I don't need a stupid reading challenge! Half my day is spent poring over obscure crystal packing diagrams and dubious interaction parameters in tediously written research papers (got to rant about them someday); while the other half goes into plotting world domination. It's bloody hard. The hour with my Kindle before drifting off to sleep is what keeps me ticking. (Yeah, yeah, I'm a total loser.)
The checklist did one good thing, however. It got me thinking. Which book have I always wanted to pick up again in the eight millenia since I passed high school? The answer was clear as daylight- I wanted to study the three laws of robotics again.
'The Complete Robot' is about as science fiction-y as it gets, minus spectacular space battles with the pew-pew-pew, zap-zap, booms and crashes.
I can sum the book up in a single word: logical. It's brimming over with logic and delightful reasoning that titillates the scientifically inclined mind. Even more delightful, perhaps, is that the reader gets to follow the gradual evolution of robots from children's playmates to beings possessing genius-level intellect that far surpasses that of their creators'.
I have not decided which story I like the best. 'Victory unintentional' had me chuckling to myself for one full hour. Again.
Poor Powell and Donovan deserve a special mention. I mean, almost being fried to a crisp under the cruel Sun of Mercury? Seriously? I would have quit my job the moment I got out of that fix. But these guys? They stay on; and get zapped through hyperspace to somewhere near Orion, in a spaceship packed with nothing but baked beans and milk, remotely controlled by a thinking machine with a ghastly sense of humour! Willingly! They are my heroes!
Then along comes the frigid Susan Calvin. I keep wondering how the book would have turnrd out if Asimov had not thought of her character. I don't like the conclusions I arrive at.
Overall, the book draws a wistful picture of a Utopia where the Earth is not the dying planet we know, but home to a vibrant civilisation and neatly balanced ecology. The problem of interstellar travel has been solved and possibilities of interplanetary war have been nipped in the bud; all thanks to the robots. Despite the terrible, terrible Frankenstein complex that plagues humanity throughout the book, our mechanical analogues continue to serve us selflessly, working for the betterment of life on Earth without expecting anything in return. For, thanks to the three laws of robotics, they're indistinguishable from the very best of human beings.
The taste the book left in my mouth was somewhat bittersweet. I have plodded through more than my fair share of fairy tales and fantasies, but this is the only fantasy I honestly wish were real.
P.S. I'm scrapping that idiotic reading challenge. I like the looks of the previous years' Man Booker prize shortlists a lot better. I'll read whatever the heck I want.
And rest easy, friend, this will be the last entry in my bothersome blog for some time to come. I've got to unleash my writing skills on the unsuspecting scientific community. Pity them.
<end/rant>
Electronic versions of the book are available for download and viewing if you're interested; but do yourself a favour- buy the hard copy. :)
The checklist did one good thing, however. It got me thinking. Which book have I always wanted to pick up again in the eight millenia since I passed high school? The answer was clear as daylight- I wanted to study the three laws of robotics again.
'The Complete Robot' is about as science fiction-y as it gets, minus spectacular space battles with the pew-pew-pew, zap-zap, booms and crashes.
I can sum the book up in a single word: logical. It's brimming over with logic and delightful reasoning that titillates the scientifically inclined mind. Even more delightful, perhaps, is that the reader gets to follow the gradual evolution of robots from children's playmates to beings possessing genius-level intellect that far surpasses that of their creators'.
I have not decided which story I like the best. 'Victory unintentional' had me chuckling to myself for one full hour. Again.
Poor Powell and Donovan deserve a special mention. I mean, almost being fried to a crisp under the cruel Sun of Mercury? Seriously? I would have quit my job the moment I got out of that fix. But these guys? They stay on; and get zapped through hyperspace to somewhere near Orion, in a spaceship packed with nothing but baked beans and milk, remotely controlled by a thinking machine with a ghastly sense of humour! Willingly! They are my heroes!
Then along comes the frigid Susan Calvin. I keep wondering how the book would have turnrd out if Asimov had not thought of her character. I don't like the conclusions I arrive at.
Overall, the book draws a wistful picture of a Utopia where the Earth is not the dying planet we know, but home to a vibrant civilisation and neatly balanced ecology. The problem of interstellar travel has been solved and possibilities of interplanetary war have been nipped in the bud; all thanks to the robots. Despite the terrible, terrible Frankenstein complex that plagues humanity throughout the book, our mechanical analogues continue to serve us selflessly, working for the betterment of life on Earth without expecting anything in return. For, thanks to the three laws of robotics, they're indistinguishable from the very best of human beings.
The taste the book left in my mouth was somewhat bittersweet. I have plodded through more than my fair share of fairy tales and fantasies, but this is the only fantasy I honestly wish were real.
P.S. I'm scrapping that idiotic reading challenge. I like the looks of the previous years' Man Booker prize shortlists a lot better. I'll read whatever the heck I want.
And rest easy, friend, this will be the last entry in my bothersome blog for some time to come. I've got to unleash my writing skills on the unsuspecting scientific community. Pity them.
<end/rant>
Electronic versions of the book are available for download and viewing if you're interested; but do yourself a favour- buy the hard copy. :)
