Rating: 
Summary: Hold onto your seats and avoid thunderstorms!
Review: This was the first sci-fi book I read. Having experienced a wide variety of authors and themes since, I haven't been dazzled by suspense on any scale close to this since. The robots are simple,yet fascinating and effective. The human detective is genuinely likable, with very human fears. The sequence of Elijah and his robot companions fleeing a perceived danger during a thunderstorm is intense, vivid, and absolutely the most effective suspense that any book has been able to convey to me. An unforgettable experience!
Rating: 
Summary: An essential link in Asimov's future history
Review: This was written much later than the original two robot novels, the three Empire novels, and the Foundation trilogy. It and the following book, ROBOTS AND EMPIRE, link the first two robot books with the Empire series and leads up to Foundation.There are a couple of points easy to miss here. First, psychohistory is first suggested by Dr. Fastolfe, and then advanced by the two robots. Secondly, while there is a mystery involved here, the emphasis is on the future of space exploration and who is going to be in it. The original pioneers into space have become spoiled by their reliance on their robots and no longer have the spirit of adventure necessary to continue further exploration, and yet they are fearful of the idea of generally despised Earth people colonizing planets. So much indeed is at stake here. For full enjoyment, I suggest reading first the Susan Calvin stories and also "The Bicentennial Man" which are in Asimov's THE COMPLETE ROBOT, and then THE CAVES OF STEEL and THE NAKED SUN, the first two Elijah Bailey & R. Daneel Olivaw novels. And be prepared for this book to be more centered on mankind's future venturing into space than in the mystery element.
Rating:
Summary: An essential link in Asimov's future history
Review: This was written much later than the original two robot novels, the three Empire novels, and the Foundation trilogy. It and the following book, ROBOTS AND EMPIRE, link the first two robot books with the Empire series and leads up to Foundation. There are a couple of points easy to miss here. First, psychohistory is first suggested by Dr. Fastolfe, and then advanced by the two robots. Secondly, while there is a mystery involved here, the emphasis is on the future of space exploration and who is going to be in it. The original pioneers into space have become spoiled by their reliance on their robots and no longer have the spirit of adventure necessary to continue further exploration, and yet they are fearful of the idea of generally despised Earth people colonizing planets. So much indeed is at stake here. For full enjoyment, I suggest reading first the Susan Calvin stories and also "The Bicentennial Man" which are in Asimov's THE COMPLETE ROBOT, and then THE CAVES OF STEEL and THE NAKED SUN, the first two Elijah Bailey & R. Daneel Olivaw novels. And be prepared for this book to be more centered on mankind's future venturing into space than in the mystery element.
Rating:
Summary: Talk Talk Talk
Review: Too much talk! Granted, Baley was interviewing people, but did they really have to spend pages discussing the future of the universe and the psychology of mankind? After the first few chapters I understood that Falstoffe had a hobby horse to ride; Asimov could have spared us all the subsequent discussion. The dialogue was brain-tickling, just like philosophy usually is, but after a while it started to detract from the story. On the whole a very gripping story; I guessed part of the ending but not the entire thing. Well-realized characters for the most part, but I think I'd go nuts if I had to live in their company for longer than a few days...
Rating:
Summary: The Return of Asimov
Review: Well, here it is: the final robots mystery starring Baley and Daneel. Personally, I think this falls to second or third place in the trilogy, with The Naked Sun as first place. This is in no way a knock of the book, mind you. This book's plot is more involved, making the mystery aspect even tougher to solve. I had thought of the solution, but never given it any thought. This novel takes place on Aurora, the main Spacer world. Its a pleasent mix--not population saturated like Earth, but not robot city like Solaria. My only sort of complaint--sometimes it seemed a bit too long. However, when I finished it, I wished it was longer. Go figure. Now that this novel is done, and Baley has solved his final case, there is only one place to go-- Robots and Empire
| 
