The Positronic Man (Curley Large Print Books) [Large Print] [Paperback]

Isaac Asimov (Author), Robert Silverberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1994 | Series: Curley Large Print Books

Andrew Martin, a standard housekeeping robot, allows the unique capabilities of his experimental brain to lead him to become an artist, businessman, and crusader, in a novel based on Asimov's short story, ""The Bicentennial Man."" 35,000 first printing. $35,000 ad/promo.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The third and final collaborative novel from Silverberg and the late Asimov ( Nightfall ; The Ugly Little Boy ) follows Asimov's classic story, "The Bicentennial Man," step by step (whole sentences and paragraphs remain), adding extra scenes for length. The novel chronicles the quest of the robot Andrew Martin (dubbed NDR-113 at the factory) to achieve the rights, privileges, appearance and ultimately even the weaknesses of being fully human. When brought to the home of wealthy politician Gerald Martin, Andrew is little more than a standard household robot, but he quickly develops a remarkable, even artistic, skill in woodworking. He proceeds to stretch his increasingly human-like mind, seeking and winning his freedom and legal rights, grieving as human friends die and he lives on, replacing his robotic parts with organic prostheses of his own design. But he cannot replace his positronic brain, so he must finally appeal to the World Court to be declared human in all respects. Focused on the question of what it means to be human, Asimov's short story is a masterpiece in which the thinness of the background doesn't matter. The absence of a convincing future world or well-developed characters is glaring here. Readers interested in contemplating the human potential of robots would do better to reread the original.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A housekeeping robot transcends the laws that limit him in his desire to become human in this final collaboration between two sf masters. Based on The Bicentennial Man by the late Asimov, this expanded novel will appeal to fans of old-school sf. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/93.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 374 pages
• Publisher: Chivers North Amer; Lrg edition (July 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792720717
• ISBN-13: 978-0792720713
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,314,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tale of ambition and societal backlash, August 13, 2001

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Positronic Man (Mass Market Paperback)

The story of a mechanical creature who wishes to become human is an old one, appearing in many forms over the centuries. In this superb story, a robot, named Andrew by the children who adore it, begins to exhibit human characteristics, due to the unpredictability of its' positronic memory circuits. Slowly, through a series of step-wise modifications, Andrew is altered so that his functions become more human. Throughout the tale, Andrew exhibits many of the characteristics of being human, although his human society is currently exhibiting a backlash against robots doing anything to appear as anything other than robots.
This is also a tale about human politics, emotions and insecurities. Some of the prejudices exhibited against robots are strikingly similar to those humans have against other humans not of the appropriate type. Asimov and Heinlein are masters at describing the consequences of technology and in this book, they are at their best. I have always considered Asimov's robot stories to be the best of all his science fiction works. They deal with limits placed on technology, through the hard-wired laws of robotics to the social restrictions placed on robots so that they do not appear too human. And yet, he also presses the envelope, in that he has humans becoming intimate with robots, even to the point of suggested sexual contact.
I consider this to be one of the two best science fiction books that Isaac Asimov wrote, with the other being Nightfall. It is an old tale, but told with emotional entanglements, such as having Andrew being treated not as a monster but as a member of a human family as he pursues his quest to be declared legally human.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The original is better, December 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Positronic Man (Mass Market Paperback)

Not a bad novel, but I found the original Asimov much more compelling. This book seems longer solely for the sake of being longer. The original story is available in several compilations, such as The Complete Robot.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading, April 30, 2000

By 

claire brennan (Fredericksburg, Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Positronic Man (Audio Cassette)

After seeing the movie "Bicentennial Man", I ran straight to the library to pick up "The Positronic Man." (I was surprised to find the book 'out of print', especially with the recent release of the movie.) This is the first Sci-Fi book I have ever read, and first review I have offered. I have not been in high school in some time, but this book should be required reading! I'm sure it would bring some hefty discussions on the issues of humanity, morality and mortality. A very thought-provoking, fascinating book and a joy to read.