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The Complete Robot
(Robot 0.3)
by
THE COMPLETE ROBOT is the definitive anthology of Asimov's stunning visions of a robotic future…
In these stories, Isaac Asimov creates the Three Laws of Robotics and ushers in the Robot Age: when Earth is ruled by master-machines and when robots are more human than mankind.
Contents
9 • Introduction (The Complete Robot) • (1982) • essay by Isaac Asimov
15 • A Boy's Best Fr ...more
In these stories, Isaac Asimov creates the Three Laws of Robotics and ushers in the Robot Age: when Earth is ruled by master-machines and when robots are more human than mankind.
Contents
9 • Introduction (The Complete Robot) • (1982) • essay by Isaac Asimov
15 • A Boy's Best Fr ...more
Get A Copy
Mass Market Paperback, 688 pages
Published
1995
by Voyager/HarperCollins
(first published April 9th 1982)
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Showing 1-30
Undoubtedly, Asimov's Robot stories set the standard for science fiction short stories around the literary world. His Three laws of Robotics are celebrated and debated even decades after its inception and his Robot stories are still described as visionary. This anthology collects almost every Robot short stories written by Asimov in his lifetime. Only six Robot short stories are left out, and 31 of his coolest and sharpest stories can be found in this collection, organized by Asimov himself to g
...more
This happens to be a re-read because I happened to have forgotten that I read the complete short stories of Asimov when I was much younger. :) That being said, I enjoyed them the second time around too.
The three laws of robotics were obviously in play but what sticks most in my mind is the light professional tone of Asimov throughout every single story. They weren't uncomplicated, but they were definitely studies of stark spotlight stories that always had definite points to be made.
They might no ...more
The three laws of robotics were obviously in play but what sticks most in my mind is the light professional tone of Asimov throughout every single story. They weren't uncomplicated, but they were definitely studies of stark spotlight stories that always had definite points to be made.
They might no ...more
Strong Opinions: a Susan Calvin story
Weems landed his helijet neatly, and congratulated himself on his early start. When he managed to get the coveted parking spot closest to the front gate of U.S. Robots, he always felt that the rest of the day would be a success too. He flashed his badge at the security guard, and took the fast pediwalk to his office. Now he would get half an hour to work undisturbed! But he had barely hung up his hat before the visiphone buzzed.
"I'm sorry, sir," said his secr ...more
Weems landed his helijet neatly, and congratulated himself on his early start. When he managed to get the coveted parking spot closest to the front gate of U.S. Robots, he always felt that the rest of the day would be a success too. He flashed his badge at the security guard, and took the fast pediwalk to his office. Now he would get half an hour to work undisturbed! But he had barely hung up his hat before the visiphone buzzed.
"I'm sorry, sir," said his secr ...more
Apr 08, 2014
Leonardo
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nebula-winner,
hugo-winner
This one took some time.
Not because it was hard to read, or because it was bad. I was actually saving it. I didn't enjoy binge reading the short stories. They went too fast. I ended up reading one or two between each other book I read. I read one and sort of ruminated on it for a while. It was the way I could enjoy the stories the most, I figured.
I enjoyed the various stories differently. Sometimes the puzzle/conflict it presented was the part I enjoyed the most, sometimes the way the characters ...more
Not because it was hard to read, or because it was bad. I was actually saving it. I didn't enjoy binge reading the short stories. They went too fast. I ended up reading one or two between each other book I read. I read one and sort of ruminated on it for a while. It was the way I could enjoy the stories the most, I figured.
I enjoyed the various stories differently. Sometimes the puzzle/conflict it presented was the part I enjoyed the most, sometimes the way the characters ...more
Dec 09, 2007
James
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Scifi fans, tech people
Shelves:
science-fiction
Just finished reading The Complete Robot by Isaac Asimov, if you all haven’t read it you should do so. It contains all the stories from I, Robot as well, not the Will Smith paff though, it is completely different.
Here is a run down of the stories.
A Boy's Best Friend:-
A boy and his dog on the moon but the dog is a robot, what happened when his parents want to give him a real dog and what makes you love something?
Sally:-
Only cars that have positronic brains are allowed on the highways and when th ...more
Here is a run down of the stories.
A Boy's Best Friend:-
A boy and his dog on the moon but the dog is a robot, what happened when his parents want to give him a real dog and what makes you love something?
