Robot Novels (Isaac Asimov)

[dragynlady]

Hi, I'm new around here, and had a question about this series. What novels are included in the Robot series, and what order should I go about reading them? I have I, Robot already, and that is the very next book on my list, but where do I go from there. I am pretty clueless, so feel free to talk to me like I don't know anything.

d-lady

 

[Archon]

I have read almost all of these books and they are listed in proper chronological order as follows:

Caves of Steel (very good)
The Naked Sun (ok, but somewhat odd)
Robots of Dawn (still haven't read yet)
Robots and Empire (less action, more dialogue and memory)

This list might be innacurate as I am recalling them from memory, but I am 97.75% sure that that is the sum total of the Robot series, which connects with both his Empire and Foundation series.

EDIT: If full-size novels aren't your thing Asimov has a seemingly endless amount of short-story anthologies concerning robots whose supply would probably be dependent on where you buy your books and what is available (anthologies are often-times compiled into larger anthologies). I personally love Asimov's addictively-quick short stories and more drawn out but equally fascinating novels.

(PS-that buzzing sound is usually an internal fan that is attempting to cool your computer-tower and the buzz tends to echo more when placed into a more narrow space. At least that was the situation with a slightly older computer I used to know.)

 

[Dave]

I've just read 'The Caves of Steel' which I enjoyed. It is a good Sci-Fi/ Detective story and they are difficult to do well. I've read that 'The Naked Sun' follows directly on from that. My only criticism is that he set it too far in the future, I think Earth society and geography would be more different than he described after such a very long time.

I'm an Asimov Newbie -- I've only read a few short stories, but after 'The Caves of Steel' I will read more. I haven't read the 'I, Robot' short stories but I'm planning to see the new film described as loosely 'inspired by his stories'.

My question is how do the short stories of 'I, Robot' fit into the Robot series novels?

Is everything meant to be within the same universe (including the Foundation and Empire series) or are there different universes?

Some comments I've read say that he later tried to tie them together, but as they were never originally planned that way, inconsistencies remain. Is that correct?

 

[Coops]

Robots and Empire can be listed as a robot novel but it is also a Foundation novel. I personally think that Robots and Empire should be read as a conclusion to the Foundation series.
This novel brings together the two "universes" Asimov was most famous for and explains a lot of the oddities of the Foundation universe in a very clever way while bringing the robot universe into perspective.
The post-Asimov Foundation novels of Brin, Benford and Bear also have robots but should be read after the Asimov books.
I agree that many of Asimov's best short stories are about robots, and taken together, help to define the robot universe.

 

[eeyore]

looking for a book

Hey, haven't read the robot series in years, just finished all three, but isn't there a book in which the radiating of earth and the shuttinng down of giskard takes place...I could have sworn there was a book that told that story, but I cannot find it....anyone know?

 

[pnerd]

I have a question: does the story of "Prelude to Foundation" take place immediately after the story of "Robots and Empire"?

 

[j d worthington]

No; in fact, there are several books (and centuries, if not millennia) intervening, including (in order):

The Currents of Space
The Stars Like Dust--
"Blind Alley" (short story)
Pebble in the Sky
The End of Eternity (tangential connection at this point)

 

[pnerd]

Thanks, j. d. worthington. I had no idea about those stories. I read the first 3 Robot novels (caves of steel, the naked sun, the robots of dawn). Didn't read the 4th one. But then I read "Prelude to Foundation". After that, now I can't find "Forward the Foundation" or "Foundation" here in Bangladesh . Some bookstores have only the later episodes .
I haven't read them though without reading the previous ones.

sorry for my incoherent ramblings.

 

[j d worthington]

LOL. You should see some of mine around here... then again, perhaps that's not a good idea.....

Incidentally, several years ago, using things stated by Asimov and various other things, I worked out a reading order for the entire "Robot/Galactic Empire/Foundation" series, which (though some may quibble with placement of a few of the short stories) is as follows:

"Introduction" through "Liar!" in I, Robot
"Satisfaction Guaranteed"
"Lenny"
"Galley Slave"
"Little Lost Robot"
"Risk"
"Escape!"
"Robot Dreams"
"Evidence"
"Feminine Intuition"
"The Evitable Conflict"
"Epilogue" (from I, Robot)
"First Law"
"A Boy's Best Friend"
"Sally"
"Someday"
"Point of View"
"Think!"
"True Love"
"Robot AL-76 Goes Astray"
"Not Final!"
"Victory Unintentional"
"Stranger in Paradise"
"Light Verse"
"Segregationist"
"Let's Get Together"
"The Tercentennary Incident"
"... That Thou Art Mindful of Him"
"The Bicentennial Man"/The Positronic Man
"Mother Earth"
The Caves of Steel
The Naked Sun
"Mirror Image"
The Robots of Dawn
Robots and Empire
The Currents of Space
The Stars Like Dust--
"Blind Alley"
Pebble in the Sky
The End of Eternity
Prelude to Foundation
Forward the Foundation
Foundation
Foundation and Empire
Second Foundation
Foundation's Edge
Foundation and Earth

Some of the above short stories are not directly connected to the robot sequence, and their placement is a bit conjectural, but they do show the trajectory of technological development and increasing sophistication of the robots culminating in two alternate versions of reasons for finally rejecting them, on Earth at least (the state of affairs by the time of The Caves of Steel). As for the others, the order there is (save for The End of Eternity, which can be moved about somewhere within that 4-5 book sequence where I have it here) very much that envisioned by Asimov himself, as stated in some of his introductions and essays....

