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Asimov's Robot/Empire/Foundation universe (modified chronological order)
7 participants (11 books)
Overview
This reading order for Isaac Asimov's R/E/F universe is based primarily on the internal chronological order but puts the prequels after the sequels to avoid spoilers and give a better sense of the story's development. There are events referred to in the prequels which assume you've already read the sequels.
I, Robot is a fixup novel of 9 short stories wrapped in a framing narrative. While highly recommended, it's not strictly necessary in order to understand the later books, so it's bonus.
I, Robot is a fixup novel of 9 short stories wrapped in a framing narrative. While highly recommended, it's not strictly necessary in order to understand the later books, so it's bonus.
There are 3 more short stories that are connected to the R/E/F universe, but they're also not entirely necessary, so they're also bonus.
- "The Bicentennial Man"
- "Mother Earth"
- "Mirror Image"
There is a collection called The Complete Robot which includes "The Bicentennial Man" and "Mirror Image" as well as the 9 I, Robot stories (but not the framing narrative) and 20 more robot stories, but it isn't on the list because most of them are not connected or consistent with the R/E/F universe.
The Empire stories are set in the R/E/F universe, but they don't share any plot connections with each other or any other story on the list, so they're bonus and mostly included for completeness.
- The Stars, Like Dust
- The Currents of Space
- Pebble in the Sky
- "Blind Alley"
While not part of the main series, The End of Eternity is referenced in Foundation's Edge, so it's included as bonus.
Full chronological order:
- The End of Eternity
-
Robot:
- I, Robot
- "The Bicentennial Man”
- "Mother Earth"
- The Caves of Steel
- The Naked Sun
- "Mirror Image"
- The Robots of Dawn
- Robots and Empire
-
Empire:
- The Stars, Like Dust
- The Currents of Space
- Pebble in the Sky
- "Blind Alley"
-
Foundation:
-
Prequels:
- Prelude to Foundation
- Forward the Foundation
-
Original Trilogy:
- Foundation
- Foundation and Empire
- Second Foundation
-
Sequels:
- Foundation's Edge
- Foundation and Earth
-
Prequels:
Asimov's Robot/Empire/Foundation universe (modified chronological order)
7 participants (11 books)
Overview
This reading order for Isaac Asimov's R/E/F universe is based primarily on the internal chronological order but puts the prequels after the sequels to avoid spoilers and give a better sense of the story's development. There are events referred to in the prequels which assume you've already read the sequels.
I, Robot is a fixup novel of 9 short stories wrapped in a framing narrative. While highly recommended, it's not strictly necessary in order to understand the later books, so it's bonus.
I, Robot is a fixup novel of 9 short stories wrapped in a framing narrative. While highly recommended, it's not strictly necessary in order to understand the later books, so it's bonus.
There are 3 more short stories that are connected to the R/E/F universe, but they're also not entirely necessary, so they're also bonus.
- "The Bicentennial Man"
- "Mother Earth"
- "Mirror Image"
There is a collection called The Complete Robot which includes "The Bicentennial Man" and "Mirror Image" as well as the 9 I, Robot stories (but not the framing narrative) and 20 more robot stories, but it isn't on the list because most of them are not connected or consistent with the R/E/F universe.
The Empire stories are set in the R/E/F universe, but they don't share any plot connections with each other or any other story on the list, so they're bonus and mostly included for completeness.
- The Stars, Like Dust
- The Currents of Space
- Pebble in the Sky
- "Blind Alley"
While not part of the main series, The End of Eternity is referenced in Foundation's Edge, so it's included as bonus.
Full chronological order:
- The End of Eternity
-
Robot:
- I, Robot
- "The Bicentennial Man”
- "Mother Earth"
- The Caves of Steel
- The Naked Sun
- "Mirror Image"
- The Robots of Dawn
- Robots and Empire
-
Empire:
- The Stars, Like Dust
- The Currents of Space
- Pebble in the Sky
- "Blind Alley"
-
Foundation:
-
Prequels:
- Prelude to Foundation
- Forward the Foundation
-
Original Trilogy:
- Foundation
- Foundation and Empire
- Second Foundation
-
Sequels:
- Foundation's Edge
- Foundation and Earth
-
Prequels:
Challenge Books
20
(bonus)
The End of Eternity
Isaac Asimov
While not exactly part of the series, this book is referenced in Foundations Edge, so it is included as bonus.