Asimov - Beginner's Guide

Hi,

For Christmas I wished for practically anything Asimov, being a novice
to his works (apart from adaptations such as "I, Robot").

I got the collection "The Complete Robot",
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Complete_Robot), and I am uncertain
about two things:

The back of the book emphasises "the 3 laws of robotics" that are also
the turning point of the Hollywood picture "I, Robot". But are the three
laws equally essential for all of the short stories in "The Complete Robot"?

As a matter of personal opinion, is "The Complete Robot" the right place
to start reading Asimov?

TIA - and Happy New Year!

--
Gryffe

Gryffe <nospam.please@invalid> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>For Christmas I wished for practically anything Asimov, being a novice
>to his works (apart from adaptations such as "I, Robot").
>
>I got the collection "The Complete Robot",
>(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Complete_Robot), and I am uncertain
>about two things:
>
>The back of the book emphasises "the 3 laws of robotics" that are also
>the turning point of the Hollywood picture "I, Robot".

The first rule of thumb concerning Follywood and movies "made"
from books - the number of movies that catch the spirit of the
book they were "based on" is minuscule. "I, Robot" was no
exception to this rule.

>But are the three
>laws equally essential for all of the short stories in "The Complete Robot"?

Yes. And no. The Three Laws of Robotics were developed after
the first few of IA's robot stories were written/published. The
editor of Astounding had noticed that the robots in these stories
seemed to act in a way that implied them, and suggested that IA
think about formulating a list and incorporating them
specifically in further stories. The rest, as they say, is
history. So, yes, the three laws (and as you read IA's more
recent works the four laws) are a big part of all of the robot
works, even if not specifically noted.

>As a matter of personal opinion, is "The Complete Robot" the right place
>to start reading Asimov?

With IA, my personal opinion is that anywhere, in his fiction or
non-fiction work, is a good place to start. In my case, I
started in 195mumble with "Caves of Steel,", my first IA, then
went on to the Foundation series [Foundation, Foundation &
Empire, Second Foundation] and also "I, Robot" - the collection
expanded into "The Complete Robot - while wending my way through
the Foundation series.

However you do it, and "The Complete Robot" is as good a place as
any to start; reading Asimov can be highly addicting, wherever
else your tastes in SF may take you.

>TIA - and Happy New Year!

YW, and you are setting yourself up for a happy new year also.
Have fun!

--
OJ III