The ''Robot'' series is a series of 37

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 uni ...

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 ...

and six

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

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 ...

, featuring

positronic robot A positronic brain is a fictional technological device, originally conceived by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It functions as a central processing unit (CPU) for robots, and, in some unspecified way, provides them with a form of consci ...

s. Later, Asimov would merge the ''Robot'' series with his ''Foundation'' series.

Robot novels and stories

The series started in 1940, with the story " Robbie" in the September 1940 ''

Super Science Stories ''Super Science Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine published by Popular Publications from 1940 to 1943, and again from 1949 to 1951. Popular launched it under their Fictioneers imprint, which they used for magazines, payin ...

'' (appearing under the title "Strange Playfellow", which was not Asimov's title). Although it was originally written as a stand-alone story, the following year Asimov published a series of additional robot stories, which fit together into a narrative that was then put together as the book ''

I, Robot ''I, Robot'' is a fixup (compilation) novel of science fiction short stories or essays by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines ''Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' be ...

''.

List of works in the Robot series, in chronological order by narrative

# ''

'' (1950) and later collections: ''

The Complete Robot ''The Complete Robot'' (1982) is a collection of 31 of the 37 science fiction short stories about robots by American writer Isaac Asimov, written between 1939 and 1977.Introduction, ''The Complete Robot'', Isaac Asimov Most of the stories had be ...

'' (1982), '' Robot Dreams'' (1986), '' Robot Visions'' (1990), and ''

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

'' (1995). #* In 1964, '' The Rest of the Robots'' was published - all of the short stories in that collection are found in ''The Complete Robot'', and the novels ''The Caves of Steel'' and ''The Naked Sun'' were published separately (see below) # "

The Bicentennial Man ''The Bicentennial Man'' is a novelette in the ''Robot'' series by American writer Isaac Asimov. According to the foreword in ''Robot Visions'', Asimov was approached to write a story, along with a number of other authors who would do the same ...

" (1976) or ''

The Positronic Man ''The Positronic Man'' is a 1992 novel by American writers Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg, based on Asimov's 1976 novelette "The Bicentennial Man". It is about a robot that begins to display characteristics, such as creativity, tradition ...

'' (1992) - short story later developed into a complete novel # "

Mother Earth Mother Earth may refer to: *The Earth goddess in any of the world's mythologies *Mother goddess * Mother Nature, a common personification of the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life Written media and literature * "Mother Ea ...

" (1949) - short story, in which no individual robots appear, but positronic robots are part of the background # '' The Caves of Steel'' (1954) - first Robot series/R. Daneel Olivaw novel # ''

The Naked Sun ''The Naked Sun'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, the second in his ''Robot'' series. Like its predecessor, '' The Caves of Steel'', this is a whodunit story. It was first published in book form in 1957 after bein ...

'' (1957) - second Robot series/R. Daneel Olivaw novel # "

Mirror Image A mirror image (in a plane mirror) is a reflected duplication of an object that appears almost identical, but is reversed in the direction perpendicular to the mirror surface. As an optical effect it results from reflection off from substance ...

" (1972) - short story about R. Daneel Olivaw and detective Elijah Baley # ''

The Robots of Dawn ''The Robots of Dawn'' is a "whodunit" science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, first published in 1983. It is the third novel in Asimov's ''Robot'' series. Plot summary Detective Elijah Baley of Earth is training with his son ...

'' (1983) - third Robot series/R. Daneel Olivaw novel # '' Robots and Empire'' (1985) - fourth Robot series/R. Daneel Olivaw novel

Overview of short stories

Most of Asimov's

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 ...

short stories, which he began to write in 1939, are set in the first age of positronic robotics and space exploration. The unique feature of Asimov's robots is the

Three Laws of Robotics The Three Laws of Robotics (often shortened to The Three Laws or known as Asimov's Laws) are a set of rules devised by science fiction author Isaac Asimov. The rules were introduced in his 1942 short story " Runaround" (included in the 1950 colle ...

, hardwired in a robot's

positronic brain A positronic brain is a fictional technological device, originally conceived by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It functions as a central processing unit (CPU) for robots, and, in some unspecified way, provides them with a form of consciou ...

