# What are the most imporant modern robot stories and books? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 16, 2017, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088 "2017-10-16T22:39:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/21 "2017-10-18T15:46:08Z")
Also, every time I think of robot books, it brings to mind a short, self-published ebook called H_is Robot Girlfriend_ that I ended up with from somewhere or another and read that sticks my mind for its total depthless blandness. I googled just now to see if it had been noticed at all by anyone else, and it surprisingly has not only several hundred Goodread reviews but also several sequels. ([Here](https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/826047461?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1) is an especially good review.) So it is not good, but it is short, and it is cheap, and it certainly gives you a glimpse into how at least one person looks at robotics. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/22 "2017-10-18T18:06:13Z")
I did some Googling on great robot books and was surprised to see how few are out there that I’ve read and actually liked. Asimov’s short-story collection _I, Robot_ is still a must-read. Harlan Ellison’s unproduced screenplay of the book, available in an illustrated edition, is also excellent. Asimov’s _The Robots of Dawn_ is, I think, the best of his robot novels. Peter David’s\* Imzadi\* is one of the best _Star Trek_ books I’ve ever read, and does some very interesting things with the USS _Enterprise_’s resident android, Data. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Charles Stross’ _Saturn’s Children_ and _Neptune’s Brood_, which depict an all-robot society. The first book had a great premise but was boringly written, I thought. Several times I almost quit. Haven’t read the second one. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/23 "2017-10-18T18:27:20Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I assume that includes [Robot City](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov's_Robot_City)? Yes. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I did some Googling on great robot books and was surprised to see how few are out there that I’ve read and actually liked. I’ve read over 200 stories so far from the classic era and no more than a handful even rise to good. I have hopes for newer books just because they’ll have to be better written. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/24 "2017-10-18T18:40:12Z")
My favorite sf authors other than Asimov - Clarke, Heinlein, Bradbury, Vance, Haldeman and Scalzi - have done very little with robots, and what they have, isn’t their best. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/25 "2017-10-18T19:14:25Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > (_Read_. Watch is a separate thread.) I know you said this. But you’re not going to be able to write a history of robots in popular culture is you just focus on literature. You need to watch Age of Ultron, AI, Almost Human, Ex Machina, Humans, WALL-E, and Westworld. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/26 "2017-10-18T20:10:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I know you said this. But you’re not going to be able to write a history of robots in popular culture is you just focus on literature. You need to watch Age of Ultron, AI, Almost Human, Ex Machina, Humans, WALL-E, and Westworld. I know. But finding comprehensive lists of movies with robots is trivial on the Internet. Finding lists of robot prose is much harder. At best you get something like [23 Best Robot Science Fiction Books](https://best-sci-fi-books.com/23-best-robot-science-fiction-books/) half of which don’t quality as robot books by my definition. And I never said I was focusing on literature. I’m doing chapters on robots in comic strips, in comic books, on the stage, as promotional devices, at World’s Fairs, and in movies and television. When I say comprehensive I mean it. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/27 "2017-10-18T20:50:53Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I’m doing chapters on robots in comic strips, in comic books, on the stage, as promotional devices, at World’s Fairs, and in movies and television. When I say comprehensive I mean it. Neat. Keep us updated as the ms. slogs through the interminable publishing process. I’ll buy a copy of dat sucker. At the retail price. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/28 "2017-10-18T21:24:26Z")
Rudy Rucker’s “Ware Tetralogy”. Might be what you’re looking for, might not, or might be way more than you’re looking for. Robots, robots housing human consciousness, robots cannibalizing other robots for parts, robots warring against other robots, robots trying to impregnate a woman with a human/robot embryo, other artificial (not robot) life forms… This guy is all over the map. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/29 "2017-10-18T22:51:52Z")
Are webcomics on the table? Because many of the main characters of _Schlock Mercenary_ are AIs, some of whom reside in humaniform bodies, or make use of humaniform avatars. And a lot of the strip is devoted to exploring just what existence is like for such beings, and how they’re similar to and different from us. The two characters in [the current strips](http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2017-10-17) are both AIs: The koala is using a meatware avatar body (he’s got a bunch of those), while the goddess is using a body of polymers and alloys, while the cores of their beings are installed, respectively, in the Galactic core and in a space station so large it contains hurricanes. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/30 "2017-10-18T23:18:21Z")
_Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?_ came out in 1968. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/31 "2017-10-18T23:25:16Z")
Don’t forget the short-ish film “A Grand Day Out”, featuring Wallace, Gromit, and a Moon-Robot. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/32 "2017-10-19T01:19:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Are webcomics on the table? Not in this thread, please. I’ll certainly be asking about them, but it’s easier on me to keep the threads separate and approach them one at a time. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/33 "2017-10-19T05:49:48Z")
