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I, Robot (Reichert) #1
Isaac Asimov's I, Robot: To Protect by Mickey Zucker Reichert (2013) Mass Market Paperback
First in an all-new trilogy inspired by Isaac Asimov's legendary science fiction collection I, Robot.
2035: Susan Calvin is beginning her residency at a Manhattan teaching hospital, where a select group of patients is receiving the latest in diagnostic advancements: tiny nanobots, injected into the spinal fluid, that can unlock and map the human mind.
Soon, Susan begins to notice an ominous chain of events surrounding the patients. When she tries to alert her superiors, she is ignored by those who want to keep the project far from any scrutiny for the sake of their own agenda. But what no one knows is that the very technology to which they have given life is now under the control of those who seek to spread only death...
2035: Susan Calvin is beginning her residency at a Manhattan teaching hospital, where a select group of patients is receiving the latest in diagnostic advancements: tiny nanobots, injected into the spinal fluid, that can unlock and map the human mind.
Soon, Susan begins to notice an ominous chain of events surrounding the patients. When she tries to alert her superiors, she is ignored by those who want to keep the project far from any scrutiny for the sake of their own agenda. But what no one knows is that the very technology to which they have given life is now under the control of those who seek to spread only death...
Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2011
81 people are currently reading
1328 people want to read
About the author
Mickey Zucker Reichert
89 books182 followersMickey Zucker Reichert (pseudonym for Miriam Susan Zucker Reichert) is an American fantasy fiction author of several best selling novels. Perhaps her most famous work is the epic Renshai series, which offers an intriguing perspective on traditional Norse mythology. She is also a parent and paediatrician with a soft spot for critters great and small. She has been known care for a veritable zoo of creatures, at times including mice, horses, snakes, llamas, parrots, squirrels, possums, and foxes.
Alongside her twenty-two novels, Reichert has also published one illustrated novella and fifty-plus short stories.
Alongside her twenty-two novels, Reichert has also published one illustrated novella and fifty-plus short stories.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews
May 9, 2021
Q:
Manhattan Hasbro had three paging systems, in addition to direct calls to personal Vox. (c) Sounds like a nightmare to navigate. Multiple systems doing overlapping (or even the same functionality? This future is inefficient!
Robopsychoanalysis!
Q:
“Now you’re psychoanalyzing robots? What’s next, the bookshelves?” (c) (Not really but still a fun idea!)
Q:
“I could just picture a robot lying on his analyst’s couch: ‘Doc, I know my intelligence is artificial, but my problems are real.’ ” (c)
Susan is an R-1 modelled after Dr.House. She's getting 2 permanent inpatients discharged during her fist 4 days at residency which gets her an instafame. Her temper is about as famous as her medical ability.
There's some medical trivia. The nature vs nurture is decided heavily in favour of the nature side.
A sci-fi medical thriller. A very underrated one. A keeper.
Other goodies:
Q:
“A plethora of protestors,” he repeated. “Is that like a gaggle of geese? A herd of horses? A pod of porpoises? (c)
Q:
“So it’s not all in my head?”...
“Not unless we share the same head.” (c)
Q:
“I thought those guys were all inconsiderate jerks.”...
“This one missed his narcissism classes, I guess. He’s a keeper.” (c)
Q:
“We have enough mental patients in our studies. We don’t need one working for us as well.” (c)
And scaries:
Q:
What happened to the children with conduct disorder raised by parents who had little or no education, who probably had psychopathology of their own? Might that explain the inexplicable: parents who murdered or abandoned their children? It all seemed just too terrible to contemplate. (c)
Manhattan Hasbro had three paging systems, in addition to direct calls to personal Vox. (c) Sounds like a nightmare to navigate. Multiple systems doing overlapping (or even the same functionality? This future is inefficient!
Robopsychoanalysis!
Q:
“Now you’re psychoanalyzing robots? What’s next, the bookshelves?” (c) (Not really but still a fun idea!)
Q:
“I could just picture a robot lying on his analyst’s couch: ‘Doc, I know my intelligence is artificial, but my problems are real.’ ” (c)
Susan is an R-1 modelled after Dr.House. She's getting 2 permanent inpatients discharged during her fist 4 days at residency which gets her an instafame. Her temper is about as famous as her medical ability.
There's some medical trivia. The nature vs nurture is decided heavily in favour of the nature side.
A sci-fi medical thriller. A very underrated one. A keeper.
Other goodies:
Q:
“A plethora of protestors,” he repeated. “Is that like a gaggle of geese? A herd of horses? A pod of porpoises? (c)
Q:
“So it’s not all in my head?”...
“Not unless we share the same head.” (c)
Q:
“I thought those guys were all inconsiderate jerks.”...
“This one missed his narcissism classes, I guess. He’s a keeper.” (c)
Q:
“We have enough mental patients in our studies. We don’t need one working for us as well.” (c)
And scaries:
Q:
What happened to the children with conduct disorder raised by parents who had little or no education, who probably had psychopathology of their own? Might that explain the inexplicable: parents who murdered or abandoned their children? It all seemed just too terrible to contemplate. (c)
October 12, 2012
Truly an insult to Asimov fans. This no-name author crushes readers expectations inherent in tackling a project like this. Instead of writing the science fiction mystery thriller Asimov excelled at, she gives us a story based on her own experience as a pediatrician. It's a very dull medical light drama. With a thriller bit tacked on at the end in the last 30 pages. A robot makes a few very small cameo appearances as a minor supporting character, not even integral to the plot.
Avoid this book at all cost. I'd even go so far as to say, avoid this author at all costs.
Avoid this book at all cost. I'd even go so far as to say, avoid this author at all costs.
