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Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time #1
Predator
An experimental robot and a team of human experts are on the trail of a renegade robot that has broken itself down into six pieces and launched them into the past. The team must retrieve all the pieces before the human past--and its future--is changed. Original.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 16, 2019
Feb 15 ~~ Review tomorrow....gotta jump right into the next book in the series!
Feb 16 ~~ Back in May, during the two weeks I spent getting ready for my final move north, my doctor loaned me a book written by his cousin, William F. Wu. That book was dedicated to my doctor and was interesting enough that I eventually ordered the entire six book series from my favorite online used book place.
And now that I am 'up north' permanently, I am plowing through various print books that I have in house and either need to re-read before deciding to keep them or else read for the first time. This book, Predator, is the first in the 'Isaac Asimov's Robots In Time' series. Since I already knew the characters from book #4, I felt quite at home with R. Hunter, the robot who is in charge of the situation.
But reading this book gave me the background I needed to understand exactly what started it all in the first place, so I have had more than a few ah-ha moments, especially in the first chapters. You see, there was a group of six experimental robots designed to be in charge of every detail involved with running a human city. But one day something goes wrong with all of them, and five of them are shut down, entering a 'closed loop' state.
The sixth robot, MC Governor, is in charge of Mojave City. But he manages to become aware of his looming malfunction and decides to save himself. So he splits into his six components and they all travel back in time to different eras where he thinks they will be safe.
The three robotic laws are involved here, and they influence everyone's actions. MC Governor is trying not only to protect humans, he is also trying to avoid having any human give him a direct order, and in the long run to protect himself from that closed loop state or even destruction.
R. Hunter was developed specifically to find Governor. I am not sure if he was developed after MC Governor disappeared or was on hand and just needed to be programmed, but in any event, he is in charge of finding and retrieving the runaway robot. At east in this book the humans don't realize there is time travel involved. When Hunter discovers that he will not be looking simply 'where' but also 'when', he wants to keep that information secret in hopes of avoiding any panic in society.
So he assembles a team of three humans: a robotics expert, a paleontologist, and a guy who conveniently lives near Mojave City in the desert. He has the outdoor survival skills that will help the team survive their time travel trip to the age of dinosaurs. But what will they find and will they survive the return trip as well?
This was fast moving, exciting, and as usual with time travel books, a little puzzling here and there. But I rarely let that puzzlement interfere too much with my enjoyment of a fun story. I flew through this one, and will be zipping through the whole series over the next few days.
Oh, and at the end of this book was an unexpected bonus in the form of a story titled Robot Visions by Isaac Asimov himself. That was a treat!!
Feb 16 ~~ Back in May, during the two weeks I spent getting ready for my final move north, my doctor loaned me a book written by his cousin, William F. Wu. That book was dedicated to my doctor and was interesting enough that I eventually ordered the entire six book series from my favorite online used book place.
And now that I am 'up north' permanently, I am plowing through various print books that I have in house and either need to re-read before deciding to keep them or else read for the first time. This book, Predator, is the first in the 'Isaac Asimov's Robots In Time' series. Since I already knew the characters from book #4, I felt quite at home with R. Hunter, the robot who is in charge of the situation.
But reading this book gave me the background I needed to understand exactly what started it all in the first place, so I have had more than a few ah-ha moments, especially in the first chapters. You see, there was a group of six experimental robots designed to be in charge of every detail involved with running a human city. But one day something goes wrong with all of them, and five of them are shut down, entering a 'closed loop' state.
The sixth robot, MC Governor, is in charge of Mojave City. But he manages to become aware of his looming malfunction and decides to save himself. So he splits into his six components and they all travel back in time to different eras where he thinks they will be safe.
The three robotic laws are involved here, and they influence everyone's actions. MC Governor is trying not only to protect humans, he is also trying to avoid having any human give him a direct order, and in the long run to protect himself from that closed loop state or even destruction.
R. Hunter was developed specifically to find Governor. I am not sure if he was developed after MC Governor disappeared or was on hand and just needed to be programmed, but in any event, he is in charge of finding and retrieving the runaway robot. At east in this book the humans don't realize there is time travel involved. When Hunter discovers that he will not be looking simply 'where' but also 'when', he wants to keep that information secret in hopes of avoiding any panic in society.
So he assembles a team of three humans: a robotics expert, a paleontologist, and a guy who conveniently lives near Mojave City in the desert. He has the outdoor survival skills that will help the team survive their time travel trip to the age of dinosaurs. But what will they find and will they survive the return trip as well?
