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Library's review
Indeholder kapitelerne "1. Det store spørgsmål", "2. Den fuldkomne ven", "3. Hvem er myrdet?", "4. Pigen i badeværelset", "5. Han siger, det er mig", "6. Giften i glasset", "7. Den gamle læge", "8. Robot i hemmelig mission", "9. Kampen mod robotten", "10. På sporet", "11. De ufødte børn",
???
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"12. Den forgiftede pil", "13. Robot-mageren", "14. Mekaniske mordere?", "15. Den blodrøde sol", "16. Puslespillets sidste brik", "17. En morder indkredses", "18. Den nøgne sol".???
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Collection
Publication
Skrifola. Kbh, 128s, 1958, Planetbog
Description
A millennium into the future, two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the Galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. On the beautiful Outer World planet of Solaria, a handful of human colonists lead a hermitlike existence, their every need attended to by their faithful robot servants. To this strange and provocative planet comes Detective Elijah Baley, sent from the streets of New York with his positronic partner, the robot R. Daneel Olivaw, to solve an incredible murder that has rocked Solaria to its foundations. The victim had been so reclusive that he appeared to his associates only through holographic projection. Yet someone had gotten close enough to bludgeon him to death while robots looked on. Now Baley and Olivaw are faced with two clear impossibilities: Either the Solarian was killed by one of his robots--unthinkable under the laws of Robotics--or he was killed by the woman who loved him so much that she never came into his presence!… (more)
Media reviews
Elijah must face is extreme agoraphobia, and Gladia must confront the Solarian fear of interpersonal contact. These Solarians represent what can possibly happen when dependence on robots is taken to extremes. Also, we get to see the developing relationship between Elijah and Daneel.
User reviews
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
Among Asimov's best novels, the picture of the culture of the advanced "Spacer" "Outer Worlds" such as Solaria, and of robots is rich and thought provoking, and I can't help but give a nod to that in my rating. Yet I admit this wasn't as enjoyable to read as it was in my teens, and part of that is
We were introduced to the detective duo of Elijah Bailey and R. (for robot) Daneel Olivaw in Caves of Steel. The title refers to the domed supercities under which 8 billion people live in semi-starvation and can only be sustained in carefully controlled supercities with tight rationing. When Asimov wrote Caves of Steel in 1953, the world population was near two and a half billion. It's now close to 7 billion, and it is estimated it will reach 8 billion in 15 years, so it's hard to see Asimov's vision of industrialized societies at the edge of starvation as plausible. His earth society strikes me as Sovietesque. Each human being has a rating which controls such privileges as space and rations. There's no sense that Asimov believes this kind of command and control economy is unjust or the cause of near starvation--rather you get the sense this is the rational way to order society and nigh inevitable--at least without robots and/or the ability to spread out amongst the stars.
Things are different in the fifty wealthy "Outer Worlds" which dominate Earth and doesn't allow its teeming billions to leave the planet, controls their trade and dictates to their government. The most extreme among these worlds is Solaria, with only 20,000 people spread across an entire planet, but with millions of robot servants. There it has become nearly taboo for two humans to inhabit the same room, except for the assigned spouses. Instead they "view" each other remotely rather than "see" each other where they could be within touching distance. When for the first time in the history of their planet, a Solarian is murdered, Baley is sent for and is reunited with Daneel to solve the murder.
Daneel really is an appealing character. He reminds me of Data of Star Trek. But I also found something disturbing about how he protects Baley. Under Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics" no robot can harm a human being or allow one to come to harm. But the more sophisticated the robot--and Daneel is a state of the art human-seeming android--the more sophisticated becomes the concept of "harm." Thus while Baley wants to overcome his agoraphobia, Daneel is willing to override that by force if necessary to spare him the "harm" open spaces bring him. Daneel is practically the embodiment of the nanny state, and Asimov would in later novels only expand on this idea of the benevolent robot who is "here to help" which would weave together his scientific Foundation series and his Robot series. Asimov has a faith in social engineering and the pliability of human society I don't share--or at least can no longer share.
And really, the entire mystery depends on the fact that the wife seems the only plausible suspect since only she would live on the estate. But given the extreme distaste the Solarians have for touching, for even being in the same room with another human, why would they even have assigned mates for the purposes of having children? How were they even able to bear having sex since apparently there is no artificial insemination?