May 18, 2012
It's tough writing a prequel to a book written by a master. Many decades have passed since Asimov wrote his original, however. What flew then ... an almost emotionally robotic Susan Calvin who was in many ways -less- emotional than her robot subjects ... in the age when women in science were considered odd ... will get a writer lambasted for sexism now. The geek girls of today are warm, funny, quirky, and still ... geeky. Reichert tried to walk a happy medium so female S/F fans wouldn't throw the book down in disgust and write angry letters about how inappropriate it is to stereotype Susan Calvin in 2011 as cold.
I enjoyed this book in its own rights. It felt more like a medical mystery thriller with a robot plot element than 'hard' sci-fi. I'm a hard sci-fi fan and huge fan of Asimov (despite his work having stereotypes that make this modern woman cringe), but I'm also a fan of other genres, so I was okay with that. Reichert's portrayal of the children's diagnoses in the PIPU unit were well rounded and credible (and I have enough background to know it). There was a bit of strained credibility about how easily Susan came up with star diagnoses to cure some patients, but I really wanted to learn those things and did NOT want to read through another 200 pages of so of extraneous text just to get to those conclusions.
Which is where I get to my complaints about this book.
1. MORE ROBOTS!!!
2. Nate was far too developed for the timeline in Asimov's universe, but I adored him enough to overlook that defect.
3. The bad guys should have been better developed. Too much of a 'vague bad guy' feeling. Perhaps more confrontations between protestors and staff?
4.
I enjoyed this book in its own rights. It felt more like a medical mystery thriller with a robot plot element than 'hard' sci-fi. I'm a hard sci-fi fan and huge fan of Asimov (despite his work having stereotypes that make this modern woman cringe), but I'm also a fan of other genres, so I was okay with that. Reichert's portrayal of the children's diagnoses in the PIPU unit were well rounded and credible (and I have enough background to know it). There was a bit of strained credibility about how easily Susan came up with star diagnoses to cure some patients, but I really wanted to learn those things and did NOT want to read through another 200 pages of so of extraneous text just to get to those conclusions.
Which is where I get to my complaints about this book.
1. MORE ROBOTS!!!
2. Nate was far too developed for the timeline in Asimov's universe, but I adored him enough to overlook that defect.
3. The bad guys should have been better developed. Too much of a 'vague bad guy' feeling. Perhaps more confrontations between protestors and staff?
4.
September 24, 2017
I really wanted to like this book, because I loved Asimov's stories and the robot stories in particular. Also I think Susan Calvin was a great character that deserved a novel. Sadly, this is not it.
Just to be clear, I was not too bothered by the fudging of the dates as compared with the originals. I mean, they were written in the 1950s, so the turn of the century was futuristic enough for them. This novel places the events several decades later than in those stories. This is I see as completely understandable to make this tale relatable to today's readers. Still, despite these change of dates, I miss any references to events in the stories. For instance, the events of "Robbie" could have been easily referenced, even in passing, at several points when the Frankenstein Complex is mentioned. However, the author would need to have read them first, or any of the Susan Calvin stories, which I now honestly doubt she did.
Because this is not the tale of Susan Calvin, but that of her sister Mary Sue Calvin. A first year psychiatry resident, she easily solves cases that have baffled previous residents. She soon becomes the sensation of the hospital, the envy of her peers, and the pride of her superior. Even lofty surgeons come to respect her. But, remember, this in not the cold, mysanthropic Susan Calvin... everybody knows an unsympathetic character can never be interesting. This is her sister Mary Sue!. She is so nice, so charming, so humble that when her misjudgment causes the horrible (but perfectly predictable) murder of a child, not even her envious colleagues, her superiors, or (for god's sake!!!) the parents of the murdered child can blame her.
This is the first in a trilogy, so I guess there is room for sweet Mary Sue to become cold Susan. However I doubt the ability of the author to write this in an interesting way. This is a by-the-dots work, fanfiction written for the inmediate satisfaction of the uncomplicated reader, that just does not deserve a place in the same room as I, ROBOT. I just can't understand how Asimov's Estate allowed this to be published, other than a fast buck.
Just to be clear, I was not too bothered by the fudging of the dates as compared with the originals. I mean, they were written in the 1950s, so the turn of the century was futuristic enough for them. This novel places the events several decades later than in those stories. This is I see as completely understandable to make this tale relatable to today's readers. Still, despite these change of dates, I miss any references to events in the stories. For instance, the events of "Robbie" could have been easily referenced, even in passing, at several points when the Frankenstein Complex is mentioned. However, the author would need to have read them first, or any of the Susan Calvin stories, which I now honestly doubt she did.
Because this is not the tale of Susan Calvin, but that of her sister Mary Sue Calvin. A first year psychiatry resident, she easily solves cases that have baffled previous residents. She soon becomes the sensation of the hospital, the envy of her peers, and the pride of her superior. Even lofty surgeons come to respect her. But, remember, this in not the cold, mysanthropic Susan Calvin... everybody knows an unsympathetic character can never be interesting. This is her sister Mary Sue!. She is so nice, so charming, so humble that when her misjudgment causes the horrible (but perfectly predictable) murder of a child, not even her envious colleagues, her superiors, or (for god's sake!!!) the parents of the murdered child can blame her.
This is the first in a trilogy, so I guess there is room for sweet Mary Sue to become cold Susan. However I doubt the ability of the author to write this in an interesting way. This is a by-the-dots work, fanfiction written for the inmediate satisfaction of the uncomplicated reader, that just does not deserve a place in the same room as I, ROBOT. I just can't understand how Asimov's Estate allowed this to be published, other than a fast buck.
