Review

This is, I believe, the third book by Asimov I ever purchased, and my memory of reading it for the first time is unusually vivid. It is one of the books which built his reputation, in the form of its original publication as a series of stories in the Golden Age Astounding (and, for that matter, one of the books that made the Golden Age golden).

It is also my favorite of all the robot anthologies. This is not necessarily because of the quality of the stories: I have never particularly cared for "The Evitable Conflict" or "Escape!", and my opinion of "Liar!" is rather lower than Asimov’s. Certainly some later robot stories, such as "Galley Slave" and "The Bicentennial Man" can match the best in I, Robot. On the other hand, I love the three Donovan and Powell stories, "Little Lost Robot" and "Evidence", so quality is certainly part of it.

Oddly, however, I think that one reason I enjoy this book so much is because Asimov himself intrudes in it not at all. I have always enjoyed reading what he had to say about himself, and yet, strangely, it is nice to have a book in which his robots and characters (including the immortal Susan Calvin) are allowed to take the stage all by themselves. It helps, I think, the suspension of disbelief not to be reminded over and over that this is, after all, just a collection of stories. Rather, like a novel, we plunge in at the beginning and it is not until we reach the end that we reemerge into dull reality.

Other than that, there is little to say. It’s terrific, it’s wonderful, and it remains one of the most enjoyable reading experiences Asimov ever provided.

The really sad thing is that he was considerably younger than I am now when he wrote it.