The Humanoids

Humanoids #2

by Jack Williamson

On the far planet Wing IV, a brilliant scientist creates the humanoids--sleek black androids programmed to serve humanity.

But are they perfect servants--or perfect masters?

Slowly the humanoids spread throughout the galaxy, threatening to stifle all human endeavor. Only a hidden group of rebels can stem the humanoid tide...if it's not already too late.

Fist published in Astounding Science Fiction during the magazine's heyday, The Humanoids--sceince fiction grand master Jack Williamson's finest novel--has endured for fifty years as a classic on the theme of natural versus artificial life.

Also included in this edition is the prelude novelette, "With Folded Hands," which was chosen for the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Robots, Classics, Space Opera, Science Fiction Fantasy, Speculative Fiction

299 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1948

About the author

John Stewart Williamson who wrote as Jack Williamson (and occasionally under the pseudonym Will Stewart) was a U.S. writer often referred to as the "Dean of Science Fiction".

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The late 1940s was a period of remarkable creativity for future sci-fi Grand Master Jack Williamson. July '47 saw the release of his much-acclaimed short story "With Folded Hands" in the pages of "Astounding Science-Fiction," followed by the tale's two-part serialized sequel, "And Searching Mind," in that influential magazine's March and April 1948 issues. "Darker Than You Think," Williamson's great sci-fi/fantasy/horror hybrid, was released later in 1948, and 1949 saw the publication of "And Searching Mind" in hardcover form, and retitled "The Humanoids." "With Folded Hands" had been a perfect(ly downbeat) short story that introduced us to the Humanoids, sleek black robots invented by a technician named Sledge on planet Wing IV. The robots' built-in Prime Directive (hmmm...why does that phrase seem so familiar?) is "To Serve and Obey, And Guard Men From Harm." Unfortunately, this leaves mankind with very little to do, as the mechanicals prevent humans from participating in anything that might be potentially dangerous; in other words, just about everything! Sledge's efforts to wipe out the master brain on Wing IV that is controlling the billions of self-replicating mechanicals are, sadly, fruitless, which sets us up for the action in "The Humanoids."


Flash forward 90 years. (Actually, this novel takes place a good 6,000 years from our present day, the reader infers.) On an unnamed planet, a physicist named Forester, head of a secret government project that is constructing a prototype "rhodomagnetic" bomb, comes to realize that the newly arrived Humanoids on his world are a bane, not a boon, to mankind. This realization is strengthened when the robots give his wife the brain-wiping drug known as euphoride to keep her happy, and when his beloved pet project is dismantled by the Humanoids as being too dangerous for men to engage in. Forester joins a band of "paraphysical" misfits--gifted with the powers of clairvoyance, telekinesis, telepathy and teleportation--to fight the Humanoids and alter their Prime Directive by going to the distant world of Wing IV itself. Readers expecting a traditional humans vs. ray-zapping evil robots story (such as Williamson's 1939 novel "After World's End") may be surprised to learn that this engrossing tale is anything but. The robots here are not at all presented as evil; if anything, they are guilty of killing mankind's spirit with too much kindness, and their benevolence is ultimately a mixed blessing at best. In the book's ambivalently downbeat ending, a case is made for the Humanoids' positive aspects (by Sledge himself, here, for some reason, renamed Warren Mansfield) that is almost a convincing one. Depending on the reader's outlook, I suppose a society in which the individual is free to do nothing but laze, paint, think and play (no sports, though; too dangerous, say the Humanoids!) could be regarded as a paradise or a hell. "The Humanoids," besides offering those convincing (?) sociological arguments, also gives us some impressive pseudoscience to explain the very nature of reality, extrasensory abilities and the binding forces that hold nature together. "Rhodomagnetism" is a made-up word that Williamson uses often to describe a source of energy based on a different triad of elements than electromagnetism, and before things are done, Forester comes up with a group of equations involving "platinomagnetism" that allows its possessor to gain various "paramechanical" abilities. This use of arcane scientific equations to cause changes in the power of the mind was very reminiscent, for this reader, of Henry Kuttner's classic short novel from 1946, "The Fairy Chessmen"; as in that earlier tale, "The Humanoids" grows increasingly "way out" as it progresses. It is a finely written, suspenseful, action-packed yarn that is at the same time chock-full of interesting scientific speculations. It has been called Williamson's "greatest science fiction novel," and while I cannot claim to have read more than 1/10 of the author's nearly 80-year output (!), the greatness of the novel is hard to deny. I would never dream of revealing whether or not Forester & Co. are successful in their efforts against the Humanoids, but can report that the author did come out with a very belated sequel, "The Humanoid Touch," in 1980. Say no more, right?

[Lizz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t write reviews.

Usually I don’t enjoy expanded versions of novellas, but every rule has an exception. This time it would be the expanded version of “With Folded Hands.” Williamson had more time to explore the Humanoids philosophically, and though it took away the fear factor of the novella, it proved to serve just as much food for thought.

Whereas I’m not a fan of hard SF or technotalk, Williamson’s physics were pretty interesting. He dove into probability as magic in Darker Than You Think. Here he created new unifying theories of physics allowing humanity to do things once thought impossible.

