Robot Visions

Like its companion _Robot Dreams_, this collection is in part an excuse to feature the haunting illustrations of Ralph McQuarrie and partly a well-chosen selection of the Good Doctor's short writings.
However, unlike _Robot Dreams_, this one really does concentrate on robots. It also includes a good chunk of Asimov's nonfiction on the subject -- and (unlike Heinlein) Asimov wrote very good nonfiction too.
Two things you should know before you buy this:
(1) It includes most of the contents of _I, Robot_, but not all -- and it also doesn't include the frame story (the interview with Susan Calvin). So even if you buy this, you'll still have to get _I, Robot_ if you don't already have it.
(2) It includes the robot stories that _aren't_ part of _I, Robot_ -- among them the very best Susan Calvin story, "Galley Slave".
At any rate, no Asimov fan will want to be without this one.

Great short stories as only Isaac can whoop them out. Of course, you MUST read all the books from the foundation series, as well as the "Empire" books. Those all go together though not intended to be that way when he began the first book. There's 15 all together, I think. But it's a journey that will blow you away. Just google search "what order do I read Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Empire series of books." You'll get lists from several people. Make sure not to start with The Foundation series. Anyway, once you've read those 15 or so books, start on this, and Robot Dreams as well. I can't believe I'm gonna do this for you, but what the heck. Here's the order, all 15 books comprising some 2.5 MILLION words!!! 1)The Complete Robot 2) The Caves of Steel 3)The Naked Sun 4)The Robots of Dawn 5)Robots and Empire 6)The Currents of Space 7)The Stars Like Dust 8)Pebble in the Sky 9)Prelude to Foundation 10)Forward The Foundation (No matter what you hear, this is the slot to read this book) 11)Foundation 12)Foundation and Empire 13)Second Foundation 14)Foundation's Edge 15)Foundation and Earth Well, there you go. I want to warn you, this is as good as it gets. You will never read another sci-fi series as good as the 15 books I've listed above, so enjoy, relish it, savor every word. When you're done, you can read the rest of his works for dessert. Hope this helped. As you read, you will see how much stuff was "stolen" from him, especially little details like "hyperspace" and of course Robot stuff. Keep in mind he wrote much or most of this way back in the 1940's and 50's then shake your head in disbelief. Isaac is THE man.

This is a companion book to "Robot Dreams," but unlike that book, all the stories in "Robot Visions" are actually about robots. Six of the stories also appear in the collection "I, Robot." The stories were written over a wide range of time, from 1940 to 1989, and they reflect the character of their times. (The way to check when a particular story was written is to look at the copyright page at the front of the book.) The stories cover a range of issues well, mostly hinging on the three laws of robotics that Asimov quotes and uses repeatedly. One might think going back to the well like this would result in repetetive stories, but that is not the case at all; robots are involved in these stories in jobs as mundane as checking galleys for publication to jobs as unforgiving as performing microsurgery, and in all cases Asimov carefully considers how the humans and robots--each acting on their motivations (the robots' is hardwired, of course)--interact with each other and the situations they are confronted with. One stands out: "The Bicentennial Man," about a robot who was unusually creative, and over a period of decades acts on his desire to become more independent and acquire more rights, going so far as to replace his robotic systems with organic ones in an attempt to become closer to being human.

The book includes a number of essays by Asimov about how he sees robots in the future, how he conceived of them in past stories, and what issues will crop up as mechanical intelligences become reality. These essays were written in the '70s and 80s, some apparently for American Airlines' in-flight magazine (again, check the copyright page). These essays are each relatively short, making them good bedtime reading when you're tired. The short stories earlier in the book vary in length, so they don't work as well for that purpose.

This book is a great collection of Asimov's robot stories. Robot Visions was intended to be a companion to Robot Dreams. Both collections have older stories with a few new ones written for the book. You can really tell how Asimov thought about his beloved creation, the robots. The various stories show every point of view possible, from a robot's view or a man's. In the back of the novel, Asimov wrote several essays explaining his views on robotics. Definately a pleasurable read, whether you are a sci-fi fan or not.

