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Robot #0.6
Pozytronowy człowiek
Pozytronowy człowiek to jedna z ostatnich powieści Isaaca Asimova. Nowa technologia pozytronowa stanowi skok jakościowy w dziedzinie sztucznej inteligencji. Jej pierwszy produkt - robot o imieniu Andrew, który potrafi tworzyć, uczyć się i przystosowywać do środowiska - jest zarazem ostatnim.
Kiedy korporacja produkująca Andrew odkrywa rozliczne talenty robota, postanawia zaprzestać dalszej produkcji, obawiając się nieprzewidzianych skutków. Lecz rodzina, u której mieszka Andrew, nie zgadza się go oddać, a i sam robot postanawia zdobyć to, na czym najbardziej mu zależy - człowieczeństwo.
Kiedy korporacja produkująca Andrew odkrywa rozliczne talenty robota, postanawia zaprzestać dalszej produkcji, obawiając się nieprzewidzianych skutków. Lecz rodzina, u której mieszka Andrew, nie zgadza się go oddać, a i sam robot postanawia zdobyć to, na czym najbardziej mu zależy - człowieczeństwo.
246 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
75 people are currently reading
6951 people want to read
About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,348 books27.9k followersWorks of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles,
The Foundation Trilogy
(1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 319 reviews
May 7, 2018
Like the most I read the short story "Bicentennial Man" first and quite recently too. This still hasn't diminished my enjoyment of the book. Asimov himself declared this his penultimate and favorite robot story and I find that it is mine too. Now, one can say that Silverberg just bloated up the story up to a full book which is basically true. But it also enriched the experience, primarily he given all the characters more depth in a way that Asimov never could. Now we must all begrudgingly agree that Asimov isn't a particularly good writer. I remember when I first started reading the Foundation series I was surprised by the simplicity of his characters especially when it came to presenting their inner thoughts. To me this was particularly obvious because previously I read the Ender series and I couldn't simply ignore his writing. But Asimov was a great SF writer, he brought to our minds some of the greatest ideas and concepts that captivate us to this day and put those first. Near the end of his career his writing did improve and he managed to write his most beautiful and touching robot story. And just like the first time I read the short story I was truly moved again after reading it in this form.
January 20, 2025
За мен, „Позитронният човек“ си остава една от най-добрите и въздействащи книги, написани по темата за роботите! В чудесния си съвместен роман, Азимов и Силвърбърг подтикват читателите към размисъл по важни морални въпроси, разказвайки трогателната история на Андрю Мартин. Той е необикновен и очарователен андроид, който пише книга, извършва добри дела, а и силно желае да бъде човек. Хората отхвърлят молбата му да го признаят като един от тях, обаче той не се отказва от своята мечта...
По тази книга е направен филмът „Двестагодишен човек“ с Робин Уилямс в ролята на Андрю, който също е страхотен! Силно препоръчвам на всеки и двете творби.
„Да се откаже в този момент би означавало да измени на собствената си същност, да се отрече от независимата и творяща сама себе си личност, напираща за живот година след година в неговия позитронен мозък.“
„Няма нищо унизително. Всичко обръщаш наопаки. Човешко е да си несъвършен. Това искаше повече от всичко друго — да бъдеш човек. Сега си точно това. Несъвършенствата… слабостите… ограничените възможности — те определят хората като човешки същества. И те ги подтикват да превъзмогват собствените си недостатъци.“
„Смъртта има много разновидности, Третият закон не прави разлика. Но аз ги различавам. Трябваше да избера между смъртта на тялото си и гибелта на своите стремежи и желания.“
По тази книга е направен филмът „Двестагодишен човек“ с Робин Уилямс в ролята на Андрю, който също е страхотен! Силно препоръчвам на всеки и двете творби.
„Да се откаже в този момент би означавало да измени на собствената си същност, да се отрече от независимата и творяща сама себе си личност, напираща за живот година след година в неговия позитронен мозък.“
„Няма нищо унизително. Всичко обръщаш наопаки. Човешко е да си несъвършен. Това искаше повече от всичко друго — да бъдеш човек. Сега си точно това. Несъвършенствата… слабостите… ограничените възможности — те определят хората като човешки същества. И те ги подтикват да превъзмогват собствените си недостатъци.“
„Смъртта има много разновидности, Третият закон не прави разлика. Но аз ги различавам. Трябваше да избера между смъртта на тялото си и гибелта на своите стремежи и желания.“
September 13, 2016
Much, much more than just a sci-fi story, with references to psychology, human condition, subjugation/slavery, politics, prejudice, aspirations, etc.
"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"
"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"
Read
February 1, 2017با خوندن این کتاب از آسیموف من فکر میکنم که دیدگاه آسیموف نسبت به علم اینه که روزی علم به قدری پیشرفت میکنه که دیگه روبات ها میمونند و به حدی میرسند که با انسان فرقی نکند و تا جایی پیش میرن که دیگه انسان ها از صفحه ی روزگار محو میشن . نمونه اش همین داستان ، این داستان نشون میده که به خاطر یک بی دقتی مغز پوزیترونی اندرو عینا مثل مغز انسان عمل میکنه و تعریف جدیدی از انسان ارایه میده : لازم نیست که بدن انسان رو داشته باشی یا مغز انسان رو داشته باشی ، همین که مغزت مثل انسان کار کنه ، همین که مثل انسان فکر کنی انسان هستی.
آخر های داستان هم اشاره میکنه که اندرو مثل انسان فکر میکنه، دروغ میگه ، از خودش تو دادگاه دفاع میکنه ، به این و اون کلک میزنه و....
آخر های داستان هم اشاره میکنه که اندرو مثل انسان فکر میکنه، دروغ میگه ، از خودش تو دادگاه دفاع میکنه ، به این و اون کلک میزنه و....
March 7, 2012
Post Listen Review: I love how Isaac Asimov came up with the classic three laws of robotics and then spent so much of his writing figuring out ways to bend those laws or to make things fit into them in surprising ways. This is a beautiful story of a robot who becomes a man. It sounds silly on the surface but it brings up large questions on what life means. Not only that, it is kind of astounding how many things mentioned in this book would have seemed extremely far off in the future at the time of writing but that we now have. We actually have robots doing work we don't want to do, from roombas to I.E.D. detecting devices to mechanical arms in factories. We have centralized computer devices completing complex tasks for us (regulating stop lights and traffic patterns) that reach out to tell other machines what to do. We have phones that are more intelligent than we are. We have robotic prosthetic limbs and organs. We may not have a moon colony but we have noted politicians actually talking about one like it is a certainty. (Even if that politician is a bit whacky) About the only thing we are truly missing is the positronic brain. I feel like that is just a matter of time. For those reasons, I don't find the idea that we might have mechanical men doing our needed work, interacting with us and even gaining a soul all that far fetched. I found the story of Andrew Martin to be engaging and exciting and just a great science fiction classic. One that might move away from being fiction at any time.
