Reviews

While not the most sexist book ever, it was pretty close. The mystery was weird, and the main character made a crappy detective. At least it was an easy read and the plot was somewhat interesting.

katrinacharleston's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

eher1305's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

trin's review against another edition

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3.0

Reread, April 26, 2024: because I wanted to finally finish the series -- I think I originally got through the first two? -- and I felt I needed a refresher. This time, however, I was distracted by how implicitly sexist this book is -- Baley Just Divorce Your Wife If You Hate Her So Much Challenge -- and by the fact that the Spacers are eugenicists, ew. (To be clear: their POV is not presented as indisputably correct, but it's not fully refuted either.)

The novel is still hilariously homoerotic though, in the best sort of oblivious way. Imaginative, entertaining, pulpily bad-but-good.

Original review, June 1, 2007:

In which human cop Elijah Baley is partnered with robot cop Daneel Olivaw to solve an unusual murder, and wackiness ensues. I enjoyed this quite a lot—it was fun to watch Baley slowly overcome his prejudices toward robots and start to regard Daneel first as an asset and then even as a friend. His detective prowess left something to be desired, however. In fact, I spent most of my time reading this novel wishing someone would write a porny due South version of it. (Turns out Salieri kind of has: [http://community.livejournal.com/ds_flashfiction/512211.html]. "Real Boys (A Chip Off the Old Blog)" is a fantastic story, and the concept is close, if not exact. Well worth reading, anyway.)

Asimov's novel is, too. I wish I'd read it when I was younger and less likely to be distracted by perviness.

archernaelra's review against another edition

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inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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