I’ve always believed in putting your best foot forward when entering a discussion, and in my mind, that puts Foundation by Isaac Asimov as my first recommended series. While the name Foundation seems a rather bland name, the concepts and ideas put forth by Asimov over three decades of writing have influenced such icons as Elon Musk. Without spoiling anything, Foundation is set in a post-Earth human expansion that sees humans living on millions of worlds, governed by a grand Empire. There is only one problem. The Empire and life as trillions know it, is sliding quietly into chaos, and the only person who sees it coming is a mathematician named Hari Seldon. The key to Seldon’s prediction is “Psychohistory”, which is defined as a mathematical method of predicting the future. With this invention, Seldon plans out an alternative future for humanity in the form of The Foundation, a collection of scientists and academics who will rebuild a second Empire from the coming chaos.
The series itself has seven novels which can be read in several ways. There is an original trilogy: Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation, which make up the chronological core of the series. Adding to this core are two prequels, Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation, and two finale books Foundations Edge, and Foundation and Earth. I would personally recommend chronological order, starting with the prequels and ending with the finale novels. However, the original trilogy can stand on its own merits, and it is the reader’s choice to expand beyond these three.
Below are some helpful links to pick up this series:
SDSU Sci Fi 