Pre-Listen Guess: I remember reading this and really enjoying it in High School. I am sure this will be good.
Pre-Listen Guess: I remember reading this and really enjoying it in High School. I am sure this will be good.
May 6, 2018
Zaista prelepa prica! Dirljiva i poucna. Dao sam joj cetiri zvezdice jer je u knjizi Sabrani Roboti vec ispricana na nekih dvadesetak strana a da nista u odnosu na ovo prosireno izdanje nije zafalilo. Poenta je tu, sva kljucna osecanja su tu. Robert Silverberg ju je verovatno zbog kvaliteta same ideje odlucio da "nafiluje" kako bi se objavila kao posebno delo. Hvala mu na tome.
June 9, 2025
This is an expansion of Asimov's multiple-award-winning novelette The Bicentennial Man that was published in a Del Rey original anthology in our bicentennial year of 1976. It was a very good story, and it was a kind of weak year for short fiction, and it was very topical (Joe Haldeman's Tricentennial won the Hugo and Locus Awards for best short story that year), so it might have won even if it weren't for the fan fervor surrounding the Asimov byline. The Robin Williams/Sam Neill movie from 1999 that wasn't bad but wasn't as good as it coulda/shoulda been was based on this novel. It appeared shortly before Asimov's death and was published as a collaboration, although it's unknown how much input Asimov had on the actual writing. It's a fun, fine, fast read in any event. Silverberg seems to have made a conscious effort to adopt Asimov's clear, concise, and conservative voice and tone. I don't think there was a need to expand the story to novel length, but a good job was made of it. It's by far the best of the three Silverberg/Asimov team-ups in my estimation. It's an entertaining read, but if you're in a hurry just read the original... or watch the film.
July 12, 2016
Îndepărtându-de liniile clasice ale SF-ului, Asimov abordează prin
Omul pozitronic
infinitele implicații ale umanității: Ce definește de fapt omul? Care sunt elementele care îl diferențiază pe acesta de alte creaturi și creații? Ce înseamnă a fi viu, a fi liber, a fi capabil să îți cauți fericirea și care sunt limitele libertății individuale?
"...S-a spus că doar un om poate fi liber. Eu nu cred că-i adevărat. Mi se pare că numai acela care şi doreşte libertatea, care știe de existența acestui concept și-l dorește cu toată voința lui - poate avea dreptul la ea. Eu sunt o asemenea persoană. Desigur, nu sunt un om. Niciodată n-am afirmat aşa ceva. Cu toate acestea, îmi doresc libertatea."
"Dacă eşti om, își spusese Andrew, faci parte dintr-un lanţ uriaş, un lanţ suspendat peste perioade imense de timp, care te leagă de toți aceia dinaintea ta şi de după tine. Cu timpul, înţelegi că zalele individuale ale timpului pot pieri - mai exact, trebuie să piară - însă lanţul în sine se reînnoieşte permanent şi va supravieţui."
Omul pozitronic este povestea unui robot care îşi doreşte să devină om, povestea unei permanente căutări a esenței umane.
Mie mi-a plăcut, mi-a plăcut mult de tot!
"...S-a spus că doar un om poate fi liber. Eu nu cred că-i adevărat. Mi se pare că numai acela care şi doreşte libertatea, care știe de existența acestui concept și-l dorește cu toată voința lui - poate avea dreptul la ea. Eu sunt o asemenea persoană. Desigur, nu sunt un om. Niciodată n-am afirmat aşa ceva. Cu toate acestea, îmi doresc libertatea."
"Dacă eşti om, își spusese Andrew, faci parte dintr-un lanţ uriaş, un lanţ suspendat peste perioade imense de timp, care te leagă de toți aceia dinaintea ta şi de după tine. Cu timpul, înţelegi că zalele individuale ale timpului pot pieri - mai exact, trebuie să piară - însă lanţul în sine se reînnoieşte permanent şi va supravieţui."
Omul pozitronic este povestea unui robot care îşi doreşte să devină om, povestea unei permanente căutări a esenței umane.
Mie mi-a plăcut, mi-a plăcut mult de tot!
February 17, 2015
I had suspected, and feared, that this would be one of those books which would take a good story and build on it, just for the purpise of it, making the story tasteless, bland. I'm glad to say that this was not one of those.
Andrew Martin's story is heartwarming, whereas at the same time it rings of the truth, of the irrational fears and activities of human mind, and on the other hand, how the proper action by a few people at the right times could make history.
And Andrew Martin's struggle to achieve his dreams, can never be justified with words.
"I would rather die as a man than live eternally as a robot."
Andrew Martin's story is heartwarming, whereas at the same time it rings of the truth, of the irrational fears and activities of human mind, and on the other hand, how the proper action by a few people at the right times could make history.
And Andrew Martin's struggle to achieve his dreams, can never be justified with words.
"I would rather die as a man than live eternally as a robot."
April 30, 2024
Mała ja, która kocha „Człowieka Przyszłości“ właśnie raduje się.
Co prawda film delikatnie odbiega od książki, to muszę przyznać, że obie wersje tej historii podobają mi się tak samo bardzo. Cały proces walki o uznanie Andrew jako człowieka był czymś pięknym. To ile poświęcenia włożył w to wszystko, aby przemienić się z postaci robota w człowieka. Po prostu wow. Sam początek oraz rodzina Martinów i Charley’ów, która doprowadziła go do tego wszystkiego jest cudowna. To ile wartości i emocji go to nauczyło jest niewyobrażalne. Bardzo dobrze jest tu przedstawione tak naprawdę człowieczeństwo. To jakimi ludźmi jesteśmy. Ale i także jakie z nas piękne istoty. Kocham tę historię całym moim sercem.
Co prawda film delikatnie odbiega od książki, to muszę przyznać, że obie wersje tej historii podobają mi się tak samo bardzo. Cały proces walki o uznanie Andrew jako człowieka był czymś pięknym. To ile poświęcenia włożył w to wszystko, aby przemienić się z postaci robota w człowieka. Po prostu wow. Sam początek oraz rodzina Martinów i Charley’ów, która doprowadziła go do tego wszystkiego jest cudowna. To ile wartości i emocji go to nauczyło jest niewyobrażalne. Bardzo dobrze jest tu przedstawione tak naprawdę człowieczeństwo. To jakimi ludźmi jesteśmy. Ale i także jakie z nas piękne istoty. Kocham tę historię całym moim sercem.
