Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Doubleday (1993), Hardcover, 204 pages
Description
Powerful and haunting, The Positronic Man is an unforgettable novel that redefines Isaac Asimov's and Robert Silverberg's place among the greatest science fiction authors of all time. In the twenty-first century the creation of the positronic brain leads to the development of robot laborers and revolutionizes life on Earth. But to the Martin family, their household robot NDR-113 is more than a trusted friend, a confidant, a member of the family. For through some unknown manufacturing glitch, Andrew has been blessed with a capacity for love and a drive toward self-awareness and devlopment that are almost ... human. But almost is not enough. Andrew's dream is to become fully human. Facing human prejudice, the laws of robotics, and his own mechanical limitations, Andrew will use science and law in his quest for the impossible, arriving at last at a terrifying choice: to make his dream a reality, he must pay the ultimate price. - Publisher.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Stevil2001
This is another of those Asimov books I loaned off six years ago and never got back. Like Nightfall and The Ugly Little Boy, this is Silverberg expanding an Asimov short story into a novel, and this is the most successful of the lot. Unlike Nightfall, where the extra bits felt extraneous,
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Silverberg's expansions onto the already-excellent "The Bicentennial Man" just make a good story even better, providing detail where Asimov skimped-- it is, after all, a story that has to cover two centuries! One of my favorite Asimov stories, and it was even made into a decent Asimov movie. (originally written January 2008) Show Less
LibraryThing member Karlstar
This is a continuation of an old Asimov short story. This is the expanded story of Andrew, one of the original robots, now nearly immortal, and very nearly human. Very good collaboration between Asimov and Silverberg. Some of this material made it into the movie, The Bicentennial Man.
LibraryThing member harahel
There shouldn't be a book about a robot that moves someone like this. The struggle to attain humanity is beautiful and full of truth, regardless of the creature experiancing it.
LibraryThing member Redthing
A pretty good book that adds depth to one of my favorite short stories (The Bicentennial Man).
LibraryThing member fduniho
One of my favorite novels, as well as the basis for one of my favorite movies, Bicentennial Man, this is the story of a robot who finds his inner humanity and works at making himself more and more human. This story is the antithesis of Frankenstein.
LibraryThing member zjakkelien
This book is really excellent. We follow the struggles of the robot Andrew Martin, who strives to become human. He faces a very long opposition and undergoes dramatic changes to accomplish his goal. The writing style is rather descriptive, with which I don't mean there are loads of descriptions,
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but that the book is not very emotional. It simply describes what happens and lets the events carry the emotions, instead of the language. As a result, the book is not highly exciting, as some others are, but it is very appealing nonetheless, the kind of book you keep picking up almost involuntarily. Show Less
LibraryThing member jcmontgomery
For such a quick and easy read, at least on the technical level; intellectually, it will blow your mind.
There is so much more to this story than that of an individual's struggle to evolve to an autonomous entity in a society that considers him to be nothing more than a appliance. Is he any less
Readers who have seen "Bicentennial Man" and "I, Robot" will recognize names and situations and will enjoy seeing where the ideas for these movies was born.
This is a book I would recommend to those who've been hesitant to read science fiction, or want to introduce it to a younger or reluctant reader. It is definitely one I will keep multiple copies of because I plan on giving away/loaning them when I have enough on hand.
There is so much more to this story than that of an individual's struggle to evolve to an autonomous entity in a society that considers him to be nothing more than a appliance. Is he any less
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human or sentient simply because he was manufactured not developed? The story will have you thinking quite a bit about subjugation, slavery, autonomy, humanity, prejudice, and more.Readers who have seen "Bicentennial Man" and "I, Robot" will recognize names and situations and will enjoy seeing where the ideas for these movies was born.
This is a book I would recommend to those who've been hesitant to read science fiction, or want to introduce it to a younger or reluctant reader. It is definitely one I will keep multiple copies of because I plan on giving away/loaning them when I have enough on hand.
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LibraryThing member DLMorrese
This is an excellent story of robots and men in its own right, but, at first, I thought there appeared to be some inconsistency with some of Asimov's other books. It is obviously set in the same fictional universe, but the previous advancement of robotic science and creating lifelike androids on
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planets other than Earth (e.g. Aurora) seems to be unknown. Then, I realized this is actually a prequel to the events told in the other robot books (The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, The Robots of Dawn). Show Less
LibraryThing member zjakkelien
This book is really excellent. We follow the struggles of the robot Andrew Martin, who strives to become human. He faces a very long opposition and undergoes dramatic changes to accomplish his goal. The writing style is rather descriptive, with which I don't mean there are loads of descriptions,
Show More
but that the book is not very emotional. It simply describes what happens and lets the events carry the emotions, instead of the language. As a result, the book is not highly exciting, as some others are, but it is very appealing nonetheless, the kind of book you keep picking up almost involuntarily. Show Less
Subjects
Original publication date
1993
Physical description
204 p.; 9.1 inches
ISBN
0385263422 / 9780385263429