The Complete Robot

My first Asimov book and I loved it, from the first till the last story included. His [b:Foundation Trilogy|8683655|Foundation Trilogy|Isaac Asimov|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347954762s/8683655.jpg|41350] is still waiting to be read, but as I saw this collection of short stories, I decided to tackle these first.

'The Complete Robot' is said to contain all of his robot stories that were published previously in other compilations or magazines, and a few other ones that didn't make it into those earlier compilations. Everything is neatly explained in the foreword (and the different introductions to each segment in this compilation) by Mr Asimov himself, topped with a pinch of humour, which I didn't know he had.

The various stories were show more put together according by theme: Non-human Robots (3), Metallic Robots (3), Immobile Robots (6), Humanoid Robots (3), Powell and Donovan (4), Susan Calvin (10) (a robot-psychologist - or someone who likes robots more than humans), Two Climaxes (2).

Of course, the Three Laws of Robotics return throughout the book and are crucial in how robots work and interact with mankind:
1: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm;
2: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law;
3: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law;

About law no. 2: Which human being? A robot must therefore be able to distinguish a child from an adult, a police agent from a bank clerk, etc.

Asimov tried to show that robots can be used for various kinds of work and tasks, some more specialized than the others. And that's how they are used today: assembly plants, computers, construction, in hospitals, self-driving cars (not fully trustworthy yet, of course), and elsewhere. We just don't always think about it or simply take it for granted. And then there's the eternal discussion about jobs: Will and do robots take away workers'/employees' jobs?

With all those stories, Asimov offered a broad view on how robots are implemented in our lives, how they can be implemented and how they can become even human-like. And there are human-like robots today, as demonstrated by a.o. Honda, or in hospitals or geriatric places, to help the elderly. Who doesn't remember the cartoon series 'The Jetsons' and specifically Rosie, the household robot? She's also in this book, albeit in a different version. So is an alternative version of KITT, the car in 'Knight Rider', in this case Sally.

A few stories, one of them being 'The Tercentenary Incident', reminded me of current happenings: A president who has a robot double (why?), for example. But the robot gets destroyed during the public event, after which the real president shows up quickly to reassure the public that he's fine. Reminded me, in a way, of the coup in Turkey, the army wanting to overthrow president Erdogan.

In another story, 'The Bicentennial Man', Andrew the robot wants to be free, but is still subjected to the Three Laws, which allows for humans to abuse this and get him to do things which are harmful to himself, despite Andrew wanting to become a human being and going at great lengths to obtain his goal, even it means a quick death. But it also shows how humanity will always have a sly way to abuse others, robots or otherwise. And how people aren't ready yet to fully accept robots as equals, unless perhaps in a certain animal shape.

Or, if you want to go extreme: What if - but that's a what if many of us won't experience anymore, I think - robots become so free in thinking and communicating that they stand up against their makers?

Although there's a bit of hard SF, Asimov's writing style is quite accessible here. If you haven't read any Asimov yet (or none of his robot stories), this is a fine book to start with, since it contains all of the robot stories, more than in the previous compilations. This is also a fine work for those interested in the possible happenings in the future of robotics or how every day life could look many years from now. show less

Pulled from the shelf almost at whim, in a moment I craved an indulgence read. It fit the bill. Many of the stories were familiar if only half-remembered, meeting my need for a sentimental re-acquaintance, but a good many I'd never read before.

I've somehow been left with an idea of Asimov being quaint and juvenile, even for a genre writer: wooden characters, uncomplicated plots. There is something to that, but I was pleased that mostly it is a caricature of his work. His ideas and plots are quite good, often go somewhere unexpected, and there is an emotional depth to his situations and the interactions between characters, if not in his prose. A story involving autism is a conspicuous (and not saccharine) example.

Not all these stories show more fit the same universe, though many do and this accounts for their later inclusion in his Foundation canon. His Three Laws of Robotics are frequently cited, unsurprisingly, though often to be teased out or twisted or put into some extreme situation to see if they'll crack. There are other commonalities between the tales: most posit a general suspicion of robots, centred on danger posed by them, and the stories often explore the ignorance and superstition behind this fear. (One explores the uncanny valley and design principles employed to avoid it.) In most stories, Asimov posits that robots cannot be used on Earth, but only off world, until that place (satellite, planet, space station) becomes sufficiently populated so as to be another Earth.