One other thing I found a bit disconcerting which I'm sure Asimov included as a commentary on the race relations in America at the time (The Naked Sun was published in 1957). Baley is always calling robots "boy." (And robots call humans "master.") It made me wince inwardly every time he did it. I wanted to like Baley--and mostly I do. But it's hard to like a bigot.
But it says something about Asimov that engaging with this book makes me think about such issues as individualism versus "the tribe" and stagnation versus dynamism. Not exactly the sort of thing that happens reading your usual hard-boiled detective or cozy mystery.
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because the scenario seems dated, but partly because I've changed.We were introduced to the detective duo of Elijah Bailey and R. (for robot) Daneel Olivaw in Caves of Steel. The title refers to the domed supercities under which 8 billion people live in semi-starvation and can only be sustained in carefully controlled supercities with tight rationing. When Asimov wrote Caves of Steel in 1953, the world population was near two and a half billion. It's now close to 7 billion, and it is estimated it will reach 8 billion in 15 years, so it's hard to see Asimov's vision of industrialized societies at the edge of starvation as plausible. His earth society strikes me as Sovietesque. Each human being has a rating which controls such privileges as space and rations. There's no sense that Asimov believes this kind of command and control economy is unjust or the cause of near starvation--rather you get the sense this is the rational way to order society and nigh inevitable--at least without robots and/or the ability to spread out amongst the stars.
Things are different in the fifty wealthy "Outer Worlds" which dominate Earth and doesn't allow its teeming billions to leave the planet, controls their trade and dictates to their government. The most extreme among these worlds is Solaria, with only 20,000 people spread across an entire planet, but with millions of robot servants. There it has become nearly taboo for two humans to inhabit the same room, except for the assigned spouses. Instead they "view" each other remotely rather than "see" each other where they could be within touching distance. When for the first time in the history of their planet, a Solarian is murdered, Baley is sent for and is reunited with Daneel to solve the murder.
Daneel really is an appealing character. He reminds me of Data of Star Trek. But I also found something disturbing about how he protects Baley. Under Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics" no robot can harm a human being or allow one to come to harm. But the more sophisticated the robot--and Daneel is a state of the art human-seeming android--the more sophisticated becomes the concept of "harm." Thus while Baley wants to overcome his agoraphobia, Daneel is willing to override that by force if necessary to spare him the "harm" open spaces bring him. Daneel is practically the embodiment of the nanny state, and Asimov would in later novels only expand on this idea of the benevolent robot who is "here to help" which would weave together his scientific Foundation series and his Robot series. Asimov has a faith in social engineering and the pliability of human society I don't share--or at least can no longer share.
And really, the entire mystery depends on the fact that the wife seems the only plausible suspect since only she would live on the estate. But given the extreme distaste the Solarians have for touching, for even being in the same room with another human, why would they even have assigned mates for the purposes of having children? How were they even able to bear having sex since apparently there is no artificial insemination?
One other thing I found a bit disconcerting which I'm sure Asimov included as a commentary on the race relations in America at the time (The Naked Sun was published in 1957). Baley is always calling robots "boy." (And robots call humans "master.") It made me wince inwardly every time he did it. I wanted to like Baley--and mostly I do. But it's hard to like a bigot.
But it says something about Asimov that engaging with this book makes me think about such issues as individualism versus "the tribe" and stagnation versus dynamism. Not exactly the sort of thing that happens reading your usual hard-boiled detective or cozy mystery.
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LibraryThing member GlebtheDancer
OK, I have to confess to not being a sci-fi fan, but thought that I would give this a go for a bit of a change. Unforunately, it fulfilled pretty much every prejudice I have about sci-fi writing, and showed why I haven't read more. The book is entirely concept driven. It has no characterisation and
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a weak and silly storeyline. It takes a single concept (a planet on which there is no personal contact between its residents) and stretches it across a bad murder mystery plot until it breaks. Also, because Asimov was writing in the 1950s, many of the implications of his concept now seem ridiculous and wrong. I usually read stuff that is driven by character or language, so I appreciate that Asimov is perhaps not the best thing for me to read, but I expected to find more positives than I did. Show Less
LibraryThing member StormRaven
The Naked Sun is the sequel to The Caves of Steel, once again featuring Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw as they attempt to solve a seemingly impossible murder. Unlike The Caves of Steel, which was set on Earth, this time the pair head to Solaria, the most extremely "spacer" or all the spacer
As before, the mystery in the novel is well-crafted, and the process of solving it is well-written. Much of the book serves to contrast the conditions on overcrowded impovershed Earth where the bulk of the population is hostile to robots, agoraphobic, and live in an almost communal manner to those on wealthy Solaria, with strict controls limiting the human population of the entire planet to twenty thousand, robots outnumber humans tens of thousands to one, and where face-to-face human contact is regarded as obscene.
