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147th out of 883 books
—
907 voters
Robots and Empire (Robot #4)
by
Isaac Asimov
Long after his humiliating defeat at the hands of Earthman Elijah Baley, Keldon Amadiro embarked on a plan to destroy planet Earth. But even after his death, Baley's vision continued to guide his robot partner, R. Daneel Olivaw, who had the wisdom of a great man behind him and an indestructable will to win....
Mass Market Paperback, 512 pages
Published
1996
by Voyager
(first published 1985)
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It should be noted that I am a long-standing Asimov fan, so my opinion is perhaps not entirely objective. Having said that, Robots and Empire stands out to me as one of his top works. It serves to bridge his Empire/Foundation and Robots series; this is a dangerous venture, because there is always the risk of fouling one or both stories in the process. Asimov handles it admirably though, in a way that gives a satisfactory conclusion to the Elijah Baley story, and sets the scene for the way into t...more
Intended Audience: Adult
Sexual content: Mild
Ace/Genderqueer characters: Yes (Robots)
Rating: PG
Writing style: 3/5
Likable characters: 4/5
Plot/Concepts: 3/5
Two hundred years after the events in The Robots of Dawn, Daneel is now the property of Gladia, and together with Giskard must keep her safe as she is swept up in a grand crusade to unite the Spacers and colonists from Earth. WARNING: Huge spoilers for the end of The Robots of Dawn! I HIGHLY recommend you wait to read this review until after re...more
Sexual content: Mild
Ace/Genderqueer characters: Yes (Robots)
Rating: PG
Writing style: 3/5
Likable characters: 4/5
Plot/Concepts: 3/5
Two hundred years after the events in The Robots of Dawn, Daneel is now the property of Gladia, and together with Giskard must keep her safe as she is swept up in a grand crusade to unite the Spacers and colonists from Earth. WARNING: Huge spoilers for the end of The Robots of Dawn! I HIGHLY recommend you wait to read this review until after re...more
The fourth, and I believe last, book in the robot series. Taking place 200 years after the earlier books, Robots and Empire imagines a universe inhabited by Earth dwellers, Settlers (emigrants from Earth), and Spacers (humans who have lived away from earth so long that their ties to the planet are tenuous at best). Daneel and Giskard, companions to the heroic Lije Bailey -- long dead -- in the first three books, still exist and now collaborate a Settler and a Spacer in an effort to save Earth f...more
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The fourth and final book in Isaac Asimov's beloved robot series, "Robots and Empire" takes place many years after the death of Elijah Bailey, who has become somewhat of a galactic folk hero for his efforts in space exploration and colonization of planets far beyond the Terran solar system. His robot friend, Daneel Olivaw, lives on and strives to carry on the good work started by his human friend. With the help of a telepathic robot named Giskard, Olivaw struggles with the turbulent political la...more
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In some ways, this novel, which clearly and explicitly links three of Isaac Asimov's series--Robot, Foundation, and Empire--is the development of a new law of robotics. Of course, all fans of Asimov know the three laws:
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm;
2. A robot must obey orders given it by humans except where such orders would violate the First Law;
3. A robot must protect its existence unless such behavior would violate the fir...more
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm;
2. A robot must obey orders given it by humans except where such orders would violate the First Law;
3. A robot must protect its existence unless such behavior would violate the fir...more
A very good book, although perhaps more predictable than his excellent Foundation trilogy. I admit that for the first time since Forward the Foundation I found myself a bit touched emotionally by the series. Still, this is much more thought provoking than that, raising some very interesting questions about the future and the nature of the robots in general. The plot was interesting, even though I knew how it ended having read other works in the series(Foundation and Earth in particular). This, a...more
Feb 20, 2012
Norm Davis
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Science Fiction Fans
Having grown up in the cold war era, ducking under desks in preparation for nuclear destruction from the USSR, I developed a bit of antipathy towards Russians so even though I was an ardent science fiction fan I refused to read Isaac Asimov on the principle that he was Russian even though all my science fiction loving friends were crazy in love with Asimov fiction. One day, reluctantly, I picked up Foundation. One third of the way through the novel I was becoming extremely upset because I could...more
I liked to continue reading about the robots of previous editions. I intend to find I, Robot to really dig in. This was well thought out and some of the the scenes were quite dramatic. In particular, the scene where the characters go to a planet that has supposedly been abandoned. There, on this planet, they encounter a robot that also looks human and then get into a dangerous situation where the robot wants to kill them. This robot has been altered by redefining what it means to be human. I was...more
*4.6
At first, I didn't think I would like it. It seemed odd, with Giskard and Daneel now main characters, and so much time elapsed, and such - really, like a whole new story.
