I, Robot

By: Isaac Asimov

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world - all told with the dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction that has become Asmiov’s trademark.

The three laws of Robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm 2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

With these three, simple directives, Isaac Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future - a future in which humanity itself may be rendered obsolete.

©1950, 1977 Isaac Asimov (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

So many writers stand on Asimov's shoulders!!!

That's right! I'm not saying you'll like it, just that if other writers have written more detailed stories, more exciting in your opinion... then I promise you one thing. Before they started WRITING, they READ Asimov. I love every word of this story, I read them first when I was a boy and they had an impact of how I saw the world. For the "bad" reviewers, I suggest you read a few hundred of the books that Asimov wrote and you'll have a better idea what this man was capable of. Great science fiction of course, great mysteries too, and yes! Great non-fiction, like the book that got me through Organic Chemistry. If you have not read Asimov, just pick one. Give it a whirl. I will bet you will glad that you did.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. Peace.

wonderful book

i love this book everyone should give it a listen the speaker does a great job with it was great reading as a kid and now listening to it all this time after...it is a great book if you like robots for sure.

An Eternal Book. Excellent narration

I loved this audiobook and here is why. First the content itself is remarkable. The themes chosen by Asimov are right on target and are more relevant today than at anytime since the publication of this novel.

As a roboticist myself, my impression of Asimov's 3 laws has radically changed over the last 2 decades. When I first studied robots, I thought anything like the 3 laws and the idea of positronic brains where a far fetched fantasy. Now, the study of robot ethics, emotions, and personality are very serious topics as we learn to build robots that interact closely with humans.

Asimo builds his book using the 3 laws as axioms or postulates and then explores the ramification of those postulates. This is exactly what mathematicians do. In essence Asimov has translated the mathematical thought process into a wonderful novel. But he also uses these postulates to probe the basic nature of human beings.

Now, after 20 years of working with robots, I can state that that Asimov's vision was breathtaking.


Second, I loved the narration. I admit that it took a couple of stories to have my ear tuned to the speakers voice, but by the end of this audiobook, I found myself craving for more.

This audiobook is a "must have" for anyone who loves humanity or robots.

I Robot

I found it somewhat disjointed and, in some cases, boring. The characters are superficial and child like. Other than that it was a good way to avoid road boredom.

Brilliant

Best Audio book I have heard yet. The stories are very well read.

My favorite book, great performance

Let me start off by saying that “I, Robot” is my favorite book. I first read it in high school for a scifi class. I did that thing where I read the first chapters for homework, and then I went ahead and read the rest of the book because I loved it so much. By the time my class finished the book, I had read through it twice!

Story:
The author, Isaac Asimov, does a really excellent job of keeping the reader engaged with the topic of technological evolution. As the robots of this book advance and develop, the readers (listeners) get to enjoy the progression in manageable chunks in the form of distinct short stories.
Each chapter is its own story, featuring recurring characters like robopsychologist Susan Calvin and field testers Powell & Donovan. Most of these stories involve a dilemma of errant robotic behavior, and it’s up to our characters to figure out just why these robots are going haywire. As the robots get more complex, so too do the problems.
Oh my gosh, the ending! I won’t give anything away, of course. I was so excited about the ending after I finished it that I volunteered to read aloud the whole final chapter to my class in high school.

Performance:
The narrator, Scott Brick, does just a fine job with this story. He’s no Jim Dale, to be sure, but I think that’s perfectly acceptable. I feel “I, Robot” is more about the themes and the story than the characters, so as an audiobook it didn’t really need a fully-fleshed performance.
Scott Brick does enough for the most part to vary the characters so you know who is talking, and provides enough dramatic emphasis where needed. There are a couple of instances where I got a little confused about who was talking (in the last chapter where there is a lot of dialogue between two people), so for that I take off one star.

Overall, I’m very pleased with this audiobook and would happily listen to it again!

Misleading cover art

I had read the book before so I knew that the movie was only loosely based on the book. If you're expecting the same or even similar plot line as the movie...don't bother.

One of the best AND nothing like the movie

This is a brilliant, thought provoking work. I loved it. The movie was a disappointment and probably should not have been linked to the book - and vice versa.

Engaging robot mysteries

Excellent book to listen to...each story is like a mini robo-mystery...a robo-psycho puzzle to solve.

The first stories are relatively simple but grow in complexity in relation to interpreting the Three Laws of Robotics, culminating in a satisfying conclusion to the book.

I re-watched the Will Smith movie after, which is loosely founded on the principles in this book. I found many more things to enjoy about the movie with the added benefit of reading the book, such as the character details and the personalities of the robots.

Future

Great book for an old! Ahead of its time yet still on point and humble!