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Robotseries

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For other uses, seeRobot series (disambiguation).
"U.S. Robots" redirects here. For the real-life computer networking company, seeU.S. Robotics.
Robotseries
The Robots of Dawn(1983)
AuthorIsaac Asimov
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction
Published1940(1940)–1995
No. of books43

TheRobotSeriesis a series of thirty-sevenscience fictionshort storiesand sixnovelscreated by American writerIsaac Asimov,from 1940 to 1995. The series is set in a world where sentientpositronic robotsserve a number of purposes in society. To ensure their loyalty, theThree Laws of Roboticsare programmed into these robots, with the intent of preventing them from ever becoming a danger to humanity. Later, Asimov would merge theRobotseries with hisFoundationseries.

Robot Novels and Stories

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The first instalment of Asimov'sThe Caves of Steeltook the cover of the October 1953 issue ofGalaxy Science Fiction,illustrated byEd Emshwiller

The series started with the story "Robbie"in the September 1940Super Science Stories(appearing under the title "Strange Playfellow", which was not Asimov's title). Although it was originally written as a stand-alone story, the following year Asimov published a series of additional robot stories, which fit into a narrative that was then put together as the bookI, Robot.

List of works in the Robot Series, in chronological order by narrative

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  1. I, Robot(1950) and later collections:The Complete Robot(1982),Robot Dreams(1986),Robot Visions(1990), andGold(1995).
  2. In 1964,The Rest of the Robotswas published, all of the short stories in that collection are found inThe Complete Robot,and the novelsThe Caves of SteelandThe Naked Sunwere published separately (see below)
  3. "The Bicentennial Man"(1976) orThe Positronic Man(1992) - short story later developed into a complete novel.
  4. "Mother Earth"(1949) - short story, in which no individual robots appear, but positronic robots are part of the background.
  5. The Caves of Steel(1954) - first Robot series/R. Daneel Olivaw novel
  6. The Naked Sun(1957) - second Robot series/R. Daneel Olivaw novel
  7. "Mirror Image"(1972) - short story about R. Daneel Olivaw and detective Elijah Baley
  8. The Robots of Dawn(1983) - third Robot series/R. Daneel Olivaw novel
  9. Robots and Empire(1985) - fourth Robot series/R. Daneel Olivaw novel

Overview of short stories

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Most of Asimov'srobotshort stories, which he began to write in 1939, are set in the first age of positronic robotics and space exploration. The unique feature of Asimov's robots is theThree Laws of Robotics,hardwired in a robot'spositronic brain,with which all robots in his fiction must comply, and which ensure that the robot does not turn against its creators.

The stories were not initially conceived as a set, but rather all feature his positronic robots. They all share a theme of the interaction of humans, robots, and morality. Some of the short stories found inThe Complete Robot(1982) and other anthologies appear not to be set in the same universe as theFoundationuniverse."Victory Unintentional"has positronic robots obeying the Three Laws, but also a non-human civilization on Jupiter."Let's Get Together"features humanoid robots, but from a different future (where theCold Waris still in progress), and with no mention of the Three Laws. Some characters appear in more than one of the stories, and the manufacturer of the robots is often identified as the (fictional) corporationU.S. Robots and Mechanical Men.

The Complete Robotcontains most of Asimov's robot short stories. Missing ones were either written after its publication or formed the text connecting the stories inI, Robot.

The six Asimov robot short stories not included in this book are:

Overview of the Robot Novels

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The first book isI, Robot(1950), a collection of nine previously published short stories woven together as a 21st-century interview withrobopsychologistDr.Susan Calvin.The next four robot novelsThe Caves of Steel(1953),The Naked Sun(1955),The Robots of Dawn(1983), andRobots and Empire(1985) make up theElijah Baley(sometimes "Lije Baley" ) series, and are mysteries starring the Terran Elijah Baley and his humaniform robot partner,R. Daneel Olivaw.They are set thousands of years after the short stories and focus on the conflicts between Spacers — descendants of human settlers from other planets — and the people from an overcrowded Earth. "Mirror Image",one of the short stories fromThe Complete Robotanthology, is also set in this time period (betweenThe Naked SunandThe Robots of Dawn) and features both Baley and Olivaw. Another short story (found inThe Early Asimovanthology), "Mother Earth",is set about a thousand years before the robot novels, when the Spacer worlds chose to become separated from Earth.

