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Isaac Asimov's Robot City #2
Suspicion
An amnesiac man and a woman stranded in a city of robots, Derec and Katherine are the only logical suspects in a case of murder, and their identities and the name of the murderer are two of the mysteries to be solved. Reprint.
177 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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784 people want to read
About the author
Mike McQuay
37 books19 followersMichael Dennis McQuay was an American science fiction writer. He wrote for several different series. His work in that field includes Mathew Swain, Ramon and Morgan, The Executioner, and SuperBolan. The Book of Justice series he wrote as Jack Arnett. He also wrote the second of the Isaac Asimov's Robot City novels. His non-series novel Memories was nominated for a Philip K. Dick Award for 1987.
McQuay taught creative writing at the University of Central Oklahoma for more than ten years, and died of a heart attack at the age of 45 in 1995.
McQuay taught creative writing at the University of Central Oklahoma for more than ten years, and died of a heart attack at the age of 45 in 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
November 19, 2024
Unlike the dreadful Robots in Time series, which appears to have been authorized by Isaac Asimov's estate, the 6-book Robot City series was written in Asimov's lifetime and he did actually approve of it, as he wrote the Introduction to this second book in the series and spoke favourably of not only it but its author, Mike McQuay.
I'm familiar with Mike McQuay, as he wrote the excellent novelization of the movie Escape From New York that is now super rare and expensive on the used book market. In spite of that, I couldn't get into this one. It was boring, and I wasn't interested in the mystery. He did a good job of writing in Asimov's style, but unlike Asimov the story here was pretty bland and uninteresting. He also writes in the very wooden, stiff way Asimov does, where everything's very emotionless and direct. I usually don't mind that with Asimov because the story and characters are good, but here they're not, so it's just wooden, and that's it.
I don't think I'll read the other books in this series, and I can't say I'd recommend this one.
2.5 stars
I'm familiar with Mike McQuay, as he wrote the excellent novelization of the movie Escape From New York that is now super rare and expensive on the used book market. In spite of that, I couldn't get into this one. It was boring, and I wasn't interested in the mystery. He did a good job of writing in Asimov's style, but unlike Asimov the story here was pretty bland and uninteresting. He also writes in the very wooden, stiff way Asimov does, where everything's very emotionless and direct. I usually don't mind that with Asimov because the story and characters are good, but here they're not, so it's just wooden, and that's it.
I don't think I'll read the other books in this series, and I can't say I'd recommend this one.
2.5 stars
February 21, 2016
To be honest it wasn't as good as Volume 1 and I gave that 4 stars, however this was NOT a 3 star book so I gave it 4 stars again ( 3.75 really).
Enjoyable story and well written but slightly more lightweight than Vol 1.
Enjoyable story and well written but slightly more lightweight than Vol 1.
April 6, 2023
The story of Derc and Katherine continues in an actual Robot City. I think it is a wonderful place as the author, Mike McQuay paints the picture for the reader to step into this setting.
This story continues to hold true to the original laws of robotics which is sometimes interesting to imagine what possible solutions could be made when a complex human interaction is introduced to a city full of robots.
***spoiler**
*** with different goals in mind, the couple decide to solve their own problems by focusing on their own agendas independently.
Reading the two simultaneously running stories may be tricky to a younger audience***
Overall I really enjoyed this book and I think this concept of a Robot City sounds like a place I'd love to visit.
This story continues to hold true to the original laws of robotics which is sometimes interesting to imagine what possible solutions could be made when a complex human interaction is introduced to a city full of robots.
***spoiler**
*** with different goals in mind, the couple decide to solve their own problems by focusing on their own agendas independently.
Reading the two simultaneously running stories may be tricky to a younger audience***
Overall I really enjoyed this book and I think this concept of a Robot City sounds like a place I'd love to visit.
September 4, 2014
Sigo con la sensación de estar leyendo un fanfic un poco raro.
February 9, 2024
This book opens with a word from Asimov as well, discussing the human laws that robots have given. Similar to the Laws of Robotics, the robots dub them the Laws of Humanics. Asimov only states them shortly, however McQuay details them later in his book. There are flaws in these laws.