I also enjoyed the duality play between safety and liberty. With the rise of computer-controlled everything dubbed “AI,” though I don’t believe it will ever be intelligent, this story retains its relevance. At the end, the humans show that once they are proven tame to the Humanoids, they are allowed to have liberty once again. However, the computers humans use in our world are not so forgiving. There is no plan to make our world better and provide for everyone. We just get technocratic tyranny with an environmentalist paint job.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 stars. Classic science fiction novel by Jack Williamson that explores the same themes and basic set up as his ground-breaking novella "With Folded Hands." While this is a good story, I thought that With Folded Hands was more tightly focused, created a better sense of dread and was the superior story. That said, this is still a good story and worth the read.

[Denis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the novelized or expanded version of the great shorter novella "With Folded Hands" written in 1947 during the aftermath of WWII and the disastrous deployment of the atomic bomb. The point is made that by exploiting a new technology developed with all the best intentions (in this case a Humanoid robot that is designed in the Asimov "Three Laws Of Robotics" fashion, meaning it will not hurt a human being) can have devastating effects.

In Williamson's story, just about everyone in society acquires one of these technical wonders (a shiny black thinking robot) to do just about everything for them to the point that humans become prohibited to do just about anything for themselves, for one might hurt himself by doing it, hence the title "With Folding Hands." This is a "careful what you wish for" scenario.

The novelized version of the "With Folding Hands" story published a year later, adds more character, plot development and drama but the essence of the story remains intact.

Williamson wrote a sequel "The Humanoid Touch" in 1980.

Note: Williamson began publishing in 1928 and continued to do so until 2005 with "The Stonehenge Gate." -This to me is simply outstanding.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting in that there's a lot of science, based on an attempt to explore ideas raised by quantum mechanics as opposed to Newtonian physics. "There I think we've found it--the mechanics of teleportation! No transfer of actual substance, but rather an exchange of identities, brought on by controlled probability. That gets us around the old electromagnetic problems of inertia and instantaneous acceleration...." Much is made of something called "rhodomagnetics," too.

Otherwise, the concept is covered more effectively in the short story, With Folded Hands, imo.

However the ending of this confuses me. Is it really bleak, in that Forester is now brain-washed? Or has he come to see past his hatred to accept the humanoids as partners? I do own the sequel so I'll have to check....

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first story in this volume, "With Folded Hands", is a classic dystopian story of robots taking over and killing human freedom with kindness - they were programmed "To Serve and Obey, And Guard Men from Harm". The following novel, "The Humanoids" is an expansion set quite some years later on another world that the robots arrive at and take over, and how the resistance works out. Will the robots succeed or not? A real page turner.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The central conundrum this novel explores is the dichotomy between safety and liberty. At first glance they seem to be mutually exclusive, an inevitable trade-off between one and the other, but is it conceivable that they might ever be reconciled, for humanity to achieve both completely?

Humanity has spread out across the galaxy but now someone has unleashed a race of supremely powerful robots who's prime directive is to protect all humanity from harm. The are going from planet to planet imposing safety and happiness on all humans they find, whether they like it or not. All potentially harmful physical or intellectual activities are proscribed and if they're not happy, they are sedated with drugs.

There is a bewildering array of psudo sciences explored in this novel too. Not only were these robots made possible by the discovery of a new rhodo-magnetic spectrum of energy but also faster than light travel and bombs exponentially more powerful than conventional nuclear weapons. Some humans have stumbled upon discovering parapsychological powers which they are using to resist the robotic occupation and these seem to be the unconscious manipulation of yet another spectrum of energy; the psychophysical. Could these three types of energies be related in some way to form some grand unifying theory of everything including consciousness itself?

So, this is an action packed novel that is also packed with ideas and revolving around the central question of liberty verses safety. And like all great stories, it doesn't attempt to tell you the answer.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic SF. This is a very early SF novel (Post WW II) from the Golden Age written by one of the Grandmasters of Science Fiction. It is Dystopian in nature and involves Technology gone wild. The first 50 pages is a novelette "With Folded Hands" about mechanized "robots" called Humanoids slowly taking over mankind due to a benevolent "Prime Directive" which is to "Serve and Protect and allow no harm to come to humans".
They allow no humans to drive, ride a bicycle, have unsupervised sex, smoke, drink, or anything that may allow harm or even unhappiness to come to a human being. We soon find that humanity is completely stifled by the Humanoids which will do whatever is necessary to protect humanity include altering their minds.
The novel "The Humanoids" was actually a novel length rewrite but actually can be read as a sequel to "With Folded Hands". In this case, "The Humanoids", travel to a remote planet system to bring their "Prime Directive" to a new group of humans that are involved in a "cold war" with their neighboring planets. They are opposed by a group of dissenters who have developed powers which the author calls "Psychophysical" (clairvoyance, telekinesis, teleportation, etc) who join with a scientist who is an expert in a fictional science called "Rhodomagnetics". The ending has been confused over the years. Some finding it ambiguous. I highly recommend this book if you appreciate hard science fiction. It still holds up well today.

[Marc Murison · Rating 1 out of 5]

A classic full of great and wondrous ideas (hence the two stars instead of one), but some of the very worst writing I've slogged through in years. Williamson never met an adverb he couldn't sophomorically abuse. Ugh. He also rushed the ending to disastrous effect, which is too bad -- the book would've been somewhat less awful had he spent more effort on developing the turnabout. This juvenile crap makes *Asimov's* prose seem beautiful by comparison.