December 10, 2017
I read this book a while ago, last year. I highly recommend it to people who like philosophical, science fiction, and possibly diseases. It certain parts of the story, the plot can become very serious. There are things that refer to a matter of life and death, but I think that's one of the aspects of this story that makes it that much interesting. Another thing that makes this book so interesting is the depth the author goes to describe the sicknesses of patients in this book, making it just that realistic. This includes how those diseases reflect the characters' personalities. This book will definitely leave you wondering if there are really people like the characters in real life. It also includes references to the real world. If you decide to read this book, prepared to possibly have your mind blown by the intensity:)
April 8, 2019
I bought this book thinking it was actually I, Robot... my mistake.
Because Tim Ferriss told me I should read fiction every once in a while, I decided to read this anyway since I wasn't going to take a 30 minute trip to return a $4 book.
I enjoyed the book enough to finish it, but not enough to chase after the sequel anytime soon. The characters are pretty interesting, but the plot is exceptionally slow and left mostly unresolved at the end which was frustrating.
3/5
Because Tim Ferriss told me I should read fiction every once in a while, I decided to read this anyway since I wasn't going to take a 30 minute trip to return a $4 book.
I enjoyed the book enough to finish it, but not enough to chase after the sequel anytime soon. The characters are pretty interesting, but the plot is exceptionally slow and left mostly unresolved at the end which was frustrating.
3/5
December 30, 2017
I enjoyed a lot of the tangents the story took, with all the fun little insights into medicine and psychology and interesting personal relationships, but the reason I have to give this book such a low rating is the huge plot hole in the main plot itself:
I strongly feel that Sanderson's laws of magic (which applies to science fiction as much as fantasy) were written specifically for authors just like Mickey Zucker Reichert.
I strongly feel that Sanderson's laws of magic (which applies to science fiction as much as fantasy) were written specifically for authors just like Mickey Zucker Reichert.
May 13, 2014
I enjoyed the hospital setting, the view-point of first year residents, and getting to know the robot Nate. I had hoped for more of an "origins" story for Dr Susan Calvin, a character that I quite liked in Asimov's "I, Robot" collection. This was a bit too mushy with the added love interest, and I also found the author's personal causes (GMO food, religious terrorism) a bit intrusive. Some of the world building was a bit clumsy (urban forests, new medical techniques, "historical" recounting of events in our near future).
Ultimately, there wasn't much of a story, which proceeded in fairly linear fashion, and adding some tension mainly at the end, when the pace picked up. We got no development of the bad guys in their shadowy organization, and no explanation of how they pulled off their plan.
Ultimately, there wasn't much of a story, which proceeded in fairly linear fashion, and adding some tension mainly at the end, when the pace picked up. We got no development of the bad guys in their shadowy organization, and no explanation of how they pulled off their plan.
August 26, 2019
I enjoyed this book very much despite my qualms over its ideology, the Mills & Boon female fantasy and an ending written to be made into an action film (when I want an ending like that, I will go to the movies). But no spoilers from me!
The novel may regarded as the first chrono-item in the robot/foundation mythos. It was approved by the Isaac Asimov Estate but it should perhaps have told us something of the creation of the positronic brain that creates Nate the robot instead of dumping him ready-made on us.
Instead, Reichert goes straight into a near-future medical world of transhumanist aspirations in which scientists, engineers and doctors are the heroes (literally so by the end) and the general public is an emotional inert mass that needs governing and is vulnerable to fanatics.
In that respect, it is a science fiction novel of its (2011/2012) and our time, a world in which the highly intelligent middle class professionals love themselves, overcome their mistakes from an excess of sincerity and protect us mere mortals from ourselves.
That is what I meant by qualms about its ideology which panders to the somewhat narcissistic self-image of relatively young professionals who have sunk large funds into their education and yet probably have deep-seated anxieties about their and its worth.
Nevertheless, although not a masterpiece of world literature, I liked it, partly because of its lack of self-knowledge. It represents the authentic voice of a class that reflects well on professional ethics (the rules of the game), less well on social ethics and scarcely at all on philosophical ethics.
All societies are mildly sociopathic and there is no reason why a techno-liberal one should not be the same. The heroes of this story empathise with individuals (they are good people) but are detached from humanity in the mass. Everyone who is not of the hero class is a patient or a subject.
And yet it poses ethical questions fairly and nicely - how to handle the honest mistake and an inability to be perfect, above all. It also faces head-on the critical question of our time - how do we deal with the individual psychopath? - albeit ignoring the autistic or sociopathic society.
Egalitarian liberalism has a real problem with the psychopath, as much as it does with gender difference. Yet a proportion of the population are dangerous to others and are manipulative and, well, men and women are different. This novel shows a conceptual leap forward in this respect.
Reichert does not faff around here trying to be politically correct. The psychopath in the story is seriously scary - a sort of live Chucky on speed - and men are men and women are women. Dr. Susan Calvin is competent without having to behave in any way other than as a woman.
The book is scarcely about robotics at all. It is mostly a psychiatric medical drama with procedures thrown in and with a love plot that fits with the female fantasy world described by Jordan Peterson - the 'pornography' of textual vampires, werewolves, pirates, billionairess ... and surgeons.
As with thrillers which at least purport to teach you about gun calibres and types of miltary helicopter, Reichert (a doctor herself) is very good at 'educating' (we have to trust her) on a variety of psychiatric situations. I suspect she may be a very good doctor as well as a competent writer.
The problem of the psychopath emerges in its most extreme case with a truly evil four year old girl of exceptionally high intelligence. Although a very extreme case indeed with loose ends hanging, the psychopath argument remains the best one yet for the ideology lurking in the book.
The argument (implicit here) is that people like Sharicka Anson cannot be managed by a society that prizes civil liberties without putting innocent people at risk. There is a mental mapping here towards the 'Chinese' approach to the future which we should note.