August 16, 2024
This is Asimov's novella The Bicentennial Man extended into a full novel and quite frankly it's pretty brilliant.
Too often, stories involving AI/robots/androids wanting to become human is just because they've fallen in love with one and are mostly shallow. In The Positronic Man, we get to witness the robot protagonist, Andrew, evolve throughout multiple human generations. His exploration of how he is different from both other robots and humans makes his desire to transition into becoming as fully "human" as possible completely believable and quite affecting.
I had not read the novella beforehand. I did skim through it and it seemed very similar. The novel just gives much more exposition and spends a bit more time in the important parts of Andrew's life that are focused on before jumping ahead another few decades. I have no opinion on if you should read one or the other first. They do seem similar enough I wouldn't recommend reading them back to back. Would probably feel a little redundant
Too often, stories involving AI/robots/androids wanting to become human is just because they've fallen in love with one and are mostly shallow. In The Positronic Man, we get to witness the robot protagonist, Andrew, evolve throughout multiple human generations. His exploration of how he is different from both other robots and humans makes his desire to transition into becoming as fully "human" as possible completely believable and quite affecting.
I had not read the novella beforehand. I did skim through it and it seemed very similar. The novel just gives much more exposition and spends a bit more time in the important parts of Andrew's life that are focused on before jumping ahead another few decades. I have no opinion on if you should read one or the other first. They do seem similar enough I wouldn't recommend reading them back to back. Would probably feel a little redundant
April 9, 2012
I really like the short story Bicentennial Man. I don't think that fleshing it out to novel length added anything more to it. I had a harder time getting through it than I would have though, but I still think it is a good book overall.
I find it humorous that Asimov was a visionary on robotics, but his vision of mankind seems to be somewhat lacking. He sees humans as sparsely populated striving for "quality over quantity". We certainly aren't heading down this path now, and I can't imagine we'll change any time soon. He also talks (as a lot of sci-fi authors do) about a world government. This is another thing that I can't see happening at least in my lifetime. Possibly these were Silverberg's additions to the story, I can't say for sure, but it made me chuckle inside a bit.
I find it humorous that Asimov was a visionary on robotics, but his vision of mankind seems to be somewhat lacking. He sees humans as sparsely populated striving for "quality over quantity". We certainly aren't heading down this path now, and I can't imagine we'll change any time soon. He also talks (as a lot of sci-fi authors do) about a world government. This is another thing that I can't see happening at least in my lifetime. Possibly these were Silverberg's additions to the story, I can't say for sure, but it made me chuckle inside a bit.
February 17, 2010
Straight up scifi isn’t a genre I usually read but I came across a copy of this book on audio and figured what the heck? I’m in a bit of a slump so maybe this will kick me out of it.
So far, so good. It's set in the future where helpful robots are a reality. Model NDR113, or Andrew as his family names him, is contemplating a risky surgery when the book begins but we don't know what it is. It then flips back to the past a bit and we meet him just as he's settling in with his family. He seems to be part housekeeper and part babysitter and a trusted member of the family. Someone tell me where I can sign up for an Andrew.
Anyway, being a robot and all, Andrew must obey all commands and is constantly torn between Dad's orders and those of the little girls who he calls Miss and Little Miss. The girls have ways of overriding Dad's commands and Andrew's programming often doesn't know what to do and the girls get their way. And that's as far as I've read. I'm surprised just how enjoyable this is because I'm not a straight up scifi lover.
Ok, almost finished. This book, even though not my genre of choice, really surprised me. I didn’t find myself dozing off and it wasn’t overly technical as I’d mistakenly assumed. It focused on Andrew the robot’s struggles with being owned. He seems to have some sort of a glitch that allows him to think less like a machine and more like a human. He has no rights and no free will but fortunately he has “Little Miss” and a whole lot of money and she forces her dad to fight to make Andrew a free robot. Andrew now faces more problems from a society fearful and prejudiced against robots and as he outlives his family he feels things no robot should.
My attention began to wane a bit during the last part of the book which spent a lot of time on the scifi aspects and legal battles of Andrew but overall it was a very engaging and thought provoking book that even made me tear up near the end. I’m glad I gave it a listen.
So far, so good. It's set in the future where helpful robots are a reality. Model NDR113, or Andrew as his family names him, is contemplating a risky surgery when the book begins but we don't know what it is. It then flips back to the past a bit and we meet him just as he's settling in with his family. He seems to be part housekeeper and part babysitter and a trusted member of the family. Someone tell me where I can sign up for an Andrew.
Anyway, being a robot and all, Andrew must obey all commands and is constantly torn between Dad's orders and those of the little girls who he calls Miss and Little Miss. The girls have ways of overriding Dad's commands and Andrew's programming often doesn't know what to do and the girls get their way. And that's as far as I've read. I'm surprised just how enjoyable this is because I'm not a straight up scifi lover.
Ok, almost finished. This book, even though not my genre of choice, really surprised me. I didn’t find myself dozing off and it wasn’t overly technical as I’d mistakenly assumed. It focused on Andrew the robot’s struggles with being owned. He seems to have some sort of a glitch that allows him to think less like a machine and more like a human. He has no rights and no free will but fortunately he has “Little Miss” and a whole lot of money and she forces her dad to fight to make Andrew a free robot. Andrew now faces more problems from a society fearful and prejudiced against robots and as he outlives his family he feels things no robot should.
My attention began to wane a bit during the last part of the book which spent a lot of time on the scifi aspects and legal battles of Andrew but overall it was a very engaging and thought provoking book that even made me tear up near the end. I’m glad I gave it a listen.
April 24, 2015
Andrew Martin? The Positronic Man (Robot, #0.6)? Wait, haven't I seen this before? Why yes, I have, in the guise of the "Bicentennial Man".
There were a few changes from this earlier version, the most noticeable being that the story takes more pages to tell.
I saw direct parallels with how modern society struggles to accept trans people and afford someone born biologically female "man" status, the same as society having trouble affording that status to Andrew because of the nature of his creation. Man is, after all, a construct as the robot surgeon in The Positronic Man so clearly reveals by simply accepting Mr. Martin as one due to fitting the required outward appearance. So, too, is gender a construct in modern day.
If you feel any sympathy for Mr. Martin's desired state vs state of birth, give a thought to those who also would wish to be known as a "man" or a "woman" and treated as such. Please?
There were a few changes from this earlier version, the most noticeable being that the story takes more pages to tell.