[Edit: I couldn't in good conscience let the two-star rating stand. Really, the writing was that awful.]

[Fantasy boy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Humanoid by Jack Williamson is a Sci-Fi book about robot. It has an interesting premise which lead the story to robots vs humans. Those human rebellions have paraphysic that are like superpower, they have been developing the superpower due to the threat by the humanoids. It’s sound like the classic evil versus good type of story but with some twists and turns on it. I think the ending is quite portrait how would it be if humans has invented AI robots that follow the rule of preserving mankind. The pacing is quite fast and it doesn’t slow down the story by adding irrelevant details to it instead provide the info if it is necessary. The central theme of The Humanoid is quite fascinating; what if the robots was designed to protect human but follow the strict rule of not let humans be harm by any meaning, and thus this is the liberty humans are asking for under the setting of the programed humanoids’s rule.

The story starts at Forester was doing with his researches of the rhodomagnetic on the development. One day a girl is named Jane who lead Forester and his colleague, Ironsmith to Mr. White. In the deserted tower there Mr.White explain the humanoids invasion, and it already has conquered multiple planets. It was a mistake when Dr. Mansfield created the humanoids and he program those automatons to protect humans. However, the system has been forcing the humanoid’s exaggeratedly not let any harms on humans. The only way to save mankind is to alter the Prime Directive to change the program of the humanoids. Furthermore, fighting with the humanoids requires paramachamiclas powers. And this is the crew with superpowers was being assembled to the mission.

The ending is not the typical humans liberated their country fellows from evil robots. On the flip side, Dr. Mansfield was converted to the belief of the humanoids’s principles and has convinced Forester not to against the humanoids and violates the rules of protecting humans by the humanoids. It is quite interesting to see the ending is different than I expected to see. I think the author may convey the message of the ideal utopia was meant to sacrifice freedom at some points. I quite like this book, although the theories are quite not the very scientific way of explaining in Science fiction. It is not bad but I might want to know more things which are related to the robots or AI. The most percents of the theories are about the paraphysic and Rhodomagnetic. It reads like a fantasy book. I think the most frequently scene is the humanoid asked Forester are you unhappy; if you are, we can provide you happiness. It reminded me of after went back from Canada, I has been suffering mental issue for a while. It let me think about if a drug can forget your past then you won’t feel unhappy at all. But I think I just need to have the adjustment period of time. I am still suffering things which happened when I was staying in Canada. It will be fine. After all, things would past and people would move on, I was just unlucky at some points I think.

The humanoids is a fast paced science fiction with some fun moments about the humanoids. Which way is better? The freedom or safety? Even we have the freedom, the tension of the wars are still happening in our real life without robots conciliating or reconciling in humans’s wars on Earth.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every so often, I run across a book that has an intriguing idea, but is rather dull and dry for reading. Vinge’s Rainbows End and Flynn’s Eifelheim are two recent examples, and now Williamson’s The Humanoids can go on that list. I discovered the book through a Webcomic, of all things, but the description of the novel captured my imagination: In a distant future, the Humanoids, a race of robots with a prime directive to protect humans at all costs, effectively invades different planets and takes over. The Humanoids are so painstakingly dedicated to their directive that humans cannot cook (the heat is too dangerous), perform crafts (scissors can be dangerous), or even drive (cars are too dangerous). Once they begin their assimilation into society, the humans begin to feel imprisoned, and any signs of unhappiness on their part is met with a form of lobotomy so that humans no longer feel unhappy. It’s a frightening concept, and it made me uneasy during much of the novel.

The novel is actually a collection of a short story, “With Folded Hands,” that introduces the Humanoids, and the novel proper, which continues with the concept of their invasion. They were both published in the late 1940s, and aside from the usual sexist portrayals of women and men, it’s still a timely book. The writing style became obtuse in portions, as the author spent a great deal of the narrative discussing the science behind the rhodomagnetic science, but the story itself captured me. The story accounts several attempts by humans to stop the Humanoids, only to show them fail each time. I felt anxious for the characters to end the tyranny of the overprotective androids, and frustrated when they met with failure each time. The Humanoids were just too efficient to defeat.

Which brings me to the point of the novel that troubles me. It’s depressing, to me, to think of a rule such as this, and the novel doesn’t bring any clear resolution to the issue that makes me feel any better about it. There is a happy ending, of sorts, but it’s more a case of mutual existence between the Humanoids and the humans, and I almost felt betrayed by that conclusion. The story is told in such a way as to make the reader feel as outraged as the protagonists, but in the end, I felt cheated by the ending. Was I supposed to? Or was I supposed to be accepting of the final outcome between the humans and their captors?

I enjoyed the novel, because it contained some interesting social commentary, and elicited some genuine emotion from me. It was slow going, but ultimately satisfying. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to catch up on some of the more obscure classic science fiction, and would suggest that they email me about it when they finish it so I can see if I’m the only one who feels like I do about the conclusion.

[Ira (SF Words of Wonder) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out my full, spoiler free, video review HERE.

