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jamichalski's review against another edition
4.0
Started off kind of slow for my liking but got better and better. I think Asimov’s influence on these sorts of ideas is so ubiquitous now that some of their power is lost on new readers like myself
nuk's review against another edition
4.0
I was very eager to read this book.
After finishing all foundation related books, I really wanted to go back and see how this whole universe begun.
The book is great and is indeed just a bunch of tales connected by a character-narrator. It helps to understand how earth evolved around robots and interstellar travel and culture begun among mankind.
It also makes me sad about the movie, that although I liked as an action movie could have been something more in the lines of Benjamin Button or Forrest Gump, which would be more faithful to the concept and much more interesting.
Some of the downsides of the book, is again this feeling that the Asimov universe is not quite well put together. I know it's hard to keep cohesion on a 30.000 years span, but some core ideas explored during the foundation series (and othe books) are very much thrown to ground in some of the concepts here presented.
After finishing all foundation related books, I really wanted to go back and see how this whole universe begun.
The book is great and is indeed just a bunch of tales connected by a character-narrator. It helps to understand how earth evolved around robots and interstellar travel and culture begun among mankind.
It also makes me sad about the movie, that although I liked as an action movie could have been something more in the lines of Benjamin Button or Forrest Gump, which would be more faithful to the concept and much more interesting.
Some of the downsides of the book, is again this feeling that the Asimov universe is not quite well put together. I know it's hard to keep cohesion on a 30.000 years span, but some core ideas explored during the foundation series (and othe books) are very much thrown to ground in some of the concepts here presented.
hannrs's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Entertaining dystopian novel. Especially interesting considering the tech of today that was feared when the book was written.
ahmarthered's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
mocster's review against another edition
4.0
There’s something weirdly nostalgic and comforting about reading a book about robots.
This was my first Asimov and I enjoyed it. It wasn’t as “hard sci-fi” as I expected which was interesting. Also the framing narrative was nice. He deserves a lot of credit for dragging sci-fi out of the pulp fiction dumps of the early 20th century. I’m excited to read more of his work, but I’ll never understand how one of the New Wave’s primary progenitors was also one of its most vehement denouncers.
Robbie - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Runaround - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Reason - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Catch That Rabbit - ⭐️⭐️
Liar! - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Little Lost Robot - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Escape! - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Evidence - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Evitable Conflict - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was my first Asimov and I enjoyed it. It wasn’t as “hard sci-fi” as I expected which was interesting. Also the framing narrative was nice. He deserves a lot of credit for dragging sci-fi out of the pulp fiction dumps of the early 20th century. I’m excited to read more of his work, but I’ll never understand how one of the New Wave’s primary progenitors was also one of its most vehement denouncers.
Robbie - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Runaround - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Reason - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Catch That Rabbit - ⭐️⭐️
Liar! - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Little Lost Robot - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Escape! - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Evidence - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Evitable Conflict - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
momotan's review against another edition
4.0
Ormai è risaputo: non sopporto i racconti.
Perché mi appassiono alle storie, e queste finiscono subito; perché mi lasciano un senso di incompiuto, di non detto; perché se non fatti davvero molto bene, mi risultano incompleti, monchi, non mi prendono.
Ci sono però delle eccezioni.
Lovecraft, per esempio. O Dino Buzzati.
E devo dire che mi è piaciuto davvero molto anche Isaac Asimov, con questi suoi racconti.
Probabilmente perché a parte Robbie, raccolto introduttivo della raccolta e che serve a farci conoscere il contesto, poi abbiamo dei personaggi ricorrenti in tutti gli altri racconti. Quando i due sfortunati collaudatori sul campo Donovan e Powell, quando la psicologa Calvin e il responsabile Bogert, o Byerley, o il vecchio direttore Lanning.
O forse perché visti nell'insieme ci danno una panoramica dell'evoluzione della robotica, delle migliorie, delle scoperte, dei mutamenti nel modo in cui l'umanità vede i robot.
E i robot stessi ci vengono mostrati in crescendo.
Il robot babysitter, con il forte legame instauratosi nei confronti della padroncina.
Il robot testato su Mercurio, dove scopriamo le Tre Leggi della Robotica e il duo di collaudatori sul campo.
Il robot progettato per occuparsi di una stazione spaziale e per dirigere altri robot mostra una mente filosofica che lo porta a dubitare di ciò che i suoi creatori gli dicono, e sviluppa un suo culto, basandosi sulla scala di poteri di ciò che lo circonda.
Il robot multiplo, che controlla altri sei robot sue estensioni.
Il robot in grado di sentire i pensieri degli umani, e vittima delle Leggi della Robotica applicate al campo della mente.
Il robot modificato, che ci mostra i pericoli conseguenti una certa noncuranza nei confronti delle Leggi da parte dei programmatori.
Il robot "Cervello", che è privo di un vero corpo ma ha una capacità di elaborazione straordinaria, al quale si tenterà di far risolvere il problema dei viaggi interstellari.
La possibilità che un robot si mimetizzi completamente tra gli esseri umani.
E infine, l'esistenza delle Macchine, supercalcolatori che guidano e consigliano i supergoverni territoriali su ogni aspetto della vita economica e industriale.
Una visione delle intelligenze artificiali francamente affascinante.
