Aurora: An Isaac Asimov Robot Mystery (Isaac Asimov's Robot Mystery) [Paperback]

Mark W. Tiedemann (Author)

Book Description

Series: Isaac Asimov's Robot Mystery | Publication Date: April 1, 2002

In Mirage and Chimera, author Mark W. Tiedemann explored the fear and hatred toward robots - and their offworld owners - held by the people of the Earth, as established in the works of Isaac Asimov. Now, all the plot threads of Tiedemann's epic story come together as Derec Avery, Ariel Burgess, and their allies try to unmask the mastermind responsible for the assassinations, terrorist attacks, and attempts on their lives. It's trail of interstellar conspirators and murderers that leads the cast - both human and robot - to an unforgettable confrontation on the planet at the heart of the matter: Aurora.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This month brings the third and final installment (after 2000's Mirage and 2001's Chimera) in Mark W. Tiedemann's Isaac Asimov's Robot Mysteries cycle, Aurora. With the failure of the Spacer mission on earth, ambassador Ariel Burgess and roboticist Derec Avery return to their home planet of Aurora, where they become suspects in a murder that seems to have been committed by a robotbut with the strict laws governing robotic behavior, the murder may point to a larger and more threatening plot, with ramifications for both personal memory and universal market forces.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Mark Tiedemann is science fiction's secret weapon: a shrewd and intelligent storyteller... Isaac Asimov would not have been disappointed with his Robot series, nor will the Good Doctor's many readers." - Allen Steele, Hugo Award-winning author of A King of Infinite Space

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: I Books (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743444604
• ISBN-13: 978-0743444606
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,659,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I began wanting to be a writer, and veered off into photography in high school. This was probably a good thing, since there were no decent instructors in either in my school, and I was rather bad at the writing. I became fairly good at photography. All my pursuits have had public aspects--art, music, literature. I'm something of a ham when I have an audience, but I'm self-conscious about my abilities. Nevertheless, I love the doing. I attended Clarion in 1988 where I finally learned how to write and also made some of the best friends of my life--Kelley Eskridge, Nicola Griffith, Daryl Gregory, Brooks Caruthers, Peg Kerr--and gained a decade of wisdom in six weeks (at least it feels like that).

I could have done none of this without my partner, Donna, to whom I owe what happiness I have--and I think I have quite a lot.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Brings Asimov Up to Date, April 16, 2002

By 

Timons Esaias "timonsesaias" (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aurora: An Isaac Asimov Robot Mystery (Isaac Asimov's Robot Mystery) (Paperback)

Okay, if you have any personal integrity whatsoever you've already read Mirage and Chimera, the previous Tiedemann titles in this Asimov's Robot Mystery series. They were both great reads, but this is the one that (being a SFWA member) I'm giving a Nebula recommendation to. (And I usually don't do that for so-called "sharecropper" novels.) Why? Because this novel goes way beyond the mystery/action level of the previous books, and brings the background into play in very interesting ways. Without discussing the plot, I'll only say that it also brings the Asimov "universe" up to date with the concerns of modern SF readers. Questions like "Where's the nanotech?" and "What about AI's?" and "What happened to the Spacers?" are dealt with, or ominously foreshadowed. Most importantly, the questions raised by the existence of Bogard are not swept under the rug or reduced to a mere plot point to be conveniently tied up later. Bogard raises fundamental questions about the Three Laws, and robotics in general, and Tiedemann faces up to them and lets them play out. Good stuff.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, June 2, 2002

By 

mike bracuti (Waldwick, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aurora: An Isaac Asimov Robot Mystery (Isaac Asimov's Robot Mystery) (Paperback)

Minor SPOILER included in review, turn back now or....
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I really didn't think Mr. Tiedemann could continue to please after the two parts of this story (Mirage and Chimera) proved to be so entertaining.....but I was wrong, Aurora was an excellent conclusion to this trilogy. I only dinged it one star (the first two got 5 stars) because a character I really liked and hoped to see again dies...oh well.

I whole-heartedly recommend this series!! Worth every penny!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better than the other two..., October 25, 2009

By 

Laura Todd (Oaks, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Asimov's Aurora: The New Isaac Asimov's Robot Mystery (v. 1) (Paperback)

...so I gave it 3 stars. This book shares the same problems as the others: way too many characters, subplots, conspiracies and "same old same old". Derec and Avery once again get blamed for the crimes they try to solve, because (of course) all the cops on the case are in the pay of the bad guys, yada yada.

Can't anyone come up with an original plot?

A major character does die, and my reaction was "finally"! That shows how little identification I felt with these cardboard characters.

But I did appreciate the fact that this book went into a lot more detail about the Spacers, the cyborgs and Nova Levis. Finally a character actually does go to Nova Levis!! (This was the one plot-strand that kept my interest.) Also it seems that the robot Bogard is a lot more than we might have thought. Which is treated as little more than an afterthought by this author.

I really can't think of these novels as being in Asimov's "universe", as the dynamic between Spacers and Earthers doesn't at all resemble that of Asimov's novels. Nor do they stand up well by comparison, as Asimov's mysteries are neatly solved and everything explained in the end with crystalline logic, whereas in this series we are left with only a murky understanding that "everyone was corrupt and part of a vast conspiracy that endeavored to spread confusion while they took over the galaxy."

My Asimov collection will be constantly re-read and will always have a treasured place in my bookshelf, but the Tiedemann series will be going to the Book Swap at the next opportunity.