Robots and Empire (R. Daneel Olivaw, No. 4) [Mass Market Paperback]

Isaac Asimov (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 12, 1986

Long after his humiliating defeat at the hands of Earthman Elijah Baley, Keldon Amadiro embarked on a plan to destroy planet Earth. But even after his death, Baley's vision continued to guide his robot partner, R. Daneel Olivaw, who had the wisdom of a great man behind him and an indestructable will to win....

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

THE CLASSIC ROBOT NOVEL --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

Long after his humiliating defeat at the hands of Earthman Elijah Baley, Keldon Amadiro embarked on a plan to destroy planet Earth. But even after his death, Baley's vision continued to guide his robot partner, R. Daneel Olivaw, who had the wisdom of a great man behind him and an indestructable will to win....

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 468 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (October 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345328949
• ISBN-13: 978-0345328946
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,408,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The missing link, October 13, 2002

By 

Bill R. Moore (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Robots and Empire (Hardcover)

Asimov, like Heinlein, came, towards the end of his career, to integrate the characters and universes from all of his major works into one huge, interconnected fictional world. This was not his original intention, but it's the way that it worked out. Chronologically, the Robot series is first - which started out in the form of short stories, and then a series of novels, of which this is the fourth - followed by the Empire and then the Foundation series. The third Robot book, The Robots of Dawn, was a sequel for which readers had to wait 25 years for. The next book, this one, came a mere two years after it. Robots and Empire, however, represents a major break from the tradition of the previous Robot books. The three subsequent books were all murder mysteries staring the Earthman Detective Elijah Baley. This book, however, is not a murder mystery, but more of a straightforward story - and Baley has been dead for over 200 years. It picks up where The Robots of Dawn left off, in a slightly different context. This is a fast-moving and quite entertaining book in its own right, and you will certainly want to read it if you enjoyed the previous three novels. It is sometimes painfully obvious, however, that this book was intended solely to provide a smooth transition from the Robot series to the Empire series. Consequently, the book does this job very well, tying up the loose ends from the previous Robot book, and clarifying what would have been several contradictions between the Robot and Empire serieses - the reason for the radioactivity on Earth, the motive behind the immigration of the Earth people, and the fact that there are no robots in the Empire novels, etc. However, this comes with a price: the book is not all that great in and of itself. There is not really that much in the way of plot - certainly not like the great mystery plots in the three previous novels; indeed, even the original robot short stories were more or less mysteries themselves. That said, despite this weakness, the book is still very fast-paced and quite fun and entertaining to read - and, of course, provides the necessary transition between the two serieses. Whatever the book's individual merit, you will want to read it if you plan on going through the series. This vast integration of all these epic stories, this book included, show the visionary and plotting skills of Asimov, and you can not help but marvel at his unquestioned virtuostic abilities. The vast scale of this fictional universe - including also three books by other authors - can be very daunting to the neophyte. I suggest you make use of the several very helpful "Listmania Lists" at Amazon, so that you will know what order in which to read the books, and so that you can start on and enjoy the unparalleled fictional world of Isaac Asimov.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another wonderful Asimov Story, July 1, 2004

By 

Brian (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Robots and Empire (Hardcover)

Robot and Empire is another entertaining story from the prolific writer Isaac Asimov. Set many decades after Robots of Dawn, when the Earth detective Elijah Bailey has long ago passed, Robots and Empire tells the story of Dr. Kelden Amadiro's nefarious attempt at destroying Earth and the Settlers. The Auroran Gladia, along with the robots Daneel and Giskard, must go to great lengths to protect Earth and countless lives.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the interaction between the robots Daneel and Giskard. As both characters work at deducing and anticipating Amadiro's motives and actions, it's really interesting to watch the relationship between these two as they provide much needed counsel and assistance to one another. It's very entertaining to follow along as the fly all over the galaxy in an attempt thwart Amadiro's plans. It's even more interesting to see them attempt to circumnavigate the famous 3 Laws of Robotics which they often find hinder, rather than help, their attempts at protecting Earth. I don't think I'm revealing too much to say that Daneel even goes so far as to introduce the Zeroth Law of robotics which is basically the need to protect all of humanity. This plays an integral part in the unfolding of the book.

I was pleased that the whole book moves at a speedy pace(I took less than two days to read this), with nothing seeming trivial or overly drawn out.This book is very entertaining and as it's only the fourth work I've read by Asimov, I'm moved to read more of his books. Perhaps the only real complaint about this book is that the ending is slightly anticlimatic, but rather touching and fitting. If you like Asimov's work, particularly his robot books concerning Elijah Bailey, I think you'll really enjoy this book.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars science fiction detective mystery concludes [no spoilers], February 13, 2004

By 

Oscar "DaRK KNighT" (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Robots and Empire (Mass Market Paperback)

"Robots and Empire" is the conclusion in the awesome science fiction series concerning R. Daneel Olivaw and new partner R. Giskard. Two hundred years have passed and although Elijah Baley has passed away, his influence remains with the technological masterpiece R. Daneel Olivaw and the extraordinarily gifted R. Giskard. Restricted by the Laws of Robotics, Daneel and Giskard must find a way to thwart any plan a certain enemy executes while unable to employ what they consider Elijah's aggressive techniques. Reading about Daneel trying to think like the great detective Elijah is moving and fun. The fond memories the robots and long-lived Spacers elicit make the novel a touching story. The brilliant detective story is a work of art.

Thank you.