, with which all robots in his fiction must comply, and which ensure that the robot does not turn against its creators. The stories were not initially conceived as a set, but rather all feature his positronic robots—indeed, there are some inconsistencies among them, especially between the short stories and the novels. They all share a theme of the interaction of humans, robots, and morality. Some of the short stories found in ''

'' (1982) and other anthologies appear not to be set in the same universe as the ''Foundation'' universe. "

Victory Unintentional "Victory Unintentional" is a humorous science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in the August 1942 issue of ''Super Science Stories'' and included in the collections ''The Rest of the Robots'' (1964) and ''The Complet ...

" has positronic robots obeying the Three Laws, but also a non-human civilization on Jupiter. " Let's Get Together" features humanoid robots, but from a different future (where the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

is still in progress), and with no mention of the Three Laws. The multiple series offers a sense of completeness, because all of its works are interconnected. Some characters appear in more than one of the stories, and the manufacturer of the robots is often identified as the (fictional) corporation ''U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men''. ''

'' contains most of Asimov's robot short stories. Missing ones were either written after its publication, or formed the text connecting the stories in ''I, Robot''. The six Asimov robot short stories not included in this book are: * " Robot Dreams" (found in the anthology of the same title) * "Robot Visions" (found in the anthology of the same title) * "Too Bad!" (found in '' Robot Visions'') * "Christmas Without Rodney" (found in ''Robot Visions'') * "

Cal Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

" (found in ''

'') * "Kid Brother" (found in ''Gold'')

Overview of the Robot novels

The first book (not a true novel) is ''

'' (1950), a collection of nine previously published short stories woven together as a 21st-century interview with '' robopsychologist'' Dr.

Susan Calvin Dr. Susan Calvin is a fictional character appearing in Isaac Asimov's ''Robot'' series of science fiction short stories. According to I, Robot, Susan Calvin was born in the year 1982 and died at the age of 82, either in 2064 or 2065. She was t ...

. The next four robot novels '' The Caves of Steel'' (1953), ''

'' (1955), ''

'' (1983), and '' Robots and Empire'' (1985) make up the Elijah Baley (sometimes "Lije Baley") series, and are mysteries starring the Terran Elijah Baley and his humaniform robot partner, R. Daneel Olivaw. They are set thousands of years after the short stories and focus on the conflicts between Spacers — descendants of human settlers from other planets — and the people from an overcrowded Earth. "

", one of the short stories from ''The Complete Robot'' anthology, is also set in this time period (between ''

'' and ''

'') and features both Baley and Olivaw. Another short story (found in '' The Early Asimov'' anthology), "

", is set about a thousand years before the robot novels, when the Spacer worlds chose to become separated from Earth. ''The Caves of Steel'' and ''The Naked Sun'' are both considered classics of the genre, but the later novels were also well received, with ''The Robots of Dawn'' nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1984, and ''Robots and Empire'' shortlisted for the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 1986.

Inspiration

One source of inspiration for Asimov's robots was the Zoromes, a race of mechanical men that featured in a 1931 short story called " The Jameson Satellite", by Neil R. Jones. Asimov read this story at the age of 11, and acknowledged it as a source of inspiration in ''

Before the Golden Age ''Before the Golden Age: A Science Fiction Anthology of the 1930s'' is an anthology of 25 science fiction stories from 1930s pulp magazines, edited by American science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It also includes " Big Game", a short story writt ...

'' (1975), an anthology of 1930s science fiction in which Asimov told the story of the science fiction he read during his formative years. In Asimov's own words:

It is from the Zoromes, beginning with their first appearance in "The Jameson Satellite," that I got my own feeling for benevolent robots who could serve man with decency, as these had served Professor Jameson. It was the Zoromes, then, who were the spiritual ancestors of my own "
positronic A positronic brain is a fictional technological device, originally conceived by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It functions as a central processing unit (CPU) for robots, and, in some unspecified way, provides them with a form of consciou ...
robots," all of them, from Robbie to R. Daneel.

Other authors of robot novels set in Asimov's universe

The 1989 anthology ''

Foundation's Friends ''Foundation's Friends, Stories in Honor of Isaac Asimov'' is a 1989 book written in honor of science fiction author Isaac Asimov, in the form of an anthology of short stories set in Asimov's universes, particularly the ''Foundation'' universe. ...