I think the turning point was the death. It was shockingly touching; rereading it, there's no specific word or even phrase that makes it so, but it is. I was moved, and in some ways, this served to convince me of my earlier convictions^: that this story that I had loved truly was over...
But then the story sped up [I suppose...more
At first, I didn't think I would like it. It seemed odd, with Giskard and Daneel now main characters, and so much time elapsed, and such - really, like a whole new story.
I think the turning point was the death. It was shockingly touching; rereading it, there's no specific word or even phrase that makes it so, but it is. I was moved, and in some ways, this served to convince me of my earlier convictions^: that this story that I had loved truly was over...
But then the story sped up [I suppose...more
On the “Spacer” planet of Aurora, the woman Gladia’s life is a long succession of days filled with ennnui. Despite being descended from the first humans to settle other planets, her society is stagnating. Spacers live long, empty lives. Robots run all menial work and intricate rules of conduct control much of life. Into this drops D.G. Baley, descendant of Elijah Baley of The Caves of Steel and The Robots of Dawn (when Gladia met Elijah). Baley is a “Settler”, part of a new wave of colonizers fr...more
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Takes place two hundred years after the preceding robot novels. Elijah Baley is long dead, of course, but Gladia is still not terribly old because of her long Spacer lifespan. The robots Daneel Olivaw and Giskard Reventlov are still in good condition and as much protagonists as she is. This is not a murder mystery like the three other books in the series, but an interplanetary adventure more like the Foundation books. No new society is explored to the depth of Solaria in The Naked Sund and Auror...more
Asimov's final Robot novel and the one that ties most closely in with his Foundation saga, as a form of obvious prelude of sorts.
This time Elijah Baley is not the leading man. In fact, as a short-lived human of Earth, he's been dead and buried along time, as this novel is set about 200 years after The Robots of Dawn. The main characters are rather Gladia (who appeared in both The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn), the trader D.G. Baley from the Settler world Baleyworld (who is a descendant of th...more
This time Elijah Baley is not the leading man. In fact, as a short-lived human of Earth, he's been dead and buried along time, as this novel is set about 200 years after The Robots of Dawn. The main characters are rather Gladia (who appeared in both The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn), the trader D.G. Baley from the Settler world Baleyworld (who is a descendant of th...more
This is certainly not on par with Asimov's earlier Robot novels, but it is heads and tails above the third party novels that were released later on.
The book does a fairly good job of bridging the gap between the Robot series and the Empire series. It also does a lot to negate the horrible "New Robot Mystery" books written long after this one.
I was never a big fan of Gladia in the earlier books, but she grows a lot in this story. Daneel and Giskard are back and true to their formal selves.
I was...more
The book does a fairly good job of bridging the gap between the Robot series and the Empire series. It also does a lot to negate the horrible "New Robot Mystery" books written long after this one.
I was never a big fan of Gladia in the earlier books, but she grows a lot in this story. Daneel and Giskard are back and true to their formal selves.