I saw direct parallels with how modern society struggles to accept trans people and afford someone born biologically female "man" status, the same as society having trouble affording that status to Andrew because of the nature of his creation. Man is, after all, a construct as the robot surgeon in The Positronic Man so clearly reveals by simply accepting Mr. Martin as one due to fitting the required outward appearance. So, too, is gender a construct in modern day.
If you feel any sympathy for Mr. Martin's desired state vs state of birth, give a thought to those who also would wish to be known as a "man" or a "woman" and treated as such. Please?
January 16, 2018
یه کتاب تخیلی جالبدرباره یه روبات به اسم اندرو، اما اندرواز همون اولشم برای من روبات نبود! آدم بود. نویسنده جوری عواطف رو غیر مستقیم تزریق میکرد تو کلام این ربات که نمیشد بهش نگفت انسان. قشنگ بود چون یه وقتایی یه تصاویر قشنگ و امیدوارانه ای از آینده میساخت که دلم میخواست سفر کنم به اون آینده ای که این کتاب درباره ش نوشته شده. بخونیدش به نظرم.
June 26, 2024
The Positronic Lawyer
My approach to older science fiction is to respect the era when it was published and to consider how it might have shaped the decades to come. The Positronic Man is a 90s-era novel with roots dating back to a 1976 novelette. On that basis, it’s groundbreaking. At the same time, it’s amusing how intrinsic it is for people today (2024) to understand algorithms and how computers execute code. The Three Laws of Robotics are trivially warped and bypassed. Yet the story suggests that such hacks are groundbreaking, as if malice doesn’t exist. The setting conveys an optimistic view of the future that’s missing in present-day literature. The authors propose robots that solve labour problems, infinite expansion into outer space, and even the natural environmental recovery of Earth. Whatever trade-offs they imagined, these authors inherently believed that all progress is good.
Into the promising future comes our protagonist: a menial robot who, by chance, either equals or excels his creators. He dreams of being human. Readers follow his journey through the ages as he pursues and defines this outcome. It’s very high-minded. Typical of authors of this time, the novel is plot-centric. Its cast lacks depth, but the protagonist is a superb exception. I empathized with his desires for recognition, his frustrations at being rebuffed despite incredible contributions to humanity, and his pangs of grief as friends disappeared over the years. Even though I found later characters uninspired and friendships to be plot conveniences, I can forgive a lot because the authors powerfully conveyed the robot’s eternal loneliness.
What is less forgivable is the other half of the coin. Aside from high-minded ideals, The Positronic Man is a legal drama. Much of the action and resolution comes from courtroom battles and legislative victories. Yet it doesn’t appear like either author knew much about the legal system. Readers never understand the structure of the world government or extra-solar colonies, nor why courtrooms are needed to bring laws to the legislature. Instead, there’s page after page of cringe-worthy soapbox speeches, where lawyers monologue and speak directly to the reader about morality and rights. It’s here that The Positronic Man loses me because while our protagonist wields both science and law to become human, our authors forgot to learn about the latter.
Recommended, with Reservations.
My approach to older science fiction is to respect the era when it was published and to consider how it might have shaped the decades to come. The Positronic Man is a 90s-era novel with roots dating back to a 1976 novelette. On that basis, it’s groundbreaking. At the same time, it’s amusing how intrinsic it is for people today (2024) to understand algorithms and how computers execute code. The Three Laws of Robotics are trivially warped and bypassed. Yet the story suggests that such hacks are groundbreaking, as if malice doesn’t exist. The setting conveys an optimistic view of the future that’s missing in present-day literature. The authors propose robots that solve labour problems, infinite expansion into outer space, and even the natural environmental recovery of Earth. Whatever trade-offs they imagined, these authors inherently believed that all progress is good.
Into the promising future comes our protagonist: a menial robot who, by chance, either equals or excels his creators. He dreams of being human. Readers follow his journey through the ages as he pursues and defines this outcome. It’s very high-minded. Typical of authors of this time, the novel is plot-centric. Its cast lacks depth, but the protagonist is a superb exception. I empathized with his desires for recognition, his frustrations at being rebuffed despite incredible contributions to humanity, and his pangs of grief as friends disappeared over the years. Even though I found later characters uninspired and friendships to be plot conveniences, I can forgive a lot because the authors powerfully conveyed the robot’s eternal loneliness.
What is less forgivable is the other half of the coin. Aside from high-minded ideals, The Positronic Man is a legal drama. Much of the action and resolution comes from courtroom battles and legislative victories. Yet it doesn’t appear like either author knew much about the legal system. Readers never understand the structure of the world government or extra-solar colonies, nor why courtrooms are needed to bring laws to the legislature. Instead, there’s page after page of cringe-worthy soapbox speeches, where lawyers monologue and speak directly to the reader about morality and rights. It’s here that The Positronic Man loses me because while our protagonist wields both science and law to become human, our authors forgot to learn about the latter.
Recommended, with Reservations.
February 18, 2023
I wasn't sure what to expect out of this one, but there are so many layers -- above all, I enjoyed it as a treatise to the long and arduous journey to civil rights.
That said, I can see why it wasn't a very cinematic book to adapt faithfully into the Robin Williams flick I saw first. But I think both have merit, if for no other reason than that I feel the film was more a celebration of what it means to be human, and all the joy and sadness that goes with it.
That said, I can see why it wasn't a very cinematic book to adapt faithfully into the Robin Williams flick I saw first. But I think both have merit, if for no other reason than that I feel the film was more a celebration of what it means to be human, and all the joy and sadness that goes with it.
June 15, 2024
#justiceforadrewmartin, chociaż moim zdaniem ludzie nie byliby aż tak uprzedzeni do robota jak to pokazuje książka. Gg
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2025
astonishing to think Asimov created such a story almost 7 decades ago
May 4, 2017
This was unbelievably awesome, and I'm not really surprised, since I haven't read something by Asimov that I haven't enjoyed tremendously. But this was pure brilliance - engaging, intriguing and incredibly moving. This is one of the books that really stay with you. I could write a lengthy review, praising it - and I still wouldn't be able to do it justice - but I'll just settle for a few points:
1. I've heard a few people say Isaac Asimov's work is "outdated" and "no longer relatable" (whatever that means, I for one have never allowed the degree of how much I can relate or not to a book spoil my enjoyment of a good story). And while I agree we're not confronting ourselves with the situation described in the book - might only be a matter of time, though, who knows? - there are plenty of themes that touch today's society. I mean - prejudice? fear of those who are different from us? the need to define what is conventional (like what is human, in the book)? We have those in plenty, don't we? In fact, I kinda actually look forward to the day Asimov - and other science fiction writers - will no longer be relevant. It might mean society will be less messed-up than it is now.
