''Robot Dreams'' (1986) is a collection of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

by American writer

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

, illustrated by

Ralph McQuarrie Ralph Angus McQuarrie (; June 13, 1929 – March 3, 2012) was an American conceptual designer and illustrator. His career included work on the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, the original ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series, the film '' ...

. The title story is about Susan Calvin's discovery of a

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...

with rather disturbing dreams. It was written specifically for this volumeAsimov, Isaac. ''Robot Dreams''. Ace, 1990, page xvi and inspired by the McQuarrie cover illustration. All of the other stories had previously appeared in various other Asimov collections. Four of the stories are robot stories, while five are

Multivac Multivac is the name of a fictional supercomputer appearing in over a dozen science fiction stories by American writer Isaac Asimov. Asimov's depiction of Multivac, a mainframe computer accessible by terminal, originally by specialists using mac ...

stories. The companion book, which also showcases McQuarrie's illustrations (and includes Asimov

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

s in addition to short stories), is titled ''

Robot Visions ''Robot Visions'' (1990) is a collection of science fiction short stories and factual essays by Isaac Asimov. Many of the stories are reprinted from other Asimov collections, particularly ''I, Robot'' and ''The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories'' ...

.''

It contains a foreword by Asimov as well as the following stories: # "

Little Lost Robot "Little Lost Robot" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the March 1947 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' and reprinted in the collections ''I, Robot'' (1950), ''The Complete Robot'' (1 ...

" (1947), a ''Robot'' story # "

Robot Dreams ''Robot Dreams'' (1986) is a collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov, illustrated by Ralph McQuarrie. The title story is about Susan Calvin's discovery of a robot with rather disturbing dreams. It was written ...

" (1986), a ''Robot'' story # " Breeds There a Man...?" (1951) # " Hostess" (1951) # "

Sally Sally may refer to: People *Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name Military *Sortie (siege warfare), Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port *Sally, ...

" (1953), a ''Robot'' story # "

Strikebreaker A strikebreaker (sometimes called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite a strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who were not employed by the company before the trade union dispute but hired after or during the st ...

" (1957) # " The Machine that Won the War" (1961), a ''Multivac'' story # " Eyes Do More Than See" (1965) # "

The Martian Way ''The Martian Way'' is a science fiction novella by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1952 issue of ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' and reprinted in the collections '' The Martian Way and Other Stories'' (1955), '' T ...

" (1952) # "

Franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

" (1955), a ''Multivac'' story # "

Jokester "Jokester" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the December 1956 issue of ''Infinity Science Fiction'', and was reprinted in the collections ''Earth Is Room Enough'' (1957) and ''Robot Dreams'' ...

" (1956), a ''Multivac'' story # "

The Last Question "The Last Question" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the November 1956 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and was anthologized in the collections Nine Tomorrows (1959), The Best of Isaac A ...

" (1956), a ''Multivac'' story # " Does a Bee Care?" (1957) # "

Light Verse Light poetry or light verse is poetry that attempts to be humorous. Light poems are usually brief, can be on a frivolous or serious subject, and often feature word play including puns, adventurous rhyme, and heavy alliteration. Typically, light ...

" (1973), a ''Robot'' story # "

The Feeling of Power "The Feeling of Power" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. The story first appeared in the February 1958 issue of '' If: Worlds of Science Fiction'', and was reprinted in the 1959 collection ''Nine Tomorrows'', the ...

" (1958) # "

Spell My Name with an S "Spell My Name with an S" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. The story first appeared in the January 1958 (and only) issue of ''Star Science Fiction'' under the title "S as in Zebatinsky", and was reprinted in the ...

" (1958) # "

The Ugly Little Boy "The Ugly Little Boy" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. The story first appeared in the September 1958 issue of ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' under the title "Lastborn", and was reprinted under its current title in ...

" (1958) # "

The Billiard Ball "The Billiard Ball" is a science fiction short story by American author Isaac Asimov, written in September 1966 and first published in the March 1967 issue of '' If''. It appeared in Asimov's 1968 collection ''Asimov's Mysteries'', in his 1973 coll ...

" (1967) # " True Love" (1977), a ''Multivac'' story # " The Last Answer" (1980) # " Lest We Remember" (1982)

Reception

Dave Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for mos ...

reviewed ''Robot Dreams'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...

'' #90, and stated that "The title story is new and quite good; the rest is familiar Asimovian reprint material."

Reviews

*Review by Don D'Ammassa (1987) in ''

Science Fiction Chronicle DNA Publications was an American publishing company that existed from 1993 to 2007 and was run by the husband-and-wife team of Warren Lapine and Angela Kessler. Initially based in Massachusetts, DNA Publications relocated to Radford, Virginia. A ...

'', #89 February 1987 *Review by Nik Morton (1987) in ''

Vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

'' 138 *Review by David V. Barrett (1987) in ''

'' 138 *Review by Tom Easton (1987) in ''

Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

'', August 1987 *Review by L. J. Hurst (1988) in ''Paperback Inferno'', #74 *Review by Ian Sales (1990) in ''Paperback Inferno'', #82 *Review by Michael Tolley (1992) in ''SF Commentary'', #71/72

References

External links

*
0-441-01183-7 ''Robot Dreams''
from Google Books
1986 short story collections American short story collections Berkley Books books Foundation universe books Science fiction short story collections by Isaac Asimov Short stories about robots {{1980s-sf-story-collection-stub

Contents

Reception

Reviews

References

External links