I was...more
Towards the end of his career, Asimov wanted to connect his stories and novels into a big whole. The main reason for writing this book was to connect the Robot series with the Empire and Foundation series. What I found very interesting is how he also managed to inject references from some of his earlier short robot stories, a feat that makes his universe even richer and complete, although it was not designed as such from the start :)
Robots & Empire concludes the Robot series and, as mentione...more
Robots & Empire concludes the Robot series and, as mentione...more
È interessante seguire i continui ragionamenti che Daneel e Giskard compiono sulla razza umana: Daneel, grazie alla frequentazione passata con Elijah, ha acquisito una capacità di ragionamento simile a quella umana, mentre Giskard, pur non possedendo tale qualità, riesce, grazie a capacità psichiche, a percepire emozioni e stati d’animo negli umani ed attuare modifiche di varia entità al comportamento degli stessi. Queste due abilità si compensano ed i due robot possono ragionare riguardo all’in...more
I missed this one when I was previously reading the Robot Series so when I came across it, I just had to read it. It’s actually the last book of the Robots Series and it ties into the rest of the Foundation universe, although it’s not the last we see of Daneel who makes an appearance in the later Foundation novels. Unlike some of Asimov’s later novels, Robots and Empire is not slow paced and neither does it go on too long. The two main stories, Gladia’s struggle for identity and purpose and Dane...more
This book ties together the threads of Asimov's Robot, Elijah Bailey and Foundation series. It takes place about 200 years after Elijah Bailey - at a time his descendants and others are just beginning the process that will grow into galactic empire. The two major robot characters, Daneel and Giscard, discuss ideas of a "zero-th law of robotics" and the need to develop psychohistory. And so on.
The book would be a must-read for those wanting to read every book associated with those series. The dis...more
The book would be a must-read for those wanting to read every book associated with those series. The dis...more
I started reading Asimov with Robot Series and finished every book from Foundation, Empire and Robot series(except this one) long before I read this book. I don't know how I missed this book while reading Robot series but I am glad that I missed reading this one that time. Believe me friends if you read this one after going through all the other book it will give you greatest amount of satisfaction possible ever through out the Asimov's universe. It will connect every missing links that have bee...more
I have finally decided to reread Asimov, and I am slowly discovering his universe. Robots and Empire, maybe surprisingly, is not my favorite: I do love the exploration of the Three Laws of robotics, and this novel is extremely interesting in that view, however... I did find it too long, too slow, with long explanations (especially when our two robots talk and explain everything: both necessary evil and... very didactic). So a wonderful transition, and an overall good book, but still, sometimes a...more
Sep 24, 2011
Evan Pritchard
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
20th-century-american-lit,
science-fiction
I read my first Isaac Asimov about a year ago and devoured the Foundation Trilogy, Prelude to Foundation, and the Robot Trilogy in short order. I kinda gave myself a great big Asimov ice cream headache, so I decided to put him away for a while and see what other science fiction I could get into. My mom gave me this one a little while back. To be honest, I really wasn't in the mood for more Asimov when I got around to opening this book. I was pretty sure I had had too much too quickly and burned...more
Oct 20, 2012
Eric
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people trying to tie the series together
Shelves:
sci-fi
The robots are obnoxious when they talk to each other, and it feels labored at points. But it's not as bad as the last one. For some reason, Asimov needed the Robot Universe to tie into the Empire/Foundation Universe, and this book helped that along, albeit haltingly. I'm still not sure why they went through the whole Solaria episode. It did little to further the plot. But whatever, I'm done with the robots now. I'll be happy to get back into the Foundation series. I have 4 to go. I might do "Th...more
A solid robot story to the core, but certainly not the best robot story I've read.
With this book, Asimov succeeds in connecting his robot novels with the Galactic Empire and Foundation series; and that alone must have been a great challenge.
The story is chock full of politics, foreign policies, psychic abilities and a sprinkle of espionage.
Unfortunately, I was greatly annoyed by one of the main characters. So much so that I would have skipped pages that she featured in, had it been possible. But...more
With this book, Asimov succeeds in connecting his robot novels with the Galactic Empire and Foundation series; and that alone must have been a great challenge.
The story is chock full of politics, foreign policies, psychic abilities and a sprinkle of espionage.
Unfortunately, I was greatly annoyed by one of the main characters. So much so that I would have skipped pages that she featured in, had it been possible. But...more
This is the book that ties up some loose ends from the "Foundation" novels, especially the last two. We finally learn what happened to Earth. It also connects the dots between the robot detective novels and the "Foundation" series.
