Isaac Asimov’s robot stories are a joy. I usually don’t have much patience with Asimov. While his ideas are great, I tend to be primarily a character-driven reader and a plot-driven reader second, and in my experience, Asimov’s not great at either. And don’t get me started on his women characters and stance on feminism. But his robot stories, especially those in I, Robot, are delightfully charming. His character writing skills are at just about the right level for robot personalities (and his robots do have personalities), and as for Susan Calvin, surely one of the most robotic human characters in fiction, her personality is just right for who she is and what she does. Unlike with many other “unfeminine” woman characters (in literature in general of the time, not just in Asimov’s writings), I don’t feel that Susan Calvin’s personality is written to account for her scientific career or lack of partner, or to punish her for something, or anything else. It’s such an asset for her, her company, and society in general that it just comes off as who she is, and that’s OK. Asimov obviously has a great affection for his robots, and I wonder how much Susan Calvin’s robot-likeness slips her in under that umbrella. She’s certainly one of his best-written women, in the admittedly small sample size of his writings I’ve read.
Monday, November 21, 2022
Becky Chambers' "A Psalm for the Wild-Built" - Tea Monk!
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers is both filled with fascinating ideas and totally charming, an unusual combination in my experience. It’s certainly one of the most positive post-apocalyptic stories I’ve read (unsurprising for Chambers), and her take on robots, and robot-human relations is mind-boggling. I’m totally charmed by the idea of a tea monk, and I love the way her society works. So egalitarian and rural-feeling, but selectively pretty high-tech. Becky Chambers is a master at telling stories that focus on character interaction and individual responsibility that also resonate with implications and consequences on a much larger scale. Full-on space opera told on the level of the domestic. This novella is no different; though the large-scale geography is limited to a single continent, the temporal and societal expanses are vast. She has a definite talent for writing all four main SF bases – big ideas, world-building, characters, and action. Well worth reading and highly recommended. Can’t wait to read the sequel.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Robots/Androids/Artificial Life Forms/AI - Tropes
- Robots can be any shape but are generally humanoid, androids are, by definition, people shaped, and artificial Intelligences are sometimes disembodied – live in the Internet or move from computer to computer as opposed to being tied to one computer.
- Artificial life forms are mostly machines, though I’ve run into some holograms.
- Used to explore issues and definition of humanity – compare robots and humans and explore their relationships. Are humans essentially living machines?
- Explore how a totally logical mind would work, and how dealing with illogical humans would work.
- Explore human interactions with technology in general, and its role in our lives.
- How different from a human is a sentient mechanical? Is it living? Does it deserve rights?
- Another trope dealing with the definition of life, sentience, and humanity.
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick (also Post-Apocalyptic, Mystery)
When HARLIE was One by David Gerrold (also Classic)