The placement of "Feminine Intuition" is also problematical, as it mentions Susan Calvin's death, but the bulk of the tale takes place right around the time of "The Evitable Conflict", and some details (iirc) place it just before that tale.

 

[Connavar]

Does it really matter which order you read Robot books and Empire books ?

I have already read Foundation, have Robot and empire books left.


I was thinking about reading I,Robot,Elajah Baley series and dont bother with Empire series for now. That doesnt spoil anything with how he connected them all right ?

 

[j d worthington]

When you get to the last few books (the last few he wrote, that is), yes, I'd say it makes a difference. It doesn't keep you from enjoying those books, but you miss a lot of the background, so your reaction is likely to be very different, and the story will be missing several layers....

If you've read the early Foundation books, that doesn't particularly matter, as those were written early in his career. But when he began tying things together late in his career, then those connections became much more important. So I don't think I'd advise reading such things as Prelude or Forward, etc., until you've read the earlier stories in the sequence....

 

[Connavar]

When you get to the last few books (the last few he wrote, that is), yes, I'd say it makes a difference. It doesn't keep you from enjoying those books, but you miss a lot of the background, so your reaction is likely to be very different, and the story will be missing several layers....

If you've read the early Foundation books, that doesn't particularly matter, as those were written early in his career. But when he began tying things together late in his career, then those connections became much more important. So I don't think I'd advise reading such things as Prelude or Forward, etc., until you've read the earlier stories in the sequence....

By last few books you mean the latter Robot books ?

I can read I,Robot collection and the first couple books of R.Daneel Olivaw series until maybe Robots and Empire where the connections might appear ?

Actually i havent read Prelude and Forward, they didnt seem important and maybe because i was dissapointed with the second Foundation triology who almost ruined the good name of the early books for me.

 

[j d worthington]

No, I meant the books he wrote toward the end of his life that take place later in the chronology: Prelude and Forward, and then the final book of the sequence (that Asimov lived to write, anyway), Foundation and Earth....

 

[Connavar]

Well i ordered I, Robot collection. Hope the Robot stories are great.

I expect alot from Asimov after Foundation.

 

[pnerd]

Well i ordered I, Robot collection. Hope the Robot stories are great.

they ARE great.

 

[AE35Unit]

No they're not great,they're brilliant!

 

[j d worthington]

No they're not great,they're brilliant!

Not sure I'd go quite that far... but I do think they are often sadly underrated; and while some (such as "Robbie) haven't dated particularly well, others (such as "Escape!" or "The Evitable Conflict") seem to me to have improved with age.

At any rate, I'd say it's a very enjoyable collection, with some wonderful characters and a great deal of verve and imagination, and a fair amount of thought-provoking material at times. Some are, of course, puzzle pieces (Asimov was fond of this type of mystery story, for instance, and enjoyed writing such himself), while others are more considered, thoughtful tales. A varied bunch, but well worth reading....

 

[pnerd]

No they're not great,they're brilliant!

I'd have to agree with that.

 

[Connavar]

Not sure I'd go quite that far... but I do think they are often sadly underrated; and while some (such as "Robbie) haven't dated particularly well, others (such as "Escape!" or "The Evitable Conflict") seem to me to have improved with age.

At any rate, I'd say it's a very enjoyable collection, with some wonderful characters and a great deal of verve and imagination, and a fair amount of thought-provoking material at times. Some are, of course, puzzle pieces (Asimov was fond of this type of mystery story, for instance, and enjoyed writing such himself), while others are more considered, thoughtful tales. A varied bunch, but well worth reading....

Which Robot stories do you think is the best ? The early ones like I,Robot or that series with the human with Robot partner ?

I wonder was Asimov good at writing mystery. I would love reading good mystery in SF settings.

 

[j d worthington]

Well.... to be honest, I have a sentimental fondness for "Robbie", despite its flaws, because it was the first Asimov story I ever read, at a very early age....

I also think that, despite some dated aspects where characters are concerned, "Liar!" is a very good story, as is "Lenny". But I suppose the best of his robot tales would include, from I, Robot: "Little Lost Robot", "Evidence", and "The Evitable Conflict"; otherwise: "Feminine Intuition", "The Bicentennial Man", The Naked Sun, Robots and Empire, and "-- That Thou Art Mindful of Him"....

Asimov was much more of the classic detective/mystery sort of tale than the hardboiled and such; he wrote quite a few mystery stories in his time, some of which are sf, but most of which are not.....