War with the robots : science fiction stories

Intelligent and witty pulp fiction. Surprisingly not too dated, mostly. Harrison did believe that we'd send an unmanned mission to the Moon before we sent people, but honestly, we probably should have. Several of the stories could have been the first chapters to wonderful novels... which certainly adds to the Sense of Wonder I got from reading these.

Not all robots in here are android, but most have some free will. And most seem to be governed by a variation of Asimov's Three Laws. Most stories are about how robot's motivations conflict with human motivations, and the consequences thereof... and they're usually pretty significant consequences.

If I owned this, rather than fortunately finding it at the university library, I would keep it show more for a reread. I will consider more by the author, even though the very title 'Stainless Steel Rat' is a turn-off for me.

Anyway, recommended for fans of old-school (1950s mostly) SF short stories. I will make sure the titles are in the blurb because maybe you can find them more readily individually. show less

War with the Robots by Harry Harrison - Good

A lovely set of short stories written before the Apollo Project but post Asimov's I Robot (and therefore after his Three Laws of Robotics) which means there are one or two things in there that raise an unintentioned smile eg when the author prefaces one story by suggesting that one day a rocket will reach the moon :-)

I particularly liked the Robot Policeman in "Arm of the Law", the author could have made a good full length novel of his adventures, but all of them had their quirks and interests and I spent a few happy hours reading this and vowing to read more science fiction.

1st to die by James Patterson
Lindsay Boxer is a tough, but sympathetic homicide detective who along with three friends are trying to solve horrific murders. Someone is killing brides and grooms on their honeymoons, and Lindsay and her friends form the Women's Murder Club. They are trying to stop this killer before he strikes again.

Wie de 'grote namen', vertegenwoordigd in de reeks Bruna SF, op een rijtje zette, miste er tot nu toe eigenlijk maar één: Harry Harrison, 'American by birth, world citizen by intention'.

Hier te lande al genoegzaam bekend door zijn romans en anthologieën en door zijn wijdvertakte activiteiten op SF-magazine-gebied, behoeft hij geen introductie meer, tenzij in zijn hoedanigheid van meester van het korte verhaal met onverwachte wendingen, want als zodanig kwam Harrison in de Nederlandstalige SF-reeksen nog nauwelijks tot zijn recht. Aart C. Prins bracht juweeltjes bijeen in deze eerste bundel, variërend van satirisch tot tragi-komisch en dramatisch.

Oorlog met robots bevat de verhalen:

Het geheim van Stonehenge - The secret of show more Stonehenge
Ambtenaar - A civil service servant
De vluchtnabootser - Simulated trainer
Reddingsoperatie - Rescue operation
De lijkenvreters - The ghoul squad
Ik doe altijd wat Teddy zegt - I always do what Teddy says
Een strafbaar feit - A criminal act
Wie niet weg is, is gezien - I see you
Amos Cabot is wel wijzer - Not me, not Amos Cabot
Oorlog met de robots - War with the robots show less

Indeholder "A Word from the (Human) Author", "Simulated Trainer", "The Velvet Glove", "Arm of the Law", "The Robot Who Wanted to Know", "I See You", "The Repairman", "Survival Planet", "War with the Robots".

"A Word from the (Human) Author" handler om at der allerede er robotter allevegne. Fra clockradio/vækkeur til autopilot til tændsatser til granater, der eksploderer, når de er tæt på noget.
"Simulated Trainer" handler om at træne astronauter i et simuleret miljø til at klare sig på Mars. Det går ikke så godt. Men Tony og Hal klarer sig igennem, da de bliver bildt ind at det bare er endnu et test og ikke virkeligheden. Deres chef, oberst Stegham, er for en gangs skyld tilfreds.
"The Velvet Glove" handler om robot Jon Venex, show more der har frikøbt sig selv fra et møgjob på Venus med at rense kanaler. Nu er han tilbage på Jorden, hvor han så er nødt til at bruge penge på et reserveknæ og finde sig i menneskernes apartheid-holdninger til robotter. Han møder en ven fra Venus, Alec Diger, og finder et nyt job hos en mr. Coleman, der starter med at lamme ham og svejse en bombe fast på knæet af ham og for at have en klemme mere, så er der også sat en tilsvarende bombe på et menneske, så Jon er nødt til at parere ordre. Han skal grave en gang fri, hvilket tager noget tid og undervejs finder han hovedet af en anden Venex robot. Han får sat strøm til hovedet igen uden at Coleman opdager det og Venex 17 fortæller ham en kode, som han bare skal indtelefonere til hovedkvarteret for at tilkalde forstærkning. Det lykkes og Coleman viser sig at være en heroinsmugler, som myndighederne gerne vil have skovlen under. Jon bliver hyret af Venex 17, som oprindeligt hed Wil Counter-495II.3, og dennes chef Edgecombe, som lover lange arbejdsdage, men til gengæld små lønposer. Undervejs i historien har Jon fået en pamflet med propaganda om at robotter er den ny tids slaver. Og han er god til at huske.
"Arm of the Law" handler om ???
"The Robot Who Wanted to Know" handler om robotten Filer 13B-445-K, som er en avanceret bibliotekarrobot og lidt tilfældigt har kastet sig over emnet Kærlighed. Det klæder sig ud som superkavaler til et kostumebal, men ender med at dø af et knust hjerte.
"I See You" handler om ???
"The Repairman" handler om ???
"Survival Planet" handler om ???
"War with the Robots" handler om ???

Små bagateller af noveller. Jeg kan godt lide navnet Stegham, for Harrison har boet i Danmark på et tidspunkt. Det er lidt morsomt at læse om halvdårlige infrarøde kameraer, ingen ordentlige kameraer og ingen trådløs kommunikation mellem robotter. Og de kan åbenbart flyttes til Venus og tilbage, men ikke få en reservedel til et knæ? show less