Asimov's Foundation

I bought this book over 40 years ago, and it stayed with me through numerous cleansing moves. Recently I decided to read it again and found that a good narrative never ages!

The basic concept of a mathematician plotting out the probabilities of the future is still an awesome idea, and the unveiling of that history, with the unforeseen twist, is a great yarn. It was first published in 1942 and is also a historical study if you are aware of that, with space battles rather reminiscent of WW2 sea battles, and cigar-chomping heroes leading the narrative.

However, I use the term "hero" advisedly, for there are not a lot of female characters! This aspect of a book written in a 1940's milieu might be irksome to some people, but it is a reminder of how far we have come (which is not to say we do not still have far to go!).