Re Hari Seldon and the Count of Monte Cristo:
I love ‘em both, but for different reasons.
The Foundation series (at least the first three, before Asimov and his estate tried to capitalize on their success by writing extensions) postulated a thermodynamics of history. Great idea! Of course it’s often been observed that there’s an eerie semi-repitition of events over the past thousand years. Ibn-al-Khaldun, Mark Twain, Karl Marx (”History repeats, first as tragedy, then as farce.”), and many others have noticed. But, the concept of mass-action prediction is relatively recent.
The Count of Monte Cristo is the greatest revenge fantasy ever written, IMHO. One thing I find interesting in its plot is that, had the evil characters in it not continued in their ways, Edmond Dantes’ traps for them would not have worked. He didn’t have to lead them into temptation; he just provided the circumstances that naturally inclined them to precipitate their own well-deserved doom.
Cool music to accompany History Repeating.