction uses technology and ideas about science as its device whereas Fantasy uses magic and superstition.

All that aside, lets get into the review.