“It’s always easy to explain the unknown by postulating a superhuman and arbitrary will.”

This was my least favorite out of the trilogy. Everything here was just so easily conquered and though the ending had a good plot twist and wrapped up this segment of the story...it just wasn't as intriguing or clever as the previous books. The whole plot of the Mule could've easily been wrapped up in the previous novel and his defeat was somehow too easy and anti-climatic. The second arc of the novel was a bit confusing to me because the main reasoning for its existence didn't make sense - why would the people of the first Foundation be afraid of the Second Foundation if they were technically working towards the same goal, the Seldon Plan? Why would they want to thwart the Second Foundation at all? I mean, before reading this, I was expecting maybe that the two Foundations would have to fight each other for dominance, or they would meet halfway and come together to form the Second Empire. But neither happened and there's absolutely no reason for them to fight at all since nobody (except the Second Foundation people) know what the Second Foundation does, except that it helps The Seldon Plan and that everything is doing fine.

I finished this book feeling equal parts kind of unsatisfied and confused. I also would have liked to see the final result of the grand Plan, but alas, I've heard there are more books after (and before) this main trilogy, so I guess I'll have to go after them for answers. Although this book is a bit of a mess, I really really enjoyed the first two, so the overall feel was a good one. I'm excited to read more Asimov in the future.