# Would Heinlein's "Coventry" work?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-heinleins-coventry-work/360252>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [June 11, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-heinleins-coventry-work/360252 "2006-06-11T00:27:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 7

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**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\
**Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-heinleins-coventry-work/360252/121 "2006-06-17T00:39:48Z")

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> [@Fenris](#):
>
> That said, I’ll concede the Black Widower tales were post-'80s and they ARE good, so I’d fogotten those, but personally I loathed (YMMV, of course: I’m not trying to state an absolute here, just my tastes) **Robots of Dawn**. I hated the “Zeroth Law” concept a lot. And those points conceded, I’m respectfully bowing out of the 'politics of the ‘80s’ tangent that I started. 🙂

I respect your desire not to hijack this thread anymore on this tangent, so, if you want, we can discuss Asimov’s politics, his novels, or the sci-finess of 1984 in some other thread at some other time, but I just wanted to point out that **Robots of Dawn** didn’t have the “Zeroth Law” concept. That was **Robots and Empire** (which took place after Lije Bailey’s death, and which, honestly wasn’t a great book…sort of a bridge between his Robots series and his Federation Series, and, IMHO, didn’t work well). **Robots of Dawn** is a Lije Bailey mystery, where Bailey has to go to Aurora, the main Spacer world to find out why the only other humaniod robot other than Daneel stopped working, and to clear Dr. Han Fastolfe, who’s accused of destroying it for political reasons.

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**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\
**Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-heinleins-coventry-work/360252/122 "2006-06-17T00:46:12Z")

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> [@Monty](#):
>
> Come to think of it, one of Asimov’s stories had a preface in which he stated that the politics of the story were those that he definitely disagreed with. He said that the story just wrote out that way. Can’t remember the title of it but it was the one centered on a waste recycling plant operator.

“Strikebreaker”

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**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-heinleins-coventry-work/360252/123 "2006-06-17T01:58:12Z")

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> [@Captain Amazing](#):
>
> I respect your desire not to hijack this thread anymore on this tangent…

“My name is **silenus** , and I approved this hijacking.”  
I feel so…political. 😃

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