Foundation is one of the greatest space dramas ever written. It was a huge inspiration for Star Wars. And now, I've heard they're going to do a movie version of it. Directed by... Roland Emmerich.
Shit. Oh well, have some related fanart:
Hari Seldon himself. Despite dying in the first year of the Foundation's history, he is a constantly felt force in the ripples of history throughout the series. The first and last of the great psychohistorians.
Salvor Hardin, the first of the Mayors and one of the greatest leaders of the Foundation. He had numerous epigrams, among them Asimov's personal favorite:
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."
This guy is one of the greatest Magnificent Bastards ever, only surpassed by Hari Seldon himself and...
Hober Mallow, the first of the Merchant Princes. He's a cunning commander, warrior, trader, and politician all in one. In the radio play of Foundation, he is the smoothest motherfucker you will ever meet.
Of course, there are kinks in every plan and Seldon's is no different. The Mule was that kink-A mutant capable of controlling the emotions and wills of men who very nearly conquered the galaxy if not for the Second Foundation:
The First Foundation preserved and advanced the physical sciences, while the Second advanced the mental sciences, becoming powerful psychics in their own right. It was them who ultimately defeated the Mule.
The Foundation was free, but it had found a new problem... The Second Foundation itself.
Second Foundation detailed the Second Foundation's efforts to get the First Foundation back on track, all the while the First was seeking out the Second. Something that might ruin Seldon's plan which had already gotten off track thanks to the Mule.
Unusually, the hero of this story was a heroine-A teenaged girl named Arkady Darell.