This short novel had some great ideas and used ‘Humanoid’ robots as a metaphor for the dangers of technology. These humanoid robots take their Prime Directive too literally and instead of protecting humans from harm they end up stripping away their humanity. The main character is a physicist whose wife gets her brain wiped by the humanoids and this sends him off to try and stop them. There are also a band of characters who wield psionic powers and they get involved in the plot to stop the humanoids. Great ideas, themes and its very thought provoking but it feels a bit pulpy and suffers from some issues that plagued SF from this time.

[Joseph Hirsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is maybe one of the most poignant and elegiac pieces of science fiction I've ever read. In terms of its power as an allegory for what humanity may be facing, in the present and in the future, it's just a step behind maybe "1984" and "Brave New World." The only reason I would rate it as four instead of five stars is that in the last act there's a bit too much quantum mysticism (Williamson lays it on incredibly thick with the exposition and "rhodomagnetics") and there's also a lot of Deus ex Machina when the characters rather than the attempt to solve an unsolvable problem should be the center of the narrative. The science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon once said words to the effect that "Fiction is about people." That's true, even with Science Fiction, where the ideas are in many respects the star of the show. Jack Williamson knows this, demonstrates it, and then forgets it occasionally in the course of "The Humanoids."

That's my quibble. The good news is that the central story, about a scientist named Dr. Clay Forester, has not dated a day since the book was written (though the used copy I got my hands on is on the verge of crumbling and required a bit of patching with Scotch tape). Dr. Forester is working on a top-secret weapons project on a planet far from Earth, in the distant future. His relationship with his wife is strained, and he finds one of his coworkers to be equal parts enigmatic and annoying. What is young Dr. Ironside up to?

Soon, a little girl shows up at the good doctor's installation, bringing news of grave danger, as well as demonstrating an uncanny ability for teleportation and telepathy. The "Humanoids" arrive shortly thereafter, promising to follow the prime directive of protecting humanity from harm, and even solving the problem of unhappiness with constant doses of a drug called "Euphoride" whose effects are described to resemble a cross between Prozac and an ice pick through the frontal lobe.

The struggle between Dr. Forester and the Humanoids is the centerpiece of the book. I won't spoil its details for you here. I'll just close by saying that Jack Williamson uses his story to explore the big problems and ask the big questions that have been dogging Western man at least since Goethe wrote about Faustus bemoaning his fate.

A good short book, with some great characters, and occasional prose passages that read more like poetry than science fiction. Recommended.

[Xabi1990 · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10. Media de los 7 libros leídos del autor : 6/10

Considerado uno de los grandes de la era de los clásicos de la CF, esta novela es de los 50 y está considerada como una de las mejores suyas, con intriga, ritmo …y un sabor a otros tiempos y a una cierta ingenuidad que se notan mucho. NO me encantó.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The humanoids are out there in a great science fiction story that was written in the late forites, but is still amazing to read today.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whereas the last novel I read in the Jack Williamson Gateway Omnibus, The Legion of Space, may have been well-known vintage science-fiction, it was really more “space opera” than science-fiction. Written in the early 1940s, it set the stage for some of the “B” movies, serials, and children’s television “sci-fi” of the 1950s. The Humanoids is another beach full of evolving lungfish. This is classic science-fiction. Oh, the hypothesized science of rhodomagnetics may not be viable in today’s physics and the psionics powers presented as “psychophysical sciences” in The Humanoids may seem as strange to the modern reader as the work of J. B. Rhine in the mid-20th century seemed to those who hadn’t tried mind-altering drugs in the ‘60s. Yet, this 1949 work is surprisingly sophisticated in its understanding of quantum theory and its implications well beyond the A-bomb. In addition, The Humanoids is a surprisingly unsentimental consideration of the cost of utopian ideals of peace at the cost of thinking and creativity.
So, despite some deliberately fictional aspects of The Humanoids and despite this idea of psychophysical sciences having tremendous appeal to cybernetics fan and super-editor John W. Campbell (to whom the novel was dedicated), the novel stands the test of time in terms of science-fiction at its best—postulating that which is not yet (or maybe, never will be) for the purpose of examining the realities of human psychology, sociology, and morality of the present.

The Humanoids tells the story of a bleeding-edge physicist, Dr. Clay Forester, who finds himself sought by a poverty-stricken waif of a child that appears (and disappears) mysteriously at the gate of his top-secret research base. That appearance heralds a revelation that will dramatically change Dr. Forester’s life, world-view, and policy when he is informed of an overarching danger to humankind throughout the galaxy (or galaxies). At first, one is expecting some type of an invading“Red Menace” in this post-World War II morality tale, but (avoiding spoilers) that be a misreading of the idea of a passive peace that is considered in the novel. Williamson brings up questions about the balance between liberty and safety that are just as relevant nearly a quarter-century after 9/11 as those questions were in Williamson’s era. Better yet, Williamson provides no easy answers. Almost like the question marks so popular at the end of science-fiction “B” movies of the era, Williamson offers an ending which gives one mixed feelings. It seems to suggest one thing while leaving open a question of another. You’ll have to read it to be the judge.