Including all of "I, Robot"'s stories, a whole new story and some other great sories (even features Daneel and Baley!), this is a great robot's collection. Incuding some articles from the master, it is a must-have for Asimov, robots and sci-fi fans.

Let's examine each of the story's storylines and rate it, in U.S. Navy fashion, outstanding, excellent, good, satisfactory or unsatisfactory. SPOILER ALERT. My descriptions of the storylines sometimes give the endings away.

"Robot Visions." Storyline: robot is sent into the future and discovers humanity will destroy itself and be replaced by robots -- and a robot in the present decides to let this happen and does what he can to make it happen. Asimov is capable of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows vis à vis humanity and humanism. For the highest of the highs, nothing tops "The Bicentennial Man." For the lowest of the lows, "Robot Visions" (the short story) would have to be a strong contender. Not only that, the story violates the First Law to boot, without any justification. Essentially, the short story is a further analysis of what happens when robots decide that they're better than humans and therefore decide to "through inaction, allow a human to come to harm." It's Nestor 10 all over again. It's also a continuation of the idea behind "That Thou Art Mindful of Him" but instead of being a warning like that short story, "Robot Visions" is a celebration of robots displacing humans.

Compounding this anti-human calumny is the fact that in the Introduction to the book, Asimov badmouths the play "R.U.R." (p 6) which contains the prototype of the "robots become human-like and kill us" storyline. With no acknowledgement of the contradiction, in "Robot Visions" Asimov takes that storyline and almost lyrically embraces it. For all our flaws, we are at the top of the food chain and should stay that way. The thought that it is an absolute good that we should be killed and replaced by another species, especially one of our own creation, is anathema. It's horrible, disgusting and vile. And no, I don't think Asimov was providing a warning like in "That Thou Art Mindful of Him." I think he really finds the idea of humans dying off but robots remaining to be a great idea (see pp 422, 443). Rating: unsatisfactory.

"Too Bad!" Storyline: robot is miniaturized to be injected into a cancer patient. This is either the prototype of, or a takeoff on, "Fantastic Voyage." Rating: good.

"Robbie." Storyline: a little girl's robot taken away by parents but she is eventually reunited with him. Good characterization, especially considering the fact that this is Asimov's first short story. It's been updated a bit (e.g., the Three Laws and Susan Calvin are mentioned) and I'm sure otherwise tightened up, but the story still stands after nearly 70 years. Rating: excellent.

"Reason." Storyline: a new type of robot becomes convinced he's the prophet for the "God" of a space station. It's an interesting analysis of what occurs when you juxtapose a priori knowledge with a posteriori knowledge, and the analysis is delivered humorously. Asimov certainly needles religion a bit, especially Mohammedism. Rating: excellent.

"Liar!" Storyline: a mind-reading robot tells humans what they want to hear, not what's true, leading to an inevitable collision between hopes and reality. This is the ur-story of mind-reading robots in Asimov's later books, developed further in "The Robots of Dawn." Rating: good.

"Runaround." Storyline: a robot is equipoised between the Second Law and the Third Law -- and only the First Law can snap him out of it. Rating: good.

"Evidence." Storyline: is that D.A. running for mayor really a robot? Susan Calvin intends to find out. Good twist on the end, but one I guessed. Rating: good.

"Little Lost Robot." Storyline: a robot with a weakened First Law hides among other robots; it's up to Susan Calvin to ferret him out by playing to his ego. The 2004 movie "I, Robot" is based in part on this short story, and both the movie and this short story deserve a rating of excellent.

"The Evitable Conflict." Storyline: Susan Calvin tries to understand why machine-guided industrial activities are not performing optimally, and discovers the machines are discrediting their political rivals -- humans. An interesting premise, fairly well done, but once again Asimov seems to be endorsing the concept of machines taking over our free will. Without free will, what makes humans so different from the animals? Read Williamson's "With Folded Hands" for the logical endpoint to this reasoning. I must also point out that the short story contains a writing flaw. The Europe Region contains Egypt (p 206) yet the Tropic Region is supposedly ascendant "for the first time since the Pharaohs" (p 212), who were located in Egypt. A minor flaw in Asimov's writing but frankly an easy one to spot. Rating: satisfactory.

