I, Robot

I, Robot By Isaac Asimov

Another classic I somehow didn’t read in my younger years, and another classic I thoroughly enjoyed. Isaac Asimov I, Robot wasn’t the story (or rather stories) I was expecting, but they were ones I loved. Going in, for whatever reason, I was expecting more Hard Sci-fi, with dense overwhelming text detailing the mechanics of the robots. Something fascinating, but a little dry. Instead, the stories were presented in an almost fun manner, with the logic problems playing out as mysteries rather than essays.

Each story is recounted by lead Robopsychiatrist Susan Calvin to an eager reporter. She tells different stories of Robots going wrong, or of their incredible advancement. Each individual story is its own thing, but together they give the history of US Robotics, and her role within the pioneering company.

While most of the stories keep to the same formula of: the robot has somehow gone wrong, how can we fix it? no two feel the same. Either, the characters involved are different, or, if they are the same like Powell and Donovan, the setting is unique and the situation itself offers an entirely different proposition. Stories range from a little girl trying to find her missing robot, to the overseer of the planet trying to work out if the robots are rising against us. From New York City to Mercury, and into deep space. The book doesn’t stand still.

My favourite two stories were Liar! and Evidence, but honestly, I enjoyed them all. I loved being presented with these wholly unique and interesting problem, and then seeing the characters talking though the possible solutions using the three laws of robotics. How the stories always played by its own set rules, yet somehow kept things intriguing. It sounds like it could be boring, but instead was utterly fascinating. Evidence was especially good, and maybe something we’re not far from in the real world with the rapid emergence of AI.

The writing itself was great. Every character and story interesting. The setting and environments fun. And, I loved reading about the different robots and their positronic brain. Their interpretations of the three laws. The way they went from not having a voice, to having a bit of sass. It was a much better book than I thought it would be, despite its classic status.

As a sidetone before I wrap up, if you’re a fan of the film, this isn’t the story in the book. The film takes ideas and tones from the book (and from the latter books too from what i’ve read) but the film story is nowhere in sight. So, you can enjoy both as completely separate things. Which i’d highly recommend doing.