This was fast moving, exciting, and as usual with time travel books, a little puzzling here and there. But I rarely let that puzzlement interfere too much with my enjoyment of a fun story. I flew through this one, and will be zipping through the whole series over the next few days.
Oh, and at the end of this book was an unexpected bonus in the form of a story titled Robot Visions by Isaac Asimov himself. That was a treat!!
April 30, 2012
I realize that this book was intended for younger readers, but it wasn't very good. First off, the whole premise of time travel was completely stupid. Saying that the uncertainty principle combined with the chaos effect of miniaturization can allow time travel is completely nonsensical.
The "experts" that Hunter brings with him were not very smart. Being thrown into an unknown world probably threw them off their game, but I imagine that most readers of this book would probably not make some of the dumb mistakes they do.
There was also way too much emphasis on the laws of robotics. Rather than make an interesting story, so much time is spent trying to explain why the robots can/can't do certain things. For me, this really took away from any enjoyment I could have gained for the book.
The "experts" that Hunter brings with him were not very smart. Being thrown into an unknown world probably threw them off their game, but I imagine that most readers of this book would probably not make some of the dumb mistakes they do.
There was also way too much emphasis on the laws of robotics. Rather than make an interesting story, so much time is spent trying to explain why the robots can/can't do certain things. For me, this really took away from any enjoyment I could have gained for the book.
September 17, 2024
"Predator" is the first of the Robots in Time Series, but also includes the short story "Robot Visions" by Isaac Asimov, on which this series is based.
In the year 2030, robotics has advanced to the degree that humaniform robots are able to manage city functions. Then one-by-one these city governors fall into comas - except for Mojavi Center Governor, that is. He realizes he will shut down as well, so he splits into his 6 component robots and each one flees to a different point in the past. Robot Hunter and his human team must track down each component robot and return them to the future before the world of the present is destroyed.
In "Predator", MC1 (Mojavi Center Governor component robot 1) has fled to the Mesozoic Age, So R. Hunter brings along survivalist Steve, paleontologist Chad, and roboticist Jane for the adventure of their lives!
Writing: C-
Vocabulary: Easy
Plot: A
Worldview: Evolution
In the year 2030, robotics has advanced to the degree that humaniform robots are able to manage city functions. Then one-by-one these city governors fall into comas - except for Mojavi Center Governor, that is. He realizes he will shut down as well, so he splits into his 6 component robots and each one flees to a different point in the past. Robot Hunter and his human team must track down each component robot and return them to the future before the world of the present is destroyed.
In "Predator", MC1 (Mojavi Center Governor component robot 1) has fled to the Mesozoic Age, So R. Hunter brings along survivalist Steve, paleontologist Chad, and roboticist Jane for the adventure of their lives!
Writing: C-
Vocabulary: Easy
Plot: A
Worldview: Evolution
July 13, 2020
I really don't like to give books a low rating, especially if they have a big heart, as this one certainly does. To be fair, I picked this book up thinking I'd found an Isaac Asimov book... Yes, kind of, I did. Isaac Asimov's name is in big letters on the cover, but look all the way down to see the author's true name: William F Wu.
Ah, ok. So this is more or less officially sanctioned fan fiction of Asimov's robot series. Fine. I'll read it anyway.
The story is written very much as Asimov may have done. But the thing that bothered me was how many times the 3 laws of robotics were referred to. It made my head spin. The decision process of the robot affected by the 3 laws got frustrating after a while. I got sick of it. Also the characters seemed a bit dry. There wasn't much to like about them.
Also... the pictures in the little picture section in the middle of the book, the last few pages of artwork gives away what happens at the end. Who in the world thought these photos were a good idea? I can see putting them at the end of the book but in the middle, showing pictures of events that have yet to happen???
Ah, ok. So this is more or less officially sanctioned fan fiction of Asimov's robot series. Fine. I'll read it anyway.
The story is written very much as Asimov may have done. But the thing that bothered me was how many times the 3 laws of robotics were referred to. It made my head spin. The decision process of the robot affected by the 3 laws got frustrating after a while. I got sick of it. Also the characters seemed a bit dry. There wasn't much to like about them.
Also... the pictures in the little picture section in the middle of the book, the last few pages of artwork gives away what happens at the end. Who in the world thought these photos were a good idea? I can see putting them at the end of the book but in the middle, showing pictures of events that have yet to happen???
December 28, 2025
Juvenile adventure story based on Asimov’s Robot characters and Laws. There’s robots, time travel, and dinosaurs.