In a sense, it's a prequel to the "Foundation" prequels, and if you've read all of the other "Foundation" books, you know how it ends. To use an inferior comparison, you know that Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader so the "Star Wars" prequels tell you why. "Robots a...more
In a sense, it's a prequel to the "Foundation" prequels, and if you've read all of the other "Foundation" books, you know how it ends. To use an inferior comparison, you know that Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader so the "Star Wars" prequels tell you why. "Robots a...more
The fourth and last installment of Asimov's Robot storyline. It was good. Again, like Robots of Dawn, I thought it was a bit long, but Asimov finally switched up the formula and made a really interesting story line. Baley is long dead, and the story revolves around Daneel, Giskard, Gladia and D.G. (a descendant of Baley). There's some space piracy type stuff, interesting views of overpopulation in the future and the contrast between short lives and long lives. If you read the other three then yo...more
Not too long ago, I read a short story by Orson Scott Card that was set in Asimov's Foundation universe, and it made me realize how long I'd been away from Asimov. So, picking up where I left off, I read the last book in the Robot series -- which also serves as a connection to his Galactic Empire series.
Like The Robots of Dawn, this book was written late in Asimov's life, but still managed to retain the style of the earlier Robot books. But it's set over 300 years after Dawn, so Elijah Bailey is...more
Like The Robots of Dawn, this book was written late in Asimov's life, but still managed to retain the style of the earlier Robot books. But it's set over 300 years after Dawn, so Elijah Bailey is...more
Finally read this novel! Should have read this years ago. I enjoyed this book immensely.
The good guys:
R Daneel , our favourite human like robot hero.
R Giskard , our second favourite telepathic robot hero.
Gladia , heroine and general lovely dame.
D G Bailey , new Earth hero and space captain!
The bad guys:
Kelden Amadiro , ever failing evil scientist (boooo).
Levular Mandamus , power hungry side kick with brains.
Vasilia Aliena , spoilt scientist lady who wants her robot back!
I am having fun of cours...more
The good guys:
R Daneel , our favourite human like robot hero.
R Giskard , our second favourite telepathic robot hero.
Gladia , heroine and general lovely dame.
D G Bailey , new Earth hero and space captain!
The bad guys:
Kelden Amadiro , ever failing evil scientist (boooo).
Levular Mandamus , power hungry side kick with brains.
Vasilia Aliena , spoilt scientist lady who wants her robot back!
I am having fun of cours...more
I have never been a huge fan of science fiction or fantasy authors who try to bridge a gap in history between their works in a shared universe. The original books -- in this case Asimov's Robot detective novels and his Foundation novels were classics in their own way. The Naked Sun may have been Asimov's best book. The First Foundation series, which was not my favorite, is considered by others to be one of the best science fiction trilogies of the 20th Century.
Asimov like so many other science...more
Asimov like so many other science...more
Excelente libro, excelente final para el robot series y una perfecta continuación a la grandiosidad que genero el 3er libro de la serie. El final de lujo, costo bastante leerlo ya que para cuando uno va por el final puede deducir como va a terminar la cosa... no queria que terminara. Los personajes, dos de ellos robots pichudos, son rajados en este libro. Creo que Asimov achieved un new high para mi que solo había logrado llegar en las ultimas 10 paginas de Robots of Dawn. Demasiado pichudo.
This is the link between the Robot series and the Empire Series. Because it is a link, it seems to plod in a lot of places, trying to explain both the consequences of the Robot series and the events which lead to the Empire.
It is a good story, but there is a lot of talking between Daneel and Giskard. Gladia is different, and her relationship with D.G. is kind of odd.
In the end, it fits in well with the rest of the series, and definitely is an interesting read in it.
It is a good story, but there is a lot of talking between Daneel and Giskard. Gladia is different, and her relationship with D.G. is kind of odd.
In the end, it fits in well with the rest of the series, and definitely is an interesting read in it.
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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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“Human beings sometimes find a kind of pleasure in nursing painful emotions, in blaming themselves without reason or even against reason.”
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