Also prevalent are dated perspectives, not only with the obvious technologies not anticipated (interface with AI via tickertape, analog not digital photographs) but more significantly with social mores. Susan Calvin addresses an adult robot as "boy", two hooligans essentially set out to lynch a robot. Which is to say, plus ça change ....

Children are often featured, highlighting relationships between human and robot which are based in something other than fear.

In affinithy with many Golden Age writers, Asimov writes about robots as a way of reflecting humanity, of writing about humans. It's not that he hasn't done the work to understand his robots, in fact there's quite a bit there (witness, that Calvin is a robopsychologist rather than AI logician or even forensic engineer). But Asimov doesn't focus on the robot so much as how people interact with (react to) the robot.

It seems Asimov added some connecting elements, or revised certain details of stories for better continuity. It is most suggestive in the Powell and Donovan stories. Unlike some omnibus editions, Asimov's robot stories make for a satisfying read overall, collected in this way. show less

First published in 1982 and Asimov having written other robots stories after that, 'The Complete Robot' is, well, not so complete after all! A few short stories are indeed missing (e.g. 'Robot Dream'), a disappointing fact I for one wish the publisher would have addressed by now!
Well, misleading title aside, here's nevertheless a remarkable anthology which is definitely a must-read. Indeed it will please both those curious enough to have a glimpse at Asimov's work (SF master who came up with the fictional Three Laws of Robotics -a term he also coined) and, all those who are already fans as I am (yesssss! Nearly all the stories with Susan Calvin are here!).

Playing with the Three Laws of Robotics and their intricate dilemma, addressing show more the differences and their consequences between a human brain and robotic ('positronics') ones or, again, dealing with how humans might behave in an age of robots and machines, these stories are clever, funny, touching, charming and, if some can really be twisted, all intellectually and philosophically/ethically engaging. The fact they are ordered by categories depending mostly on the nature of the robots depicted ('immobile', 'metallic', 'humanoid' etc.) even add to make the whole a smooth read.

Entertaining and intelligent, what more to ask? show less

Asimov's tales of robots of the future are both disarming and disturbing. There are moments that appear quaint to us; information being fed into computers via punched tapes and huge machines that have less power and fewer functions than a mobile phone. It's these instances that disarm a reader into to feeling a little smug about Asimov's limited view of technilogical potential. You're not allowed to remain secure in that smugness for all that long. The real power of these tales of subserviant robots is the sharp focus on human behavior and all too human flaws.

This total understanding of humanity ensures that Asimov's fiction will be readable for decades to come. These stories highlight the conflict that lies between our desire for show more advancement and our resistance to anything new. As humans we want to push the boundaries of technoloy, but we are reluctant to engage with anything that is different to what we are used to. In these short stories this reluctance finds expression in distrust of robots.

My favourite story in this collection is Robbie. Robbie is a companion robot to a little girl named Gloria. The bond between child and android is of that complete type that only realy exisits in childhood. The sort of bond that parents can't understand and worry might not be healthy. After much nagging Gloria's mother talks her husband into getting rid of Robbie. Gloria goes into a serious cycle of depression, which frustrated her mother who feels that her little girl should be glad the nasty robot is gone and should be making friends with normal children. On a trip to New York Gloria's father organises events so Gloria finds Robbie again. It's not quite the meeting he had planed as Gloria runs into danger and is saved by Robbie. After this there is no way that they can seperate their daughter from her robot pal, but the worry is still there. Is it safe, healthy or right for Gloria to be so emotional close to a robot?

Don't expect any answers from Asimov. His stories leave you wondering about the state of humanity. The Complete Robot is a great combination of science fiction and human fact and well worth reading. show less

Some Nonhuman Robots

A Boys best friend - 3.5
Sally - 2.5
Someday - 3.5


Some Immobile Robots

Point of view - 2.5
Think! - 3
True Love - 4


Some Metallic Robots

Victory Unintentional - 3.5
Stranger In Paradise - 2.5
Light Verse - 3.5
Segregationist - 5
Robbie - 3 *

Some Humanoid Robots

Let's Get Together - 3
Mirror Image - 3
The Tercentenary Incident - 4


Powell and Donovan

First Law - 2
Runaround - 2.5 *
Reason - 4 *
Catch That Rabbit! - 3 *


Susan Calvin

Liar! - 4 *
Satisfaction Guaranteed - 4
Lenny - 4.5
Galley Slave - 4.5
Little Lost Robot - 3.5 *
Risk - 3
Escape! - 2.5 *
Evidence - 4 *
The Evitable Conflict - 2 *
The Female Intuition - 3.5


Two Climaxes

Thou Art Mindful Of Him - 4
The Bicentennial Man - 3.5

* Collected in I Robot

This has been sat on my shelf for a while. show more There's something about an author you're not fond of and a 700 page book that's just not that inviting...
However, I Robot was announced as a group read and, seeing as The Complete Robot contained all of the same stories (minus the Dr. Calvin interviews), I figured what better time to pick it up?

