At this point if you have not read The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, and The Robots of Dawn, this review will contain plot spoilers for those novels. I highly suggest reading both of them before even reading this review.

The events in Robots and Empire take place about 200 years after The Robots of Dawn. Elijah Baley’s victory in exonerating Dr. Han Falstofe in the death of R. Jander Parnell secured his powerful position in Auroran government. Kelden Amadiro which was implicated in the death of Jander hasn’t forgotten his bitter defeat. With his support Earth was allowed to develop its colonization plans. The number of Settler worlds is increasing, and no new settlement from Spacer worlds has taken place. Actually, Solaria has severed all contact with everyone and is rumored to be empty.

Spacers begin to see they are being surpassed in technology and military power by the short-lived Earthers they despise. Daneel and Giskard play must work to uncover a plot to destroy Earth that Kelden Amadiro has started. They are assisted by Gladia and one of Elijah Bailey’s decendents D.G. Bailey. Also, a novel in this series wouldn’t be complete without a new culture to explore. We get to see the Settler planet Baleyworld.

One of the most important themes in my opinion discussed here is what the effect of increased lifespan can do to a culture. I think Asimov has drawn his cultural picture quite well in this respect. Settlers are well suited with short lifespans to explore new worlds, while Spacers with their long lives are afraid to risk them to expand. Probably the most important question involved is Asimov’s own inspection of the Three Laws of Robotics. He uses Daneel and Giskard to question the effectiveness of the Laws. It’s interesting to see the robots debate the ramifications of their actions and what conclusions they eventually come to. I especially like this novel because by the end of it you can see how Asimov has linked his Robot series with the Foundation series.

At this point if you have not read both The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun, this review will contain plot spoilers for those novels. I highly suggest reading both of those before even reading this review.

The Robots of Dawn takes place 2 years after the events in The Naked Sun. At the conclusion of The Naked Sun Elijah Baley is resolved to push Earth toward space expansion. He must face the open spaces of Earth and encourage others so they can prepare for colonization. His goal is to approach Aurora, the most powerful Spacer planet to petition for approval for expansion. The Outer Worlds have cut off Earth from immigrating to them, so the only solution is to expand to new worlds. This essentially was the goal Dr. Han Falstofe spoke of in The Caves of Steel. The long-lived Spacers haven’t colonized a planet in over two centuries, and according to Falstofe the future of colonization must lie with Earthers.

The book opens with Elijah Baley sweating under a tree. He is Outside (with a capital O) conducting an open air acclimation exercise along with his son and group of other prospective colonists. He gets his opportunity via a robot messenger. He has been called to see the Commissioner regarding Aurora. Dr. Han Falstofe has recently become one of the most influential leaders in Aurora, and would most likely support expansion from Earth. His politial career hangs in the balance, because he is accused of roboticide. Baley is assigned to investigate the death of R. Jander Parnel, a humaniform robot of the same model as Daneel. The future of Earth’s expansion seems to lie on Elijah Baley’s shoulders.

Overall, this book has quite a bit more character development than previous novels and is almost twice as long as The Naked Sun. One of my favorite additions is R. Giskard Reventlov, one of Dr. Han Falstofe’s most trusted robots. We learn much more about Falstofe’s history and his relationship with Gladia which he took under his wing. Baley’s character grows as he gets deeper into the investigation as he is immersed in culture on Aurora that is as different from Earth as it is from Solaria. One of my favorite themes, the impact of robots on humans, is expanded on here. There are many other philosophical themes that keep you interested until the end. Note: Many of the scenes involved in this book are more for an adult audience, so I’d rate it PG-13 or so.

This is the second book in the Robot Novel series by Asimov. A year has passed since The Caves of Steel. Lije Baley is summoned once again to solve a murder. The Department of Justice received a request from the Spacers asking specifically for Baley’s help with the case. This time the murder is not on Earth, but on the 50th Spacer world, Solaria.

Solaria is probably as close to the exact opposite of Earth as you can get. The entire population of Solaria is about 20,000 spread throughout evenly distributed estates. There are thousands of robots for each person and most contact between people, even husband and wife, is done through a trimensional connection that is indistinguishable from normal sight. The main problem Baley has to solve is how a person surrounded by robots could have been murdered, with no weapon to be found.

Much of this novel follows the same pace and deductive reasoning as seen in The Caves of Steel. Just like with futuristic Earth, this newly settled planet Solaria is unique. Asimov creates another new culture which has its own quirks just like he did with future Earthmen. Elijah must face is extreme agoraphobia, and Gladia must confront the Solarian fear of interpersonal contact. These Solarians represent what can possibly happen when dependence on robots is taken to extremes. Also, we get to see the developing relationship between Elijah and Daneel. Note: There are several scenes in this book that I’d rate PG-13, so anyone reading this should be warned.

This is the first in a series of the Robot Novels by Isaac Asimov. The main characters in this book are Elijah “Lije” Baley, a plainclothes cop, and R. Daneel Olivaw, a humaniform robot. The story takes place on futuristic Earth, approximately 3021 AD. Earth is heavily populated and most cities are mostly underground and interconnected. The major Cities such as New York are referred to with the capital C because of their massive size. New York City’s population is somewhere around 20million and Earth’s population tops 8 billion. Some people criticize Asimov by because Earth’s population will top 8 billion by 2020 according to many calculations. We have to remember that this is just a fiction book written in the 1950′s after all. These massive Cities are essentially enclosed underground and agoraphobia is common among most of the population.

Until recently almost all robot labor had been restricted to the Outside, for farming and transporting goods. There is a strong anti-robot sentiment among most humans and Lije Baley is no exception. He fears and hates robots. Recently, robots have been slowly begun to take menial jobs from humans. The main fear is that eventually robots will take over everyone’s job and leave none for people. Lije Baily is called to the Commisioner’s office and given a special task. He must investigate the murder of a prominent Spacer with the assistance of R. Daneel Olivaw, a humaniform robot.

The are 50 Spacer worlds originally colonized by humans. Their population is only around 5.5 billion, but their technology and military power far surpass humans. Their immune systems are far weaker than those on Earth because their new worlds are essentially germ free. They are unwilling to risk infection, so have insisted that Earth cooperate by allowing R. Daneel Olivaw to assist with the investigation.

I won’t go into any details about the investigation, but Asimov keeps you guessing all along the way. The culture of futuristic Earth is very interesting, and the interaction between Lije and Daneel offers plenty of philosophical situations to be explored. It is very interesting to see how their relationship develops throughout the series. Overall, I’d have to say that R. Daneel Olivaw is my favorite character in the Robot & Foundation series. He definitely plays one of the most important roles throughout all of the novels. Of course a Robot Novel wouldn’t be complete without The Three Laws of Robotics, which are weaved nicely into the plot. By the end of the book you can see how Asimov is working to connect the Robot series to the Foundation series.