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92nd out of 441 books
—
410 voters
The Positronic Man (Robot 0.6)
Based on the classic short story that introduced the Three Laws of Robotics to the world, The Positronic Man marks the final collaboration between two of the most beloved authors in science fiction history. In the first rush to develop robots for domestic service, a few corners are cut, a few guesses made. The new technology of the positronic pathway is a quantum leap in t...more
Paperback, 290 pages
Published
December 1st 1994
by Bantam/Spectra
(first published October 1992)
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Straight up scifi isn’t a genre I usually read but I came across a copy of this book on audio and figured what the heck? I’m in a bit of a slump so maybe this will kick me out of it.
So far, so good. It's set in the future where helpful robots are a reality. Model NDR113, or Andrew as his family names him, is contemplating a risky surgery when the book begins but we don't know what it is. It then flips back to the past a bit and we meet him just as he's settling in with his family. He seems to be...more
So far, so good. It's set in the future where helpful robots are a reality. Model NDR113, or Andrew as his family names him, is contemplating a risky surgery when the book begins but we don't know what it is. It then flips back to the past a bit and we meet him just as he's settling in with his family. He seems to be...more
Post Listen Review: I love how Isaac Asimov came up with the classic three laws of robotics and then spent so much of his writing figuring out ways to bend those laws or to make things fit into them in surprising ways. This is a beautiful story of a robot who becomes a man. It sounds silly on the surface but it brings up large questions on what life means. Not only that, it is kind of astounding how many things mentioned in this book would have seemed extremely far off in the future at the time...more
Mar 10, 2013
Joshua
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
2013
The Positronic Man was the inspiration for the movie Bicentennial Man, starring Robin Williams. While the two have many parallels, the differences divide the works with two individual stories and meanings.
The Positronic Man is at its root the story of life. Repeatedly the process of growing, learning, chasing dreams, and eventually settling down into a tired resolution at the end of your days is shown. The main character, Andrew, even goes through this process as he gradually develops from a cur...more
The Positronic Man is at its root the story of life. Repeatedly the process of growing, learning, chasing dreams, and eventually settling down into a tired resolution at the end of your days is shown. The main character, Andrew, even goes through this process as he gradually develops from a cur...more
Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg wrote this book based on Asimov's short story "The Bicentennial Man." The book is told from the point of view of Andrew, an unusual robot who wants to become more like a human. I find the ethics of the situation monstrous, as usual with Asimov's robots, but unlike in other books it interfered with my enjoyment of the story a little, because here it gets kind of cheesy too. The reasons for Andrew's quasi-humanity never get explained very clearly, which tempted m...more
A great story about the quest of a robot named Andrew to achieve humanity. After almost two decades in the service of humans, time in which he obtained his freedom and became the inventor of body organ prosthetics that enabled people to outlive their short lifespans, Andrew longs to be declared human. But the one thing that prevents him from obtaining his humanity is his positronic brain, the last original robotic part. After several attempts to convince the world legislature of his humanity he...more
I really like the short story Bicentennial Man. I don't think that fleshing it out to novel length added anything more to it. I had a harder time getting through it than I would have though, but I still think it is a good book overall.
I find it humorous that Asimov was a visionary on robotics, but his vision of mankind seems to be somewhat lacking. He sees humans as sparsely populated striving for "quality over quantity". We certainly aren't heading down this path now, and I can't imagine we'll...more
I find it humorous that Asimov was a visionary on robotics, but his vision of mankind seems to be somewhat lacking. He sees humans as sparsely populated striving for "quality over quantity". We certainly aren't heading down this path now, and I can't imagine we'll...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The look at something/someone not-quite-human making the earnest and stoic attempt to understand and eventually become human in every physically achievable sense of the word is stirring. The fact that as time passes everyone eventually fades away adds a grand sense of loss that molds the eventual triumph into something both believable and unavoidable. Intriguing, sad, and introspective, Asimov and Silverberg probably explain more to us about the folly and incohere...more
The story on which this novel is based was one of my favorites in all of Asimov's robot stories. Asimov and Silverberg employ an admirable protagonist, some hard SF, and many parallels to our own journeys as men and women to churn out an amazingly readable tale.
This book is simply an exapanding of Asimov's story "The Bicentennial Man" (and a great one, at that) and probably my favorite work of Asimov's since I've started reading him.