Sally:-
Only cars that have positronic brains are allowed on the highways and when th ...more
Robot Stories: Old and New
2 June 2019
I should point out that I read less than half of this book, but that was because most of the stories that were contained therein were also contained in some of his other collections, such as the two robot collections that I only just read. However, as is obvious from the above sentence, there were also stories in here that weren’t included (and Asimov cheekily blames his publisher for that, namely because it would encourage more sales due to the fact that t ...more
2 June 2019
I should point out that I read less than half of this book, but that was because most of the stories that were contained therein were also contained in some of his other collections, such as the two robot collections that I only just read. However, as is obvious from the above sentence, there were also stories in here that weren’t included (and Asimov cheekily blames his publisher for that, namely because it would encourage more sales due to the fact that t ...more
I thank Asimov, for bringing me out of a mess which he undoubtedly would have no idea about. It goes like this, I had within me something that approached "Reader's block", I could not complete a book in almost over a month now. I tried Woolf's "Orlando" which became words and finally letters to me which made no sense, I tried Richard Dawkins's "The greatest show.." and my brain short circuited ( for no fault of Dawkin's I may add here, a most interesting piece of work that..). In desperation I t
...more
Aug 22, 2013
Nikki
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
speculative-fiction,
robots
I've always liked Asimov's work -- one of my favourites has always been the expanded version of one of the short stories in this volume, The Positronic Man -- and so this was a nice familiar read for me. I've read some of the stories, while some were less familiar, but it is a bit like comfort eating: with Asimov, I know exactly what I'm getting. It'd be a bit much to start here with Asimov, I think, and read all the short stories start to finish. I'd pick a smaller collection, rather than a col
...more
(I, Robot, is the first collection of short stories. Second is The Rest of the Robots. Robot Dreams only has one new story in it. The Complete Robot is reported to be truly complete.)
Ok, the edition I read has 31 stories. Doubleday/ Nightfall, 1982. Stories originally from 1939 to 1977. Perhaps all editions the same, I dunno, but there you are.
It also has a nice concise introduction about Robot-as-Menace and Robot-as-Pathos and related thoughts, and is organized by theme or (slice of) world-bui ...more
Ok, the edition I read has 31 stories. Doubleday/ Nightfall, 1982. Stories originally from 1939 to 1977. Perhaps all editions the same, I dunno, but there you are.
It also has a nice concise introduction about Robot-as-Menace and Robot-as-Pathos and related thoughts, and is organized by theme or (slice of) world-bui ...more
This includes I, Robot as well as a bunch of other robot stories. All in all it's an enjoyable collection.
Does it add much to the experience of reading I, Robot? Somewhat. The other stories are much the same thing in many cases and quite different in others. It's a bit jumpier in flow since it's a heavy collection, but there are some gems included here that really stood out: "The Tercentenary Incident", "Victory Unintentional", and "The Bicentennial Man". Aside from that last story, it doesn't ...more
Does it add much to the experience of reading I, Robot? Somewhat. The other stories are much the same thing in many cases and quite different in others. It's a bit jumpier in flow since it's a heavy collection, but there are some gems included here that really stood out: "The Tercentenary Incident", "Victory Unintentional", and "The Bicentennial Man". Aside from that last story, it doesn't ...more
My first Asimov book and I loved it, from the first till the last story included. His Foundation Trilogy is still waiting to be read, but as I saw this collection of short stories, I decided to tackle these first.
'The Complete Robot' is said to contain all of his robot stories that were published previously in other compilations or magazines, and a few other ones that didn't make it into those earlier compilations. Everything is neatly explained in the foreword (and the different introductions t ...more
'The Complete Robot' is said to contain all of his robot stories that were published previously in other compilations or magazines, and a few other ones that didn't make it into those earlier compilations. Everything is neatly explained in the foreword (and the different introductions t ...more
All stories grip you, and some of the stories are absolutely brilliant and leave a large amount of after thought.