As usualy for Asimov robot novels, the plot revolves around the meaning and application of the Three Laws of Robotics, and some frightening implications those laws have that had not been previously considered and which are fully explored much later in Foundation and Earth. The mystery also allows Asimov to explore the problems of Earth culture (exposed by Baley's contact with the Solarians), and the troubles faced by the dysfunctional Solarian culture specifically, and the spacer culture in general.
While this book isn't quite as good as The Caves of Steel, it remains one of Asimov's best.
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planets.As before, the mystery in the novel is well-crafted, and the process of solving it is well-written. Much of the book serves to contrast the conditions on overcrowded impovershed Earth where the bulk of the population is hostile to robots, agoraphobic, and live in an almost communal manner to those on wealthy Solaria, with strict controls limiting the human population of the entire planet to twenty thousand, robots outnumber humans tens of thousands to one, and where face-to-face human contact is regarded as obscene.
As usualy for Asimov robot novels, the plot revolves around the meaning and application of the Three Laws of Robotics, and some frightening implications those laws have that had not been previously considered and which are fully explored much later in Foundation and Earth. The mystery also allows Asimov to explore the problems of Earth culture (exposed by Baley's contact with the Solarians), and the troubles faced by the dysfunctional Solarian culture specifically, and the spacer culture in general.
While this book isn't quite as good as The Caves of Steel, it remains one of Asimov's best.
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LibraryThing member annbury
Perhaps the best of this wonderful series, in which New York detective Elijah Baley must travel off earth to a spacer world. (The spacers -- humans whose ancestors abandoned earth to form a galactic empire -- have become much more powerful than the crowded millions who remain on Earth). Off earth,
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he must cooperate with the robot detective, R. Daneel Olivaw, with the very strange society of the spacers, and with the gorgeous Gladia. I loved this book fifty years ago, and I still do. Show Less
LibraryThing member SystemicPlural
My favourite Asimov robot book.
Asimov's three laws of robotics have been criticised as being unrealistic, but if you understand them as a plot device for exploring the implications robotics on humans then the issues he explores are as valid today as when he wrote.
People fearing for their
People no longer being stimulated to explore new knowledge.
Effecting peoples social skills.
The inherent contradiction in programming a robot to protect humans - to be totally protected the human has to be cocooned.
An much more.
Asimov's three laws of robotics have been criticised as being unrealistic, but if you understand them as a plot device for exploring the implications robotics on humans then the issues he explores are as valid today as when he wrote.
People fearing for their
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jobs.People no longer being stimulated to explore new knowledge.
Effecting peoples social skills.
The inherent contradiction in programming a robot to protect humans - to be totally protected the human has to be cocooned.
An much more.
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LibraryThing member IAmAndyPieters
Plainclothesman Elijah Baley is sent to the world of Solaria to solve a murder mystery. Solarians have huge estates all to themselves and do not see each other in the flesh -ever. Except for the rare occasions during their multi century life span when intercourse is required, and even then it is
Baily must use all his skill and intellect to solve the mystery together with Daneel, the humanoid robot, who has once more joined forces with Elijah.
This book is a joy to read and leaves one with a lot of food for thought.
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only with great fear and reluctance. Needless to say then, that Solarians cannot imagine anybody coming close enough to another human being to kill.Baily must use all his skill and intellect to solve the mystery together with Daneel, the humanoid robot, who has once more joined forces with Elijah.
This book is a joy to read and leaves one with a lot of food for thought.
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LibraryThing member Kavinay
We're all Solarians in the pandemic.
