''The Rest of the Robots'' is a collection of eight
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single 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 old ...
and two full-length
novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
s by American writer
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...
, published in 1964. The stories, centred on
positronic robots, are all part of the
''Robot'' series, most of which take place in the
''Foundation'' universe. Another collection of short stories about robots, ''
I, Robot'', was re-published in the previous year, which is why Asimov chose to title the collection as ''The Rest of the Robots''. None of the short stories in this collection were in ''I, Robot'', however all of them were later included in ''
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 ...
'', and both novels about
Elijah Baley were also published separately.
The texts in the collection were grouped into four chapters, differentiating their central themes. The first chapter, "The Coming of the Robots", included some of Asimov's earliest robot stories, where the
Three Laws of Robotics were not yet explicitly defined.
The following chapter, "The Laws of Robotics", included stories that were written after the explicit formulation of the three laws, however both stories include elements that place them outside the Foundation universe. In the story "
First Law",
aliens and direct disobedience of the First Law of Robotics are described, while in the other story, "
Let's Get Together", robots are used as weapons in the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. The story "
Victory Unintentional" in the first chapter also falls outside the Foundation canon, due to the mention of aliens.
The third chapter, "Susan Calvin" includes stories where
robopsychologist Dr. Susan Calvin makes an appearance. These four stories are representative of Asimov's robot short stories, following his traditional themes of aversion and distrust of robots by the general public and issues arising from the robots' interpretation of the Three Laws. The final chapter, titled "Lije Baley", consists of the two novels with detective
Elijah Baley, whom Asimov affectionately calls Lije.
While the original hardcover edition of this book included the two novels, some paperback editions have included only the eight short stories. Some of these shorter paperback editions, but not all, have been called ''Eight Stories from the Rest of the Robots''.
Contents
* The Coming of the Robots:
** "
Robot AL-76 Goes Astray" (1942)
** "
Victory Unintentional" (1942), ''Jovians'' series #2
* The Laws of Robotics:
** "
First Law" (1956)
** "
Let's Get Together" (1957)
* Susan Calvin:
** "
Satisfaction Guaranteed" (1951)
** "
Risk
In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environ ...
" (1955), novelette
** "
Lenny" (1958)
** "
Galley Slave
A galley slave was a slave rowing in a galley, either a Convict, convicted criminal sentenced to work at the oar (''French language, French'': galérien), or a kind of human chattel, sometimes a prisoner of war, assigned to the duty of rowing.
...
" (1957), novelette
* Lije Baley:
** ''
The Caves of Steel'' (1953), novel
** ''
The Naked Sun'' (1956), novel
Reception
Algis Budrys
Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, copy editing, editor and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome in collaboration with Jerome ...
of ''
Galaxy Science Fiction'' in June 1965 praised the collection as "a fine book of entertainment," but faulted Asimov's extensive annotations, saying they "
uckthe juice out of some very vivacious writing indeed, and
mbalmone of science fiction's most ebullient personalities."
In February 1966 he named the book "the single most useful publishing idea of the year".
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rest Of The Robots, The
Foundation universe books
1964 short story collections
Science fiction short story collections by Isaac Asimov
Doubleday (publisher) books
Robots in literature