Robots And Empire

This is a 2018 paperback edition of the fourth novel in Isaac Asimov's Robots series. The novel was first published in 1985. The present edition is published by HarperCollins Publishers in England. I am very happy that it is available on Amazon India. I like the production quality of all paperback Asimovs published by HarperCollins—the evocative, dichromatic artwork and the elegant Janson Text typeface. (This particular book doesn't even have that many typos, which can't be said about other Asimov books published by HarperCollins.) On its own, “Robots and Empire” is a fairly ordinary story. One day, about two hundred years after the death of Elijah Baley, the hero of the previous three Robots novels, it is discovered that not a single human being is left on the planet Solaria. The planet is now occupied only by robots. What has happened? Well, our friends Gladia, Daneel, Giskard are, apparently inexplicably, dragged into the investigation. But the question remains unanswered throughout the book. What happens instead is that an entirely different conspiracy is revealed, in which two Aurorans are trying to destroy Earth. I won't ruin the novel for you by telling if they succeed, but the end of the book is not climactic. I really wish Asimov has closed the Solarian loop. Nonetheless, the book is a very important, indeed critical, link in the epic 14-volume chain of novels by Asimov that culminate in the Foundation series of books. This is because it explains two things that are important to the subsequent story: (a) why is Earth a forgotten planet in the Galaxy and why is Earth full of radioactive pollution, and (b) why does Daneel Olivaw become so passionate, if that's the right word, about psychohistory and mankind's fate. If you have read any of the Empire or Foundation novels, these two questions surely must have bothered you. Well, “Robots and Empire” will set your mind at ease. This book, like Asimov's other books, are highly recommended. It is my wish that the 14 novels comprising the Robots, Empire, and Foundation series be translated into Hindi and other Indian languages.

It's always strange to review something from a different era. However, with Robots and Empire, you can see how much Asimov's views and philosophy has changed and grown since I, Robot. For his vision and concepts alone, this book deserves a 5/5. Now, for the actual review. This book is about as long as Robots of Dawn, but the pace felt much faster. Where the previous book was a dragged-out mystery over 400 pages, this book is a much larger tale spanning a short amount of time but takes you on a journey to four different planets. The epicosity of this novel was nothing short of wonderful, and that last chapter almost made me choke. There couldn't have been a better ending to the larger Robots story than this. The characters is where Asimov usually gets criticised, but I never bother because the characters are mere conduits for his larger ideas. That being said, I did particularly hate Amadiro in this one. Not because he's a terribly unlikeable antagonist, but because his presence felt unnecessary, with him really being side-lined to the truly sinister and active conflicts raised by other characters. Asimov could've easily made him a more active villain instead, which would've been more compelling and satisfying, given his role in the previous book. I particularly liked Gladia, and how she grew as a character. It's not as nuanced, but the ideas it represents appealed to me. I also have to mention the Daneel-Giskard interactions. On one hand, they're fascinating, but they can be equally tedious to read. And the exact same things can be said about all the flashbacks. Overall, I wish this book were a little shorter. 250-300 pages would've made this a perfect 5/5. TL;DR: WHAT I LIKED: Asimov's vision, concepts, and philosophy. WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Amadiro, some boring and tedious moments that slow the book down and dampen the experience.

The texture of the cover does not match with the other books in the same series. Delivery was not good since the spine and back cover is damaged.

Je n'aurais pas pensé que suivre l'aventure de deux robots aurait pu être aussi intéressant. Différent des trois précédents romans par le fait qu'il n'y a pas vraiment d'enquête policière, cette oeuvre n'en est pas moins grandiose et assez facile à lire en anglais. Je ne saurais pas dire si elle égale les précédents romans mais les ayant lus dans l'ordre, je n'ai pas été déçu par celui-ci.

I had read the basic Foundation trilogy 30-odd years ago as well as quite a number of the robot stories such as Bicentennial Man (cannot now get Robin Williams out of my head when re-reading) and have only now come to discover the rest of Asimov's oeuvre. As with the other Elijah Bailey murder mysteries, this book goes into great depth exploring the characters and conversations. The major feat of this particular volume however is the little hooks and links built-in to put the story into context not only with the Foundation series itself (which still lies in the future when referring to the timeframe of this one) and even with a shock of recognition when the 3-Mile Island meltdown is effortless written in as one of the main motivators and sources of Earth's later destruction which is such a source of legend in later books when R.Daneel Olivaw is eventually found residing on the moon just prior to his final deactivation. Even the myths and legends about the original (49+1) Spacer worlds and the events on Aurora and Solaria in one of the last Foundation books are neatly closed full-circle in the one. I found it a breathtaking read from the first page until the very last and had trouble putting the book down at times. The final developments are really held until the last few pages, when all pieces of the puzzle click into place.

Lots of people hate on this book, but I came here to write this review solely to tell people to ignore those people. I loved this book, its characters and it's story. The absence of Baley in the thick of the main plot isn't really noticeable because the book has great flow and an extremely interesting plot that makes you want to not put the book down.

迅速に配達いただきました。ありがとうございます。

Una edición muy buena, para los amantes del universo de Asimov. El tamaño de letra es razonable, aunque me ha costado acostumbrarme tras la flexibilidad q me da la Kindle. He comprado la versión papel casi con motivos de coleccionista...