I found it a real slog to start with. There's no refuting Asimov's ideas and what he brought to the genre, but I have often found him to be a pretty poor storyteller, particularly when it comes to endings; and this struck mostly true for the first half of the collection, making it a real trial to wade through. There were exceptions of course, as can be gathered from my rating of each story (above), and my enjoyment definitely reached a high when I came to the Susan Calvin stories. Not just because I found her a great character, but because it was at that point that the book became much more than just a collection of short stories. There was a bigger picture, an overarching story detailing the evolution of robotics and it's gradual acceptance by humanity. The stories were pretty much chronological with recurring characters and this made it a greater joy to read the good stories, and less of a chore in reading the weaker ones.
In fact, despite its inconsistency, I feel that reading this collection has birthed in me a stronger desire to read Asimov (but not too much). I'll certainly be proceeding with the "Robot" series.... When I get around to it. show less

This happens to be a re-read because I happened to have forgotten that I read the complete short stories of Asimov when I was much younger. :) That being said, I enjoyed them the second time around too.

The three laws of robotics were obviously in play but what sticks most in my mind is the light professional tone of Asimov throughout every single story. They weren't uncomplicated, but they were definitely studies of stark spotlight stories that always had definite points to be made.

They might not be extremely good points, such as turning a robot into something that has "feminine intuition" but turning her into a Greek Oracle was funny. And then little charmers like murderous buses are always a grand treat. :)

The dryer closed-room show more mysteries involving robots, including the one that set out to prove a local politician as a robot, are all lightly amusing and clever, but by today's standards, they're rather short on depth. That's fine. These are classics of the 30's after all.

There is still an element of universality at least!

Some things I don't like: the underlying arguments that robots should be slaves. I know that we can make a very good argument that Asimov has plenty of stories trying to free robots, such as Centennial Man and of course the end of his Robot novels with Olivaw, but for the most part, no one questions it, and no one cares.

It's a case of too little notice, in my opinion, but at least some of it is there.

And then there are the cultural assumptions, despite the author's naysaying it, that women are inferior... which grates on me. But it's far and away the lightest and least noticeable out of Classic SF in general. I can think of 75% other classic novels that are much worse, and they're not even SF. :)

All told, though, these were very enjoyable. :) show less

(I, Robot, is the first collection of short stories. Second is The Rest of the Robots. Robot Dreams only has one new story in it. The Complete Robot is reported to be truly complete.)

Ok, the edition I read has 31 stories. Doubleday/ Nightfall, 1982. Stories originally from 1939 to 1977. Perhaps all editions the same, I dunno, but there you are.

It also has a nice concise introduction about Robot-as-Menace and Robot-as-Pathos and related thoughts, and is organized by theme or (slice of) world-built, with intros to each section, and even a Last Word, all by the author. Wonderful presentation of stories that I still enjoy after all these years, after reading them when young, finding some anthologized elsewhere, rereading, etc.

Still show more thought-provoking, and entertaining, and sometimes downright moving. Asimov had the smarts to close with [b:The Bicentennial Man|25611395|The Bicentennial Man|Isaac Asimov|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1451363963s/25611395.jpg|45422402], a brilliant tear-jerker that moved me, and impressed me, even more this time than the others that I read it. If you're an SF fan and have not read that, you must. (It's not long, just is usually found in collections).

This read, though, I think my favorite is Feminine Intuition. I really enjoyed being able to read all the Susan Calvin stories and that one is a good 'snap' to let the dear lady finally retire.

If your spec. fic. book club ever wants to read a collection of short stories, you-all should choose this. Lots to discuss. Not just tech, but character motivations, meaning-of-life, future of men's fashion, etc....

I could easily stand to read this yet again in a decade or so. ... show less