I remember reading an interesting story but I can’t recall the author or title. I feel I read it around five or ten years ago. The premise of the story was a new process had been developed that would record an organic brain into an artificial crystal. The artificial crystal didn’t wear out and was essentially indestructible. So people would voluntarily have their brains recorded and replaced with crystals (the recording and transfer destroyed the original brain and the crystal would be placed inside the skull after the brain was removed). The consensus was this was a major leap forward; people no longer had to worry about senility or Alzheimer’s disease or traumatic head injuries. But some people opposed the operation. They said that the people with crystals were not the same as they had been when they had brains. They felt that the people with crystals were less creative and emotional and “human”. They said that the people who went in for the operation were actually committing suicide and being replaced by a robotic duplicate. The people with the crystals arguing otherwise. They said that they were the same people as they had been before. Any apparent changes were just being imagined by people who were biased against the operation. At most, any changes were due to being more relaxed because they no longer had to worry about mortality. The crystals were practically indestructible and any other health problems could also be repaired. A person with a crystal and adequate medical care could expect to live for hundreds of years. They argued that the people who were committing suicide were the ones who stayed with the brains, which would inevitably wear out in a few decades. Can anyone identify this story? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/34 "2017-10-19T05:53:08Z")
Another story about an all-robot society: “Exhalation” by Ted Chiang. [http://www.nightshadebooks.com/Downloads/Exhalation%20-%20Ted%20Chiang.html](http://www.nightshadebooks.com/Downloads/Exhalation%20-%20Ted%20Chiang.html) ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/35 "2017-10-19T11:00:59Z")
There’s always the 1968 children’s novel _The Iron Giant_ by **Ted Hughes**. _The Prey of Gods_ is a new South African sf novel by **Nicky Drayden** in which everyone has their own personal AI/robot. Good read, and the robots play important roles. Or the recent _Sea of Rust_ by **C. Robert Cargill**. I’ve enjoyed his previous fantasy work and I’m looking forward to reading this one although I haven’t started it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/36 "2017-10-19T11:01:55Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Please try to limit works to those which feature humanoid artificial robots or androids. I’m drawing the line at electronic brains, sentient computers, cyborgs and brain-machine hookups, virtual brains, and all the other variants. The robots also need to be a major character or otherwise the point of the story. Societies with robots in the background may be interesting but secondary. > > Primarily, I’m looking for works that have something to say about the relationship between humans and things/beings/people created in their image. The technological, societal, and personal aspects all are important. As **Darren** said, **Ancillary Justice** may fit. I don’t know if your technical definition applies, but absolutely we’re looking at an entity created in a human image, and it’s the protagonist, and the societal/personal aspects are crucial to the story. If you’ve not read it, I definitely recommend it. A less good but still interesting novel is [The Mechanical](http://www.npr.org/2015/03/18/392627380/the-mechanical-will-make-your-clockwork-pulse-pound), about clockwork robots (“Clakkers”) built by the Dutch in the late nineteenth/early twenties century. **Too Like the Lightning** is weird as hell. One significant, though not protagonist, character is an androgynous celebrity who markets life-sized mechanical doll versions of themself. At some point in the book it becomes clear that they can control these dolls and act through them; they’re essentially robot versions of the original. [The Windup Girl](https://www.worldswithoutend.com/novel.asp?id=1737) features an artificial human, but I can’t remember whether she’s mechanical or not. The book won the Hugo. And if you are willing to branch out into a side note, **The Iron Dragon’s Daughter** features robot dragons. Last note: [Storming the Reality Studio](https://www.dukeupress.edu/storming-the-reality-studio) has a wonderful essay somewhere in it on the cultural difference between an android and a robot (IIRC, it basically says that androids through their differences with humans illuminate what it means to be human, whereas robots are real and are idealized versions of the human worker, showing us capitalism’s view of our failures as a tool). May be worth reading. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/37 "2017-10-19T11:46:08Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > [The Windup Girl](https://www.worldswithoutend.com/novel.asp?id=1737) features an artificial human, but I can’t remember whether she’s mechanical or not. Genetically modified human. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/38 "2017-10-19T12:11:05Z")
I can’t remember if the titular character, Rei Toei, in Gibson’s _Idoru_ was supposed to be embodied at the end of it or not, but that story should count as somewhat significant, dealing as it does with a man/AI marriage. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/39 "2017-10-19T12:29:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I remember reading an interesting story but I can’t recall the author or title. I feel I read it around five or ten years ago. > > The premise of the story was a new process had been developed that would record an organic brain into an artificial crystal. The artificial crystal didn’t wear out and was essentially indestructible. So people would voluntarily have their brains recorded and replaced with crystals (the recording and transfer destroyed the original brain and the crystal would be placed inside the skull after the brain was removed). The consensus was this was a major leap forward; people no longer had to worry about senility or Alzheimer’s disease or traumatic head injuries. > > But some people opposed the operation. They said that the people with crystals were not the same as they had been when they had brains. They felt that the people with crystals were less creative and emotional and “human”. They said that the people who went in for the operation were actually committing suicide and being replaced by a robotic duplicate. > > The people with the crystals arguing otherwise. They said that they were the same people as they had been before. Any apparent changes were just being imagined by people who were biased against the operation. At most, any changes were due to being more relaxed because they no longer had to worry about mortality. The crystals were practically indestructible and any other health problems could also be repaired. A person with a crystal and adequate medical care could expect to live for hundreds of years. They argued that the people who were committing suicide were the ones who stayed with the brains, which would inevitably wear out in a few decades. > > Can anyone identify this story? That’s a Greg Egan story (possibly “Learning to Be Me” - but actually, he wrote several stories with those crystals as important story elements, so it could be another one). ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088/40 "2017-10-19T13:11:32Z")
I can recommend the series of fembot short stories by the author with the pseudonym DB\_Story which explore the robot / human condition. They used to be on various websites for free, but no longer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-imporant-modern-robot-stories-and-books/799088.md?page=3)