Even if you're not a fan of sci-fi, this is one of those books...more
This book is simply an exapanding of Asimov's story "The Bicentennial Man" (and a great one, at that) and probably my favorite work of Asimov's since I've started reading him.
Even if you're not a fan of sci-fi, this is one of those books...more
This book is really excellent. We follow the struggles of the robot Andrew Martin, who strives to become human. He faces a very long opposition and undergoes dramatic changes to accomplish his goal. The writing style is rather descriptive, with which I don't mean there are loads of descriptions, but that the book is not very emotional. It simply describes what happens and lets the events carry the emotions, instead of the language. As a result, the book is not highly exciting, as some others are...more
This was a very good book indeed! A must read. I won't give too much away in this review but it's a great story of a robot and his journey though life, the relationships he makes as well as the over all purpose of his life. I found myself at times rooting for Andrew and at times surprised at the path his life was taking him. Next up to read is The Bicentennial Man, the short story on which this was based and I also want to see the movie The Bicentennial Man with Robin Williams. Hopefully that mo...more
An easy, pleasant read that questioned what it means to be human. I never read the short story Bicentennial Man nor do I much remember the movie, so this book was a new story for me. Asimov examined what it means to be human (when does Andrew become a man verse simply existing as a robot?) I found the lines drawn between slavery of humans and artificial intelligences particularly fascinating.
Overall, I'm glad I read the book and would reccomend as a summer sci-fi read.
Overall, I'm glad I read the book and would reccomend as a summer sci-fi read.
I loved this book, though at times it was a little uneventful. I enjoyed the first half significantly more than the second, seeing as how I love robots.. I felt by the second half, he was already so far from being a robot that it didn't really interest me in the same way anymore. I had an idea for the ending that I thought would have been much more poignant but instead it kind of ended anti-climatically. It was still a very good book and I would read it again!
This book is not as much a story as it is a philosophical treaty. Can a robot become human? How is humanity defined? These questions are asked as a robot becomes self aware and struggles to understand who he is. Thought provoking, but not a book I would recommend to everyone.
The story of a household robot who slowly becomes self aware, and through the help of the family who owns him begins a hard decades-long fight for his recognition as a free robot and ultimately a member of the human race. I highly recommend this. It was excellent.
great story about civil rights, and what it means to be human. The movie Bicentennial Man is based on this book, as was the general concept of I, Robot. This has to be one of my new favorites in Scifi.
Dec 15, 2012
Edwin L. Klemm
added it
I am just so pleased with this book, I just cried and cried over the ending. It is such a shock to me to know that this book was finished as a short story in 1976. Appearently it was the last story on the Robots that Asimov wrote. What a magnificent story!
Having watched "The Bicentennial Man" before reading this book, I knew what to expect. However, the fact that a direct book-film translation is nearly impossible, I was happy to find that the novel is far more logically sentimental and less humorous. Andrew Martin is a character that should be remembered like Harry Potter, he's the underdog with a simple advantage: Love and Imagination.
A wonderful tragedy. Portends robotic future. The three basic robotic laws have been included in many ways in many other sci-fi books and movies.
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A heart felt and complex look at the relationship and social integration between man and machine, as well as the uncanny valley.
This is a good book about how to define what it means to be human. The story is touching and thought provoking.
I had never read this book but I watched the last half of the movie that was loosely [wow an understatement] on it. I really liked the book and it was a nice quick bite to read. Wonder why they thought the plot line of the book would have to be so reworked to make a film? Still like both but really enjoyed the novel.
One of my top 10 books, such a powerful story of life, eternity and the quest to be a man.
Definitely one of my favorite books ever. Shows how important a good ending is.
I worship at the altar of all things Asimov, so I might not be objective. Was it his best?, no. Was it great anyway?, Yes!
This is actually a long short story from "The Bicentennial Man".
recommended by Ben Benjamin along with the movie Bicentennial Man
The short story is 2-3 stars, the long one is just dumb.
old school sci fi speculation! i love it.
Most people probably know this story as the movie "Bicentennial Man". Many parts are the same, at least for the first 1/3 of the book or so. After that, the book takes its own direction toward a similar end. However, I believe the book takes a more thought-provoking route.
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Isaac Asimov was a Russian-born, American author, a professor of biochemistry, and a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.
Professor Asimov is generally considered the most prolific writer of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. He has works published in nine of the te...more
More about Isaac Asimov...
Professor Asimov is generally considered the most prolific writer of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. He has works published in nine of the te...more
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Feb 12, 2010 03:46pm