Reading order for Asimov's Robot / Empire / Foundation books

http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html#series6

 

In the Author's Note at the beginning of Prelude to Foundation, Asimov says:

"In any case, the situation has become sufficiently complicated for me to feel that the readers might welcome a kind of guide to the series, since they were not written in the order in which (perhaps) they should be read.

"The fourteen books, all published by Doubleday, offer a kind of history of the future, which is, perhaps, not completely consistent, since I did not plan consistency to begin with. The chronological order of the books, in terms of future history (and not of publication date), is as follows:

"1. The Complete Robot (1982). This is a collection of thirty-one robot short stories published between 1940 and 1976 and includes every story in my earlier collection, I, Robot (1950). Only one robot short story has been written since that collection appeared. That is Robot Dreams, which has not yet appeared in any Doubleday collection. [Robot Dreams (1986) does contain it; see also Robot Visions (1990)]

"2. The Caves of Steel (1954). This is the first of my robot novels.

"3. The Naked Sun (1957). The second robot novel.

"4. The Robots of Dawn (1983). The third robot novel.

"5. Robots and Empire (1985). The fourth robot novel.

"6. The Currents of Space (1952). This is the first of my Empire novels.

"7. The Stars, Like Dust-- (1951). The second Empire novel.

"8. Pebble in the Sky (1950). The third Empire novel.

"9. Prelude to Foundation (1988). This is the first Foundation novel (although it is the latest written, so far).

[9a. Forward the Foundation (1993).]

[9b. Foundation's Fear (1997).] The first novel in the Second Foundation Trilogy, it was written by Gregory Benford. Takes place after the first chapter of Forward the Foundation.

[9c. Foundation and Chaos (1998).] The second novel in the Second Foundation Trilogy, written by Greg Bear. Takes place at the approximate time of Hari Seldon's trial.

[9d. Foundation's Triumph (previously titled Third Foundation and Secret Foundation) (1999).] The third novel in the Second Foundation Trilogy, written by David Brin.

"10. Foundation (1951). The second Foundation novel. Actually, it is a collection of four stories, originally published between 1942 and 1944, plus an introductory section written for the book in 1949.

"11. Foundation and Empire (1952). The third Foundation novel, made up of two stories, originally published in 1945.

"12. Second Foundation (1953). The fourth Foundation novel, made up of two stories, originally published in 1948 and 1949.

"13. Foundation's Edge (1982). The fifth Foundation novel.

"14. Foundation and Earth (1983). The sixth Foundation novel."

Note that this order is slightly wrong, in that Currents of Space actually takes place after The Stars, Like Dust. Also Foundation and Earth was published in 1986, not 1983.

 

1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.