Adding a sci-fi thriller to the list!
I enjoyed this, even though some of the concepts were a bit over my head :(. Logically, everything presented made sense and I kind of liked the utopian ending. What did you think?
I also liked how it was happening in our current time - in fact, I am the exact same age as the robopsychologist, Dr. Susan Calvin. She's a psychologist, too, so fun! I liked how she was a female leader in the ever-growing world of men and basically everyone went to her for answer on why the robots have gone wrong.
The level of suspense in this book definitely would classify it as a thriller. I was always wondering when the robots would take over, like you would see in all the robot movies out there, even the one with the same title! Not going to spoil the ending for you, but you will see that the anxiety was not worth it.
Join the discussion by signing up for our BOOK CLUB. Use the FREE code ROBOT for the I, Robot meet-up.
1. Do Asimov’s now-famous Three Laws of Robotics mirror humanity’s ethics code in any way? Whose orders are human beings required to obey? Do our definitions of "harm" ever lead to the same confounding dilemmas experienced in I, Robot?
2. Why was Gloria’s mother unable to accept Robbie as an excellent nursemaid? Was Robbie premonitory on Asimov’s part—a prediction that children in the twenty-first century might form intense emotional attachments to electronics?
3. Cutie (QT) questions his origins and finds it impossible to believe that a human created him. In what ways did Powell and Donovan reinforce this belief?
4. Does the case of Stephen Byerley indicate that robots might make better politicians? Would this only hold true if, as the novel envisions, nations dissolve into massive world regions?
5. What is the ultimate commodity produced by U.S. Robot & Mechanical Men, Inc.? Does our global workforce follow this model in any way? Were humor and compassion inevitable traits in the robots? Do these traits interfere with productivity in the world of I, Robot?
6. In the book’s closing lines, Dr. Susan Calvin tells the narrator, "You will see what comes next," as robots stand between mankind and destruction. How did her career lead up to such a precarious conclusion?
7. I, Robot has been turned into a major motion picture starring Will Smith. How does the movie compare with your book-reading experience? What do you think of the adjustments made and liberties taken when converting this collection of stories to one seamless film adaptation?