The Western middle classes were already getting edgy about democracy with fears about terrorism (brought to the fore in this book). After its publication, the situation has only got 'worse' with Trump and 'Brexit'. They really do not trust those they think they wish to serve.
This ideology extends itself, far less justifiably, to a position that denies knowledge even to law enforcement, let alone the general public, because politics and public opinion are deemed too hysterical to permit progress in the futurist sciences.
It is central to the novel that the robotics industry (capitalism nicely romanticised here as placing knowledge before profit) is so concerned with its own survival as the future of humanity that it denies the truth to the public and relies on a band of medical heroes to save that future (and itself).
This will appeal to many readers - as will the philosophical stoicism that runs through the tale. Stoicism - as in Marcus Aurelius and the British 'stiff upper lip' - is a sure sign that an empire is on the verge of crumbling because it is essentially a philosophy of resilence and pessimism.
Dr. Susan Calvin, is very much the saving grace of all this. I won't be presumptous enough to suggest that she is Reichert's alter ego but she is a post-feminist heroine - hugely competent yet vulnerable, a virgin whose great love is a young neurosurgeon. Her mistakes are never mistakes.
I found myself liking her while recognising that this was a fantasy figure not directed at the male reader but at the female reader, part of an insistent social drive to get women into engineering, science and medecine through story-telling (whether they want to or not).
Science fiction is not about the future. It is about the present. Its fantasies tell you something of the world we live in and its aspirations. This Asimovian effort tells us of a world of hope based on pessimism about the human condition and relying on science to change that.
This is on the edge of science as religion. Transhumanism has come, over the years that I have been observing it, ever closer to the position of being a religion for the frightened middle classes, an answer to the nihilism created by Nietzsche's 'Death of God', the soteriology of the Singularity.
Which brings us, at last, to robots who play a sort of trigger role for the story but are not as central as perhaps they should be. Nate, the one functioning human-like robot, is almost too good to be true and plays only a periodic walk-on role. Everyone is going to love Nate.
Instead, the robotics is shifted into the world of medical procedures. The use of nano-robots (of which no more because of spoilers) is neatly twisted into an Ethics 101 play on the famous three laws of robotics. Again, no more because of spoilers.
As an introduction to the entire robotics/foundation mythos, it may disappoint some who want it to be about hardware but, in fact, Asimov was as interested in the social sciences. In this respect, Reichert is true to the tradition and the Estate chose well.
There is a high chance I will eventually pick up the second and perhaps the third in the trilogy of which this is the first. If I do, I may not need a positronic brain to understand it but it is probable that I will enjoy it.
December 31, 2011
I really really enjoyed this book! You don't need any prior knowledge of Asimov's work to understand or enjoy this book; in fact I almost wish I had read it before I read I, Robot, only because this book gives very detailed information about Susan Calvin's early years. Although there was alot about robotics in this book, it was primarily about psychology and working with children who have various mental conditions. And although there was a lot of medical information provided, I felt the author did a very good job translating it for the lay readers. Very fascinating book, I really enjoyed it!
October 19, 2014
Another recent book I have read with great potential that falls flat. I am hoping the original is better. There was very little about robots and more about Susan Calvin's love life (I have fallen in love in 2 weeks and want to give my virginity to this man, wtf) and patients (which also made no sense for a lot of it in my opinion like so many 'mircale cures' in the span of a few weeks).
September 17, 2023
It is 2035 and Dr Susan Calvin takes up her residency as a psychiatrist in Manhattan Hasbro Teaching Hospital. When she meets N8-C, a robot who has been relegated from orderly to data inputter because of human prejudice and fear, she comes to realise that US Robotics may be the key to unlocking the secrets of the human mind. When an experimental procedure goes wrong, she begins to question everything she thinks she knows.
Reichert's first prequel to 'I, Robot' is interesting in that Calvin is completely unlike her portrayal in Asimov's stories, but the world is utterly consistent. Readers know then that this will be a journey of change and it is this which will hold our interest. However, just as interesting is Reichert's near future world, the little touches such as the hospital's sponsorship by a famous toy company and the ubiquity of the palm pross help make the world feel possible. The time jump from the original stories is necessary and again adds to the believability.
Reichert's first prequel to 'I, Robot' is interesting in that Calvin is completely unlike her portrayal in Asimov's stories, but the world is utterly consistent. Readers know then that this will be a journey of change and it is this which will hold our interest. However, just as interesting is Reichert's near future world, the little touches such as the hospital's sponsorship by a famous toy company and the ubiquity of the palm pross help make the world feel possible. The time jump from the original stories is necessary and again adds to the believability.
October 12, 2021
I did not like this book. Not because it is a bad book, but because it tries to be something it is clearly not.
An Asimov book.
I am no stranger to spinoff books, which were written after the author has passed on. Caliban is one of my favourite books about robots.
However, this book just does not fit in the universe that Mickey Zucker Reichert tries to shoehorn itself into.
This book is like a rather long episode of House, with the occasional robot thrown in. Other than a few passing mentions about the Laws of Robotics and the introduction of a few of Asimov‘s characters, it there’s no resemblance whatsoever to Asimov‘s series.
Isaac Asimov wrote a list of recommended reading to his Foundation and Robots series. Even though chronologically, this book would take place towards the beginning of that series, it is quite clear that the author only has a superficial understanding of who Susan Calvin is and the world Asimov created, and at least did not seem to read very much into the series.
Chronologically, Asimov’s The Caves Of Steel is supposed to follow this Reichert trilogy (of which I will be reading no more of). It is in The Caves Of Steel that Asimov introduces even the concept of a Humaniform robot; a robot that passes for a human. That humaniform robot, R. Daneel Olivaw, while in the perfect appearance of a man, does not have the customs or mannerisms of a human being, which gives it away as a robot.
