Editor & Site Owner
Jason Guo
I'm the owner and editor of this independent Foundation reference site. It covers reading order, character history, and book-to-screen differences, researched and written with the help of AI tools and reviewed by me.
How I came to the books
I first read Foundation about ten years ago, in Chinese translation. The opening, with Seldon arriving on Trantor, didn't grab me at first, but the further I read, the harder it was to stop. I read the entire Foundation series in one go, then read every Asimov novel I could find.
About two years ago I reread the complete saga from start to finish, in chronological order, which is still the order I recommend for a first full read. That reread is also when I discovered the Apple TV+ series. What stays with me most is the scale of the world Asimov built, and psychohistory, the idea that history might be predictable at scale.
I built this site because I love Asimov and the Foundation books, and I believe many science fiction fans around the world feel the same way. Professionally, I founded technology startups; today I build AI applications and run websites.
How I research a page
Much of the research and writing on this site is done with the help of AI tools. Book facts are checked against reference sources such as Wikipedia's plot summaries and the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB), and TV facts against Apple's official announcements and established news coverage. I review what gets published. If the show invents a character, a dynasty, or a plot turn, the page says so instead of folding it into the books.
My own opinions appear under the heading “My Take” and are signed. Other interpretation is labeled as analysis. I do not present a reading of psychohistory, the Seldon Plan, or a character motive as if it were a plot fact. When a page compares book and screen, the split is explicit: what Asimov wrote, what the series changed, and why the change matters for someone coming from one side or the other.
When a factual error is reported and verified, I correct it on the page. If you spot an error, email contact@asimovseries.com. The editorial policy explains source hierarchy and how corrections are handled.
What I review
Reading order, character histories, book-to-screen differences, and claims about Asimov's canon are checked against reference sources before publication. Apple TV+ facts are checked against official announcements and established coverage.
Corrections
Reported errors are verified and corrected on the page. Interpretation is labeled as analysis, and television inventions are not presented as book canon.
Start with these guides
- Foundation reading order — publication order, chronological order, and the Core Seven path.
- Books vs. the TV show — what the adaptation keeps, changes, and invents.
- Psychohistory as control — why the Seldon Plan is social engineering, not prophecy.
- The Mule — the mutant who breaks the mathematics.