E più di una volta ho esclamato "ma chissà perché quegli stupidi ingegneri di Caprica non hanno inserito queste leggi a forza nei primi Cylons!"
Perché mi appassiono alle storie, e queste finiscono subito; perché mi lasciano un senso di incompiuto, di non detto; perché se non fatti davvero molto bene, mi risultano incompleti, monchi, non mi prendono.
Ci sono però delle eccezioni.
Lovecraft, per esempio. O Dino Buzzati.
E devo dire che mi è piaciuto davvero molto anche Isaac Asimov, con questi suoi racconti.
Probabilmente perché a parte Robbie, raccolto introduttivo della raccolta e che serve a farci conoscere il contesto, poi abbiamo dei personaggi ricorrenti in tutti gli altri racconti. Quando i due sfortunati collaudatori sul campo Donovan e Powell, quando la psicologa Calvin e il responsabile Bogert, o Byerley, o il vecchio direttore Lanning.
O forse perché visti nell'insieme ci danno una panoramica dell'evoluzione della robotica, delle migliorie, delle scoperte, dei mutamenti nel modo in cui l'umanità vede i robot.
E i robot stessi ci vengono mostrati in crescendo.
Il robot babysitter, con il forte legame instauratosi nei confronti della padroncina.
Il robot testato su Mercurio, dove scopriamo le Tre Leggi della Robotica e il duo di collaudatori sul campo.
Il robot progettato per occuparsi di una stazione spaziale e per dirigere altri robot mostra una mente filosofica che lo porta a dubitare di ciò che i suoi creatori gli dicono, e sviluppa un suo culto, basandosi sulla scala di poteri di ciò che lo circonda.
Il robot multiplo, che controlla altri sei robot sue estensioni.
Il robot in grado di sentire i pensieri degli umani, e vittima delle Leggi della Robotica applicate al campo della mente.
Il robot modificato, che ci mostra i pericoli conseguenti una certa noncuranza nei confronti delle Leggi da parte dei programmatori.
Il robot "Cervello", che è privo di un vero corpo ma ha una capacità di elaborazione straordinaria, al quale si tenterà di far risolvere il problema dei viaggi interstellari.
La possibilità che un robot si mimetizzi completamente tra gli esseri umani.
E infine, l'esistenza delle Macchine, supercalcolatori che guidano e consigliano i supergoverni territoriali su ogni aspetto della vita economica e industriale.
Una visione delle intelligenze artificiali francamente affascinante.
E più di una volta ho esclamato "ma chissà perché quegli stupidi ingegneri di Caprica non hanno inserito queste leggi a forza nei primi Cylons!"
worldofjoel's review against another edition
2.0
I was fortunate that when I sat down to read Isaac Asimov's I, Robot I was warned that it has almost nothing in common with the movie which came out almost a decade ago. Instead, I, Robot is a series of short stories about the rise of robots in our world. The first thing that struck me was how prescient I, Robot is now 70 years after the books initial release. It feels like it could have been written in 2017.
Really if I was to boil down I, Robot to its most basic form is that it has a set of rules in which all robots must abide by. "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law." And the entire novel is a string of short stories that test, twist, and push the boundaries of these rules in interesting ways.
I, Robot almost reads like a philosophy lesson on artificial intelligence. And at first, I was eating it all up. The first story, titled Robby was one of my favorites. It's about a robot early on that couldn't talk and be made to just be a young child's friend. It was such a simple and profound tale that was easy to follow. But as the stories and the timeline progress the book becomes harder and harder to follow and by the end of I, Robot I felt like I just got out of a whirlwind of a lecture and I'll need a lot of time to try and wrap my head around it all.
Much of I, Robot is using interesting story beats to test the three rules of robotics and to challenge the reader about whether or not these rules are sufficient. By the end I was done, I had little to no interest in what was happening, and the plot device had worn thin. It wasn't a bad novel, but it definitely wasn't a novel that I "enjoyed".
Really if I was to boil down I, Robot to its most basic form is that it has a set of rules in which all robots must abide by. "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law." And the entire novel is a string of short stories that test, twist, and push the boundaries of these rules in interesting ways.
I, Robot almost reads like a philosophy lesson on artificial intelligence. And at first, I was eating it all up. The first story, titled Robby was one of my favorites. It's about a robot early on that couldn't talk and be made to just be a young child's friend. It was such a simple and profound tale that was easy to follow. But as the stories and the timeline progress the book becomes harder and harder to follow and by the end of I, Robot I felt like I just got out of a whirlwind of a lecture and I'll need a lot of time to try and wrap my head around it all.
Much of I, Robot is using interesting story beats to test the three rules of robotics and to challenge the reader about whether or not these rules are sufficient. By the end I was done, I had little to no interest in what was happening, and the plot device had worn thin. It wasn't a bad novel, but it definitely wasn't a novel that I "enjoyed".
sammanics's review against another edition
3.0
I remember when my father used to read these to me before bed. The stories are still intriguing and and now that I am older I can better appreciate the concepts that Asimov brings up concerning the potential of AI robotics in a human world in a remarkably precise and theoretically realistic situations and moral dilemmas.
lorettarm's review against another edition
4.0
Esperaba más acción robotística y menos "vamos a platicar con el robot", but I guess that's the philosophical appeal to it.