Chronologically before The Caves of Steel, all of Isaac Asimov‘s robots short stories come. This is where his character Susan Calvin, the star of Reichert’s novel, is introduced.
However, in Asimov’s stories, at no point does she ever encounter a robot who bears even a slight passing to a human being. They are all described as man-shaped, but completely metal.
In this book, there is a Humaniform Robot, Nate, who is indistinguishable from all human beings. Not only does he look like a human being, but he also has a ridiculous number of mannerisms that match a human being as well, and even flirts with Dr. Calvin. All this, we are apparently to believe, happens several hundred years BEFORE The Caves Of Steel, where the first Humaniform robot is introduced.
There are also technologies that Asimov never uses. Nanorobots, for example, do medical procedures. In Asimov’s universe, the concept exists, but large robots are shrunk down to a very small size and injected into people.
I wouldn’t even call this book science-fiction. It is more like speculative medicine instead. It is chock-full of medical jargon, which only those well-versed in medical fields would even be able to handle. She doesn’t do a good job of explaining the jargon as she plows through it, merely leaving it to dizzy the readers in a sleight-of-hand to lead them to believe that she knows what she’s talking about.
Even the actual basis of the deus ex machina that ends the book (spoiler ahead), doesn’t even follow the rules that the author sets out.
The book's climax is the catastrophic explosion of a four-year-old psychopath who has Nanorobots implanted into her head, which was coded to convince her to detonate a bomb that is strapped to her chest.
However, that doesn’t make consistent sense, given the author’s own description of how the three laws of robotics work.
Previously in the story, two other similarly controlled people also detonate themselves, but the three laws of robotics prevent them from harming others around them. However, the four-year-old manages to blow up the boyfriend of Susan Calvin, somehow ignoring the three laws.
These are not, by far, all of the inconsistencies and anachronisms in the book, but they are the most egregious.
The romantic scenes are… cheap? They feel like badly done harlequin novels. Nearly all the men Susan encounters are “tall, slim, muscular, and have tousled hair”. It gets old really fast, and feels like a poorly done male author’s attempt to write from a woman’s perspective and failing badly.
While Reichert does a decent job laying out some of the broader themes of this society for humanity and anti-robot sentiment, she tries to shove too many things into this book that don’t necessarily belong.
The story also has weird transphobic commentary, and even a random Islamophobic rant thrown into the middle of a section that had nothing to do with the story. The author was trying to make sense of The Society For Humanity’s extremism, but instead of using home-grown examples like the KKK or neo-Nazi movement, instead chose to vilify a religion.
To that point, the book also shoehorns in non-white characters but does so in such a way that they are 2-dimensional and othered. And there are really only two of them.
One is “Diesel”, a Black boy who is perpetually described as a bowling ball and is the only person in the book to have an object-borne nickname. He is Dr. Calvin’s first medical success and slides her into the archetype of white saviourhood.
The other is the homicidal four-year-old psychopath who just happens to be biracial.
I didn’t like this book. I’ll likely never read anything else from this author. It’s not worth it.
I am no stranger to spinoff books, which were written after the author has passed on. Caliban is one of my favourite books about robots.
However, this book just does not fit in the universe that Mickey Zucker Reichert tries to shoehorn itself into.
This book is like a rather long episode of House, with the occasional robot thrown in. Other than a few passing mentions about the Laws of Robotics and the introduction of a few of Asimov‘s characters, it there’s no resemblance whatsoever to Asimov‘s series.
Isaac Asimov wrote a list of recommended reading to his Foundation and Robots series. Even though chronologically, this book would take place towards the beginning of that series, it is quite clear that the author only has a superficial understanding of who Susan Calvin is and the world Asimov created, and at least did not seem to read very much into the series.
Chronologically, Asimov’s The Caves Of Steel is supposed to follow this Reichert trilogy (of which I will be reading no more of). It is in The Caves Of Steel that Asimov introduces even the concept of a Humaniform robot; a robot that passes for a human. That humaniform robot, R. Daneel Olivaw, while in the perfect appearance of a man, does not have the customs or mannerisms of a human being, which gives it away as a robot.
Chronologically before The Caves of Steel, all of Isaac Asimov‘s robots short stories come. This is where his character Susan Calvin, the star of Reichert’s novel, is introduced.
However, in Asimov’s stories, at no point does she ever encounter a robot who bears even a slight passing to a human being. They are all described as man-shaped, but completely metal.
In this book, there is a Humaniform Robot, Nate, who is indistinguishable from all human beings. Not only does he look like a human being, but he also has a ridiculous number of mannerisms that match a human being as well, and even flirts with Dr. Calvin. All this, we are apparently to believe, happens several hundred years BEFORE The Caves Of Steel, where the first Humaniform robot is introduced.
There are also technologies that Asimov never uses. Nanorobots, for example, do medical procedures. In Asimov’s universe, the concept exists, but large robots are shrunk down to a very small size and injected into people.
I wouldn’t even call this book science-fiction. It is more like speculative medicine instead. It is chock-full of medical jargon, which only those well-versed in medical fields would even be able to handle. She doesn’t do a good job of explaining the jargon as she plows through it, merely leaving it to dizzy the readers in a sleight-of-hand to lead them to believe that she knows what she’s talking about.
Even the actual basis of the deus ex machina that ends the book (spoiler ahead), doesn’t even follow the rules that the author sets out.
The book's climax is the catastrophic explosion of a four-year-old psychopath who has Nanorobots implanted into her head, which was coded to convince her to detonate a bomb that is strapped to her chest.