LibraryThing member melydia
This time around, Lije Baley is sent to solve a murder case on another planet. I just want to note that sometimes dated SF can be really amusing. In this case, I was entertained by the notion that the “expressway” between DC and NYC takes ten hours. But that’s neither here nor there. As an
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Earthman, Baley is used to crowded underground cities and always being surrounded by people, be it in the cafeterias for meals or in the public restrooms. The planet Solaria is the opposite: the planet is home to only 20,000 people, each of whom has a private estate and lives more or less as what we would consider a recluse. While three-dimensional holographic “viewing” is a perfectly acceptable means of being social, being in the physical presence of another human being has become thought of as utterly distasteful. Most of the story deals with the society itself, coupled with Baley’s struggles with agoraphobia. I was fascinated by all the different characters, even if the murder mystery felt somewhat artificial. After all, I was more interested in the science fiction part of the story, and in that respect Asimov never lets me down. Show Less
LibraryThing member john257hopper
This is the second of Asimov's full length robot novels featuring Earth detective Elijah Bailey and Robot Daneel Olivaw. Another re-read from my youth, this is one of my all time favourite novels. It's the perfect blend of brilliant dialogue and detective ratiocination by "Partner Elijah", as
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Olivaw (out of action for over a third of the novel, but still a great character) calls him. Set almost entirely on the planet Solaria, where human individualism and dependence on robots has found its ultimate expression, the characters are rather more memorable than those in its predecessor novel, The Caves of Steel, and their ways of thinking, contrasting with those of Elijah and his fellow Earthmen, are vividly and memorably drawn. Wonderful stuff. Show Less
LibraryThing member tronella
Another Robots detective novel, sequel to Caves of Steel, which I finished recently. I enjoyed this, but I don't really have any comments - other than that I am strangely charmed by the idea of people putting makeup on their earlobes to make them more blue.
LibraryThing member Cecrow
The mystery component seems to take a back seat in this sequel to "The Caves of Steel"; it becomes more a study of a potential society, such as has evolved on one of the Spacer planets. Perhaps for this reason I wasn't quite as engaged as I was in the first novel, but it was still a fine
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continuation, a quick fun read, and I'm looking forward to the next, "Robots of Dawn". Show Less
LibraryThing member isabelx
When Detective Elijah Baley is summoned to Solaria to investigate a murder, he is the first earthman to visit the Outer Worlds in centuries. Each of the twenty thousand Solarians live on a huge estate maintained by robots, and although they all know each other and socialise by 'viewing' each other
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via tri-dimensional viewer, they are phobic about personal contact, and it is only husbands and wives who, reluctantly, 'see' each other in person. None of the Solarians can understand how the murderer and his/her victim could have stood being in each others' presence long enough for the murder to occur, but they are all convinced that the only possible suspect is the victim's widow. Baley finds it very hard to understand their phobia, just as they can’t understand his phobia of being outside. The Aurorans have sent R. Daneel Olivaw to work with him, as they believe that there could be a motive behind the murder that could threaten the future of the human race both on the Outer Worlds and Earth itself, but the robot's need to protect Baley from harm threatens to scupper the murder investigation. Show Less
LibraryThing member WinterFox
When it comes to it, these are really much better detective/sci-fi stories than the ones in the book from Nic that I read a few months ago. It's all about setting up a situation, with rules that are known to everyone involved, and then solving the puzzles that are involved.
Asimov, in fact, really
The story itself for this one was good enough, I s'pose, although again, the mystery itself is guessable. When you're not a mystery writer by trade, it must be hard to figure out how to fool people best. But if you want to figure out all the logical implications of robots that are constructed in a certain way, Asimov is your man. This wasn't quite as good as the first one, but it was still fairly good. It's worth a read, anyway, and it won't take you long.
Asimov, in fact, really
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prefers coming up with scenarios in which he can test the rules of robots against the minds of people; it means that the writing style for these books tends to be pretty spare, with lots of dialogue. This one is no exception; it's thus a very easy read, and the world is easy enough to picture, but you can come up with some of the details on your own, which I like.The story itself for this one was good enough, I s'pose, although again, the mystery itself is guessable. When you're not a mystery writer by trade, it must be hard to figure out how to fool people best. But if you want to figure out all the logical implications of robots that are constructed in a certain way, Asimov is your man. This wasn't quite as good as the first one, but it was still fairly good. It's worth a read, anyway, and it won't take you long.
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LibraryThing member clong
I had fond memories of this novel from having read it as a teen, but a recent re-read left me with mixed feelings. It's an intriguiging mystery, and the exploration of some of the consequences of the famous Three Laws of Robotics is interesting. The ending is both clever and affirming. On the other
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hand, the Solarians strike me as completely unbelievable both as individuals and as a society. Show Less
LibraryThing member PghDragonMan
While dated by today's standards, this book is still a worthy addition to to any bookshelf to represent Science Fiction. "Naked Sun" stands alone, but it is a sequel to "Caves of Steel". Together, these two books helped define our vision of robots. Isaac Asimov was still a relatively new science
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fiction author when this story was published, but the brilliance of his writing was already evident. It is because of his writing style that I still read and re-read Naked Sun. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stevil2001
Apparently, I'm on a bit of an Asimov kick these past few months. Or rather, I was when I acquired all these books last spring. This isn't one I loaned and lost, though; rather, I never owned it at all for some reason! Still, I'd borrowed the library's copy several times, so it wasn't unfamiliar.
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But acquiring means reading, and so I did. I enjoyed it as much as ever-- it's a typical Asimov mystery, though not as good as The Caves of Steel. Asimov gets in some of his best world-building with Solarian civilization, the mystery is fairly decent, and a visit from R. Daneel Olivaw is always a treat, even if Elijah Bailey is rather cruel to him at times. (originally written January 2008) Show Less
LibraryThing member weakley
Another classic scifi detective novel. Quick read but very good.
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LibraryThing member aethercowboy
When a robot has been discovered as the culprit in a murder, Earth detective Lije Bailey and his partner, R. Daneel Olivaw head to the scene to figure out what really happened.
Set on the anti-Earth world of Solaria, Lije and Daneel must deal with anti-earth sentiment while trying to find the true
Second in a series featuring Lije and Daneel, this book is sure to please Asimov fans as well as anybody who appreciates a good science fiction mystery.
Set on the anti-Earth world of Solaria, Lije and Daneel must deal with anti-earth sentiment while trying to find the true
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culprit, or at least the reason behind a robot's seeming dismissal of the Three Laws of Robotics.Second in a series featuring Lije and Daneel, this book is sure to please Asimov fans as well as anybody who appreciates a good science fiction mystery.
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LibraryThing member empress8411
This is the second (or third, if you count I, Robot) in Asimov's robot series and the second in the R. Daneel Olivaw series. Once again, this is a science fiction detective story. Baley's growth as a person, his changing beliefs - these were as much the story as the mystery. I enjoyed the mix.
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Asimov created a world and a society rich in flawed characters, unique customs and diverse history. His story quickly enveloped the reader in the world. I recommend to anyone interested in the AI vs. Human concept, and anyone interested in excellent classic science fiction. Show Less
LibraryThing member scottcholstad
The Naked Sun is really not a bad follow up to The Caves of Steel, both of The Robot series. The book features Earth and New York City detective Elijah Baley and Aurora humanoid robot, friend, and detective R. Daneel Olivaw traveling to Outer World Solaria to solve a murder. Solaria is a very odd
So a leading scientist described as a "good Solarian" was murdered in his estate. The problem was, who could have done it. He was with his robots, but everyone knows that the First Law of Robotics won't permit robots to harm humans. The only other option was his wife, Gladia Delmarre, who he never would have allowed into his presence in his laboratory, but as she was the only human with access, she's the guilty party as far as Solaria is concerned. Unfortunately, there's no murder weapon, no motive, no confession, nothing. So, since Baley (and Olivaw) did such a great job solving the Spacer murder on Earth the previous year, he was requested to come try to solve this murder. And he goes against his wishes. Because like all Earthmen, he's terrified of open spaces and of light, such as sunlight. Remember that he lives in a giant city under ground full of people and going to a planet where everything is on the surface and there are so few people and so many hated robots is hideous to him. But it's his duty, so he does it. And in the process, the lead investigator who invited him to Solaria is murdered in his presence while viewing and he himself is attacked with an assassination attempt, so it becomes quite personal. And as he investigates, the obvious murderer to everyone becomes the less obvious person to him, as he looks at other possibilities. To be perfectly honest, this isn't the hardest mystery to solve. I had it figured out about halfway through the book, but it was still enjoyable to see how things played out and besides, that wasn't what this book was about. This book's strengths lie in its look at sociological views of human evolution and technology, in this case, robots. The Solarian sociologist who is the acknowledged expert knows nothing. He is self taught and doesn't care to study anything by anyone on any other worlds, no matter how advanced or helpful their work may be. The physician, too, seems woeful in his abilities. Solaria, in its efforts to become the perfect human world and society, is freaking falling apart and disintegrating and they don't even realize it. But Baley does. He sees and understands. The only humans left on Solaria are admittedly the "leisure" class and they are practically useless and helpless. This is what we'll come to with the aid of robots? Hopefully not. The sociologist shocks Baley by telling him Solaria is based on Earth, but he's right to a certain degree. They are simply opposite extremes of each other. As in the last book, Baley had become convinced that in order for Earth to survive its population explosion and diminishing resources, it had to once again advance into outer space and again colonize new planets, he's now further convinced of the necessity for that and when he returns to New York, he makes a point of expressing that to the powers that be, hoping that someone, somewhere will see the light.
