The Humanoids [Paperback]

Jack Williamson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1980

Science Fiction: Robots, Artificial Intelligence. "From far beyond Earth came a generation of benevolent robots whose sole purpose was to serve man by ending wars and easing his bodily and spiritual ills. Dr. Clay Forester, brilliant scientist and citizen of the distant future, had been recruited by a band of dissidents to stop the fledgling 'brave new world.' But why should he try to kill humanity's only hope for everlasting peace?" Expanded edition includes an introduction by the author, the original novelette "With Folded Hands," and the afterword "Me and My Humanoids."

Product Details

• Paperback: 259 pages
• Publisher: Avon; Expanded Edition, 1st Avon Printing edition (1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380496275
• ISBN-13: 978-0380496273
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,809,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Two Classics, November 30, 2004

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Dave_42 "Dave_42" (Australia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Humanoids: A Novel (Paperback)

This book contains two classic SF works. The first is the novelette titled 'With Folded Hands...' published first in 1947 in 'Astounding Science Fiction'. The second story is the novel "The Humanoids", which was also published originally in 'Astounding Science Fiction' in 1948 (March - May) under the title '...And Searching Mind'. The two stories share the same nemesis, which are the robots known as The Humanoids.

The Humanoids' purpose is "To Serve and Obey, And Guard Men from Harm", which is really just a rewording of the first two laws of robotics that Asimov and Campbell create for Asimov's robot stories that first started to appear in 1940. However, this does not make these stories redundant, as Williamson's Humanoids take their purpose to the extreme, and go so far as to prevent men from doing anything that could potentially cause harm, which includes such activities as driving, or even reading in some cases.

In 'With Folded Hands...,' the hero is Mr. Underhill, who opposes the humanoids at first because they threaten his livelihood (he is an android salesman), but later because he can see the effect they have on people's lives. He works with the creator of the Humanoids, Mr. Sledge, who is desperately trying to put an end to his creation.

In 'The Humanoids,' the hero is Dr. Clay Forester, who is made aware of the Humanoid menace by a group of humans with various special abilities such as teleportation, clairvoyance, telekinesis, and telepathy. They refer to these types of abilities as "psychophysics". As the story proceeds, the reader becomes less and less sure who is right and who is wrong in the conflict. The Humanoids, though still a presence, are not the main foe for Dr. Forester. Instead he focuses on Frank Ironsmith, a former colleague who is helping the Humanoids, involved with Forester's wife Ruth, and is given much more freedom than other humans by the Humanoids. Although the Humanoids use some horrible methods of forcing people to be happy (e.g. drugs, surgery), they are not nearly as controlling as they were in `With Folded Hands....' One oddity between the two stories is that Williamson introduces a different creator of the Humanoids, whose name is Warren Mansfield.

These two stories are definitely worth reading for anyone interested in Science Fiction. `The Humanoids' rated 27th in 1952 for science fiction books, and tied for 18th in 1956 on the Astounding/Analog All-Time Polls. `With Folded Hands...' tied for 32nd in 1999 on the Locus All-Time Poll of novelettes.

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal premise marred by somewhat weak ending, November 11, 2001

By 

Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Humanoids: A Novel (Paperback)

THE HUMANOIDS is one of the unquestionable classics of the science fiction genre, and arguably the most important novel ever written about robots. The core idea of ultra sleek robots who arrive on a planet "to serve and protect" the planets inhabitants to the most logical extreme of that directive was brilliant and extraordinarily innovative when the book was published in the late 1940s. As such, absolutely no one even remotely interested in science fiction can afford not to read this great novel.

Unfortunately, aside from the core concept and several excellent characters, including the marvelously conceived humanoids themselves, I found a few elements in this story to be somewhat disagreeable. Others may not find them so, but I did, and they somewhat marred my enjoyment of the novel. First, the main character of the novel was, to me, was an unpleasant individual. Now, it is entirely correct that it is important to the novel's plot that he not be especially likable. Nonetheless, he was a somewhat unpleasant character, and spending time with him even on a fictional level was not as much fun as one might like. I also was unhappy with the way the romantic elements in the novel developed. They struck me as quite implausible. Finally, I very much did not like the ending of the novel. Unfortunately, I cannot here go into my reasons without giving away too much of the plot. Suffice it to say that I am not certain that I would want to live in the world that the novel apparently endorses in its ending.

I will add that one character is one of my favorites in all of sci-fi, the wonderfully eccentric, amazing enigmatic Underhill. Williamson does a great job in Underhill of producing a character who is simultaneously marvelously innocent and suspiciously sinister at the same time. After I finished the book, his character remained far more vivid in my memory than any of the others.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The author's best work, June 26, 2000

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This review is from: The Humanoids: A Novel (Paperback)

Science fiction has always strived to reveal something about human nature, and this disturbing book achieves this goal like no other. It casts a new light upon what it is people really want, and what happiness really means; it makes one question some of one's deep values and beliefs. Quite some time after this book a sequel was published, "The Humanoid Touch". It is just as disturbing, partially because having read the first novel, I think the point of view of the author, or perhaps better, the 'implied author' has changed. This in no way decreases the value of the books, which are a must for any sci-fi reader.