Foundation and Empire

I finished Foundation and Empire by Issac Asimov today.  Unlike the first book, this one only had 2 stories in it.  The first deals with a character we heard about at the end of Foundation and is from the perspective of the Empire.  The second deals with a new threat to the Foundation: a mutant so powerful he may derail the Plan.  I'm very glad there was a heroine finally.  I did not like the time gaps though.  There would be a chapter where the characters were leaving a planet, then the next chapter they had been on the new planet 6 months.  Because of this jumping about, there were several infodumps which weren't exactly the best part.  Asimov did a very good job of showing the atmosphere of fear and dread and apprehension.  overall, i would say a 5.  on to the Second Foundation!