The actual solving of the murder is pretty dramatic and somewhat satisfying, if also fairly simplistic and to a minimal degree, somewhat predictable in terms of who the culprit is. My two main complaints about this book are we don't see as much of Daneel Olivaw as we did in the preceding book, and that's a shame, and I also find it very hard to believe that Solaria has devolved so much in the 200 years of its colonization so that people are now so disgusted with human contact that they can't even tolerate it at all and can't even say the word, "children," for instance, and can barely tolerate the notion of intimacy with anyone, including a spouse. How can people, in 200 years, grow to despise being in contact with each other so much that some, this happens, would rather commit suicide? It stretches the imagination and I find it somewhat unbelievable. But whatever the case, it is what it is, so I guess you have to go with it.
I thought hard about giving this book five stars because I thought it was pretty original and quite enjoyable, but I'm giving it four because the actual mystery is rather simplistic, as I said, and because there are some elements of the book, as noted, that seem rather unbelievable. It's not bad though and I certainly recommend it to anyone in search of a decent sci fi mystery to read. And it's not essential that one have read the first robot book to read this either; it can be read as a stand alone novel. Recommended.
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world that has essentially no crime at all. It's a world of 20,000 people and 200 million robots spread out on several thousand gigantic estates around the planet. People are hermits and refuse to "see" anyone else at all, instead "viewing" them holographically when they need to interact. The only time there are human interactions are basically when children are growing up and even though they are cared for by robots, there are occasional times they are needed by people and although these caretakers are disgusted by this, they do their duty. Additionally, most people are married, though not all. Some of these people live together, but in sprawling estates in their own areas so that they don't encounter each other ever -- except on rare occasion when "intimacy" is allowed and required. Finally, rare medical attention, when not being given by "viewing," is administered by seeing, although it can be traumatic. There's one doctor, one sociologist, two fetalogists (child caretakers), 10 roboticists, and just not too many of any one type of profession. There's one or two policemen, but I'm not sure why.So a leading scientist described as a "good Solarian" was murdered in his estate. The problem was, who could have done it. He was with his robots, but everyone knows that the First Law of Robotics won't permit robots to harm humans. The only other option was his wife, Gladia Delmarre, who he never would have allowed into his presence in his laboratory, but as she was the only human with access, she's the guilty party as far as Solaria is concerned. Unfortunately, there's no murder weapon, no motive, no confession, nothing. So, since Baley (and Olivaw) did such a great job solving the Spacer murder on Earth the previous year, he was requested to come try to solve this murder. And he goes against his wishes. Because like all Earthmen, he's terrified of open spaces and of light, such as sunlight. Remember that he lives in a giant city under ground full of people and going to a planet where everything is on the surface and there are so few people and so many hated robots is hideous to him. But it's his duty, so he does it. And in the process, the lead investigator who invited him to Solaria is murdered in his presence while viewing and he himself is attacked with an assassination attempt, so it becomes quite personal. And as he investigates, the obvious murderer to everyone becomes the less obvious person to him, as he looks at other possibilities. To be perfectly honest, this isn't the hardest mystery to solve. I had it figured out about halfway through the book, but it was still enjoyable to see how things played out and besides, that wasn't what this book was about. This book's strengths lie in its look at sociological views of human evolution and technology, in this case, robots. The Solarian sociologist who is the acknowledged expert knows nothing. He is self taught and doesn't care to study anything by anyone on any other worlds, no matter how advanced or helpful their work may be. The physician, too, seems woeful in his abilities. Solaria, in its efforts to become the perfect human world and society, is freaking falling apart and disintegrating and they don't even realize it. But Baley does. He sees and understands. The only humans left on Solaria are admittedly the "leisure" class and they are practically useless and helpless. This is what we'll come to with the aid of robots? Hopefully not. The sociologist shocks Baley by telling him Solaria is based on Earth, but he's right to a certain degree. They are simply opposite extremes of each other. As in the last book, Baley had become convinced that in order for Earth to survive its population explosion and diminishing resources, it had to once again advance into outer space and again colonize new planets, he's now further convinced of the necessity for that and when he returns to New York, he makes a point of expressing that to the powers that be, hoping that someone, somewhere will see the light.
