The Robot Times

Are you about to become a cyborg, or will you be crushed by robot overlords?

Nowadays everyone hems and haws about the uncanny valley, but we don't realize how good we have it in the 21st century.

"Not technically a novel, I, Robot in fact collects the earliest of Asimov's robot short stories and novellettes from the pages of (mostly) Astounding, spanning the entire decade of the 40's. With a framing device involving an interviewer who's researching the life of Dr. Susan Calvin and her involvement with the history of the robots, the stories have been assembled in chronological order to form a novel in effect. Though inescapably dated in many ways — "Robbie" is set in a 1998 that we know has not come to pass — these stories hold an important place in the history of science fiction, not least for their establishment of the highly influential Three Laws of Robotics, but also for the groundbreaking way in which Asimov combined technological speculation with heartwarming, humanistic storytelling. Machines with a heart of gold may very well be a cliché today. Here's where it all began. In Asimov's hands, steel and "positronic brains" have a warmth and humanity that few authors today can successfully attach to their flesh and blood creations. The stories stand by the strength of Asimov's conviction."

"An avid reader of science fiction, Daniel Wilson originally wanted to be a sci-fi writer, but, because it still wasn't happening as he approached college, he decided upon a career in science, as the next best thing."