'' included the positronic robot stories "Balance" by

Mike Resnick Michael Diamond Resnick (; March 5, 1942 – January 9, 2020) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He won five Hugo awards and a Nebula award, and was the guest of honor at Chicon 7. He was the executive editor of the defunct ma ...

, "Blot" by

Hal Clement Harry Clement Stubbs (May 30, 1922 – October 29, 2003), better known by the pen name Hal Clement, was an American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre. He also painted astronomically oriented artworks under ...

, "

PAPPI In Asteraceae, the pappus is the modified calyx, the part of an individual floret, that surrounds the base of the corolla tube in flower. It functions as a wind-dispersal mechanism for the seeds. The term is sometimes used for similar st ...

" by

Sheila Finch Sheila Finch (born 1935) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. She is best known for her sequence of stories about the Guild of Xenolinguists. Biography Sheila Finch was born in London, UK, 29 October 1935. She attended Bishop O ...

, "

Plato's Cave The Allegory of the Cave, or Plato's Cave, is an allegory presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work ''Republic'' (514a–520a) to compare "the effect of education ( παιδεία) and the lack of it on our nature". It is written as ...

" by

Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson wrote also historical novels. His awards include seven Hugo Awards and ...

, "

The Fourth Law of Robotics The Three Laws of Robotics (often shortened to The Three Laws or known as Asimov's Laws) are a set of rules devised by science fiction author Isaac Asimov. The rules were introduced in his 1942 short story " Runaround" (included in the 1950 colle ...

" by Harry Harrison and " Carhunters of the Concrete Prairie" by Robert Sheckley. Not all of these stories are entirely consistent with the Asimov stories. The anthology also included " Strip-Runner" by Pamela Sargent, set in the era of the Elijah Baley novels. Shortly before his death in 1992, Asimov approved an outline for three novels ('' Caliban'', '' Inferno'', ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island soc ...

'') by

Roger MacBride Allen Roger MacBride Allen (born September 26, 1957) is an American science fiction author. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up outside of Washington, D.C., graduating from Walt Whitman High School. He graduated from Boston University i ...

, set between ''Robots and Empire'' and the ''Empire'' series, telling the story of the terraforming of the Spacer world Inferno, and about the robot revolution started by creating a "No Law" Robot, and then New Law Robots. There is also another set of novels by various authors (Isaac Asimov's ''Robot City'', '' Robots and Aliens'' and '' Robots in Time'' series), which are not generally considered canon. They are loosely connected to the Robots series, but contain many inconsistencies with Asimov's books. The Asimov estate authorized the publication of another trilogy of robot mysteries by Mark W. Tiedemann. These novels, which take place several years before Asimov's ''Robots and Empire'', are ''Mirage'' (2000), ''Chimera'' (2001), and ''Aurora'' (2002). These were followed by yet another robot mystery, Alexander C. Irvine's ''Have Robot, Will Travel'' (2004), set five years after the Tiedemann trilogy. In November 2009, the Asimov estate announced the upcoming publication of ''Robots and Chaos'', the first volume in a trilogy featuring Susan Calvin by fantasy author

Mickey Zucker Reichert Mickey Zucker Reichert (born as Miriam Susan Zucker in 1962) is an American fantasy fiction author of several best selling novels. Personal life Reichert is a pediatrician, and holds a Doctorate of Medicine (M.D.). She is from a town in Iowa. ...

. The book was published in November 2011 under the title ''I, Robot: To Protect'', and was later followed by two sequels: ''I, Robot: To Obey'' (2013) and ''I, Robot: To Preserve'' (2016).

Adaptations

* The first screen adaptation of an Asimov robot story was the third episode of the British television series '' Out of This World'' based on " Little Lost Robot", first broadcast in 1962. Dramatised by and starring Maxine Audley as Susan Calvin, this is the only episode of the series known to have survived. * This was followed by a 1964 dramatision of '' The Caves of Steel'' for the BBC series ''Story Parade'' and then four episodes of the BBC television series ''

Out of the Unknown ''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science fi ...

