Asimov's Robots

[cheeseyfatmonkey]

I've just finished reading 'I Robot' and I loved it. I'd like to read more of the robot series but I'm not sure where to go next.

I'm hoping someone knows these books well enough to suggest a preferred reading order.

Any suggestions?

 

[ljrashkin]

The Elijah Bailey books (Caves of Steel, Naked Sun, and Robots of Dawn) are next. And really good to boot.

 

[Tyberius]

The Elijah Bailey books (Caves of Steel, Naked Sun, and Robots of Dawn) are next. And really good to boot.

Then there is Robots and Empire but that may not really work without having read The Foundation series and the Empire series.

ETA: Or there is Bicentennial Man. Although it doesn't get into the 3 laws, it does tackle the human reaction.

 

[ljrashkin]

The Elijah Bailey books (Caves of Steel, Naked Sun, and Robots of Dawn) are next. And really good to boot.

Then there is Robots and Empire but that may not really work without having read The Foundation series and the Empire series.

Yeah, I kinda figured that as well.

 

[cheeseyfatmonkey]

The Elijah Bailey books (Caves of Steel, Naked Sun, and Robots of Dawn) are next. And really good to boot.

Then there is Robots and Empire but that may not really work without having read The Foundation series and the Empire series.

Yeah, I kinda figured that as well.

So I'm going to busy for while then

 

[Tyberius]

The Elijah Bailey books (Caves of Steel, Naked Sun, and Robots of Dawn) are next. And really good to boot.

Then there is Robots and Empire but that may not really work without having read The Foundation series and the Empire series.

Yeah, I kinda figured that as well.

I think you could read Robots and Empire without reading Foundation and also Empire, but I think that part of the big payoff is the reveal and realization at the end. The OP seems to want more to read though, so I say read Foundation and then Empire then the book Foundations and Empire followed by Robots and Empire.

 

[ljrashkin]

Then there is Robots and Empire but that may not really work without having read The Foundation series and the Empire series.

Yeah, I kinda figured that as well.

I think you could read Robots and Empire without reading Foundation and also Empire, but I think that part of the big payoff is the reveal and realization at the end. The OP seems to want more to read though, so I say read Foundation and then Empire then the book Foundations and Empire followed by Robots and Empire.

Personally, I would go by publication date by that point. So Second Foundation in between Foundation and Empire and Robots and Empire (I think), but otherwise I agree with you

 

[Robotech Master]

Just go ahead and read all the Robot books. I don't think it spoils anything.

You can skip the Empire books if you want, they aren't too great and they don't really have much to do with each other or the other series of books.

The Foundation books, however, should be read in publication order.

I, Robot

The Caves Of Steel
The Naked Sun
Robots Of Dawn
Robots And Empire

The Stars, Like Dust
The Currents Of Space
Pebble In The Sky

Foundation
Foundation And Empire
Second Foundation
Foundation's Edge
Foundation And Earth
Prelude To Foundation
Forward The Foundation

If you want to be really complete you could probably read The End Of Eternity (which you might read before any of the Robot stuff or after everything else)

 

[Holdfast]

Personally, I would go by publication date by that point.

I tend to agree.

It's sort of like watching Star Wars, if Asimov will forgive me the comparison and not roll too much in his grave.

First time round, read them in publication order. It's more fun.

After that, you can read them using the "in-story" chronology.

 

[Cicero]

Robot Visions and Robot Dreams also collect Asimov's robot shorts (each volume shares some stories with I, Robot, but not more than half in either case). Were you to choose only one, I'd recommend Robot Dreams, which contains more stories, fewer repeated entries, and several of Asimov's best shorts not collected in I, Robot.

 

[Stevil2001]

As mentioned earlier, I'd pick up The Positronic Man (the novel adaptation of the short story "The Bicentennial Man") if you can. Not particularly important in the grand scheme of things-- but very, very good.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I never read Foundation, but I did read the Elijah Baley trilogy and then followed it up with Robots and Empire and had no trouble with it.

I always wondered who should play Elijah, Daneel, Gladia, Fastolf, Amadiro et all in a movie.

Any ideas?

 

[Daneel]

As some of you might have guessed, I'm a big fan of Asimov's Robot stories and novels. I'll try to offer any insights I can.

I would recommended The Complete Robot if you're looking for more Robot short stories. It contains thirty-one robotic tales, but you should be aware that nine of them are the same stories found in I, Robot. How much you're willing to double-dip is up to you. Of course, that's still not all of the Robot stories, but it's a pretty good sampling, I think.

Some of the stories clearly don't exist within the same Robot/Empire/Foundation universe that the others do (most notably "Victory Unintentional" and "Let's Get Together"), but you can just treat them as taking place in an alternate universe.

There's also one story --"Mirror Image"-- that takes place between the Robot novels The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn, and features the primary characters of those books. The rest of the same-universe stories take place before the first novel, The Caves of Steel, so I'd suggest reading them first.

If you want to go even further, The Early Asimov, a collection of Asimov's early short stories, contains one entry called "Mother Earth". It doesn't deal with robots, but it does somewhat bridge the gap between the Robot short stories and novels (even if some of the predictions made in the story don't actually come true in the Robot novels -- I guess Asimov changed his mind about them). The other stories in this collection are unrelated, and some are a mixed bag, but you might find them worthwhile if you're looking to broaden your exploration of Asimov.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I always wondered who should play Elijah, Daneel, Gladia, Fastolf, Amadiro et all in a movie.

Any ideas?

At the time I read the books, in the early '80s, I pictured a T.J. Hooker-era Shatner as Elijah Bailey.

I don't know who I would cast in any role today.

 

[Holdfast]

I always wondered who should play Elijah, Daneel, Gladia, Fastolf, Amadiro et all in a movie.

Any ideas?

When I first read them years and years ago, I thought of:

Gladia - Meryl Streep
Falstof - William H Macy
Amadiro - Willem Dafoe
Elijah - Ed Harris maybe
Daneel - hardest to cast, I think. You need someone suitably chiselled and perfectly toned (he's meant to be an idealised Spacer) but who can act superbly. I could never think of anyone who fits this bill. Rutger Hauer was probably the closest in my mind, if only because of Blade Runner.

Some of those are too old now, though.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Interesting list there! Thanks

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Ok I've given it some thought:

Daneel: Jeffrey Combs or Bruce Greenwood
more to come

 

[USS Triumphant]

I, Robot

The Caves Of Steel
The Naked Sun
Robots Of Dawn
Robots And Empire

The Stars, Like Dust
The Currents Of Space
Pebble In The Sky

Foundation
Foundation And Empire
Second Foundation
Foundation's Edge
Foundation And Earth
Prelude To Foundation
Forward The Foundation

If you want to be really complete you could probably read The End Of Eternity (which you might read before any of the Robot stuff or after everything else)

I like your list, except:

1. That bit about skipping the Empire books? Pure blasphemy.
2. Definitely read The End of Eternity as early as possible.
3. I'd stick Nemesis in between I, Robot and The Caves of Steel. Optionally, I'd also include Janet Asimov's Mind Transfer at that point.
4. All of the other Robot books (the Roger McBride Allen stuff, the William Wu stuff, the Robots and Aliens books, and so forth) could probably be read any time after The Naked Sun, but probably work best right after it.)
5. I'd tack Foundation's Fear by Gregory Benford, Foundation and Chaos by Greg Bear, and Foundation's Triumph by David Brin onto the end of your list. Also, the anthology Foundation's Friends.
6. The Norby books are tied in in some vague way, and I count 'em as Robot books. The differences are probably something to do with The End of Eternity. Or maybe that's just my interpretation.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Daneel - hardest to cast, I think. You need someone suitably chiselled and perfectly toned (he's meant to be an idealised Spacer) but who can act superbly.

Maybe the guy that plays Chuck's brother-in-law on the series Chuck?

 

[Allyn Gibson]

1. That bit about skipping the Empire books? Pure blasphemy.

Oh, I dunno. The Stars, Like Dust is pretty damn dire.

3. I'd stick Nemesis in between I, Robot and The Caves of Steel.

I'd probably save that until later. I mean, yes, chronologically, that's where it goes, but it's not essential at any point in the saga.

4. All of the other Robot books (the Roger McBride Allen stuff, the Donald Wu stuff, the Robots and Aliens books, and so forth) could probably be read any time after The Naked Sun, but probably work best right after it.)

William F. Wu, you mean.

The Robot City/Robots & Aliens books (including the Mirage trilogy) all chronologically go between Robots of Dawn and Robots and Empire. Allen's Caliban trilogy goes after Robots and Empire. (And I would definitely recommend reading at least Caliban prior to Brin's Foundation's Triumph.)

All of that said, I would skip City and Aliens. I loved them when I was in high school, but that was twenty years ago, and in retrospect they're not that good.

5. I'd tack Foundation's Fear by Gregory Benford, Foundation and Chaos by Greg Bear, and Foundation's Triumph by David Brin onto the end of your list. Also, the anthology Foundation's Friends.

I'm on the fence about Foundation's Friends. The one story to read is "The Originist," by Orson Scott Card, but the rest of the antho is pretty disposable, I think.

Chaos and Triumph are definitely worth the time. Fear, less so (and it ties in with Benford's own Galactic Center series and his Man-Kzin Wars novel A Darker Geometry, believe it or not).