Of the ones I enjoyed most are -
1. Victory Unintentional - Hilarious, hope he had written more such humorous stories!
2. Robbie - One of the masterpieces that get you acquainted with an Asimov robot.
3. Someday - Nice ending.
4. Galley Slave - One academic author, who due to his initial hatred and inability to understand robots, and ignorance, uses a robot incorrectly resulting in a vers ...more
Of the ones I enjoyed most are -
1. Victory Unintentional - Hilarious, hope he had written more such humorous stories!
2. Robbie - One of the masterpieces that get you acquainted with an Asimov robot.
3. Someday - Nice ending.
4. Galley Slave - One academic author, who due to his initial hatred and inability to understand robots, and ignorance, uses a robot incorrectly resulting in a vers ...more
Some Nonhuman Robots
A Boys best friend - 3.5
Sally - 2.5
Someday - 3.5
Some Immobile Robots
Point of view - 2.5
Think! - 3
True Love - 4
Some Metallic Robots
Victory Unintentional - 3.5
Stranger In Paradise - 2.5
Light Verse - 3.5
Segregationist - 5
Robbie - 3 *
Some Humanoid Robots
Let's Get Together - 3
Mirror Image - 3
The Tercentenary Incident - 4
Powell and Donovan
First Law - 2
Runaround - 2.5 *
Reason - 4 *
Catch That Rabbit! - 3 *
Susan Calvin
Liar! - 4 *
Satisfaction Guaranteed - 4
Lenny - 4.5
Gall ...more
A Boys best friend - 3.5
Sally - 2.5
Someday - 3.5
Some Immobile Robots
Point of view - 2.5
Think! - 3
True Love - 4
Some Metallic Robots
Victory Unintentional - 3.5
Stranger In Paradise - 2.5
Light Verse - 3.5
Segregationist - 5
Robbie - 3 *
Some Humanoid Robots
Let's Get Together - 3
Mirror Image - 3
The Tercentenary Incident - 4
Powell and Donovan
First Law - 2
Runaround - 2.5 *
Reason - 4 *
Catch That Rabbit! - 3 *
Susan Calvin
Liar! - 4 *
Satisfaction Guaranteed - 4
Lenny - 4.5
Gall ...more
Almost one-stop shopping for all your robots-by-Asimov needs. Most, but not all, of Asimov's robot and robot-like stories are included here, including all of the stories from I, Robot. I wouldn't suggest reading this instead, of course, because you're missing all of the wonderful bridging narration. Even having already read I, Robot, Robot Dreams, and Robot Visions, I still found plenty of stories that were new to me. Exciting, for me, and it made reading the book more than worthwhile. I loved i
...more
This is a collection of Asimov's robot based short stories. I have previously read I Robot and all of those stories are also here/ This collection, however, also includes many other stories that were not found there and so they were new to me. What seemed unique to me was that, besides a couple stories very early on, each story here is placed in a sort of loose chronology. As you move further into the book you are also moving further forward in fictional time. In this way the book, while still m
...more
The Bicentennial man is my second favorite Asimov story - (The Last Question is my favorite but that's in another book).
The rest of this book is still 4 stars though. These short stories form the basis of contemporary sci-fi dealing with robots. They invariably will reference Asimov in some way or another - or at least not have any ideas that Asimov himself hasn't come up with already in this book. Totally recommend.
The rest of this book is still 4 stars though. These short stories form the basis of contemporary sci-fi dealing with robots. They invariably will reference Asimov in some way or another - or at least not have any ideas that Asimov himself hasn't come up with already in this book. Totally recommend.
My dad just discovered Prelude To Foundation, and was excited to discover that Asimov had written books in the series beyond the original trilogy. I had recently become aware of this as well, but also found many books in the series written by other authors. Because publication date does no correspond with storyline date, I felt overwhelmed. But the into to Prelude includes Asimov's list of the order in which he feels his 14 robot, Empire and Foundation books should be read. The list only lacks F
...more
If only I could read about Susan Calvin's legendary robot. But the ending novella 'The Bicentennial Man' has actually made me silently weep. The guy is a legend 💖
Asimov's stories lead up to the three laws of robotics, each story questioning human logic, morality, regarding technology. All the stories are compiled by Asimov himself which lead to a good reading flow. Each story takes time to digest, would encourage readers to debate and reflect as user and/or creator of technology.
I read a lot of Asimov's robot short stories in my early teens, but never the novels and neither the Foundation books. Having discovered that the robot books are a prelude to Foundation I was intrigued to revisit.
I have to say that as stories they're a mixed bag. The early ones are not very well written,but do introduce important concepts into the robots' evolutions - rather fable like in many ways. I found the prose forced and the characters shallow, added to that the early robots were treated ...more
I have to say that as stories they're a mixed bag. The early ones are not very well written,but do introduce important concepts into the robots' evolutions - rather fable like in many ways. I found the prose forced and the characters shallow, added to that the early robots were treated ...more
Like all short story collections, there are some hit and misses in here.