The Caves of SteelandThe Naked Sunare both considered classics of the genre, but the later novels were also well received, withThe Robots of Dawnnominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1984[1]andRobots and Empireshortlisted for the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 1986.[2]

Inspiration

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One source of inspiration for Asimov's robots was the Zoromes, a race of mechanical men that featured in a 1931 short story called "The Jameson Satellite", byNeil R. Jones.Asimov read this story at the age of 11, and acknowledged it as a source of inspiration inBefore the Golden Age(1975), an anthology of 1930's science fiction in which Asimov told the story of the science fiction he read during his formative years. In Asimov's own words:

It is from the Zoromes, beginning with their first appearance in "The Jameson Satellite," that I got my own feeling for benevolent robots who could serve man with decency, as these had served Professor Jameson. It was the Zoromes, then, who were the spiritual ancestors of my own "positronicrobots, "all of them, fromRobbietoR. Daneel.[3]

Other authors of robot novels set in Asimov's universe

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The 1989 anthologyFoundation's Friendsincluded the positronic robot stories "Balance" byMike Resnick,"Blot" byHal Clement,"PAPPI" bySheila Finch,"Plato's Cave"byPoul Anderson,"The Fourth Law of Robotics"byHarry Harrisonand "Carhunters of the Concrete Prairie" byRobert Sheckley.Not all of these stories are entirely consistent with the Asimov stories. The anthology also included "Strip-Runner" byPamela Sargent,set in the era of the Elijah Baley novels.

Shortly before his death in 1992, Asimov approved an outline for three novels (Caliban,Inferno,Utopia) byRoger MacBride Allen,set betweenRobots and Empireand theEmpireseries,telling the story of theterraformingof the Spacer world Inferno, and about the robot revolution started by creating "No Law Robots" and then "New Law Robots."

There is also another set of novels by various authors (Isaac Asimov'sRobot City,Robots and AliensandRobots in Timeseries), which are not generally consideredcanon.They are loosely connected to the Robots series, but they contain many inconsistencies with Asimov's books.

The Asimov estate authorized the publication of another trilogy of robot mysteries byMark W. Tiedemann.These novels, which take place several years before Asimov'sRobots and Empire,areMirage(2000),Chimera(2001), andAurora(2002). These were followed by yet another robot mystery,Alexander C. Irvine'sHave Robot, Will Travel(2004), set five years after the Tiedemann trilogy.

In November 2009, the Asimov estate announced the upcoming publication ofRobots and Chaos,the first volume in a trilogy featuring Susan Calvin by fantasy authorMickey Zucker Reichert.[4]The book was published in November 2011 under the titleI, Robot: To Protect,and was later followed by two sequels:I, Robot: To Obey(2013) andI, Robot: To Preserve(2016).

Adaptations

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  • The first screen adaptation of an Asimov robot story was the third episode of the British television seriesOut of This Worldbased on "Little Lost Robot",first broadcast in 1962. Dramatized byLeo Lehman[de]and starringMaxine Audleyas Susan Calvin, this is the only episode of the series known to have survived.
  • This was followed by a 1964 dramatization ofThe Caves of Steelfor the BBC seriesStory Paradeand then four episodes of the BBC television seriesOut of the Unknown,based on "Satisfaction Guaranteed"(1966),"Reason(in an episode titled "The Prophet", 1967), "Liar!"(1969), andThe Naked Sun(1969). In these adaptations, Elijah Baley was portrayed byPeter Cushing(The Caves of Steel) andPaul Maxwell(The Naked Sun), R. Daneel Olivaw byJohn Carson(The Caves of Steel) andDavid Collings(The Naked Sun), and Susan Calvin byBeatrix Lehmann( "The Prophet" ) and Wendy Gifford ( "Liar!" ). In "Satisfaction Guaranteed", the character of Susan Calvin was renamed Dr. Inge Jensen and portrayed byAnn Firbank.
  • El robot embustero(1966), short film directed byAntonio Lara de Gavilán,based on short story "Liar!"
  • Robots(1988), film directed by Doug Smith and Kim Takal, based on theRobotseries
  • Bicentennial Man(1999), film directed byChris Columbus,based on novelette "The Bicentennial Man"and on novelThe Positronic Man
  • I, Robot(2004), film directed byAlex Proyas,based on ideas of short stories of theRobotseries
  • The Apple TV adaptation of theFoundationbooks contains several references to its shared universe with the Robots series. The robot character of Eto Demerzel is an adaptation of the character R. Daneel whose shrouded long-lived history is frequently mentioned. During the course of the show, several characters reference the "Robot Wars" that happened in the past and are apparently part of the Empire's history. According to show runnerDavid S. Goyer,the references to aspects such as the "Robot Wars" are planned to be explored in future seasons of the show.[5]

In the late 1970s,Harlan Ellisonwrote ascreenplaybased on Asimov's bookI, RobotforWarner Bros.This film project was ultimately abandoned, but Ellison's script was later published in book form asI, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay(1994).

Merging theRobotseries with Asimov's other series

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Main article:Foundation universe

See also

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References

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  1. ^"1984 Award Winners & Nominees".Worlds Without End.
  2. ^"1986 Award Winners & Nominees".Worlds Without End.
  3. ^Asimov, Isaac(1975).Before the Golden Age 1.Orbit. p. 65.ISBN0-86007-803-5.
  4. ^10/26/09 11:50am 10/26/09 11:50am (26 October 2009)."io9,"Meet The Young, Frisky Susan Calvin, In" I, Robot "Prequel Trilogy".Io9.com.Retrieved2013-11-27.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^Apple TV’s Foundation is also a stealthy adaptation of Asimov’s Robot books- September 25, 2021. Polygon.com.
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Foundationuniverse
Preceded by
None
 Robotseries
1940–1985 		Succeeded by
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