Forester has to deal with both the promise and the possible threat of thinking (yes, humanoid) machines, a question still relevant to fans of films like Ex Machina and Her in the more recent past. At one point, a character tries to convince Forester that these inventions of one Dr. Warren Mansfield are merely “tools.” [Note: The page number is from the Gateway Omnibus edition.] “’A can opener will cut your finger as willingly as it does a can. A rifle will kill the hunter as quickly as the game, Yet those devices aren’t evil; the error arises in the user. Old Warren Mansfield was merely solving the old problem of the imperfections and the limitation of the human operator when he designed a perfect mechanism to operate itself.’” (p. 223)

The Humanoids was another of my “archaeological digs” into classic science-fiction. Prior to my efforts of the last couple of years, I thought I was reasonably well-read in the genre. I now recognize that I am tremendously ill-read in the genre. Yet, my discovery of what many science-fiction fans have been aware of for nearly three-quarters of a century has been more rewarding than disappointment. I hope I have another decade or two of discovery—especially if more of these mid-20th century titles are as thought-provoking as The Humanoids.

[Jeff Brateman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to sci-fi for anyone who lived during the first half of the 20th century. Unfortunately, for the rest of us, the concepts are a bit dated, sexist, and silly. Williamson drags along the journey of The Humanoids conquering of the world during the short story "With Folded Hands", and one remaining chance for humanity to save itself in the actual novel. The short story was great, and I wasn't eager to start the novel after the story, because it felt so complete on its own. In both the short story, and the novel, the action is mostly gripping, and sci-fi concepts thought provoking.

The character development true of the time period, in that the women in the plot are pretty much useless, while the men are the heroes, the only ones capable of deep thought, and generally brutish, as we would come to expect from the post WW2 era. The math concepts got ridiculous too. Apparently if you write down an equation, you can do magic. Ridiculous. There is lots of action throughout the novel and tons of magical concepts invented to give humanity a chance. This is where it got just too damn silly.

I can't in good conscious recommend this to anyone looking for hard sci-fi, but can consider this an easy summer read.

[Laurence · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh really struggled with this one. Was ready to have some fascinating deeper down the rabbit hole since this was meant to be better than his precursor short story, With Folded Hands. Unfortunately this got taken in too many directions that just didn't gel with me. The telekinesis of the mutants (for lack of a better title of these superhero types) was just too much.

So many great questions that could have been tackled (and have been raised by later stories across the genre) like: What does it mean to have a consciousness inputted into a new robotic body? What does a new dangerously benevolent robot race want? Or what are their goals? Is there a single mastermind in the middle or is it an interconnected consciousness of drones? What would happen to those that survive such a robot takeover? What if there are planets formerly outside of the reach of such 'Humanoids' who then are introduced to them, how will they interact with them and should they embrace them into their society what will happen if they start to drug- lobotomise the population - ie the premise of this book?

So many interesting ways this book could have gone, its a great premise, and off the strength of With Folded Hands raised expectations were not met. Disappointing.

[Sargeatm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ein Klassiker, der mich gar nicht überzeugen konnte. Da wäre zum einen die altertümliche Sprache (in der Übersetzung). Dazu kommt ein Protagonist, der ein totaler Unsympath ist. Mein Hauptproblem war aber die Story selber, die (wie ich hinterher erfuhr) von Novelle auf Romanlänge aufgeblasen wurde (um dann in drei Teilen in einem SF-Magazin der 1940er veröffentlicht zu werden).
Die Geschichte wirkt wenig strukturiert - da werden Figuren urplötzlich "vergessen". Und die Spannung ist leider auch nicht vorhanden.
Letztlich fragt man sich dann am Ende: Was wollte uns der Autor eigentlich sagen?
Und warum hat er dafür so viele Worte benutzt, wenn es doch eigentlich nur um eine Erfindung geht, die mit besten Absichten gemacht wurde, aber sehr unangenehme Auswirkungen hat (= Roboter, die die Menschheit so sehr beschützen, dass man wie im Gefängnis lebt).

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 2.5 stars.
This is a decent post-WW2 sci-fi novel about black, genital-less robots who take over mankind because of their literal interpretation of the directive "Do no harm to humans". Of course, there is a resistance movement, composed by paranaturals, psychics and teleporters and what-not, who are battling their well-meaning robot tormentors. That part is pretty interesting, and the idea that our own creations will destroy us (echoes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I suppose) is always a nice theme in science fiction.
The novel is rather pedestrian, however, in that it relies heavily on abstruse pseudo-science involving shit I can't even begin to explain much less understand for its resolution...or not a resolution? It's hard to say because the ending is rushed and confusing, and the stark flaw in this otherwise mildly entertaining sci-fi tale...

[William Bibliomane · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a remote future, the Humanoids have come to an unnamed, Earth-like world. The Humanoids wish only to serve, to keep you from harm, and to deprive you of anything that makes you unhappy or agitated. How far they are willing to go to achieve this end, however, is the terrifying reality faced by those whom they invade.

Full review here: https://bibliomaneblog.wordpress.com/...

[Velvetink · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have the 1982 GB edition.