This book was quick paced compared to the first book. It is also more of a murder mystery than adventure. However, McQuay does balance the mystery with world building. The balance is perfectly written. I am not much of a mystery type of reader, however I never found myself getting bored. The culprit of the murder was not who I thought it was, however I never really had a suspect to begin with.
My only critiques are that there were many spelling errors throughout the book, more so towards the end. As well as McQuay kind of forcing Derec and Kathrine into a relationship. They have no chemistry. Kathrine hated Derec throughout the whole book.
All in all, it was good. Though, I liked the first book more than this one.
Here are my notes during reading. WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
-Already a page in and I can tell that the author's, Mike McQuay, writing style is different from the previous author's, Michael P. Kube-McDowell. I don't exactly hate it, but I think it's more that I'm not used to it. It's a stark difference from Kube-McDowell's.
-3 pages in and it feel's as though McQuay's Derec and Kate are completely different people. His intro to Derec and his amnesia felt more like the author leaving himself a note to remind himself that Derec is struggling with amnesia rather than allowing it to be fluid and natural, a thing that happened. My reason for thinking this is because in the first book, Derec can remember his job and robot sciences, now he doesn't know what a parade is.
-I do like that the robots feel and sound kind of like a cult.
-What do they mean nudity is common on spacer worlds, what?!
-These robots have not had much experience with humans before.
-Robot City has rain with drops the size of a fist and cold as ice.
-No robots saved him yet. Interesting.
-Unrelated but I faceclaim Derec as Tobias Sammet. Sammet plays a similar personality to Derec in Ayreon's The Source.
-THE ROBOT HARMED DEREC, I SAW IT
-If Kathrine wants to leave so bad then why doesn't she?
-It is a cult, I knew it.
-"What are our lives worth without freedom?"
-I found an inconsistency. The author is implying that since the death of David, the rains have gotten worse and it rains nightly, however in the first book, it did not rain both nights that Derec and Kate had stayed the first time they arrived to Robot City.
-I think it's selfish that Kathrine won't tell Derec about his life before he became an amnesiac. She knows more about him than he does and he desperately want's to know more, but she won't tell him.
-What's with robots being called 1-1. There was one in Infinity Train too.
-"She smiled at the thought of a Derec-proof city" like childproofing.
-If that's Derec then who's Derec? Suspicious indeed.
-If he's David, and he's David, and she's David, are we all David?
-Kathrine is a transwoman. Its canon.
-Wohler died :( It all could have been avoided if Katherine wasn't being stupid and impulsive
-I've noticed many misspelled words.
-There's no reason for him to love they, she's been nothing but rude to him and was willing to abandon him. They have 0 chemistry. Actually, they had more chemistry in the first book than the second one. They absolutely hate each other in this one.
-PRIVACY DUDE, YOU STILL DON'T KNOW HER!
-"A new friendship is like new wine. When it has aged, you will drink it with pleasure".
This book was quick paced compared to the first book. It is also more of a murder mystery than adventure. However, McQuay does balance the mystery with world building. The balance is perfectly written. I am not much of a mystery type of reader, however I never found myself getting bored. The culprit of the murder was not who I thought it was, however I never really had a suspect to begin with.
My only critiques are that there were many spelling errors throughout the book, more so towards the end. As well as McQuay kind of forcing Derec and Kathrine into a relationship. They have no chemistry. Kathrine hated Derec throughout the whole book.
All in all, it was good. Though, I liked the first book more than this one.
Here are my notes during reading. WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
-Already a page in and I can tell that the author's, Mike McQuay, writing style is different from the previous author's, Michael P. Kube-McDowell. I don't exactly hate it, but I think it's more that I'm not used to it. It's a stark difference from Kube-McDowell's.
-3 pages in and it feel's as though McQuay's Derec and Kate are completely different people. His intro to Derec and his amnesia felt more like the author leaving himself a note to remind himself that Derec is struggling with amnesia rather than allowing it to be fluid and natural, a thing that happened. My reason for thinking this is because in the first book, Derec can remember his job and robot sciences, now he doesn't know what a parade is.
-I do like that the robots feel and sound kind of like a cult.
-What do they mean nudity is common on spacer worlds, what?!