The actual solving of the murder is pretty dramatic and somewhat satisfying, if also fairly simplistic and to a minimal degree, somewhat predictable in terms of who the culprit is. My two main complaints about this book are we don't see as much of Daneel Olivaw as we did in the preceding book, and that's a shame, and I also find it very hard to believe that Solaria has devolved so much in the 200 years of its colonization so that people are now so disgusted with human contact that they can't even tolerate it at all and can't even say the word, "children," for instance, and can barely tolerate the notion of intimacy with anyone, including a spouse. How can people, in 200 years, grow to despise being in contact with each other so much that some, this happens, would rather commit suicide? It stretches the imagination and I find it somewhat unbelievable. But whatever the case, it is what it is, so I guess you have to go with it.
I thought hard about giving this book five stars because I thought it was pretty original and quite enjoyable, but I'm giving it four because the actual mystery is rather simplistic, as I said, and because there are some elements of the book, as noted, that seem rather unbelievable. It's not bad though and I certainly recommend it to anyone in search of a decent sci fi mystery to read. And it's not essential that one have read the first robot book to read this either; it can be read as a stand alone novel. Recommended.
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LibraryThing member KidQuislet
Good stuff. Classic sci-fi by one of the all-time best.
LibraryThing member kaulsu
Again, as with the first two books in the Robots series, the actual "mystery" was laborious, but the thinking about how humanity will survive into the future times, the stumbling blocks we may erect on our own, the ways in which we may surmount the odds, was a fascinating read.
If you have not yet
I have found, over the last 8 years of living in an urban condo, that I think often of the communal kitchens of the Earth Cities! Considering when Asimov wrote, he spun out worlds that we may each, unconsciously, be making an effort to render achievable.
If you have not yet
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read this series, please do so. I have found, over the last 8 years of living in an urban condo, that I think often of the communal kitchens of the Earth Cities! Considering when Asimov wrote, he spun out worlds that we may each, unconsciously, be making an effort to render achievable.
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LibraryThing member sgsmitty
More good stuff from Asimov. Robot mysteries are awesome! I listened to it as a audio book.
LibraryThing member bigorangemichael
The second in Isaac Asimov's robot series is just as fascinating as "Caves of Steel" but doesn't quite live up to its predecessor.
Earth detective Lije Bailey is called on for a special mission to the planet Solaria. He's been requested to look into a murder on that world of a prominent Solarian who
Teamed again with R. Daneel Olivaw, Bailey arrives on the planet to find that there are only 20,000 inhabitants on the world. Each person is tended by multiple robots and there is rarely any in-person contact. Contact takes place by holographic interface (think "Star Trek"'s holodeck) which really narrows down the list of potential suspects. It also serves as an impediment to the investigation since the Solaran taboos on personal contact mean that a lot of the evidence in the case was destroyed before Bailey arrived.
The mystery isn't necessarily the most complex one in the universe, but it serves as the starting point for the novel. Asimov takes time to really develop Bailey in this story and we see some growth in him over the course of the novel.
What keeps this from being a five star review like its predecessor is that at times, it's not nearly as much fun to read as the first. The society of Solara is interesting, but no where near as compelling as the future Earth we see in "Caves of Steel." Interestingly, Asimov will later combine the two worlds in the next novel in the series, which had some mixed results.
However, that shouldn't go to say the novel is a bad one. It's still a great read and a lot of fun.