[Craig Childs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six millennia after Man has colonized the galaxy, a four-planet war is about to break out in an isolated solar system. Clay Forester is just a peaceful astrophysicist who wants to devote his time to scientific research, but he is now tasked with overseeing his home world’s stockpile of artificially intelligent planet-killing defense missiles…

A delegation of mechanical men appears just in time to offer their services to prevent hostilities. Their Prime Directive is "to serve and obey and guard men from harm". The cost for their assistance is total disarmament and turning control of the government over to the robotic humanoids…

Forester is contacted by a small band of rebels led by ruddy, flame-haired Mark White, who knows the humanoids’ benevolence means stagnation and servitude. Robots already control other worlds. White wants to use humans who have evolved extrasensory powers of the mind—psychokinesis, telepathy, teleportation, precognition, clairvoyance—to force the machines to alter their misguided directive…

Another scientist, Frank Ironsmith, tries to convince Forester the best course of action is to adapt human culture to a new paradigm of leisure and pampering. Even if this means using narcotics like euphoride to delete all our painful memories…

Jack Williamson’s 1949 novel is the sequel to his classic short story “With Folded Hands”, and it is advisable to read that story first before jumping into this one.

The best way to think about this book is to imagine a chef preparing a meal that starts with the ingredients from Isaac Asimov’s Robot/Foundation series. The recipe includes robots who want to be our allies but inadvertently become a threat, telepaths who can unlock human evolution, and a directive similar to Asimov’s Three Laws. Add a pinch of time travel and a dash of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The chef purees these in a storytelling blender to produce a dish that is unique, wholly dissimilar from Asimov’s more well-known creation.

Forester is obsessed with the idea of finding the Unified Theory of Everything. He calls it the prima materia (the term ‘theory of everything’ did not come into popular culture until the 1980’s). He discovers instead the rhodomagnetic spectrum, an alternate source of energy that is unrelated to (and therefore not bound by the same natural limits as) electromagnetism. It does not operate on binary relays like those that characterize atomic power and the human nervous system. Its laws are what makes humanoid technology possible, yet they cannot be integrated into the laws of electromagnetic-based physics.

Of course, the emergence of ESP powers (here called “paramechanical” or “psychophysical” abilities) introduces a tertiary branch of science that opens a new understanding of the cosmos capable of incorporating both electromagnetism and rhodomagnetism. This is all technobabble, of course, but Williamson provides a better pseudoscientific justification for ESP than any of the novels in that era by Clark, Heinlein, or Asimov.

In the final chapter, the humanoids’ creator Sledge returns (now referred to only by his proper name Warren Mansfield). Although readers are aware he has been forcibly compromised by the machines, he nevertheless offers a new perspective. Science has not stagnated but flourished under humanoid rule. If the robots had not blocked men from studying the physical sciences, they never could have discovered the new science of the mind.

I listened to the audiobook read by Stefan Rudnicki. (Note: This recording is based on the text of the 1996 edition of the novel. A quick scan of older editions shows that, at some point after 1980, the author substantially revised and expanded this book.)

4 stars

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This advent-of-dystopia is painfully well written. The “villains” are so believable that I could never be sure that Williamson didn’t meant them to be in the right. Many of their arguments are very familiar: don’t believe what’s on the surface (don’t believe your lying eyes), the invaders are good for humanity, and safety is an ultimate good that justifies any loss of superficial freedom in favor of the freedom to be yourself.

As long as being yourself doesn’t get in the way of safety, or cause war, or cause unhappiness. To cause anything that could be defined as “harm” by a soulless intelligence.

It really wasn’t until the end that surety locked into place, and even then none of the characters would call it a dystopia. It’s a paradise of adventure, ease, and power. It’s a world where all knowledge and all rules are turned over to an artificial intelligence whose initial parameters were written simply but broadly, “to guard men from harm.”

All enforced by a universal network—a grid—connecting the central intelligence to “humanoids” on every planet that accepts them, and growing.

“Can’t you see that any society must shape and train its members? And somehow discover and control and reclaim maladjusted individuals—before they destroy others or themselves? That’s the real function of the grid—education.”

Judging from the copyright, this comes from a 1949 story rewritten and published in 1968. The technology acknowledges the immense help that computers provide for scientists doing calculations, but they still use slide rules when one isn’t available. At one point he (or his subconscious) has the opportunity to get whatever he wants to help him solve the mystery of the universe. He doesn’t manifest a computer, he manifests a slide rule.

A special slide rule, designed specifically to solve the problems of rhodomagnetic science, which is the science and technology in this world that solves the problem of interstellar travel and communication.

Despite that, Williamson doesn’t fall into the trap of limiting his technology. Computers are programmed and can do what they’re programmed to do, and the more powerful they are, the more versatile their programming can be. A grid that connects everyone amplifies that versatility—for good or ill.

Which is a problem when they're programmed to keep humans safe, from war, from disease, from unhappiness. Safe at all costs.

It’s a very timely book.

If my own fallible human memory serves me, this is head-and-shoulders above anything I’ve read of Jack Williamson in the past, mainly The Best of Jack Williamson. But I have at least one other of his books in my to-read pile, and I may have to pull it out.

“You have no reason for alarm, sir,” came the golden monotone of his keeper. “Because you will feel nothing at all.”

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, chemistry & transmutation of elements, and teleportation! A robotic thriller, it moves, is dramatic and reaches toward climaxes covered in angst & helplessness, similar to Marvel and other comic superhero set-ups.