'', based on " Satisfaction Guaranteed" (1966), "

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, lang ...

(in an episode titled "The Prophet", 1967), " Liar!" (1969), and ''

'' (1969). In these adaptations, Elijah Baley was portrayed by

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...

(''The Caves of Steel'') and Paul Maxwell (''The Naked Sun''), R. Daneel Olivaw by John Carson (''The Caves of Steel'') and

David Collings David Collings (4 June 1940 – 23 March 2020) was an English actor. In an extensive career he appeared in many roles on stage, television, film and radio, as well as various audio books, voiceovers, concert readings and other work. He garnered ...

(''The Naked Sun''), and Susan Calvin by

Beatrix Lehmann Beatrix Alice Lehmann (1 July 1903 – 31 July 1979) was a British actress, theatre director, writer and novelist. Early life and family Lehmann was born in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire. She came from a family of notable achievers: the third o ...

("The Prophet") and

Wendy Gifford Wendy is a given name now generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain, Wendy appeared as a masculine name in a parish record in 1615. It was also used as a surname in Britain from at least the 17th century. Its popularity ...

("Liar!"). In "Satisfaction Guaranteed", the character of Susan Calvin was renamed Dr. Inge Jensen and portrayed by

Ann Firbank Ann Firbank (born 9 January 1933) is an actress of film, television, and stage whose career extends from 1956. One of Firbank's more notable roles is her 1971 portrayal of Anne Elliot in the serial ''Persuasion'', an adaptation of Jane Austen's ...

. * ''El robot embustero'' (1966), short film directed by Antonio Lara de Gavilán, based on short story " Liar!" * ''

Robots "\n\n\n\n\nThe robots exclusion standard, also known as the robots exclusion protocol or simply robots.txt, is a standard used by websites to indicate to visiting web crawlers and other web robots which portions of the site they are allowed to visi ...

'' (1988), film directed by Doug Smith and Kim Takal, based on the ''Robot'' series * '' Bicentennial Man'' (1999), film directed by

Chris Columbus Christopher Columbus was an explorer born in Genoa, Italy. Christopher Columbus or Chris Columbus may also refer to: People * Chris Columbus (musician) (1902–2002), American jazz drummer * Chris Columbus (filmmaker) (born 1958), American direc ...

, based on novelette "

" and on novel ''

'' * ''

'' (2004), film directed by

Alex Proyas Alexander Proyas (; Greek: Αλέξανδρος Πρόγιας; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker of Greek descent. Proyas is best known for directing the films '' The Crow'' (1994), '' Dark City'' (1998), ''I, Robot'' (2004), ...

, based on ideas of short stories of the ''Robot'' series * The Apple TV adaptation of the ''Foundation'' books contains several references to its shared universe with the Robots series. The robot character of Eto Demerzel is an adaptation of the character R. Daneel whose shrouded long-lived history is frequently mentioned. During the course of the show, several characters reference the "Robot Wars" that happened in the past and are apparently part of the Empire's history. According to showrunner

David S. Goyer David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including '' Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (1998), the '' Blade'' ...

, the references to aspects such as the "Robot Wars" are planned to be explored in future seasons of the show.
Apple TV’s Foundation is also a stealthy adaptation of Asimov’s Robot books
' - September 25, 2021. Polygon.com. In the late 1970s,

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

wrote a

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

based on Asimov's book ''

'' for Warner Bros. This film project was ultimately abandoned, but Ellison's script was later published in book form as ''I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay'' (1994).

Merging the ''Robot'' series with Asimov's other series

References

External links

Detailed timeline for the Robots and Foundation Universe

Another detailed timeline
sometimes on a day-by-day basis, was published in:

��From "Author's Note" of ''Prelude to Foundation'', Doubleday 1988 hardcover edition * * {{Isaac Asimov novels Artificial intelligence in fiction Book series introduced in 1950

Robot series The ''Robot'' series is a series of 37 science fiction short stories and six novels by American writer Isaac Asimov, featuring positronic robots. Later, Asimov would merge the ''Robot'' series with his ''Foundation'' series. Robot novels an ...

Science fiction book series Short story series