2. It's a bit strange to see this sometimes described as a children's book. All right, a young reader could enjoy it, I suppose (I'm afraid I wouldn't have, as a child I preferred more adventure in my books and don't even get me started on the ending). There are a lot of aspects, though, that a more mature reader would enjoy and could reflect on. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with children's books. But there's a bit of a patronising attitude sometimes to them - like they're not complex enough. Well, there's no reason for anyone to be patronising about this book. It had plenty of complex points, in my view.
3. It's strange, I could never really connect with Asimov's characters before. But Andrew Martin is a pretty awesome character and it was a smart move presenting things from his viewpoint.
All in all, it was a pretty enjoyable read - both fun and thought-provoking. I could even accept the ending, because it made sense (even though I wouldn't have as a child, which is why I'm hesitant to call this a children's book. Maybe 14 and upwards, I suppose).
1. I've heard a few people say Isaac Asimov's work is "outdated" and "no longer relatable" (whatever that means, I for one have never allowed the degree of how much I can relate or not to a book spoil my enjoyment of a good story). And while I agree we're not confronting ourselves with the situation described in the book - might only be a matter of time, though, who knows? - there are plenty of themes that touch today's society. I mean - prejudice? fear of those who are different from us? the need to define what is conventional (like what is human, in the book)? We have those in plenty, don't we? In fact, I kinda actually look forward to the day Asimov - and other science fiction writers - will no longer be relevant. It might mean society will be less messed-up than it is now.
2. It's a bit strange to see this sometimes described as a children's book. All right, a young reader could enjoy it, I suppose (I'm afraid I wouldn't have, as a child I preferred more adventure in my books and don't even get me started on the ending). There are a lot of aspects, though, that a more mature reader would enjoy and could reflect on. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with children's books. But there's a bit of a patronising attitude sometimes to them - like they're not complex enough. Well, there's no reason for anyone to be patronising about this book. It had plenty of complex points, in my view.
3. It's strange, I could never really connect with Asimov's characters before. But Andrew Martin is a pretty awesome character and it was a smart move presenting things from his viewpoint.
All in all, it was a pretty enjoyable read - both fun and thought-provoking. I could even accept the ending, because it made sense (even though I wouldn't have as a child, which is why I'm hesitant to call this a children's book. Maybe 14 and upwards, I suppose).
November 4, 2023
Por allá de los noventas yo era una pequeña súper emocionada por las historias de ciencia ficción y justo acababa de descubrir uno de los mejores autores del género que es Isaac Asimov, libro que encontraba del autor, libro que quería que me compraran entonces hice una pequeña colección, también recibí algunos regalos de las compilaciones el premio Higo pero no sé dónde quedaron, quiero llorar.
El robot humano es la historia de un personaje que inició siendo construido para ayuda y servicio del ser humano y termino siendo alguien importante en la humanidad, quien a voluntad propia decide terminar con su existencia. Todo el proceso de creación evolución y crecimiento del personaje es fantástico, el como Andrew va buscando las opciones y la forma de ir consiguiendo lo que él creía que tenía destinado ser que era convertirse en un ser humano, y siento que al final lo logra porque de alguna manera es él quien dispone de su existencia para no alargarla todavía más porque es un ser humanoide y así sentir qué formaba parte de la humanidad pues tenemos un principio y un final (nacer y morir)
Obviamente el ser humano nunca lo iba a aceptar como tal pero fue una historia potente y súper interesante, donde llegamos a sentirnos empáticos con este robot aunque en lo personal me daba un poco de miedo. Súper recomendable esta lectura dense la oportunidad de conocer al robot humano.
El robot humano es la historia de un personaje que inició siendo construido para ayuda y servicio del ser humano y termino siendo alguien importante en la humanidad, quien a voluntad propia decide terminar con su existencia. Todo el proceso de creación evolución y crecimiento del personaje es fantástico, el como Andrew va buscando las opciones y la forma de ir consiguiendo lo que él creía que tenía destinado ser que era convertirse en un ser humano, y siento que al final lo logra porque de alguna manera es él quien dispone de su existencia para no alargarla todavía más porque es un ser humanoide y así sentir qué formaba parte de la humanidad pues tenemos un principio y un final (nacer y morir)
Obviamente el ser humano nunca lo iba a aceptar como tal pero fue una historia potente y súper interesante, donde llegamos a sentirnos empáticos con este robot aunque en lo personal me daba un poco de miedo. Súper recomendable esta lectura dense la oportunidad de conocer al robot humano.
February 22, 2022
I feel like I could rave about this book, but I want to keep this short and succinct.
This book was damn near flawless. Despite its heavy content, philosophy, technical matter, it was all delivered so well and clearly that I may even consider that to have been an easy read. Asimov (and Silverberg at least here) has a clear and intentional way of writing that his message comes right across, and there isn't much fat left to be trimmed. His science fiction, even though I'm fairly novice to the harder side of the genre, is something so paradigm that I feel this is the essence of science fiction. This story especially is exactly how I pictured science fiction in one of the best ways possible. A highly unique and intelligent robot who starts to understand that, increases his knowledge, adopts something really damn close to human emotion, and starts to do all in his power to transform himself as close as possible to being human. The ramifications of that. The philosophical debates on what constitutes being human? Should a robot have rights? Is a robot purely a hunk of metal? Does the mere biological constitution of a human rule out a robot joining that society? I will say that while the arguments were really captivating and well done indeed, I certainly was shifting more toward the oppositional side of perspective. Sorry Andrew. Let me be clear. And this is an aspect that intrestingly enough, Andrew seemed to have gotten too emotional about without his usual clinical absolutely logical way of viewing things. Which can be viewed as a deeper layer of how human Andrew really is, but I would simply attribute to a slight fluke, that really seeps out from Asimov's personal views being presented through Andrew. Whatever the case, Andrew gets hung up on the fact that the opposition insist he's a robot when he understands the concept of entitlement, he's produced so many beneficial resources for the masses of humans, and yadda yadda. I get it. You definitely deserve recognition as something special. You are certainly not an average robot. You are as it stands, one of a kind. I'm sorry but this does not make you human. Nothing ever will. But why does that have to be a negative? I understand you want to be human really badly, but just becuase you give word to something, just because you have legal statement or conviction in something, does not make it factually true. You deserve just about any honor a human can get on the earth, but you are inherently robot. Is it unfair that just because you were not brought into this world a human, you are in fact not a human?
