The Robots of Dawn
The Robots of Dawn
(Robot #3)
by
4
Stars
Lije
Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw, the crime solving duo that are the stars of The Robots of Dawn, are without a doubt
my favorite literary detectives. Baley
is an Earthman (after all, this is a future where humans now inhabit some 50
other worlds and the distinction of being from Earth is an important, and not altogether
desirable, one) and Olivaw is his robotic partner. Although robots are common on the outer
worlds (among the “Spacers”) they are still mistrusted on Earth, and Baley’s
partnership with the all too human Daneel Olivaw is, therefore, a most unusual
one. It is also at once both comical and
touching, representing a deep (and very human) friendship.
The Robots of Dawn is the penultimate work in
Asimov’s Robot series, which begins his epic story of the future that concludes
with his Foundation series. It’s a
future that’s certainly not utopian. The
people of Earth live crowded together in great enclosed Cities (that’s Cities
with a capital “C”), eat unsatisfying food substitutes, and exist in mortal fear
of the “Outside”. And yet, as long as
someone like Lije Baley, with his high moral standards and dogged
determination, is around you get the feeling that things won’t turn out so very
badly after all.
Asimov
was a prolific genius, and his vision of the future is a science fiction
classic that everyone should read at least once.
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