The misses were what you would expect. Some of the stories are a little repetitive, and some lack any real depth. And like you would expect from a collection of stories from the mid-twentieth century, the female characters were sometimes a bit shit. However, none of the stories were boring or a slog to get through.
As far as the hits, they really were hits. They were clever, they were creative, they were funny, they were si ...more
The misses were what you would expect. Some of the stories are a little repetitive, and some lack any real depth. And like you would expect from a collection of stories from the mid-twentieth century, the female characters were sometimes a bit shit. However, none of the stories were boring or a slog to get through.
As far as the hits, they really were hits. They were clever, they were creative, they were funny, they were si ...more
The robot stories were my first Asimov. Like Susan Calvin, my brain has remained slightly positronic ever since. Yes, The world could benefit from altruïstic AI, even with a measure of omnipotent Multimac. Yes, ithin the next decade, a popular social science book entitled "the Frankenstein Complex" should appear on the shelves, once sex dolls reach android perfection.
In my nostalgic opinion, they are one of the best introductions to his work. The Three Laws of Robotics are, together with the epi ...more
In my nostalgic opinion, they are one of the best introductions to his work. The Three Laws of Robotics are, together with the epi ...more
First published in 1982 and Asimov having written other robots stories after that, 'The Complete Robot' is, well, not so complete after all! A few short stories are indeed missing (e.g. 'Robot Dream'), a disappointing fact I for one wish the publisher would have addressed by now!
Well, misleading title aside, here's nevertheless a remarkable anthology which is definitely a must-read. Indeed it will please both those curious enough to have a glimpse at Asimov's work (SF master who came up with th ...more
Well, misleading title aside, here's nevertheless a remarkable anthology which is definitely a must-read. Indeed it will please both those curious enough to have a glimpse at Asimov's work (SF master who came up with th ...more
A chance conversation with a stranger in a Panera while we each ate our lunches and procrastinated returning to our final Christmas shopping led me to realize that I had never read anything written by Isaac Asimov. I resolved to fix that in 2019 and this book is my first. It’s odd to finally experience directly something I’ve taken for granted. I knew the three laws going in. And Asimov’s influence is awfully broad. It’s hard to evaluate any book I come to with so many preconceptions as I had he
...more
Aug 18, 2019
Tahmidul
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
foundation-universe
I wish I could give it more stars. Holy shit this book was awesome! Isaac Asimov has once again exceeded my expectations. The first stories started as good but not great. From Part IV, stuff started getting exciting. Part VI, Susan Calvin, blew my mind, I have splattered brain everywhere. By the time I started reading The Bicentennial Man, I had my brain back inside, but I just finished, and my mind is blown again.
I said that the stories at the beginning were good but not great to emphasize the ...more
I said that the stories at the beginning were good but not great to emphasize the ...more
I did it!
I remain firm in my opinion that these stories (some more than others) are among the most enjoyable, perfect things ever written.
Isaac Asimov's robot stories and novels are arguably his most lasting contribution to the genre, maybe even more influential than the Foundation series. This 1982 collection includes all of Asimov's robot short stories written between 1939 and 1977. This includes all the stories from I, ROBOT (without the interstitial passages) and THE REST OF THE ROBOTS, plus 14 new stories.
It is a rich, varied, and multifaceted milieu that showcases the author's range. There are comedies, cerebral mysteries, ...more
It is a rich, varied, and multifaceted milieu that showcases the author's range. There are comedies, cerebral mysteries, ...more
I like short story collections. This one is a mixed bag. Some of the stories I found quite predictable, others very profound. The end stories, with robots preparing to take over as the superior beings, and with a robot seeking to approach humanity, to the point of seeking mortality, were my favourites.
A must read for any science-fiction lover
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodreads Librari...: Please add page count | 2 | 11 | Jan 11, 2019 07:36PM | |
| Edition | 1 | 1 | Mar 01, 2018 11:08AM | |
| Goodreads Librari...: The complete Robot: Duplicates | 12 | 185 | Jul 09, 2012 12:30PM |
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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 one of the most prolific writers 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 o ...more
Professor Asimov is generally considered one of the most prolific writers 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 o ...more
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“I have the shape of a human being and organs equivalent to those of a human being. My organs, in fact, are identical to some of those in a prosthetized human being. I have contributed artistically, literally, and scientifically to human culture as much as any human being now alive. What more can one ask?”
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