-These robots have not had much experience with humans before.
-Robot City has rain with drops the size of a fist and cold as ice.
-No robots saved him yet. Interesting.
-Unrelated but I faceclaim Derec as Tobias Sammet. Sammet plays a similar personality to Derec in Ayreon's The Source.
-THE ROBOT HARMED DEREC, I SAW IT
-If Kathrine wants to leave so bad then why doesn't she?
-It is a cult, I knew it.
-"What are our lives worth without freedom?"
-I found an inconsistency. The author is implying that since the death of David, the rains have gotten worse and it rains nightly, however in the first book, it did not rain both nights that Derec and Kate had stayed the first time they arrived to Robot City.
-I think it's selfish that Kathrine won't tell Derec about his life before he became an amnesiac. She knows more about him than he does and he desperately want's to know more, but she won't tell him.
-What's with robots being called 1-1. There was one in Infinity Train too.
-"She smiled at the thought of a Derec-proof city" like childproofing.
-If that's Derec then who's Derec? Suspicious indeed.
-If he's David, and he's David, and she's David, are we all David?
-Kathrine is a transwoman. Its canon.
-Wohler died :( It all could have been avoided if Katherine wasn't being stupid and impulsive
-I've noticed many misspelled words.
-There's no reason for him to love they, she's been nothing but rude to him and was willing to abandon him. They have 0 chemistry. Actually, they had more chemistry in the first book than the second one. They absolutely hate each other in this one.
-PRIVACY DUDE, YOU STILL DON'T KNOW HER!
-"A new friendship is like new wine. When it has aged, you will drink it with pleasure".
October 23, 2021
Suspicion is a novel set in the Asimov Robot universe in the Spacer era. It is the 2nd of a 6 novel sequence with the same core characters whose interactions with robots form the basis for an exploration of the nature and behaviour of robots in Asimov's world. None of the novels are written by Asimov.
This book was significantly better than the first in the sequence, both because it has the luxury of starting to resolve some questions (rather than just set them up), and because its primary focus is a locked room mystery that works pretty well.
Despite the different author, the writing style is pretty similar to the first book - engaging and active, but not amazing. The whole book focuses around one location and set of characters, which gives more time to flesh them out compared to the first book - though like Asimov himself, these authors do not draw complex multi-layered characters. The situations made sense, although there was a movie-like focus on a suddenly urgent deadline with giant consequences.
The book is short (180 pages, 3 hours for me), and I read it in a single sitting on a flight and enjoyed that. I am definitely going to read more of this sequence, which feels a lot like the ongoing plot of a TV show. This is not a good book to read separately - you need to read the series.
Overall, this book was an improvement over the first and made me feel more optimistic about the series. Recommend.
This book was significantly better than the first in the sequence, both because it has the luxury of starting to resolve some questions (rather than just set them up), and because its primary focus is a locked room mystery that works pretty well.
Despite the different author, the writing style is pretty similar to the first book - engaging and active, but not amazing. The whole book focuses around one location and set of characters, which gives more time to flesh them out compared to the first book - though like Asimov himself, these authors do not draw complex multi-layered characters. The situations made sense, although there was a movie-like focus on a suddenly urgent deadline with giant consequences.
The book is short (180 pages, 3 hours for me), and I read it in a single sitting on a flight and enjoyed that. I am definitely going to read more of this sequence, which feels a lot like the ongoing plot of a TV show. This is not a good book to read separately - you need to read the series.
Overall, this book was an improvement over the first and made me feel more optimistic about the series. Recommend.
November 18, 2020
Isaac Asimov opens the novels with an introduction to his concept of the Three Laws of Humanics. A theoretical postulation formed by supervisor robots of Robot City, the Laws of Humanics governs, much like the Laws of Robotics, the actions of humans as they relate to each other and the robots that serve them. Suspicion begins with Derec and Arielle on tour through the city by two of the six supervisors, Euler and Rydberg. They are briefed by the supervisors, learning that Robot City is populated only of robots, and that the only other documented human on the planet (a clone of Derec) was murdered shortly before they were discovered. The novel runs the course of a whodunit as Derec and Arielle are put on trial and asked to prove their innocence on the murder. The theoretical postulations of the supervisor robots regarding the Law of Humanics is explored and the deeper problem plaguing Robot City. Namely, that the city, in efforts to colonize the entire planet, is under constant and reckless construction to the point that the planet itself is becoming unstable. In the wake of increasingly dangerous flooding and natural disasters, the duo is required to help save the planet and prove their innocence.
