Eight Stories From The Rest of the Robots
4 journalers for this copy...
Picked up from the LFL #55261 on 17th St. South in Aurora Hills neighborhood near Pentagon City/Row.
There are a few ripped pages but still readable.
There are a few ripped pages but still readable.
A very enjoyable read. All solid stories...even though for First Law, I have to ask: How? Plus they name the robots of that line Emma so it is the only way it makes this possible? Only because that is the first of Asimov's robots (that I've encountered and no haven't read all of them so it may not be) that is given the pronoun 'she'.
My favorites:
The first 2 stories Robot AL-76 Goes Astray and Victory Unintentional are just so much fun and funny! All the stories show how humans try to humanize the robots (in that they are fallible and prone to emotions and irrational moments) and thus, like Frankenstein's monster, they are out to destroy their creator, man. But Asimov's robots are only machines (at least most of them) and they will act and react in predictable ways. And so with the first 2 stories, the people and intelligent aliens are running around thinking the end is near, the robots are going to kill us all! and the robot(s) just continues to go about its job almost in a child-like innocent manner. Hilarious!
I also enjoyed Satisfaction Guaranteed (and after the ending...that title has more than one meaning!) where US Robotics sends a test robot to the home of a stay-at-home-wife and her husband goes out-of-town. The robot is there to attend to any household chores or other requests by Mrs. Belmont. And Tony, the robot, fulfills those requests to such a degree that even Mrs. Belmont herself didn't know that she was asking them and that Tony was only performing in accordance with the First Law of Robotics. :/ Interesting.
My favorites:
The first 2 stories Robot AL-76 Goes Astray and Victory Unintentional are just so much fun and funny! All the stories show how humans try to humanize the robots (in that they are fallible and prone to emotions and irrational moments) and thus, like Frankenstein's monster, they are out to destroy their creator, man. But Asimov's robots are only machines (at least most of them) and they will act and react in predictable ways. And so with the first 2 stories, the people and intelligent aliens are running around thinking the end is near, the robots are going to kill us all! and the robot(s) just continues to go about its job almost in a child-like innocent manner. Hilarious!
I also enjoyed Satisfaction Guaranteed (and after the ending...that title has more than one meaning!) where US Robotics sends a test robot to the home of a stay-at-home-wife and her husband goes out-of-town. The robot is there to attend to any household chores or other requests by Mrs. Belmont. And Tony, the robot, fulfills those requests to such a degree that even Mrs. Belmont herself didn't know that she was asking them and that Tony was only performing in accordance with the First Law of Robotics. :/ Interesting.
Released 4 yrs ago (4/21/2020 UTC) at Book Box, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Added to the Bookbox of Surprisingly Good Books.
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taking this one out, it seems like a quick read then i can put it back in the box for the next person
Taken from the bookbox. I think I've read a couple of these stories elsewhere, but I'm looking forward to reading them as a group.
I haven't read any Asimov in a while, and thoroughly enjoying this collection reminds me that I should read more. He also includes introductions for each story here that are well-worth reading, sometimes adding context from stories not included, sometimes noting literary trends that he had in mind, sometimes just poking fun at the whole publishing machine including himself!
For whatever reason (probably because of the idea that a "classic" author who popularized conventions of a genre must be serious) discussions of Asimov's writing always seem to neglect how funny (and fun) his stories tend to be. Even in dire circumstances, there are wry observations for his characters to make, and all his contemplation on human nature comes with a side dish of snark at those who might take the situation too seriously.
For whatever reason (probably because of the idea that a "classic" author who popularized conventions of a genre must be serious) discussions of Asimov's writing always seem to neglect how funny (and fun) his stories tend to be. Even in dire circumstances, there are wry observations for his characters to make, and all his contemplation on human nature comes with a side dish of snark at those who might take the situation too seriously.
One of the starting books for the Otherworldly Shrinking Bookbox
Taken from the bookbox.