Despite the premise, it never delivers, and the whole thing is just silly and childish. Also, there's extremely repetitive explanations of the three Laws of Robotics; every single action involving a robot must be measured by any of the three laws, and the reader has to be informed of the reasoning behind it. This gets boring really fast. The characters all behave like 12-year-olds, with a guy called Chad as a totally unnecessary bully character who manages to ride a dinosaur. The dialogue is equally stilted. There’s nothing here that an adult reader can enjoy.
Despite the premise, it never delivers, and the whole thing is just silly and childish. Also, there's extremely repetitive explanations of the three Laws of Robotics; every single action involving a robot must be measured by any of the three laws, and the reader has to be informed of the reasoning behind it. This gets boring really fast. The characters all behave like 12-year-olds, with a guy called Chad as a totally unnecessary bully character who manages to ride a dinosaur. The dialogue is equally stilted. There’s nothing here that an adult reader can enjoy.
February 5, 2026
This is such an oddity. Toward the end of this life, Isaac Asimov authorized a bunch of media set in his Robot/Empire/Foundation universe. Some of it fits right in...and then there's this series. This seems to be an attempt to create books for younger readers utilizing Asimov's positronic robots, but I can't imagine who it appeals to. The dry Asimovian musings on the nature of the Three Laws will undoubtedly bore the younger target audience, but the silliness of riding dinosaurs around and the general lack of social commentary will bore older readers. There's barely any plot, as the majority of the book is spent aimlessly wandering the jungle. Hopefully subsequent entries are better.
May 14, 2023
This is a time travel story where big emphasis is put on not to change the future with the travellers actions during the past. So they has very shor time to do their task during their travel into the dinosaur era.
But then they plan to catch herbivore dinosaurs to ride them to catch the fugitive robots. They even build a stable for them.
I stopped reading at this point.
This is not science-fiction. This is a bad fairy tale.
But then they plan to catch herbivore dinosaurs to ride them to catch the fugitive robots. They even build a stable for them.
I stopped reading at this point.
This is not science-fiction. This is a bad fairy tale.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2023
I originally started reading this thinking it was Asimov. I realized it was much drier then his other work and the dialogue wasn't as good. I also allowed for some of the science to not make sense since I expected it was written so long ago.
When I realized it wasn't written by Asimov it made me sense and I'm not really a fan of the style. It also didn't make sense scientifically, which didn't make sense since it was written in 1993 and not like 1950.
Overall, not worth reading.
When I realized it wasn't written by Asimov it made me sense and I'm not really a fan of the style. It also didn't make sense scientifically, which didn't make sense since it was written in 1993 and not like 1950.
Overall, not worth reading.
August 10, 2024
Reprenant l'univers que j'adore de Isaac Asimov, il parvient à apporter du nouveau, des idées sur le fonctionnement du temps, et des éléments arrivés dans l'univers. Cependant, Malgres ces bonnes idées, l'auteur ne parvient pas à se détacher de toujiurs dire qu'il suit tel et tel loi, et cela devient pénible. Ça rend la lecture moins agréable, voir lassante, on a l'impression d'être un peu pris pour quelqu'un de peu intelligent, et ce déteint avec l'univers du bon docteur, car rend le tout plus enfantin.
April 5, 2020
The story is quite interesting in itself but the author keeps insisting on making everyone mention the laws of robotics when addressing a robot. Sentences like "I order you under the second law to..." are everywhere. Extremely boring dialogs.
February 4, 2026
La portada parece indicar que es de Asimov pero en realidad no lo es. No está mal ya que se basa en sus leyes de la física, pero no lo recomendaría
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February 12, 2026review text for 491
July 4, 2011
I may have really enjoyed this book if I had read it when I was 11 or 12, but I still think that the illogical behavior of the main characters would have driven me nuts. For one example early on in the time travel portion of the book the team is afraid of altering the present by such actions as killing vines, breaking branches to mark a trail later in the novel with no regard for the repercussions they start a dinosaur stampede.
The reason I think a younger reader may enjoy it is as a kid I really enjoyed Cowboy in Africa, and the roping and riding of dinosaurs reminded me of it.
The reason I think a younger reader may enjoy it is as a kid I really enjoyed Cowboy in Africa, and the roping and riding of dinosaurs reminded me of it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2017
Definitely geared toward young readers. I didn't know this when I started it so I was a bit disappointed. It's extremely linear and the characters are a bit one dimensional. I had a really hard time swallowing the dinosaur plot elements. Still, I'd be happy to read it to children and the writing doesn't make my eyes bleed like many other books. Just wish had been better conceived and had more layers of plot.
Want to read
January 10, 20144/1/93. No library.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews