Foundation (with Robot and Galactic Empire novels) reading order
By Isaac Asimov · Last verified · 10 sources
Quick answer
Read the seven Foundation novels in publication order if you only want Foundation. If you want Asimov's linked universe of Robot, Galactic Empire and Foundation books, Asimov listed a suggested order in 1988 — shown here as reproduced by a fan guide — which starts with the Robot books and ends with Foundation and Earth.
Asimov's Foundation novels, which he later tied to his Robot and Galactic Empire novels to make one future history. Written 1950-1993, not in story order.
- The series has 14 novels, 1 other work.
- In publication order, the main sequence starts with Foundation (1951) and the latest listed is Forward the Foundation (1993).
- Besides publication order, this page offers: Asimov's 1988 suggested order (as reproduced by a fan guide); Narrative order (Wikipedia compilation).
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Verification: Some works cite only secondary or catalogue sources (14 of 15 works cite an author, publisher or official source). How we verify.
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Ordered by first publication date (original language). Derived automatically from the dates listed for each work.
- I, Robot
- Pebble in the Sky
- Foundation
- The Stars, Like Dust
- Foundation and Empire
- The Currents of Space
- Second Foundation
- The Caves of Steel
- The Naked Sun
- Foundation's Edge
- The Robots of Dawn
- Robots and Empire
- Foundation and Earth
- Prelude to Foundation
- Forward the Foundation
Why the order isn't simple
- The first three Foundation books are fix-up novels collecting stories first printed in Astounding in the 1940s.
- Asimov wrote two prequels (1988, 1993) after the sequels, and in the 1980s he tied in the Robot and Galactic Empire books.
- Asimov gave a chronological list in the author's note to Prelude to Foundation (1988), and fan orders differ from it, especially in where the Empire novels go.
Which order should I use?
Publication order mixes the three groups from 1950 to 1993.
Asimov's 1988 list (Author's Note to Prelude to Foundation) predates Forward the Foundation, so that book is not placed in it. We could not consult the note directly.
The narrative order is a Wikipedia compilation and is shown only as an alternative.
Where each order comes from
- Publication order — Derived from publication dates
- Ordered by first publication date (original language). Derived automatically from the dates listed for each work.
- Asimov's 1988 suggested order (as reproduced by a fan guide) — Author / publisher recommended
- The order Asimov gave in the Author’s Note of Prelude to Foundation (1988). We could not consult the note directly; this list is as reproduced by a fan guide and cross-checked against Wikipedia. Forward the Foundation (1993) postdates the note and is therefore not placed. Asimov also said there was room for a further book between Robots and Empire and The Currents of Space. Source: A Guide to Asimov's Series, Prelude to Foundation.
- Narrative order (Wikipedia compilation) — Alternative order
- Wikipedia's narrative ordering of the Foundation universe, limited here to the works in this file. It puts The Stars, Like Dust before The Currents of Space. Source: Foundation universe.
Where sources disagree
We don't pick a winner silently. When sources conflict we show each view and cite it.
Order of the Galactic Empire novels
The guide based on Asimov's note lists The Currents of Space before The Stars, Like Dust; Wikipedia's narrative list puts The Stars, Like Dust first. Both shown.
Robot short stories: I, Robot vs The Complete Robot
Robot short stories are available in I, Robot (1950) and in the larger The Complete Robot (1982). The secondary guide used here starts with I, Robot; we could not confirm which collection Asimov's note names. Wikipedia's list also adds works by other authors and Nemesis/The End of Eternity, which are left out here.
Asimov's dating
Wikipedia notes that Asimov's in-universe dating is approximate and sometimes inconsistent, so any single chronology is an approximation.
Sources: Foundation series
Publisher numbering of the Galactic Empire novels
Penguin Random House numbers them The Stars, Like Dust (1), The Currents of Space (2), Pebble in the Sky (3). Asimov’s 1988 list, as reproduced by secondary sources, puts The Currents of Space before The Stars, Like Dust. Publisher numbering is shown as the series number; neither is treated as a story chronology here.
Sources: Galactic Empire: Titles in order, A Guide to Asimov's Series, Foundation universe
How this page was verified
Series membership and numbering come from Penguin Random House's series pages; first-edition years from library catalogue records. Asimov's suggested order is from a secondary reproduction, and the conflicts section lists where it and the publisher's numbering differ.
Last verified . Some works cite only secondary or catalogue sources.
Sources
Every date, order and edition listed on this page cites at least one of these. See our data methodology for how source types are ranked.
- Foundation series — Wikipedia · Secondary reference · accessed 7 October 2026 Foundation novel years; note on inconsistent dating.
- Foundation universe — Wikipedia · Secondary reference · accessed 7 October 2026 Robot/Empire years; narrative order compilation.
- A Guide to Asimov's Series — Kaedrin · Secondary reference · accessed 7 October 2026 Fan guide adapted from the Prelude to Foundation author's note; order used for Asimov's list.
- Prelude to Foundation — Wikipedia · Secondary reference · accessed 7 October 2026 Publication date November 1988.
- Foundation series: Titles in order — Penguin Random House (Del Rey / Random House Worlds) · Publisher · accessed 7 October 2026 Publisher series numbering Book 1-7 (Foundation ... Forward the Foundation). Publisher book pages list current editions only, not first-publication dates.
- The Robot Series: Titles in order — Penguin Random House · Publisher · accessed 7 October 2026 Lists I, Robot (1), The Caves of Steel (2), The Naked Sun (3), The Robots of Dawn (4). Robots and Empire is not listed on this page.
- Galactic Empire: Titles in order — Penguin Random House · Publisher · accessed 7 October 2026 Publisher numbering: The Stars, Like Dust (1), The Currents of Space (2), Pebble in the Sky (3).
- Prelude to Foundation (book page) — Penguin Random House / Del Rey · Publisher · accessed 7 October 2026 Describes it as the first of two prequel novels; Book 6 of 7. The page does not reproduce the 1988 Author’s Note.
- Open Library edition records for Asimov first editions — Open Library (Internet Archive) · Library catalog · accessed 7 October 2026 First-edition years checked against earliest catalogued US book editions: Foundation 1951 (/works/OL46125W); Foundation and Empire 1952 Gnome Press (/books/OL61646861M); Second Foundation 1953 Gnome Press, LCCN 53010530; Foundation’s Edge 1982 Doubleday (/books/OL47687678M); Foundation and Earth 1986 Doubleday, LCCN 86002130; Prelude to Foundation 1988 Doubleday, LCCN 87033086; Forward the Foundation 1993 Doubleday (/books/OL17447665M); I, Robot 1950 Doubleday (/books/OL50443309M); The Caves of Steel 1954 Doubleday (/books/OL22931632M; serialised in Galaxy 1953); The Naked Sun 1957 (/works/OL46398W; one 1954 Ballantine record appears misdated); The Robots of Dawn 1983 Doubleday; Robots and Empire 1985 Doubleday (/books/OL43013005M); The Currents of Space 1952 Doubleday; The Stars, Like Dust 1951 Doubleday, LCCN 51001170; Pebble in the Sky 1950 Doubleday, LCCN 50005147. Catalogue records only; magazine serials predate several book editions.
- Open Library edition records (first-publication year cross-check) — Open Library (Internet Archive) · Library catalog · accessed 7 October 2026 Year of first publication matched the earliest year with two or more catalogued editions for: Foundation (/works/OL46125W); Foundation and Empire (/works/OL46224W); Second Foundation (/works/OL46309W); Foundation's Edge (/works/OL46302W); Foundation and Earth (/works/OL46347W); Prelude to Foundation (/works/OL46172W); Forward the Foundation (/works/OL46299W); The Caves of Steel (/works/OL46401W); The Naked Sun (/works/OL46398W); The Robots of Dawn (/works/OL46377W); Robots and Empire (/works/OL46178W); The Currents of Space (/works/OL46385W); The Stars, Like Dust (/works/OL46399W). Generated by scripts/audit-dates.mjs; see audit/date-crosscheck.json.
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