Books

Stories

"Lenny"
 
1958
Robot Story
1
 

A robot is accidentally created with only a primitive brain, one which is capable of learning and yet can break the First Law without realizing it.

I don’t like this story very much. It’s intended, I think, to show Susan Calvin as a "mommy", which is not a side of her personality I really find all that interesting. The possibility of a robot accidentally breaking the First Law is also rather more significant than its presence in this single story would indicate—and as a solution to US Robots inability to find engineers ("Advertise the danger!" says Calvin) is less than convincing.

Rather a disappointment, this is, for a story involving Susan Calvin. Only "Liar!" compares to it.

Contents
11
The Rest of the Robots
33
The Complete Robot
22
Robot Visions
32
Complete Stories, The, Vol. 2
 
Review copyright © 1995–2002 by John H. Jenkins. All rights reserved.
Last updated: JHJ