Earth detective Lije Bailey is called on for a special mission to the planet Solaria. He's been requested to look into a murder on that world of a prominent Solarian who
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was either killed by his robots (which would violate the rules of robotics) or his wife. But Bailey has a secondary assignment--a sociological survey of the planet and its people.Teamed again with R. Daneel Olivaw, Bailey arrives on the planet to find that there are only 20,000 inhabitants on the world. Each person is tended by multiple robots and there is rarely any in-person contact. Contact takes place by holographic interface (think "Star Trek"'s holodeck) which really narrows down the list of potential suspects. It also serves as an impediment to the investigation since the Solaran taboos on personal contact mean that a lot of the evidence in the case was destroyed before Bailey arrived.
The mystery isn't necessarily the most complex one in the universe, but it serves as the starting point for the novel. Asimov takes time to really develop Bailey in this story and we see some growth in him over the course of the novel.
What keeps this from being a five star review like its predecessor is that at times, it's not nearly as much fun to read as the first. The society of Solara is interesting, but no where near as compelling as the future Earth we see in "Caves of Steel." Interestingly, Asimov will later combine the two worlds in the next novel in the series, which had some mixed results.
However, that shouldn't go to say the novel is a bad one. It's still a great read and a lot of fun.
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LibraryThing member leslie.98
I didn't think that this second book in the Robot series was quite as good as the first one ([book:The Caves of Steel|41811]) but it was an excellent contrast. In the first book, Elijiah Baley investigates the murder of a "Spacer" (someone who comes from another world that Earth colonized in the
Having experienced Solaria in the Foundation series, it was interesting to contrast it here. The Foundation series is set millenia in the future compared to this story so some aspects of the society shown in this were clear signposts to what would evolve. However, knowing the society did lessen some of the dramatic tension of the book. Perhaps that is one reason I thoought this was not quite as good as the previous one!
Asimov writes a good story, engrossing and fun, yet with social commentary to mull over once you finish. In this one, the adaptation of humans to differing social mores (in this case, specifically to be solitary vs. to be in a crowd) is explored and the ultimate consequences of these adaptations is hinted at. I found it fascinating that even the "normal" Earth attitude
is strange to us (although crowding is a not uncommon theme is futuristic sci fi).
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past) on Earth, where there are lots of people and only a few robots. In this book, Baley has been requested to go to Solaria (one of the Spacer planets) where there are few people and lots of robots. Having experienced Solaria in the Foundation series, it was interesting to contrast it here. The Foundation series is set millenia in the future compared to this story so some aspects of the society shown in this were clear signposts to what would evolve. However, knowing the society did lessen some of the dramatic tension of the book. Perhaps that is one reason I thoought this was not quite as good as the previous one!
Asimov writes a good story, engrossing and fun, yet with social commentary to mull over once you finish. In this one, the adaptation of humans to differing social mores (in this case, specifically to be solitary vs. to be in a crowd) is explored and the ultimate consequences of these adaptations is hinted at. I found it fascinating that even the "normal" Earth attitude
is strange to us (although crowding is a not uncommon theme is futuristic sci fi).
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1956-12
Physical description
128 p.; 17.7 cm
Local notes
Omslag: Carlo Jacono
Omslaget viser et laboratorium, hvor en robot står med en kvinde i armene og der i forgrunden ligger en bevidstløs eller død mand
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Oversat fra engelsk "The Naked Sun" af Anders Hansen
Planetbog, bind 11
Omslaget er taget fra et italiensk Urania hæfte, nr 161 "Il Sole Nudo", dvs den italienske udgave
Carlo Jacono (17 marts 1929 - Milano , 7 juni 2000) var en italiensk kunstner og illustrator, der blandt andet blev brugt af Urania magasinet.
Omslaget viser et laboratorium, hvor en robot står med en kvinde i armene og der i forgrunden ligger en bevidstløs eller død mand
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Oversat fra engelsk "The Naked Sun" af Anders Hansen
Planetbog, bind 11
Omslaget er taget fra et italiensk Urania hæfte, nr 161 "Il Sole Nudo", dvs den italienske udgave
Carlo Jacono (17 marts 1929 - Milano , 7 juni 2000) var en italiensk kunstner og illustrator, der blandt andet blev brugt af Urania magasinet.
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Pages
128
DDC/MDS
| 813.54 |