Ummm no. Don't get on the bandwagon and let the emotions get the best of you. It's simply a factual state. The reality is you are a robot. This is not a condemnation. But on the other hand we can't just whisk that fact away and "make" you a human. Only god can do that. Which I'm actually shocked was not brought up anywhere throughout this book. It was even brought up in detail in one of the stories in I Robot. Which, another sidepoint, we are lead to believe that Andrew is the first of his unique kind. this is simply untrue for one who has read the aforementioned previous installment. We actually have a few stories there (if I remember correctly) including the "religiously themed" one I just mentioned, in which the code of the robot was somewhat general/something went wrong in the manufacture of said robot, which caused them to outperform their alleged limits and become more human-like. Yet here we say Andrew was the first of his kind... Maybe we meant to his degree of pursuit of creative skill? To his level of human-like qualities? Eh. I think the facts are simply that such stories we had, (another great example being the story where there was a robot who somehow got programmed to be able to read minds and was thereby hypersensitive to emotional boundaries regarding the first law), were covered up by Calvin, Lanning and Co, so as not to scare the public. Which fits our narrative perfectly. So I'll give that one a pass. Anyway, yeah. Andrew acts irrationally in his arguments to attain humanhood, not ignoring facts, but acting like emotional justification supplants those facts. I again reference my two aforementioned pseudo-theories for this "flaw" in Andrew. So from a purely clinical standpoint, it's quite impossible to agree with Andrew. Do I feel for him, commend him, have compassion, will never harm him, have utmost respect for him? Absolutely. Is he a robot? Absolutely. What if he changes his brain? What if it's wrong to dismantle him? It's unfair! What about those people walking around with prosthetic parts? What about- Stop. He was never human. Human in the biological and the logical sense is not something you become, it's something you were borne into. Yes I'll throw in another pun there. It's also alarming seeing the same pseudo-arguments being used today by the far left in regards to very controversial things I will not elaborate on, for some groups can't take cold hard logic anymore. The intelligent person will be able to infer exactly what parallels these themes or robot/humanity in our current real world.
Anyway, this book was near flawless. Towards the end I got a tad bored and felt that it dragged a little and wasn't adding anything revolutionary that warranted the word-count to keep going, and even though yes he was on a venture to seek complete humanhood, well it felt a bit reperitive. We saw this movie multiple times during Andrew's lifetime where he went to court and fought for legislation and acknowledgement. I really liked it, but this was like the third or fourth time. But all my critiques mentioned throughout are gripes. I thought this book was amazing. I enjoyed it very much. It has cemented for me the beginning of what I see as a science-fiction journey. I now certainly plan on filtering in more and more sci-fi into my immediate reading, and can't wait to read the entire Asimov "Robot" series before I plunge on into his other works.
4.8 stars.
This book was damn near flawless. Despite its heavy content, philosophy, technical matter, it was all delivered so well and clearly that I may even consider that to have been an easy read. Asimov (and Silverberg at least here) has a clear and intentional way of writing that his message comes right across, and there isn't much fat left to be trimmed. His science fiction, even though I'm fairly novice to the harder side of the genre, is something so paradigm that I feel this is the essence of science fiction. This story especially is exactly how I pictured science fiction in one of the best ways possible. A highly unique and intelligent robot who starts to understand that, increases his knowledge, adopts something really damn close to human emotion, and starts to do all in his power to transform himself as close as possible to being human. The ramifications of that. The philosophical debates on what constitutes being human? Should a robot have rights? Is a robot purely a hunk of metal? Does the mere biological constitution of a human rule out a robot joining that society? I will say that while the arguments were really captivating and well done indeed, I certainly was shifting more toward the oppositional side of perspective. Sorry Andrew. Let me be clear. And this is an aspect that intrestingly enough, Andrew seemed to have gotten too emotional about without his usual clinical absolutely logical way of viewing things. Which can be viewed as a deeper layer of how human Andrew really is, but I would simply attribute to a slight fluke, that really seeps out from Asimov's personal views being presented through Andrew. Whatever the case, Andrew gets hung up on the fact that the opposition insist he's a robot when he understands the concept of entitlement, he's produced so many beneficial resources for the masses of humans, and yadda yadda. I get it. You definitely deserve recognition as something special. You are certainly not an average robot. You are as it stands, one of a kind. I'm sorry but this does not make you human. Nothing ever will. But why does that have to be a negative? I understand you want to be human really badly, but just becuase you give word to something, just because you have legal statement or conviction in something, does not make it factually true. You deserve just about any honor a human can get on the earth, but you are inherently robot. Is it unfair that just because you were not brought into this world a human, you are in fact not a human?
Ummm no. Don't get on the bandwagon and let the emotions get the best of you. It's simply a factual state. The reality is you are a robot. This is not a condemnation. But on the other hand we can't just whisk that fact away and "make" you a human. Only god can do that. Which I'm actually shocked was not brought up anywhere throughout this book. It was even brought up in detail in one of the stories in I Robot. Which, another sidepoint, we are lead to believe that Andrew is the first of his unique kind. this is simply untrue for one who has read the aforementioned previous installment. We actually have a few stories there (if I remember correctly) including the "religiously themed" one I just mentioned, in which the code of the robot was somewhat general/something went wrong in the manufacture of said robot, which caused them to outperform their alleged limits and become more human-like. Yet here we say Andrew was the first of his kind... Maybe we meant to his degree of pursuit of creative skill? To his level of human-like qualities? Eh. I think the facts are simply that such stories we had, (another great example being the story where there was a robot who somehow got programmed to be able to read minds and was thereby hypersensitive to emotional boundaries regarding the first law), were covered up by Calvin, Lanning and Co, so as not to scare the public. Which fits our narrative perfectly. So I'll give that one a pass. Anyway, yeah. Andrew acts irrationally in his arguments to attain humanhood, not ignoring facts, but acting like emotional justification supplants those facts. I again reference my two aforementioned pseudo-theories for this "flaw" in Andrew. So from a purely clinical standpoint, it's quite impossible to agree with Andrew. Do I feel for him, commend him, have compassion, will never harm him, have utmost respect for him? Absolutely. Is he a robot? Absolutely. What if he changes his brain? What if it's wrong to dismantle him? It's unfair! What about those people walking around with prosthetic parts? What about- Stop. He was never human. Human in the biological and the logical sense is not something you become, it's something you were borne into. Yes I'll throw in another pun there. It's also alarming seeing the same pseudo-arguments being used today by the far left in regards to very controversial things I will not elaborate on, for some groups can't take cold hard logic anymore. The intelligent person will be able to infer exactly what parallels these themes or robot/humanity in our current real world.
Anyway, this book was near flawless. Towards the end I got a tad bored and felt that it dragged a little and wasn't adding anything revolutionary that warranted the word-count to keep going, and even though yes he was on a venture to seek complete humanhood, well it felt a bit reperitive. We saw this movie multiple times during Andrew's lifetime where he went to court and fought for legislation and acknowledgement. I really liked it, but this was like the third or fourth time. But all my critiques mentioned throughout are gripes. I thought this book was amazing. I enjoyed it very much. It has cemented for me the beginning of what I see as a science-fiction journey. I now certainly plan on filtering in more and more sci-fi into my immediate reading, and can't wait to read the entire Asimov "Robot" series before I plunge on into his other works.
4.8 stars.
March 26, 2009
The story on which this novel is based was one of my favorites in all of Asimov's robot stories. Asimov and Silverberg employ an admirable protagonist, some hard SF, and many parallels to our own journeys as men and women to churn out an amazingly readable tale.
This book is simply an exapanding of Asimov's story "The Bicentennial Man" (and a great one, at that) and probably my favorite work of Asimov's since I've started reading him.
Even if you're not a fan of sci-fi, this is one of those books that you could read and be pleased with. I recommend doing so...
This book is simply an exapanding of Asimov's story "The Bicentennial Man" (and a great one, at that) and probably my favorite work of Asimov's since I've started reading him.
Even if you're not a fan of sci-fi, this is one of those books that you could read and be pleased with. I recommend doing so...
June 8, 2017
Faithful robot friend
you've more than earned your freedom
keep up the good fight.
you've more than earned your freedom
keep up the good fight.
July 7, 2019
Someone in Delaware County, Pennslyvannia really likes Robert Silverberg. He/she/it likes Robert Silverberg so much that he/she/it is stealing all of Silverberg's books from all of the libraries in the Dealware County Library System. So, I thought I better read all the Silverberg books I can before the thief nabs them all.
Near the end of Isaac Asimov's life, when he was very sick with what later turned out to be AIDS from a tainted blood transfusion, Asimov turned to three of his highly accliamed science fiction short stories and made novels out of them with the help of Silverberg. This novel is based on his short story, "The Bicentennial Man." I have not seen the much-panned 1999 movie of the same title and probably never will since I would most likely sob all through it since it starred Robin Williams.
This is basically a scifi version of Pinocchio but still worth reading. Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation was an android based on all of Asimov's robot stories, but especially this one. Commander Will Riker even calls Data Pinocchio in the very first episode. Data, however, is far smarter and less naive than the android presented here.
I can't see how a movie could be made from this novel (or the short story) since there is not a lot of action. And, considering how the movie was torn apart by critics over the years, neither could the makers of Bicentennial Man. Most of the action happens over 200 years as summaries or long stretches of conversations. This is more of a thought experiment than a potential screenplay. The central problem here is -- what makes a human being a human being? It's a far knottier question than I first thought and I'm not really satisfied with the answer.
My main problem with the book was the complete lack of animals in it. Now, I know this was a book about robots but still the future looked very ugly with only people and robots (and one android) in it. I've notitced this a lot in scifi books and stories -- lots of people and no animals. That's my definition of hell.
So, now I gave the book back to the library and now it is ready for the Silverberg thief.
Near the end of Isaac Asimov's life, when he was very sick with what later turned out to be AIDS from a tainted blood transfusion, Asimov turned to three of his highly accliamed science fiction short stories and made novels out of them with the help of Silverberg. This novel is based on his short story, "The Bicentennial Man." I have not seen the much-panned 1999 movie of the same title and probably never will since I would most likely sob all through it since it starred Robin Williams.
This is basically a scifi version of Pinocchio but still worth reading. Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation was an android based on all of Asimov's robot stories, but especially this one. Commander Will Riker even calls Data Pinocchio in the very first episode. Data, however, is far smarter and less naive than the android presented here.
I can't see how a movie could be made from this novel (or the short story) since there is not a lot of action. And, considering how the movie was torn apart by critics over the years, neither could the makers of Bicentennial Man. Most of the action happens over 200 years as summaries or long stretches of conversations. This is more of a thought experiment than a potential screenplay. The central problem here is -- what makes a human being a human being? It's a far knottier question than I first thought and I'm not really satisfied with the answer.
My main problem with the book was the complete lack of animals in it. Now, I know this was a book about robots but still the future looked very ugly with only people and robots (and one android) in it. I've notitced this a lot in scifi books and stories -- lots of people and no animals. That's my definition of hell.
So, now I gave the book back to the library and now it is ready for the Silverberg thief.
October 25, 2024
5
I did not expect to like this as much as I did. I first bought this as a paperwork from a used book store in Virginia (I was still in the Navy then) in the late 90s. I was addicted to Asimov and reading and science fiction and used book stores. But...I never read it. It wasn't actually an Asimov book.
Silverberg wrote most of it. But so much is pulled directly from Asimov's Biccentenial Man. And the rest, Silverberg does a fantastic job of fleshing the story out a bit more, yet keeping the general content and strucrure of the story the same, and perhaps more impressively, keeping the tone and style the same.
I loved this book for so many reasons. I read it because I'm on a crazy, obsessive sort of Asimov completest read-through. I want to read his entire robot and foundation stories and one complete story. I never fully did that. Mostly because of all the robot stories I have missed. Though I have read so many of those. This book is considered part of that canon, apparently.
I love how it connect to the larger story. Is Andrew Martin's work how the spacers learned to be so long lived?
I also loved Andrew's continued quest to understand himself. And understand people. Continually striving yet never getting there. It occurred to me how analogous Asimov robots are, especially to Andrew Martin, to autistics. People can be utterly confusing to autistists. And we try and try and try to fit in, be like them, and understand. But it's all a ruse. We refuse to recognize we are not like neurotypicals. The consequences is too big to fully except.
In a way, Andrew never fully accepts who or what he is. He is granted legal status as a human. But he really is not. He has to put on their masks and norms to be merely ceremonially accepted. He died to fit into the norm.
It's beautiful and sad at the same time.
I think the last little miss gasp at the end was possibly more powerful in the Asimov story. It was too defined in the Silverberg book, detracted from the raw emotion of not knowing in the story.
I did not expect to like this as much as I did. I first bought this as a paperwork from a used book store in Virginia (I was still in the Navy then) in the late 90s. I was addicted to Asimov and reading and science fiction and used book stores. But...I never read it. It wasn't actually an Asimov book.
Silverberg wrote most of it. But so much is pulled directly from Asimov's Biccentenial Man. And the rest, Silverberg does a fantastic job of fleshing the story out a bit more, yet keeping the general content and strucrure of the story the same, and perhaps more impressively, keeping the tone and style the same.
I loved this book for so many reasons. I read it because I'm on a crazy, obsessive sort of Asimov completest read-through. I want to read his entire robot and foundation stories and one complete story. I never fully did that. Mostly because of all the robot stories I have missed. Though I have read so many of those. This book is considered part of that canon, apparently.
I love how it connect to the larger story. Is Andrew Martin's work how the spacers learned to be so long lived?
I also loved Andrew's continued quest to understand himself. And understand people. Continually striving yet never getting there. It occurred to me how analogous Asimov robots are, especially to Andrew Martin, to autistics. People can be utterly confusing to autistists. And we try and try and try to fit in, be like them, and understand. But it's all a ruse. We refuse to recognize we are not like neurotypicals. The consequences is too big to fully except.
In a way, Andrew never fully accepts who or what he is. He is granted legal status as a human. But he really is not. He has to put on their masks and norms to be merely ceremonially accepted. He died to fit into the norm.
It's beautiful and sad at the same time.
I think the last little miss gasp at the end was possibly more powerful in the Asimov story. It was too defined in the Silverberg book, detracted from the raw emotion of not knowing in the story.
June 7, 2021
Unlike most of the people here, I hadn't read The Bicentennial Man (The novella which was expanded into this novel) before this novel yet this novel was amazing.
It has some of the best ideas about robotics and discusses about a lot of things like the fear of robots, do robots deserve the same rights as humans and so on.
One of the things, I loved about the book is that it not only discusses robots from human perspective like most books about robots but also discusses humans from a robotic perspective.
The thing which astounds me the most about this novel is that some things stated in the books have stated to become true which makes me wonder how much our world will change in the coming decades and centuries.
This book is really emotional at times and the way it ends just both sad and happy for what happened.
The book is optimistic and horrifying at the same time.
The book starting is in traditional Asimov style, super confusing and but everything becomes clear as you move on (again in traditional Asimov style).
Robert Silverberg also deserve a lot of praise for expanding a novella into a novel while retaining it's quality (Haven't read The Bicentennial Man but will assume it was good too as most people here are saying).
After this all, this novel is also a part of the Greater Foundation Series, actually quite an overlooked book in the series (probably because it is a standalone novel), but it does great work in making the chronology of the series more accurate as you can witness in this novel the changes that made the world so different in The Caves of Steel (Another great novel by Asimov).
From my side, this book is recommended.
It has some of the best ideas about robotics and discusses about a lot of things like the fear of robots, do robots deserve the same rights as humans and so on.
One of the things, I loved about the book is that it not only discusses robots from human perspective like most books about robots but also discusses humans from a robotic perspective.
The thing which astounds me the most about this novel is that some things stated in the books have stated to become true which makes me wonder how much our world will change in the coming decades and centuries.
This book is really emotional at times and the way it ends just both sad and happy for what happened.
The book is optimistic and horrifying at the same time.
The book starting is in traditional Asimov style, super confusing and but everything becomes clear as you move on (again in traditional Asimov style).
Robert Silverberg also deserve a lot of praise for expanding a novella into a novel while retaining it's quality (Haven't read The Bicentennial Man but will assume it was good too as most people here are saying).
After this all, this novel is also a part of the Greater Foundation Series, actually quite an overlooked book in the series (probably because it is a standalone novel), but it does great work in making the chronology of the series more accurate as you can witness in this novel the changes that made the world so different in The Caves of Steel (Another great novel by Asimov).
From my side, this book is recommended.
November 12, 2022
Incredible science-fiction with various themes one could discuss in a group setting for hours! Why are we so afraid of A. I.? What if an artificial intelligent being really did have the capability of becoming human like Andrew? Why do we see things through closed minds as adults and lose our innocence or imaginative childhood perception? When Little Miss” first gives NDR 113, Andrew, a sense of self, and a name (which made me want to apply Lacan’s theory and reference Shelley’s Frankenstein- ah, the importance of naming). From paradoxical concepts, semantics, to various examples of exploitation, even dialogue that sounds as though it came from the exposes of legal authority to abolish slavery.
Bureaucracy is a concept presented as well, having completed Kafka’s The Trial recently, this novel made reflect upon the similarities between both author’s frustration concerning bureaucracy.
Andrew lives centuries into the future and even helps create and master artificial organs, limbs and more for mankind, yet struggles to be officially accepted as “human” even though his life is the most humane of all.
This book was released in the 1990’s and it’s fascinating, as well as ironic, to see how so much applies to the past, present, and of course, our future!
Bureaucracy is a concept presented as well, having completed Kafka’s The Trial recently, this novel made reflect upon the similarities between both author’s frustration concerning bureaucracy.
Andrew lives centuries into the future and even helps create and master artificial organs, limbs and more for mankind, yet struggles to be officially accepted as “human” even though his life is the most humane of all.
This book was released in the 1990’s and it’s fascinating, as well as ironic, to see how so much applies to the past, present, and of course, our future!
June 9, 2020
When I ordered this book online, I didn’t realise that it was co-written and thought that it was just an Asimov novel. Then, when I picked it up, I was wondering whether I’d be able to tell which author wrote which parts based upon their voices. That didn’t really happen, and it just read like Asimov’s novels.
I believe it’s also based on Bicentennial Man, which I think I’ve read at some point, but it was long enough ago that I couldn’t remember anything. That meant that other than knowing that it was a robot novel, I went in pretty blind.
That’s actually not a bad shout, and I can give you the information you’ll need to decide whether to read it without too many spoilers. It basically follows a robot who starts to take on ever more human qualities and who eventually tries to prove to the world that he’s a person, even while admitting he’s not a human.
The most interesting parts here are the bits which deal with morality and questions of what exactly it is that makes someone human. That’s where Asimov is at his best, and he really shines here even if it’s actually Silverberg. It doesn’t matter.
I believe it’s also based on Bicentennial Man, which I think I’ve read at some point, but it was long enough ago that I couldn’t remember anything. That meant that other than knowing that it was a robot novel, I went in pretty blind.
That’s actually not a bad shout, and I can give you the information you’ll need to decide whether to read it without too many spoilers. It basically follows a robot who starts to take on ever more human qualities and who eventually tries to prove to the world that he’s a person, even while admitting he’s not a human.
The most interesting parts here are the bits which deal with morality and questions of what exactly it is that makes someone human. That’s where Asimov is at his best, and he really shines here even if it’s actually Silverberg. It doesn’t matter.
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