Kind of dated, like with its helpless girl Jane & unfaithful wife, the all-male gang, but no huge complaint here. The latter part of book really becomes a lesson in, gosh, like everything: quantum mechanics, alchemy, the prima materia, Williamson goes there, to the point of making a sort of fictional sense. And I couldn’t follow all of it, the rhodomagnetism, so I, for a page or two, would get slowed down by virtue of digesting the theory behind telekinesis and so forth.

I do want to read the sequel! I read “Terraforming Earth” and I enjoy Williamson’s imaginative tales. “Humanoids” grabbed me right away with the sleek robots. Then the price for utopia. There are big themes. People grappling with machine reality, the efficiency of production, this book goes right into introducing us to a legion of robots so perfectly attentive to human safety and ease, this becomes so prolific a source of oppression, the fate of humanity is at stake, as it is in “Terraforming Earth”.

The plot hinges on the genius of certain men: Forrester (good-savior-hero), Mr. White, & the creator, & the villain Ironsmith. I liked the fighting spirit of Forrester, this kept me along for this sizable SF story, for he became angry at injustice & betrayal, he sought the truth, worked hard toward the craft of science, seeking the philosopher’s stone, and when great revelations came to him, he staggered in doubt & awe (Jane teleports 200 l.y.s away) but exercised his genius, his human faculties, to fathom parapsychology.

This reminded me of “Lathe of Heaven” for its mind-bending filler, how World-changing a person’s mind can be: and “Children of the Mind” as well, like Forrester’s mind takes on such resonance at an atomic level that he traverses expanses of the universe as one who creates it; and of course, the Robot series from Asimov, there is a Prime Directive to safeguard people; and the theme of surveillance, human liberty, the worth of liberty, human violence; and artificial intelligence. So like 3 1/2 stars for “Humanoids”, themes of such weight conveniently packaged into an entertaining fight to save the world from robot invasion. Williamson also gets credit for just being a good writer! I’m always getting colors, like bronze & blue mechanicals, white palladium bars, the bitter smell of fungi foreign to the planet, the neutral or cheery voice of the robots, the feel of plastic instead of (dangerous) wood—Williamson writes well enough. I look forward to catching up on more this renowned author.

[Big Enk · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5

Despite their age, the two separate stories within The Humanoids hold up well. This fix-up collects two stories within the same universe, and some ending material from Williamson on his intended themes. This is a world in which a sleek robotic hive mind is designated with creed of: "To Serve and Obey, And Guard Men from Harm", which is then taken to its logical extremes. These robots take over world after world, preventing humans from doing anything that could make them 'unhappy or unsafe' to such an extreme that most humans end up extremely unhappy and unsafe from their own minds. Several human revolts attempt to shut them down, to varying degrees of success.

Williamson has a really strong and clear plot line that drives the stories forward decisively. It's a shame that in comparison he doesn't spend as much time getting his writing up to snuff. Sure, most of his prose is average, but there are low points that draw the rest of the material down with them. I have to remind myself though that this was written for the pulp magazines in the 40's, and in that context it's pretty readable and coherent. I enjoyed that the ending can be interpreted multiple ways: one in which Forester has a personal awakening and see that his hatred for the humanoids was delusional hatred, or was he brain-washed by the humanoids, the last individual wiped clean over a 50 years procedure. There's some neat exploration of personal liberty versus freedom in The Humanoids that I found interesting.

There's also a lot of focus put on the exploration of the, at the time, recent advancements in quantum mechanics. Williamson uses this scientific field as the basis for his explanation of teleportation and precognition, both of which are skills that apparently humans all hold the keys to, but are stymied by their own brains from achieving. It's interesting, but the actual technical writing trying to explain this coalescence of multiple science sub-fields into one grand design principle is both confusing and poorly written. Williamson needed to either spend more time fleshing out this explanation, or leave it more to the imagination. His fast-paced plot did not match with the drudgery of this explanation.

The Humanoids is right on the cusp between a book that I will end up hanging on to, and one that I will probably end up selling off for 50 cents of used book store credit. But I think ultimately it's a short and enjoyable read that's a good example of the genre during the earlier stages of it's popularity. The sick cover is a bonus too.

[Tomislav · Rating 5 out of 5]

The edition I read included both Jack Williamson’s 1947 novella With Folded Hands, and his 1949 sequel novel The Humanoids. The novel had a few excellent illustrations created in 1987 by David G. Klein, reminiscent of the kind that appeared in the old digests in which these works were originally published. You have many choices, but I like this Orb edition, published by Tom Doherty Associates in 1996.

I read it because the novella “With Folded Hands” is analyzed in SF critic Gary Wolfe’s lecture on robots, from How Great Science Fiction Works. He notes its robotic principles as an alternative to those posed contemporarily in Asimov’s Three Laws. Williamson’s Prime Directive is “to serve and obey, and guard men from harm”. In the novella, this directive is taken to the extreme of protecting humans from all harm, even self-inflicted, and depriving them of freedom. The novel develops the same concept quite a bit further, involving other levels of technology beyond the kinetic. The endings are powerfully not optimistic, although the novel makes this point ambiguously with deliberate sarcasm.

Beyond that theme, I enjoyed Williamson playing with and extrapolating on the concepts of 20th century physics. Remember that 75 years ago, when these were written, quantum mechanics was only 25 years old, and a richer field for plausible speculation than it probably is now.