March 6, 2018
This one wasn’t a tight as Book 1. The scenario was nicely setup and a heap of unknowns was built in book 1 that carried over to book 2 but the execution was sloppy. Many of the unknowns remained so to the very end. I can understand that with book 1 but not the second when the same issues are not resolved at least in part. A lot of logic just didn’t hold together as I tend to view SF as ideally a plausible scenario. This wasn’t, and was full of inconsistencies.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2019
McQuay, Mike. Suspicion. Isaac Asimov’s Robot City No. 2. Bryon Preiss, 1987.
This second installment in the Robot City series solves part of the mystery set up in Odyssey by Michael Kube-McDowell. We find out what is wrong with the city and we get some hints about our hero’s identity, but many mysteries remain. McQuay does a good job of complicating the three laws that guide robot behavior, which is always the inventive challenge in an Asimov-inspired robot story.
This second installment in the Robot City series solves part of the mystery set up in Odyssey by Michael Kube-McDowell. We find out what is wrong with the city and we get some hints about our hero’s identity, but many mysteries remain. McQuay does a good job of complicating the three laws that guide robot behavior, which is always the inventive challenge in an Asimov-inspired robot story.
September 8, 2021
Fun to read about Robot City, a self building city managed by robots with only 3 humans (1 dead) on the planet. Interesting to see the way the robots think and how Derec phrased things to get out of the jam the planet was in. I assume there is a Book 1 and Book 3 where more about Derec, David, and Katherine are revealed.
March 7, 2020
Great classic robot murder mystery but in a place full of robots, robots and humans working together love it.
April 24, 2020
it was intresting
March 12, 2022
These books are fun!
January 26, 2024
Una historia de ciencia ficción de lo más interesante. Agota muchos elementos a su favor, pero le falta un mayor empuje narrativo, aunque sin dudas es un digno homenaje al gran Issac Asimov
February 1, 2025
The mystery is getting deeper as I read this SF series. It is good and deep for thoughts in light of AI. I would recommend this book to all ages especially Adults.
April 22, 2025
Some good world-building in this volume, though the gender dynamics are feeling pretty outdated even for something written in the 90s. Eh, you win some, you lose some. On to the next volume.
July 28, 2023
Freaky....if you like that kind of thing, it's worth the read.
January 27, 2020
Not a very asimovian story, although still an enjoyable read.
The robots in this books are a lot more humanlike than Asimov's robots.
The robots in this books are a lot more humanlike than Asimov's robots.
August 20, 2015
This sequel to Robot City: Odyssey didn't let me down. We have Derec and Kate still in Robot City, unable to leave, guests of the robots, against their wills. Why are they guests? Well, in my review of the previous book, I said there was a cliff hanger. Here it is. One other human has been on the planet and he has wound up murdered. Since robots can't murder humans, Derec and Kate are the suspects, even though they weren't even on the planet when it occurred.
While Kate is obsessed with solving the murder and exonerating themselves, Derec is obsessed with the city itself. See, it's growing. Constantly. And it rains every night. Hard. He discovers an underground reservoir where the water is about to overflow and destroy the city, but if the city would just stop growing, things would be okay. But he also discovers where the city is growing. Near the reservoir, in underground mines, a zillion robots are helping to build a living organism that evolves and grows -- the city, all under the watchful eyes of the robot supervisors. He confronts them and they say it can't be stopped. He's frustrated.
Meanwhile, Kate finds the murder site. It's an enclosed building that needs to have a hole cut into it for her to enter. In it, she finds the naked body of the man called David, strangely, Derec's given name. When she turns the body over, she freaks out because she sees Derec. She passes out and the robots rush to get Derec to come assist her.