However, that doesn’t make consistent sense, given the author’s own description of how the three laws of robotics work.
Previously in the story, two other similarly controlled people also detonate themselves, but the three laws of robotics prevent them from harming others around them. However, the four-year-old manages to blow up the boyfriend of Susan Calvin, somehow ignoring the three laws.
These are not, by far, all of the inconsistencies and anachronisms in the book, but they are the most egregious.
The romantic scenes are… cheap? They feel like badly done harlequin novels. Nearly all the men Susan encounters are “tall, slim, muscular, and have tousled hair”. It gets old really fast, and feels like a poorly done male author’s attempt to write from a woman’s perspective and failing badly.
While Reichert does a decent job laying out some of the broader themes of this society for humanity and anti-robot sentiment, she tries to shove too many things into this book that don’t necessarily belong.
The story also has weird transphobic commentary, and even a random Islamophobic rant thrown into the middle of a section that had nothing to do with the story. The author was trying to make sense of The Society For Humanity’s extremism, but instead of using home-grown examples like the KKK or neo-Nazi movement, instead chose to vilify a religion.
To that point, the book also shoehorns in non-white characters but does so in such a way that they are 2-dimensional and othered. And there are really only two of them.
One is “Diesel”, a Black boy who is perpetually described as a bowling ball and is the only person in the book to have an object-borne nickname. He is Dr. Calvin’s first medical success and slides her into the archetype of white saviourhood.
The other is the homicidal four-year-old psychopath who just happens to be biracial.
I didn’t like this book. I’ll likely never read anything else from this author. It’s not worth it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2024
This book is good, but as a hospital fiction book.
It was too many pages and too slow to bring around what the book was actually about.
It did get better in the last under 100 pages, but there should have been more than just small tidbits here and there to introduce the books topic.
Because it took a long time to actually get into the meaning, I'm not sure I'll actually read the rest of the series.
It was too many pages and too slow to bring around what the book was actually about.
It did get better in the last under 100 pages, but there should have been more than just small tidbits here and there to introduce the books topic.
Because it took a long time to actually get into the meaning, I'm not sure I'll actually read the rest of the series.
June 19, 2018
75% Medical Mystery
10% Romance Light
10% Sci-Fi / Robtoics
5% Social Politics
I stopped reading this twice because it's not all what it seemed like it would be. Then the medical aspects became interesting, plot got interesting and sped up then 3/5-4/5ths into the book it just hit the breaks and became incredibly dull and boring. It then eventually got decently good at the climax but it was really short and lacked real detail.
Things just sort of happen to move the plot forward. Passive Mary Sue Protagonist. Passive Mary Sue Boy friend. Typical fun, joke cracking friend.
Main Character made decisions that made little sense... i.e. a psychopathic toddler that receives cutting edge technology and has been one of the main plot points for 1/3 of the book? What happens? Does it work? Meh... she'd rather go on a date. Wait, What? We've been building up to this with some seriously terrible dire consequences and she just walks away from it?
Then an entire disc's (audio book) dedicated to a rushed love interest? Granted, I'm a guy so that doesn't really do it for me even then it was LONG and incredibly boring. All the while I want to know what's going on with her patient.
There were some cool patients with special needs that kept it interesting like an episode of house, but it was NOT a sci-fi novel. Just a futurist medical mystery. There is a Robot but he's a side character... VERY side character. If it was a movie he may get 15 minutes of screen time. The author definitely builds on emotion and you do feel it. Unfortunately, it just wasn't interesting to me.
10% Romance Light
10% Sci-Fi / Robtoics
5% Social Politics
I stopped reading this twice because it's not all what it seemed like it would be. Then the medical aspects became interesting, plot got interesting and sped up then 3/5-4/5ths into the book it just hit the breaks and became incredibly dull and boring. It then eventually got decently good at the climax but it was really short and lacked real detail.
Things just sort of happen to move the plot forward. Passive Mary Sue Protagonist. Passive Mary Sue Boy friend. Typical fun, joke cracking friend.
Main Character made decisions that made little sense... i.e. a psychopathic toddler that receives cutting edge technology and has been one of the main plot points for 1/3 of the book? What happens? Does it work? Meh... she'd rather go on a date. Wait, What? We've been building up to this with some seriously terrible dire consequences and she just walks away from it?
Then an entire disc's (audio book) dedicated to a rushed love interest? Granted, I'm a guy so that doesn't really do it for me even then it was LONG and incredibly boring. All the while I want to know what's going on with her patient.
There were some cool patients with special needs that kept it interesting like an episode of house, but it was NOT a sci-fi novel. Just a futurist medical mystery. There is a Robot but he's a side character... VERY side character. If it was a movie he may get 15 minutes of screen time. The author definitely builds on emotion and you do feel it. Unfortunately, it just wasn't interesting to me.
October 25, 2011
I should start by saying that I've never read I, Robot or any other science fiction book by Isaac Asimov. That said, I faced no confusion with reading a spin-off series which can apparently stand alone even if readers have no experience with Asimov's books.
To Protect sets up an interesting character in an interesting plot. The first half of the novel is concerned primarily with the beginning of Dr. Calvin's psychiatry residency, and the psychological details included in the plot are fascinating. I was a bit befuddled as to what so much psychiatry was going to contribute to the sci-fi aspects of the book, but I eventually figured out how it was introducing Calvin's personality and work, essential components of the development of her involvement with and understanding of the nanorobots. Reichert forms her story well, complete with emotional upheavals, dramatic events, romance, and some unexpected twists. I found Reichert's writing, at times, to be a bit melodramatic, but overall I enjoyed To Protect and am looking forward to seeing what will develop in the next books of the trilogy. I think I'll pick up a copy of I, Robot, too, while I'm at it.
