The Science Fiction Review Books,Robot and Foundation,Robot Novels Robots and Empire by Isaac Asimov

Robots and Empire by Isaac Asimov

January 15, 2006January 15, 2006| StettinStettin| 0 Comment| 7:06 pm
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Robots and Empire book cover

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.

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So I have been a bit behind with my reviewsSo I have been a bit behind with my reviews

February 7, 2008February 7, 2008| StettinStettin| 0 Comment| 5:43 pm

I’ve been a bad reviewer lately. I usually try to write my reviews right after viewing or reading but I haven’t had as much time to write them lately. I’ve been playing World in Conflict quite a bit lately, which competes with my reviews here. I should actually do a review for that sometime, since I spend so much time playing it. It takes place in an alternate reality where the Soviets invade the US in 1990. For more information in the meantime just click the link above.

So, here are the things I have watched so far, but have yet to review:

  1. Blade Runner – The Final Cut: (I’ve watched the movie, which was awesome, but I still have to work through the rest of the special features on the last disc)
  2. I am Legend (2007) – I’ve actually watched this twice, once with my Father while on vacation, and again with my wife
  3. Battlestar Galactica: Razor – Unrated Extended Edition

I’m also in the process of reading two books: Children of Dune by Frank Herbert, and The Age of Spiritual machines by Ray Kurzweil. The latter is not really science fiction, but I’m about half way through it and many of the ideas probably seemed like fiction back when it was published in 1999. Many of the predictions Kurzweil makes in the first half are fairly accurate, so I’m interested to see what he will say in the second half.

My next major milestone will be to read Chaos Theory, Asimov’s Foundations and Robots, and Herbert’s Dune: The Fractal Aesthetic of Epic Science Fiction.

That should keep me busy for a little while.

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I, Robot by Isaac AsimovI, Robot by Isaac Asimov

July 1, 2005July 1, 2005| StettinStettin| 0 Comment| 6:52 pm

I-Robot Book Cover

    The Three Laws of Robotics

  1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
  2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
  3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

First things first, the Hollywood movie I, Robot (also reviewed) with Will Smith has only has a few things in common with this book of short stories. Keep in mind that the NAME was licensed to the movie studio after the script was already written. Scenes were adjusted to include the Three Laws, Susan Calvin, and Alfred Lanning. That is about where the similarities between the book and the movie end. There might be a few concepts stripped from some of the stories, but by no means is the film “based” on the book. To give the movie makers credit, they only say “inspired” by in the opening.

I, Robot is a collection of short stories by Isaac Asimov. Keep in mind these stories were mainly written in the 1940s then published together in 1950. These stories describe the basics of the Three Laws of Robotics and what can go wrong with them. Asimov uses the Three Laws as a literary device to create puzzling situations. Several of these stories involve Susan Calvin, the top robo-psychologist for the only robot manufacturing company, US Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc. If anyone is interested in reading the Robot Novel series, this book kind of acts as a nice introduction to the basic concepts. As a matter of fact, anyone with any interest in Sci-Fi should read this book. I consider it required reading.

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I, Asimov: A Memoir by Isaac AsimovI, Asimov: A Memoir by Isaac Asimov

June 4, 2017June 4, 2017| StettinStettin| 0 Comments| 9:40 pm

My favorite science fiction writer by far is Isaac Asimov (1920-1992). One of the main reasons I started this website was to document my re-reading of his Robot and Foundation books. I recount my introduction to his writing in my post celebrating his 90th birthday. There I mention starting to read his autobiography. That actually was the first volume, In Memory Yet Green (1970) covering his life from 1920-1954. It was an out of print low quality hard back copy. I still have that volume, but for some reason I never got around to finishing it. My last bookmarked page was 167 of 708. His next volume was In Joy Still Felt (1980) covering his life from 1954-1978. I fully intended on reading both of those, then finally his third volume (for this review) I, Asimov: A Memoir (1992).

Since my post in 2010, I’ve shifted almost all of my reading to ebook formats. Unfortunately I could not find any of the old volumes on ebook. My physical copy of In Memory Yet Green sat on the shelf collecting dust, literally! Sometime last year there was a sale on this book on the Google Play Store for just a buck or two. I snatched it up immediately and put it on my short list to read after finishing John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series which I was in the middle of at the time.

For a while I was frozen with indecision. Should I dig harder and try to find the first two volumes in ebook format? Drudge through the physical copy I had and then find the out of print second volume? Luckily I checked out some of the reviews. This third volume isn’t just 1978-(present at time of publish), but covers his entire life. The format is also not strictly chronological, but jumps from subject to subject. I was hesitant at first, partially from having a tendency to want to read things chronologically, even if they are published out of order (see my reading project). The more I thought about it, the closer I came to realizing it didn’t matter! I could read the third volume, then go back and read the first two, and maybe the third again! There is actually a 4th autobiography, It’s Been a Good Life (2002) that was edited after his death by his second wife Janet Jeppson Asimov. I plan on reading as well, possibly before the first two volumes.

If you are at all interested in Isaac Asimov, or science fiction in general, you must read this book. Having already had a false start on In Memory Yet Green, I can say I enjoyed this format better. Most “chapters,” which I will call topics, are at most five to ten pages in length. This makes for easy stopping points. I found myself reading many topics throughout the day, with several back to back during my lunches, where I normally spend most of my time reading. (more…)

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