Derec keeps thinking about the city and the robots. He finds the very first robot and quizzes him. It saw a human walking away from him as his first waking sight. Derec is convinced the pyramid at the center of the city plays a key role and enters it, only to be told that the top of it is off limits. He goes in anyway. He goes up some stairs and finds an office. Of a human. Who is obviously not there. And he finds a computer. With files for defense of the city, which he reads. He tries to modify them, but is unable to do so.
Later, he and Kate go to the building housing the dead man. They enter and find the body gone. Derec gets suspicious. The computer had said something about an alien presence in its defensive information. The body had had a cut on its foot. The building was enclosed and had no air. He cut himself and let his blood hit the ground. Immediately, the building closed up around them, enclosing them in it. The blood is the alien presence. Derec now knows what killed David. Carbon monoxide poisoning. Still, the rains come. Derec rushes to the mines to find the supervisors to see if they'll let him reprogram the core to include hemoglobin in its defenses, as well as to dig further for more space. One of them helps him. They find the core, he programs it, the core accepts it, the city is saved.
Good book. But lots of unanswered questions. Robot City has no communication equipment. It can't let anyone know Derec and Kate are on their planet, nor can it summon a ship for them. Who is the human overseer and probable creator of the city? Where is he hiding? What happened to their key that brought them there that they hid in the pyramid? Who was David? I guess I'll be looking for those answers and more in Book Three. It's a short book and readable in one day. Not too heavy, not too sci fi, except for the robots. But fun, nonetheless. Recommended, assuming you've read the first one.
While Kate is obsessed with solving the murder and exonerating themselves, Derec is obsessed with the city itself. See, it's growing. Constantly. And it rains every night. Hard. He discovers an underground reservoir where the water is about to overflow and destroy the city, but if the city would just stop growing, things would be okay. But he also discovers where the city is growing. Near the reservoir, in underground mines, a zillion robots are helping to build a living organism that evolves and grows -- the city, all under the watchful eyes of the robot supervisors. He confronts them and they say it can't be stopped. He's frustrated.
Meanwhile, Kate finds the murder site. It's an enclosed building that needs to have a hole cut into it for her to enter. In it, she finds the naked body of the man called David, strangely, Derec's given name. When she turns the body over, she freaks out because she sees Derec. She passes out and the robots rush to get Derec to come assist her.
Derec keeps thinking about the city and the robots. He finds the very first robot and quizzes him. It saw a human walking away from him as his first waking sight. Derec is convinced the pyramid at the center of the city plays a key role and enters it, only to be told that the top of it is off limits. He goes in anyway. He goes up some stairs and finds an office. Of a human. Who is obviously not there. And he finds a computer. With files for defense of the city, which he reads. He tries to modify them, but is unable to do so.
Later, he and Kate go to the building housing the dead man. They enter and find the body gone. Derec gets suspicious. The computer had said something about an alien presence in its defensive information. The body had had a cut on its foot. The building was enclosed and had no air. He cut himself and let his blood hit the ground. Immediately, the building closed up around them, enclosing them in it. The blood is the alien presence. Derec now knows what killed David. Carbon monoxide poisoning. Still, the rains come. Derec rushes to the mines to find the supervisors to see if they'll let him reprogram the core to include hemoglobin in its defenses, as well as to dig further for more space. One of them helps him. They find the core, he programs it, the core accepts it, the city is saved.
Good book. But lots of unanswered questions. Robot City has no communication equipment. It can't let anyone know Derec and Kate are on their planet, nor can it summon a ship for them. Who is the human overseer and probable creator of the city? Where is he hiding? What happened to their key that brought them there that they hid in the pyramid? Who was David? I guess I'll be looking for those answers and more in Book Three. It's a short book and readable in one day. Not too heavy, not too sci fi, except for the robots. But fun, nonetheless. Recommended, assuming you've read the first one.
October 21, 2025
No sé cómo leía estos engendros...
October 7, 2018
4.5 estrellas
BUENISIMO!!! Se mantiene un nivel de acción medio durante todo el libro, con varios capítulos donde todo pasa de manera vertiginosa. Resolvemos algunas dudas sobre Robot City, pero gran parte de las preguntas de "base" que se crearon a lo largo del primer libro se mantienen intactas (quizás con algo más de misterio).
