Robot Dreams (short story collection)

This article is about the book. For the short story, see Robot Dreams (short story). For the 2023 animated film, see Robot Dreams (film).
Robot Dreams
First edition
AuthorIsaac Asimov
Cover artistRalph McQuarrie
LanguageEnglish
SeriesRobot series
GenreScience fiction
PublisherBerkley
Publication date
November 1986
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint
Pages349
ISBN978-0-425-09345-0
Preceded byThe Complete Robot 
Followed byRobot Visions 

Robot Dreams (1986) is a collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov, illustrated by Ralph McQuarrie. The title story is about Susan Calvin's discovery of a robot with rather disturbing dreams. It was written specifically for this volume[1] and inspired by the McQuarrie cover illustration.[1] 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 essays in addition to short stories), is titled Robot Visions.

Contents

It contains a foreword by Asimov as well as the following stories:

  1. "Little Lost Robot" (1947), a Robot story
  2. "Robot Dreams" (1986), a Robot story
  3. "Breeds There a Man...?" (1951)
  4. "Hostess" (1951)
  5. "Sally" (1953), a Robot story
  6. "Strikebreaker" (1957)
  7. "The Machine that Won the War" (1961), a Multivac story
  8. "Eyes Do More Than See" (1965)
  9. "The Martian Way" (1952)
  10. "Franchise" (1955), a Multivac story
  11. "Jokester" (1956), a Multivac story
  12. "The Last Question" (1956), a Multivac story
  13. "Does a Bee Care?" (1957)
  14. "Light Verse" (1973), a Robot story
  15. "The Feeling of Power" (1958)
  16. "Spell My Name with an S" (1958)
  17. "The Ugly Little Boy" (1958)
  18. "The Billiard Ball" (1967)
  19. "True Love" (1977), a Multivac story
  20. "The Last Answer" (1980)
  21. "Lest We Remember" (1982)

Reception

Dave Langford reviewed Robot Dreams for White Dwarf #90, and stated that "The title story is new and quite good; the rest is familiar Asimovian reprint material."[2]

Reviews

  • Review by Don D'Ammassa (1987) in Science Fiction Chronicle, #89 February 1987[3]
  • Review by Nik Morton (1987) in Vector 138
  • Review by David V. Barrett (1987) in Vector 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

  1. ^ a b Asimov, Isaac. Robot Dreams. Ace, 1990, page xvi
  2. ^ Langford, Dave (June 1987). "Critical Mass". White Dwarf. No. 90. Games Workshop. p. 19.
  3. ^ "Title: Robot Dreams".



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