“Lying very still, wishing absently that he had Frank Ironsmith’s computing section to help him with the math, he groped with his mind alone for the nature and the laws of that unknown energy. Since electromagnetic effects varied with the second power of the distance, and rhodomagnetic with the first, he thought this third sort of energy should logically be invariant with distance. Again, since the velocity even of electromagnetic light was finite in time, and the speed of rhodomagnetic energy infinite, then the effects of the platinomagnetic force might reasonably somehow transcend time. And, if those two fumbling hypotheses were true –“ “It was – it simply had to be – psychophysical energy!”

This is an important read in the history of science fiction, and I highly recommend it to anyone building up a knowledge of the genre.

[Sven · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novella preceding a novel on the topic of technology serving our needs vs. technology taking over our lives. I read it again after many years because I had forgotten some of the details.

Although it's sci-fi, the cautionary tale is still relevant. Should we invent and use tireless, perfect machines to anticipate and fulfill our every need? Should we give them the power to make our decisions for us, to prevent us from possible harm, and to restrict our personal freedoms "for our own good." With powerful computers in our pockets, ubiquitous connection to the web, and demanding apps that seize our attention, the theme is remarkably current.

The humanoids are perfect machines developed only to serve humanity, whether they want their service or not. Since many things people do are "dangerous" to the body or mental state, the small black machines protect people by effectively preventing them from doing anything interesting, exciting, fulfilling, or fun. The mission of the billions of robots arriving on every human planet is to server all people, stopping violence, war, and any potential danger to anyone. They are too perfect, of course, and are relentless in achieving their mission goals, taking over everything. Even buttons, zippers, and snaps on clothing are too dangerous for unaided humanity. Work of all kinds is made obsolete because every need is accomplished by the robots, although the robots don't bother to ask if their help is wanted.

The protagonist fights the domination of the humanoids for most of the book. He sees most people losing their freedom of action and their minds in a drug-clouded state of artificial euphoria. But some people are inexplicably able to keep their own minds and abilities. Why these select few are exempt from the machines' control, however, is not made clear.

Later, when captured, the main character and a small cabal of equally rebellious confederates are "healed" of their fears by a drug-induced "re-education." when they wakes up, attitudes are entirely different and they accept the humanoids. This acceptance apparently signals to the robots that the enlightened humans can make their own decisions and take risks.

I suggest reading the book for it's place in sci-fi history and for the continuing cautionary message. It's isn't great literature, but still worth a read and some thought.

[Ian Banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really superb example of the “sorcerer’s apprentice” style story, where the problem unfolds logically and inexorably until it reaches a conclusion that is as predictable as it is unpalatable. This edition is paired with the original story that it is based upon - “With Folded Hands” - and that is even more harrowing.

The only thing that holds this story back from being 5 stars is the muddled “superscience” that clogs a large chunk of the last quarter of the book. It’s a fault common with a lot of novels of the period, where the author would make a lot of suppositions about their idea and stretch them beyond their logical and then-known possibilities in order to create a sort of “cosmic climax” whereby the hero would surpass the boundaries of the universe and create a new kind of superhuman future.

The Humanoids takes a fairly benign idea - that we could manufacture a race of robots to protect us - and turns it into a horror story. Despite being written in a fashion that believes that mid-20th-century Americana is the absolute peak of civilisation, it convinces us that the future looks pretty good until The Humanoids arrive and begin drugging the world into blissed-out inactivity, for its own good of course.

Only middle-aged industrialist Clay Forester - the novel is filled with extraordinarily symbolically named characters - has the means to stand in their way and he becomes a vital member of the resistance - also in the style of many novels of that time. He witnesses a lot of the horror at first hand and that drives his drive to destroy the Humanoids.

It sounds like I didn’t like this novel but I absolutely loved it. It feels stupidly relevant today with the rise of software that promises to make life easier but which is actually building a crutch that we may find it harder to live without. The ending is exquisite, though.

[Jim Mann · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Humanoids was originally published in Astounding as the short novel "...And Searching Mind," a sequel to "With Folded Hands." "With Folded Hands" is set in the future, when robot (humanoids) are developed with a prime directive of keeping humans from harm. But they go too far, preventing humans from doing anything that could have any chance of hurting themselves, essentially making humans lead idle, boring lives, trapped by their own creations.

The Humanoids follows on to this, and early on things are even more horrific as unhappy people are drugged to the point of no longer remembering anyone or anything. But the novel then gets into the area of mental powers -- telekinesis, precognition, and the ability to change probabilities, for example -- as one group of humans tries to fight against the humanoids while others seem to back the humanoids. By books end, characters become accepting of the humanoids, who are now shown to have a way to rid humans of bad thoughts and let them go off to study the power of the mind. In doing this, it lessens the impact of the original story.

I compared the novel version to the magazine version (the latter also reprinted in volume 7 of Haffner Press's collected stories of Jack Williamson). They are very similar. The mai character's name was changed, and the final page is a bit different but overall they appear similar.

Williamson was an important SF writer, and this novel is worth reading if you like reading older SF or are interested in the history of the field. But beyond that, while I'd still recommend "With Folded Hands" (it has flaws, but retains its punch), I wouldn't push The Humanoids.