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A review by nicolcc12
Yo, Robot by Isaac Asimov
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I read this book because I enter a book club for the first time in my life and it was quite an experience (a pleasant one, at that), but, otherwise, I wouldn't have read anything by Asimov, let alone this book (I was biased because of the terrible 2004 "adaptation"). In reality, the book was quite impressive, feels very contemporary, even when written 70+ years ago. Asimov proves to be a master on language and at building tension.
It was really interesting to read two tales per week and share impressions with people from different backgrounds and ages, which stances were very diverse. A lot of them were terriefied of the "overtaking" of robots, some of them went and read the last two tales, and talked about how the last tale was "terrifying", and, knowing how Asimov had previously handled tension in the other tales, I was expectant.
But I was deeply let down. Therefore, not a 5 star reading.
I don't know if it's just me being absurdist, but the possibility of the World (and Humanity as a whole) be controlled by machines that take objective decisions and care about the well-being of humans is not very terrifying. I felt a lot like Susan Calvin, in the sense that, it makes sense. It probably is a byproduct of Asimov's great writing, the fact that I'm convinced that the 'ending' is not catastrophic at all. I guess the real problem were the expectations set by my fellow members of the book club, that, for me, it wasn't as shoking as they made it seems. Also, you could've seen it coming since the start of the book, as all the nine tales are linked by the narrative of an interview with Susan Calvin, in a time when The Machines already took control, so the clues were there all along.
It was really interesting to read two tales per week and share impressions with people from different backgrounds and ages, which stances were very diverse. A lot of them were terriefied of the "overtaking" of robots, some of them went and read the last two tales, and talked about how the last tale was "terrifying", and, knowing how Asimov had previously handled tension in the other tales, I was expectant.
But I was deeply let down. Therefore, not a 5 star reading.
I don't know if it's just me being absurdist, but the possibility of the World (and Humanity as a whole) be controlled by machines that take objective decisions and care about the well-being of humans is not very terrifying. I felt a lot like Susan Calvin, in the sense that, it makes sense. It probably is a byproduct of Asimov's great writing, the fact that I'm convinced that the 'ending' is not catastrophic at all. I guess the real problem were the expectations set by my fellow members of the book club, that, for me, it wasn't as shoking as they made it seems. Also, you could've seen it coming since the start of the book, as all the nine tales are linked by the narrative of an interview with Susan Calvin, in a time when The Machines already took control, so the clues were there all along.