"Feminine Intuition." Storyline: Susan Calvin must determine who overheard the important last words of an intuitive robot. Good story and good detective work. Rating: excellent.

"The Bicentennial Man." Storyline: a robot decides that to be human is a goal worth more than even his life; in 200 years he accomplishes his goal. This is, IMHO, Asimov's greatest short story (and according to him, his third-favorite). It makes the most of characters and is a celebration of humanity. Rating: outstanding.

"Someday." A robot toy, abused by its young owner, demonstrates it's at least capable of contemplating revenge. The story breaks no new ground. Rating: satisfactory.

"Think!" Storyline: a telepathy-producing device is able to pick up a computer's thoughts. It's a surface exploration of the perennial question "can computers become self-aware?" but doesn't address the question of "and if they do, then what?" It could be that Asimov means for *us* to Think! about the answer to that question. Rating: good.

"Segregationist." Storyline: humans are being operated on to become more like robots, while robots are being operated on to become more human. The new miscegenation? This story actually has nothing to do with segregation and would be more appropriately titled "Anti-miscegenationist," though I suppose that doesn't have the same ring. This story surely resonated more in 1967 when it was published than it does now. It also contradicts later Asimov work (Robots and Empire?) that states that robots can never be surgeons. Rating: satisfactory.

"Mirror Image." Storyline: Elijah Bailey interviews two robots to determine which of their owners stole an important mathematical theory, using logic and psychology to catch his man. I do have to point out that Asimov sort of contradicts the reasoning in this short story in his later Daneel Olivaw books, particularly "The Robots of Dawn," which states that it is very difficult to drive a robot into stasis. That said, this short story still deserves a rating of excellent.

Lenny." Storyline: a robot with a childlike brain becomes Susan Calvin's surrogate son. Rating: satisfactory.

"Galley Slave." Storyline: a robot is falsely accused of manipulating the galley proofs of a book, and the perpetrator of the falsehood, through ignorance of robots, is tricked into admitting he manipulated the proofs himself. The title demonstrates Asimov's fondness for puns, and addresses the issue of whether it is a good thing to have robots taking over more and more of work related to the creative process. It reminds me a bit of an article from five or six years ago about how a computer program could write a sports story. Rating: good.

"Christmas Without Rodney." Storyline: a child's misbehavior makes a robot wish the Three Laws didn't exist. This story presents an interesting analysis of the continuum of thoughts to actions -- if a robot could think about wishing there were no Three Laws, isn't that a first step to disobeying them? In fact, isn't that the first step to human sin, thinking about doing something wrong and wishing there weren't rules prohibiting it? Interesting. Rating: excellent.

Asimov's essays. The essays provide no extraordinary insight into either man or machine, and are repetitive of each other and the Introduction. In the essays Asimov also alludes more strongly to his politics, which is about what you'd expect for a New York writer (e.g., "...consider what we're doing to ourselves right now--to all living things and to the very planet we live on. Maybe it is *time* we were replaced." p 422). He's also at times quite churlish about "his" Three Laws (e.g., p 457). I lost a lot of respect for Isaac Asimov the person by reading these essays. Rating: unsatisfactory.

Wonderful book! It is my most favorite book. His visions of the future are neither disparaging nor overly glossy. The robots seem like actually people instead of being cold metallic objects. It is a must read for anyone who wants to read about robots!

The stories are, as always with Asimov, unpredictable and surprisingly thought-provoking. The styles is flawless and straight-forward. The item arrived on time and in perfect condition.

The style is old fashioned, which I could relate to, having been an Amazing Story and other sci-fi/fantasy magazine fan from my teen years back in the 60s. Probably not every story is first-person, and I really don't recall how much violence was in the collection. What counts in my opinion is the quality of the story, not graphic gore. Altho I didn't love every story in the collection, Asimov was for sure a good story teller. I learned more about the author than I knew before, and I enjoyed his sense of humor.

Thoroughly amazing book, never read anything quite like it (by a different author).