Disclaimer: This book appeared in my mail from the publisher. All thoughts expressed in this review are my own honest opinions, and I was not compensated for writing a review.
To Protect sets up an interesting character in an interesting plot. The first half of the novel is concerned primarily with the beginning of Dr. Calvin's psychiatry residency, and the psychological details included in the plot are fascinating. I was a bit befuddled as to what so much psychiatry was going to contribute to the sci-fi aspects of the book, but I eventually figured out how it was introducing Calvin's personality and work, essential components of the development of her involvement with and understanding of the nanorobots. Reichert forms her story well, complete with emotional upheavals, dramatic events, romance, and some unexpected twists. I found Reichert's writing, at times, to be a bit melodramatic, but overall I enjoyed To Protect and am looking forward to seeing what will develop in the next books of the trilogy. I think I'll pick up a copy of I, Robot, too, while I'm at it.
Disclaimer: This book appeared in my mail from the publisher. All thoughts expressed in this review are my own honest opinions, and I was not compensated for writing a review.
June 20, 2012
Wow! I was eager to read this book, yet apprehensive. I love Micky's writing, but haven't read any of her books for years, and I have loved Asimov's robot books since childhood, so when I found this at the closeout sale at my favorite Barnes and Noble, I immediately checked to see if it was available on Nook. Yeah! But would it stand up to my memory of the wonderful stories in I, Robot?
The answer, of course, is a resounding Yes!
The technology is there. The characters keep me reading. The political, ethical, and moral questions are deeper than what I remember from my childhood love of I, Robot (I must re-read this, now, to see if the lack of depth was in the stories or in my childish understanding). The themes in I, Robot: To Protect are much darker than the original short stories, and the reading was at times uncomfortable for me, because many of the questions of childhood mental illness brought up in the book are those I deal with daily in my professional life. I have missed Susan Calvin, though, and thought of her through the years, so it was wonderful to finally read more of her early and formative years. Micky Zucker Reichert was the right person to bring this back story to us.
The answer, of course, is a resounding Yes!
The technology is there. The characters keep me reading. The political, ethical, and moral questions are deeper than what I remember from my childhood love of I, Robot (I must re-read this, now, to see if the lack of depth was in the stories or in my childish understanding). The themes in I, Robot: To Protect are much darker than the original short stories, and the reading was at times uncomfortable for me, because many of the questions of childhood mental illness brought up in the book are those I deal with daily in my professional life. I have missed Susan Calvin, though, and thought of her through the years, so it was wonderful to finally read more of her early and formative years. Micky Zucker Reichert was the right person to bring this back story to us.
May 2, 2024
Picked this up on accident one day due to the intentional cover art misrepresentation, in my hurry to order the real Asimov book for book club. That was my first mistake. Second, was that I kept reading once I discovered the additional author’s name wasn’t limited to the forward.
I think the majority of low star reviews have a similar sense of disappointment that the book advertises a story similar to Asimov’s, and yet it’s not. Kind of like: “names are the same” but this is nothing like what you’re expecting.
Perhaps if the author hadn’t claimed association to Asimov’s story, didn’t claim to value life so much, and yet push an abortionist, anti-organized religion and other “extremist” agendas so much, I wouldn’t feel so irritated. I am irritated that I wasted my money and time on this one.
I think the majority of low star reviews have a similar sense of disappointment that the book advertises a story similar to Asimov’s, and yet it’s not. Kind of like: “names are the same” but this is nothing like what you’re expecting.
Perhaps if the author hadn’t claimed association to Asimov’s story, didn’t claim to value life so much, and yet push an abortionist, anti-organized religion and other “extremist” agendas so much, I wouldn’t feel so irritated. I am irritated that I wasted my money and time on this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2024
It's a medical drama not really sci-fi. I found Dr. Susan Calvin and Remy too perfect, which was due to them being scientists. There is also some one-sided opinions on social issues given as the right way of thinking. Early on I regretted buying a copy to read it. I did finish it though.
Some of the medical cases were interesting, but Dr. Susan Calvin bested everyone on her first days too much.
I also found the descriptions of food as unnecessary and interruptive in the scene.
Towards the end, there is more mystery action thrill. I even thought someone close to her was a fake and betrayer but they're just perfect scientists. The actual hint of a betrayer in a group is not revealed like in mystery stories.
Do not read if you expect a story or robots like Asimov's.
Some of the medical cases were interesting, but Dr. Susan Calvin bested everyone on her first days too much.
I also found the descriptions of food as unnecessary and interruptive in the scene.
Towards the end, there is more mystery action thrill. I even thought someone close to her was a fake and betrayer but they're just perfect scientists. The actual hint of a betrayer in a group is not revealed like in mystery stories.
Do not read if you expect a story or robots like Asimov's.
June 21, 2019
I almost feel bad rating this book so low, but I found 'To Protect' wanting. My main reason is that the plot wanders, and doesn't seem to be wandering in any particular direction.
The characters were likable, a must-have, and there were even a few highly emotional moments. However, even those moments didn't seem important. With one exception, I didn't care about the events which occurred to or around the protagonist. They were like window dressing.
Also the robots seemed like a side story. That was rather disappointing.
I expect if you are a medical nerd you will enjoy this book, as most of the story was devoted to technical jargon and obscure diagnoses--a non-humorous House M.D., with a side of robot.
The characters were likable, a must-have, and there were even a few highly emotional moments. However, even those moments didn't seem important. With one exception, I didn't care about the events which occurred to or around the protagonist. They were like window dressing.
Also the robots seemed like a side story. That was rather disappointing.
I expect if you are a medical nerd you will enjoy this book, as most of the story was devoted to technical jargon and obscure diagnoses--a non-humorous House M.D., with a side of robot.
