Book Review: I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

I’ve decided to read all of Isaac Asimov’s books, and having read the first one I, Robot, I’m very glad I did so. This is his first book in his “Foundation Series” and is a set of short stories narrated by a “Robopsychologist” called Susan Calvin.

Just for the record, the book has nothing to do with the movie I, Robot starring Will Smith. The movie is an interesting take on the interpretation of the three laws, but there’s absolutely no similarity with the book, since the book is composed of a number of short stories.

It’s here we’re first introduced to the famous three laws of robotics:

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 any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Each short story examines various facets of the interaction between humans and robots through an interesting storyline. I don’t mind admitting that the reason I’m reading Asimov is because of his reputation for not having any “literary style.” In other words, he comes straight to the point and doesn’t bother himself with too much “artiness.” This is reflected in the short stories in I, Robot, each of which is riveting and the reader never gets bored for a moment.

Some of the stories such as “Reason”, where a robot refuses to believe it was created by humans and “Robbie” which is a touching story about a little girl’s attachment to her robot are simply splendid. Some of them really move you and expose you to new situations. With this book, I’m beginning to see why Isaac Asimov is such a great writer!

Moving on to the other books in the foundations series now!