CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
I'm finally reading Foudation by the way!
The Foundation early stories were (I think) between the wars (or just after WW2) so very early in the history of popular science fiction. This might be why they influenced so much. Above all, they are very human stories. The Foundation is an allegory for the Roman empire (I read that somewhere I think) so it makes the track of history much more approachable. Very different approach to the chaos of Cyberpunk novels. Arthur C Clarke also tells human stories in this way.
I can still very clearly remember Hari Seldon and many other characters. Brilliant books.