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

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

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 ...

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 ...

, illustrated by Ralph McQuarrie. The title story is about Susan Calvin's discovery of a

robot A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...

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 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 (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

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 Stori ...

.''

It contains a foreword by Asimov as well as the following stories: # " Little Lost Robot" (1947), a ''Robot'' story # " Robot Dreams" (1986), a ''Robot'' story # " Breeds There a Man...?" (1951) # " Hostess" (1951) # " Sally" (1953), a ''Robot'' story # " Strikebreaker" (1957) # " The Machine that Won the War" (1961), a ''Multivac'' story # " Eyes Do More Than See" (1965) # " The Martian Way" (1952) # " Franchise" (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 in the anthologies in the collections ''Nine Tomorrows'' (1959), ''The Best ...

" (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. Nonsense poetry i ...

" (1973), a ''Robot'' story # " The Feeling of Power" (1958) # " Spell My Name with an S" (1958) # " The Ugly Little Boy" (1958) # " The Billiard Ball" (1967) # " True Love" (1977), a ''Multivac'' story # " The Last Answer" (1980) # " Lest We Remember" (1982)

Reception

Dave Langford reviewed ''Robot Dreams'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a Compact star, stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very density, dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclear fusion takes place i ...

'' #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'', #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 * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...

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

'' 138 *Review by Tom Easton (1987) in '' Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact'', 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 Locus Award–winning works {{1980s-sf-story-collection-stub

Contents

Reception

Reviews

References

External links