An overlong but imaginative entry in the revived Foundation series, with a talky opening, an intriguing middle, and an illogical fade-out. Councilman Golan Trevize, having opted for the formation of a galaxy-wide, totally empathic super-organism, Galaxia, is now having second thoughts--and his doubts focus on a possible threat from the long-lost planet Earth. So, supplied with clues by historian Janes Pelorat, and protected by the powerful Gaian woman, Bliss, Trevize begins his search. (The debate pro and con Galaxia continues, meanwhile, in tiresome detail.) In the novel's best section, they touch down on various planets, including the old Spacer world Solaria, where the hermaphroditic Solarians live in solipsistic splendor, totally isolated from each other on their vast robot-run estates, casually controlling energy by means of their enlarged brains. Finally, on Earth's Moon, Trevize encounters robot Daneel Olivaw, now 20,000 years old; Daneel, with his highly advanced brain and psychic powers, has secretly been guiding the development of Galaxia all along. And, in a total non sequitur, Trevize realizes that what he really fears--why Galaxia must be formed--is the threat of invasion by extra-galactic aliens. Dreadfully long-winded--would that the characters sometimes reply with a simple ""yes"" or ""no""--and many longtime fans will prefer Daneel as a plain old robot-detective rather than a galactic super-brain. Yet, much here qualifies as vintage Asimov--Solaria has long been one of his finest creations--despite that disappointing, artificial finale. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Golan Trevize, former Councilman of the First Foundation, searches for the legendary ``lost planet'' Earth in the hopes that there he will find the key to developing a mentally unified organism that embraces all sentient beings, robotic as well as organic. Fifth in the Foundation series and part of Asimov's attempt to unite his three universes. (Ag 86 Upfront)

The fifth novel in Asimov's popular Foundation series opens with second thoughts. Councilman Golan Trevize is wondering if he was right to choose a collective mind as the best possible future for humanity over the anarchy of contentious individuals, nations and planets. To test his conclusion, he decides he must know the past and goes in search of legendary Earth, all references to which have been erased from galactic libraries. The societies encountered along the way become arguing points in a book-long colloquy about man's fate, conducted by Trevize and traveling companion Bliss, who is part of the first world/mind, Gaia. Springing from the same impulse that has fed his myriad nonfiction work, the novel's debate is enlivened by Asimov's fervid curiosity and his restless urge to explain everything, right down to the human passions that have largely vanished from his fiction. In fact, the characters, the tie-ins to Asimov's Robot series and the search's revelations suffer from the impersonal neatness that has handicapped Asimov's other fiction. He has, however, found an ingenious way around his clumsiness with novelistic narrative by employing a formal fairy tale structure in which the different worlds represent tasks or gifts or wishes, their fair aspect hiding a deadly surprise. As a result, this rather lightweight addendum to the series breathes in a way his heavier, more substantial books seldom do. Paperback rights to Ballantine/Del Rey; BOMC alternate. (October 3) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved