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Souls in Metal: An Anthology of Robot Futures
Anthology of robot stories from 1938 through 1974. Authors include Lester del Rey, Henry Kuttner, Murray Leinster, Philip K. Dick, Brian W. Aldiss, Harry Harrison, Clifford D. Simak, and L. Sprague de Camp. With a preface and afterword by the editor.
189 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1977
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About the author
Mike Ashley
278 books130 followersMichael Raymond Donald Ashley is the author and editor of over sixty books that in total have sold over a million copies worldwide. He lives in Chatham, Kent.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 27, 2024
V nice! Ironically some of the ideas/anxieties in this feel pretty outdated (which is a bit terrifying in itself), but a really solid collection of stories.
Loved Helen O’Loy and Imposter.
Loved Helen O’Loy and Imposter.
October 3, 2021
I read this in paperback when it came out new in 1978. It was the first introduction I had to science fiction beyond H. G. Wells, so it introduced me to some of the greatest classics and best authors that had been published after Wells. I bought this because of the cool cover and because I wanted to learn more about other SF writers without committing to buying a lot of long novels. Anthologies are great that way. The short stories allow you to get a sense of the authors style, themes and ability very quickly, and a bunch of authors at once, so an anthology like this can let you make decisions of where to explore next without a commitment of time and money.
The authors I discovered here are all top authors from the 40s to the 60s: Asimov, Henry Kuttner, Lester Del Rey, Murray Leinster, Philip K. Dick, Harry Harrison, Clifford D. Simak and L. Sprague de Camp. Since this is only available as a used book today, Philip Dick’s “Imposter” alone is worth the price. But don’t skip the rest. They may seem dated today because computers have advanced so much since the 60s, but they are a fun look into some of the ideas we had about robots and computers at the beginning of computer science.
–Gregory Kerkman
The authors I discovered here are all top authors from the 40s to the 60s: Asimov, Henry Kuttner, Lester Del Rey, Murray Leinster, Philip K. Dick, Harry Harrison, Clifford D. Simak and L. Sprague de Camp. Since this is only available as a used book today, Philip Dick’s “Imposter” alone is worth the price. But don’t skip the rest. They may seem dated today because computers have advanced so much since the 60s, but they are a fun look into some of the ideas we had about robots and computers at the beginning of computer science.
–Gregory Kerkman
July 24, 2024
I picked this book up on a whim in the pulp scifi section of a NY bookstore, and I completely fell in love.
In my opinion, the only bonafide "classic" story in this collection is "A Logic Named Joe" which, originally published in 1946, utterly blew me away with it's prescience of modern computers and AI, and predicted perfectly how most people would use this access to snoop, gossip, and otherwise perform fairly trivial, personal interest tasks, turning extraordinary technology into ordinary appliance.
That being said, every one of these stories was totally enjoyable to me, in that, even if each doesn't necessarily stand out on it's own as an apex of storytelling from its publish date, they each offer unique insight into the wonder, fears, and ideas of the authors writing them. All scifi is reflective of the politics of the culture and people of the time its written, and that's true here, both in what the original story authors chose to write about, but also in the editor Mike Ashley choosing these particular stories for this anthology. And I simply loved inhabiting these unique worlds for the 30 or so pages they choose to reveal of such worlds.
In my opinion, the only bonafide "classic" story in this collection is "A Logic Named Joe" which, originally published in 1946, utterly blew me away with it's prescience of modern computers and AI, and predicted perfectly how most people would use this access to snoop, gossip, and otherwise perform fairly trivial, personal interest tasks, turning extraordinary technology into ordinary appliance.
That being said, every one of these stories was totally enjoyable to me, in that, even if each doesn't necessarily stand out on it's own as an apex of storytelling from its publish date, they each offer unique insight into the wonder, fears, and ideas of the authors writing them. All scifi is reflective of the politics of the culture and people of the time its written, and that's true here, both in what the original story authors chose to write about, but also in the editor Mike Ashley choosing these particular stories for this anthology. And I simply loved inhabiting these unique worlds for the 30 or so pages they choose to reveal of such worlds.
August 20, 2025
Muy interesante; los textos están bien a secas, hay algunos que no maravillan, pero sí, en su conjunto, nos brindan un muy interesante panorama de cómo se dio el desarrollo de las entidades robóticas a través de la primera mitad del siglo XX de la ciencia ficción. Vale la pena.
July 13, 2025
Outstanding collection of robot stories from a variety of authors. Check it out if you can find it!
Update 7/2025: I've thought about this book many times over the years since I read it. It was such a great introduction to a lot of amazing sci-fi authors. I've since read many other stories and books by most of these authors.
Update 7/2025: I've thought about this book many times over the years since I read it. It was such a great introduction to a lot of amazing sci-fi authors. I've since read many other stories and books by most of these authors.
November 1, 2009
A wonderful collection of classic science fiction stories about robots. The editor traces the literary history of man's attempts to create something in his own image.
February 19, 2011
This book runs the table of funny to serious robot stories and possible futures. Definitely some food for thought.
October 30, 2013
I liked the first two thirds of the stories, but the last few didn't really do it for me. My favorite story was probably "That Thou Art Mindful".
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews