I Read I, Robot

That's right, folks. I had read it before (and before the movie came out as well), and this is kind of a joint venture.

First, the book.

If you've never read science fiction (and I mean, actual science fiction, and not fantasy), or do read science fiction, but have never read I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov, then there is probably a serious problem with your reading list. I, Robot is not only part of the science fiction literary canon, but probably deserves a place in the American literary canon as a whole.

Which makes it required reading.

The book itself is definitely not the greatest story ever told. In fact, it's not even the half-dozen greatest stories ever told, which is really what the "novel" amounts to. The book is, in theory, the musings of one of the first great robotocists, Susan Calvin (the name might sound familiar, but I assure the character is not). Realistically, the book is a collection of short stories bound into a single purpose by the o'-so-clever narrative device of the interview. It is mildly successful in this regard. What it is incredibly successful in doing, though, is establishing the Three Laws of Robotics, which will become very important in the rest of the Robot Series.

Here's where you should be impressed:

The stories are logical, adhere completely to the Three Laws, and are a pretty interesting look into what the future may be like.

Here's where you might not be impressed:

It's slightly repetitive, the characters do not seem to have multiple dimensions, it's completely dialogue driven, and the dialogue is not super-inventive. It's also a bit dated (considering that some of the stories of the "future" occur in 1996).

Still, you'll keep reading because you want to find out how they figure out what the newest dilemma is, how it meshes with the Three Laws, and what are the solutions. And, then, of course, it is a great primer to read the Robot Series, which is more or less an actual novel series with the same characters.

That is, the same characters from the movie.

Sort of.

Because the plot of the movie, I, Robot, is more closely aligned to Asimov's second book in the series, The Caves of Steel. In it, a detective is assigned to investigate the death of a scientist, and this human, like almost all humans, distrust and dislike robots. The detectives name is not Spooner, as Will Smith's character is, but it's the same guy.

That's why the credits state "Inspired by the work of Isaac Asimov." Not even based, "inspired." My friend would argue that the movie was not very "inspired" at all, but then again, he's a huge Asimov fan as well as working on a Ph.D. in robotics. Those facts aside, he does have a point: why call the movie I, Robot, and then pretty much completely disregard the tenets set forth in said book? Robots seriously do try to harm humans, and despite some flimsy pretenses about "the greater good," (which you will find in the book), they are doing so in clear violation of the First Law, something the book is determined to say is impossible. In this regard, the movie is an abysmal failure, and it's sort of sad that one of the most beloved science fiction books is so grossly abused for sheer commercial gain.

That being said, I liked the movie. It was fun. The action was good, the special effects were good, the dialogue was decent, and it had all the charm of a Will Smith movie without all the Wild, Wild West baggage. Yes, the movie is not the book. It's not even Asimov, truthfully. But it is entertainment, and for that, you can't find much fault. Part of the problem with movie adaptations of books (and the cliche is almost universally true: the book is always better), is that devoted fans are devoted for a specific reason. Those reasons generally do not find their way to the silver screen. Even as great as the Lord of the Rings movies were, I can still hear my friends grumbling about the lack of Tom Bombadill in the Fellowship (which should help demonstrate just how geeky me and my friends are).

Anyway, go read the book. Read the rest of the series. And then read Asimov's true masterpiece, The Foundation series. His style is simple, and yet his ideas are definitely profound. He tails off, at the end (considering he picked up the series decades later), but the man is one of America's most prolific and important writers.

And then go watch the movie again, and remember that said gifted writer was in no way involved.

Peace.