September 7, 2016
A decent portrayal of the times before the Asimov story. I was really hoping for alot more "robot" in the story though. Most of it centered around the human aspect of the plotline with the robot(s) playing a fringe roll at best. Not that the entire series won't redeem itself, but I am sure that alot of people are going to be disappointed with the lack of robots in the story. I know I was.
Besides that, it was written well, the storyline was half-decent, but a tad predictable. I hope that the next boor or two is better than this one. The characters and the universe is fun to read about. Hope it keeps going, but also hope it gets a bit better.
Besides that, it was written well, the storyline was half-decent, but a tad predictable. I hope that the next boor or two is better than this one. The characters and the universe is fun to read about. Hope it keeps going, but also hope it gets a bit better.
August 1, 2012
The story line was somewhat unbelievable, and I kept feeling like someone had managed to sneak a Harlequin disguised as an Asimov story in on me. The writing wasn't bad, it just had this constant "romance novel" flavor to it that I did not care for. At the risk of sounding sexist, until I started the book, I assumed that Mickey was a man's name but I wasn't very far into the book before I began to question that assumption; eventually I looked it up and my first thought was, "Yep. Woman writer." Overall, I would not really recommend it and I doubt I will ever read anything else by this author.
September 5, 2016
Reading this book was a very mixed experience. I'd rate the ideas 4.5 - very imaginative. The story in the first third was great - characters felt real, setting very believable, well written - 4 stars. Then things fell off. Second two-thirds of the book seems hurried, unfocused, and were definitely less interesting - 2 stars. Finally, the idea that a brand new psychiatry resident, during her first week, would be able to act with the authority, knowledge, and independence suggested in this book, is unbelievable based on my clinical experiences - 1 star. Overall, averaged to a 3.
December 15, 2011
I would've given it a 4 1/2 if it was possible. I, Robot: To Protect is an amazing book containing extremely interesting insights to the future world of robots/nanorobots and how they would affect our world. The main character, Susan, is a 1st year resident (psychiatrist), so the book would have been a really good book, even with some of the nanorobot parts cut out. I would totally recommend it to everyone and anyone, unless you really hate reading chapter books.
February 26, 2012
Puerile. If you'd asked a ten year old girl to write a story about a doctor in a psychiatric ward for children - and put a robot in it - you might have got something like this. Except this book doesn't come with all the spelling mistakes. Yay!
"You can't judge a book by its cover". I did. I paid the price - literally. Mea culpa.
ps: apologies to all ten year old girls reading this. Of course, I know you can write much better books than this. And you can spell really well.
"You can't judge a book by its cover". I did. I paid the price - literally. Mea culpa.
ps: apologies to all ten year old girls reading this. Of course, I know you can write much better books than this. And you can spell really well.
Want to read
October 26, 2012ซูซาน เคลวิน เป็นตัวเอก ในชุดหุ่นยนต์ของอสิมอฟ มีบทบาทอย่างมากในระยะเริ่มต้นของวิวัฒนาการหุ่นยนต์ แต่อสิมอฟ ใช้ซูซาน เคลวิน แต่เพียงในเรื่องสั้นเท่านั้น ('I, Robot', 'The Rest of Robot', 'Robot Dream', 'The Complete Robot', 'Robot Vision') ทั้งที่ซูซาน ก็เป็นตัวละครที่มีบุคลิกที่โดดเด่น และเป็นที่จดจำของบรรดานักอ่านของอสิมอฟ
น่าสนใจที่ Reichert ได้นำ ซูซาน เคลวิน มาขยายบทบาทเป็นตัวเดินเรื่องในนวนิยายขนาดไตรภาค จึงไม่ควรพลาดที่จะหยิบหนังสือเรื่องนี้มาอ่านอย่างแน่นอน
น่าสนใจที่ Reichert ได้นำ ซูซาน เคลวิน มาขยายบทบาทเป็นตัวเดินเรื่องในนวนิยายขนาดไตรภาค จึงไม่ควรพลาดที่จะหยิบหนังสือเรื่องนี้มาอ่านอย่างแน่นอน
July 28, 2015
I was mistaken by the title of this book. I thought it was "I, Robot" but it is in fact "1, Robot". This is not a Science Fiction book. Repeat, this is not a Science Fiction book. It is a medical drama with... A robot that is a very very small part of the book. So as a medical drama book it is somewhat interesting but also not very good and the end is completely unbelievable. No seriously its bad. A four year old with a bomb, wtf. So to wrap up this book's title is "1, Robot".
March 3, 2016
I, Robot: to preserve is a great addition to the I, Robot books! I have read all of Isaac Asimov's Robot books and this one is a great add on. It gave you the same love of the robots, distrust of the government and inability to determine who is the bad guy up until the end. Good plot, well developed characters, lots of twists and surprises, and stays with the I, Robot theme. Loved it. Reviewed this book for NetGalley.
April 16, 2016
Wow, that's a week of my life I will never get back. I can't remember the last time I literally rolled my eyes while reading a book. This was truly awful. Never mind that the writer was a doctor -- I get that....so much so, that it was tedious to read through. Never mind that this was supposed to be a science fiction thriller -- when really this could easily option into a movie of the week on Lifetime.
Yawn.
Yawn.
October 11, 2018
I rarely write reviews--but I also rarely give up on a book when I'm more than halfway through (almost never). This was a rarity. Clearly about pediatrics more than robotics, and that was fine with me; even the superhuman diagnostic capabilities of first-year resident Dr, Susan Calvin was OK. But the growing focus on the Bad Seed just became so depressing--and the secondary nanorobotics subplot so, well, secondary, that I just couldn't stand to read any more.
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