En esta ocasión, vemos a algunos robot más "humanos", sin llegar a serlo. Se podría decir que estamos en los primeros pasos del robot del hombre bicentenario o del de inteligencia artificial: ese momento en que sus circuitos lógicos están empezando a aceptar hechos complejos y a aceptar el riesgo de dejar una opción factible por una "posible" pero que será capaz de entregar una ganancia mayor.
Claramente seguiré continuaré con esta saga, aunque de momento es necesario un pequeño descanso luego de tanto "circuito".
Recomendado para todos los que disfrutan de la ciencia ficción o quieren adentrarse en el género, aunque deben superar las primeras hojas de Odisea si quieren disfrutar de este... La meta es buena!
BUENISIMO!!! Se mantiene un nivel de acción medio durante todo el libro, con varios capítulos donde todo pasa de manera vertiginosa. Resolvemos algunas dudas sobre Robot City, pero gran parte de las preguntas de "base" que se crearon a lo largo del primer libro se mantienen intactas (quizás con algo más de misterio).
En esta ocasión, vemos a algunos robot más "humanos", sin llegar a serlo. Se podría decir que estamos en los primeros pasos del robot del hombre bicentenario o del de inteligencia artificial: ese momento en que sus circuitos lógicos están empezando a aceptar hechos complejos y a aceptar el riesgo de dejar una opción factible por una "posible" pero que será capaz de entregar una ganancia mayor.
Claramente seguiré continuaré con esta saga, aunque de momento es necesario un pequeño descanso luego de tanto "circuito".
Recomendado para todos los que disfrutan de la ciencia ficción o quieren adentrarse en el género, aunque deben superar las primeras hojas de Odisea si quieren disfrutar de este... La meta es buena!
August 20, 2016
Two things made this book unenjoyable to me, despite some nice ideas in there: 1st, the asimovian conflicts are nowhere to be seen. These robots could be following the Laws, through some convoluted interpretation, but which is not offered. The contrast with the first book is striking, and as I am reading the 3rd I see the series has gone back on track, with profuse discussions of the three Laws implications. The 2nd major flaw (IMHO) is that the excuse for the city behavior is illogical. How could the runaway building help against what it is supposed to help? It makes no sense at all to me, nor an explanation is attempted...
August 29, 2013
Segundo de Robot City, vamos descubriendo los problemas en la ciudad de robots y cómo tratan de acercarse a los humanos, de los que apenas tienen unas pocas nociones más allá de las Tres Leyes. El hecho de que los protagonistas sean los únicos sospechosos del asesinato del otro humano en la ciudad hace que las cosas sean más difíciles de lo esperado. Buen desarrollo de los sucesos y algunas ideas sobre la personalidad y objetivos de los robots, mantiene el nivel de la primera novela aún con autor y estilo diferentes
November 22, 2011
I picked this book up not realizing it was part of a series and not realizing that it wasn't written by Asimov. But I was not disappointed. The story had all the classic plot points of Asimov's I, Robot tales, but perhaps with more rounded out characters, robot and human. This was definitely a quick and entertaining read.
January 25, 2016
I didn't notice how equal the two main characters were in the first book until I read this annoying filth. Began describing Katherine as just a "girl" who can't make up her mind and has irrational emotional outbursts, despite the first book describing her as an intelligent and fierce grown woman. What a pig this author is.
February 18, 2016
Generally, the book is well written and is an enjoyable read. There are some major loose ends from the first book in the series, though, that are not addressed and the solution of the mysterious murder at the heart of the book is very rushed. Overall, the narrative of the last quarter of the book is underdeveloped and the resolution of the plot could have been improved.
July 23, 2012
This book wasn't quite as fun as the first in the series, but it was still a great read.
It advances the story of the city nicely and adds more to the dynamic between Derec and Kate.
A quick read that I highly recommend.
It advances the story of the city nicely and adds more to the dynamic between Derec and Kate.
A quick read that I highly recommend.
August 18, 2015
I had my judgmental doubts about the author given his job history (I'm a d*ck, I know), but it turned out to be a story with an excellent content. Kept me on edge at all times and wondering what was next. I'm so glad I have Cyborg here next to me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews