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Summary: The Robots of Dawn: Just the title is a classic
Review: It's a wonderful thing, "The Robots of Dawn," not just the book but the title itself. It is cold (robots), as science is seen to be; and it is warm (dawn), as poetry is seen to be. The two together (robot and dawn) form the core of great science fiction: the order and reason of science and technology, the vulnerability and unpredicatbility of human nature. They clash to create something unique in the world of literature, something beyond words that can only exist in the imagination of a true sci-fi fan. This book has it all. The objectivity of the reasoning mind (the investigator, Bailey - not to mention his robot companions) and the passions of a frantic heart (those Bailey investigates). This book simply could not have been better.
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Summary: A brilliant third installment to the Robot Series
Review: Just when you thought the first two books "Caves of Steel" and "The Naked Sun" were as good as Asimov gets, here comes "The Robots of Dawn" and knocks them both down in one blow. In this novel, a middle aged Detective Elijah Baley sets out on his most defying investigation ever. His journey takes him to the capital of the Spacer Worlds; the planet Aurora, where he is reunited with his old partner R. Daneel Olivaw. The story has everything that I missed in the first two books, including some romance with the sexy Gladia Delmarre (which Lije was always too cautious about in "The Naked Sun"). Asimov hooks you on the "whodunnit" trail right from the start, and gives you a knock on the head right at the end. Truly spectacular, a work of a genuis. In this book, Asimov makes Aurora feel like your own world, describing every bit of detail with superb depictions and without a single sense of tediousness. For the first time, the relationship of robots with humans when it comes to sexual intercourse is explored, and how the three laws of robotics handle it. An absolute MUST read for all those who adored the first two books of the robot series. Isaac Asimov, I personaly salute you.
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Summary: A brilliant third installment to the Robot Series
Review: Just when you thought the first two books "Caves of Steel" and "The Naked Sun" were as good as Asimov gets, here comes "The Robots of Dawn" and knocks them both down in one blow. In this novel, a middle aged Detective Elijah Baley sets out on his most defying investigation ever. His journey takes him to the capital of the Spacer Worlds; the planet Aurora, where he is reunited with his old partner R. Daneel Olivaw. The story has everything that I missed in the first two books, including some romance with the sexy Gladia Delmarre (which Lije was always too cautious about in "The Naked Sun"). Asimov hooks you on the "whodunnit" trail right from the start, and gives you a knock on the head right at the end. Truly spectacular, a work of a genuis. In this book, Asimov makes Aurora feel like your own world, describing every bit of detail with superb depictions and without a single sense of tediousness. For the first time, the relationship of robots with humans when it comes to sexual intercourse is explored, and how the three laws of robotics handle it. An absolute MUST read for all those who adored the first two books of the robot series. Isaac Asimov, I personaly salute you.
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Summary: Asimov owns the patent on masterpieces.
Review: My god, the man has more masterpieces than most have novels period. Robots of Dawn once again follows Earthman detective Lije Bailey and his humaniform robot partner R. Daneel Olivaw this time on a case about the deactivation of a beloved robot of an old acquaintance of theirs from Solaria (ref. The Naked Sun). With the massively majestic and awe-inspiring capital Spacer world of Aurora, (world of the dawn), as the backdrop, Asimov once again shows not only his talent for the creation of stunning backgrounds but also his profound understanding of humanity in general as well as individual people. You must read this.
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Summary: Mystery on a Spacer world
Review: On the world of Aurora, politics dominates the day. The prominent roboticist who created the humaniform robots is accused by his political nemesis of a very serious crime. Once again, he calls upon Elijah Baley, the now galactically-reknowned police detective from Earth. And once again, Baley must travel to another Spacer world, where by his very Earth-nativity, he is treated with hostility. Again, Asimov sheds light on the dichotomy of the Earth and Spacer cultures, where reliance on robots on the Spacer worlds has made them weak in a sense, while the human aversion to anything robotic has also failed in its prejudice. At stake is the very future of the Earth natives ability to expend outward as they once did to found the Spacer worlds, a future very much opposed by the majority of the Spacer populace. If Baley fails to exonerate the accused, then the reactionary elements of Aurora's political entity will prevent any Earth colonizations. Again, Baley teams with R. Daneel Olivaw to solve the mystery. It was this novel in which first we began to see Asimov tying together his three marked series: Robot, Empire, and Foundation. Again, as with the previous two Robot novels, Asimov shed more light on the nature of humanity after expansion into space, while setting the groundwork for the far-flung future of his following series.
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Summary: Asimov Robots are the best
Review: Police Investigator Lije Baley has solved several mysteries with his robot partner and friend R. Daneel Olivaw, but now he is presented with an impossible situation--and a situation that Earth's and humanity's survival depends upon. A human-formed robot has been 'killed,' yet the only man with the capacity to destroy the robot in this way is the man whose efforts may save Earth. Worse, Baley's investigations take place on Aurora, the planet of dawn. And on Aurora, as in all the spacer world, Earth-humans are regarded as sewers of disease, short life, and ignorance. Author Isaac Asimov develops his most emotionally compelling stories in his robot series and THE ROBOTS OF DAWN certainly shows this lineage. Not only is Baley re-united with his partner, but he also finds himself involved with the spacer woman who holds a special place in his heart. Using a combination of logic, bull-headed determination, and intuitive leaps, Baley proves that good investigative techniques are a universal, whether on Earth or in the spacer worlds. Asimov, one of the masters of the golden age of Science Fiction, further develops his wonderful partnership between human and robot. While perhaps not as powerfully compelling as the two earlier works in this series (THE CAVES OF STEEL and THE NAKED SUN), fans of these books will find THE ROBOTS OF DAWN completely enjoyable. Likewise, fans of Asimov's FOUNDATION series will find that Asimov used ROBOTS as a transitional novel between these two series, explaining how the society described in the Robot books is able to transform into that of FOUNDATION. Written in the early 1980s, ROBOTS shows a mixture of sophisticated futurism and curious misses. I was amused by the way Asimov's robots skillfully input data into the computer system--surely any robot sophisticated enough to be self-aware would be able to input data directly (e.g., through a wireless, wired, or infra-red link) rather than requiring digital manipulation. Readers who consider the pre-PC era in which this novel was written, however, will appreciate Asimov's reach in his futurism rather than his misses.
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Summary: Perfect dialogue subtly explores human interactions.
Review: The best science fiction places more emphasis on the art of fiction than on the excitement inherent in the promise of future science. It is Asimov's brilliance to place timeless themes of human conflict in a unique setting, permitting an examination of those themse from previously unknown perspectives. And so in "Robots Of Dawn" Elijah Baley, the quintessential Everyman, is thrust into conflict by forces beyond his control and is forced to confront a succession of seemingly intractable problems charged with terrible geo-political and personal ramifications Baley is armed only with his relentlessly honest character, and two very useful, but also very limited aids, in the robots Daneel and Giskard. The dialogue that Baley has with his robot assistants is near-perfect in pitch, as the three work relentlessly, with a combination of pure logic on the part of the robots and logic tempered by knowledge of human nature on the part of Baley, through each hurdle presented by a hopelessly insoluable murder mystery. That the mystery will be solved is left in doubt to the very end of the story, and each suceeding chapter brings the reader both closer to and farther from the solution. In the course of unveiling clues to the murder, clues to nature of human conflict, to Asimov's "Psychohistory," are also revealed, and carefully explored. In the end, while the solution to the murder is wholly satisfying, it is the depth of the characters, their extraordinarily real personalities, that stays with the reader. This book is not just for science fiction readers, but for anyone who enjoys beautiful, clear, and highly intelligent writing.
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Summary: Pinnacle of Asimov's robot storytelling
Review: The robot novels were always my favorite of Asimov's work. This book was written by the science-fiction master well into his career, demonstrating a significant improvement in his powers. This builds on the characters introduced in Caves of Steel and Naked Sun. You should read those before venturing into this novel. Asimov combines the mystery genre and many of his futurist ideas together in this series. Not only do you get to experience a great mystery-adventure, but you're also exploring the social consequences of near-human robots. Daneel Olivaw, the robot partner to detective Elijah Baley, is one of the most memorable characters in the field of speculative fiction. This is the best place to start reading Asimov. The sequel, Robots and Empire, is excellent as well. After reading the Robots books, try the Foundation series, which starts slower but gets very good--and ultimately rewards readers of the Robot books by tieing it all together.
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Summary: Robots Rule!!!
Review: The Robots of Dawn is a great book, so great that once you get started, you can't put it down. The planet on which the roboticide (murder of a robot) takes place is Aurora, the capital of the Spacer worlds. Elijah Baley, veteran of two other such incidents, arrives with his humanoid robot partner Daneel, and another robot, Giskard. Baley must attempt to free the man accused of the roboticide. And he interviews several people to come to a conclusion of who killed the robot. But Giskard, the seemingly unimportant robot, is a lot more than what anyone thinks
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Summary: Engaging and satisfying
Review: The Robots of Dawn is the third novel in the Robot series and substantially longer and more involved than the first two. This time the setting is the Spacer world of Aurora and Baley has been summoned to help Dr. Fastolfe (Daneel's designer) get out of a political scandal in which he has been accused of "murdering" a robot. Asimov weaves a coherent plot with plenty of twists, slowly feeding us new information and leads in classic mystery novel form. The ending comes in two parts: the first part gets Fastolfe out of his mess and the far more surprising second part solves the murder. I thought the first part was a great resolution of all the facts and clues provided throughout the novel. The second part seemed very artificial to me and quite unbelievable. I can't comment further without giving away the ending, but apparently Asimov ended the novel this way to serve as a link to later novels. I can't say since I haven't read the Empire or Foundation novels yet. It's over 400 pages but it's quite a page turner, especially the last 150 pages or so. Typically I read my science fiction two or three times a week for perhaps an hour at a time, so it takes me awhile to get through a book. But last night I just had to finish it so I stayed up an extra couple hours to get to the end. Enjoyable!
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