The Science Fiction Review Robot and Foundation,Robot City Isaac Asimov’s Robot City Book 1: Odyssey by Michael P. Kube-McDowell

Isaac Asimov’s Robot City Book 1: Odyssey by Michael P. Kube-McDowell

Robot City 1: Odyssey book cover

A man wakes up in an escape pod with no memory, and only his space suit with Derec written on it to tell him what his name is. He has no memory whatsoever of anything before he woke up. The main plot of the series revolves around Derec’s search for his identity and a way to recover his memory. We are introduced to robots that don’t necessarily behave how we would have thought. They do obey the Three Laws but there are new twists involved. We also get to see aliens, something that Asimov had not really explored in his own writing. Overall, there is quite a bit of action in this first book and it should keep you interested enough to finish the rest of the series.

1 thought on “Isaac Asimov’s Robot City Book 1: Odyssey by Michael P. Kube-McDowell”

  1. I was a little skeptical reading a book based on Asimov’s work, but written by someone else; however, I can tell from the first book that I am going to like the series. This book can be classified as an introduction, and ends with a series of questions and mysteries yet to be resolved. Basically, Derec finds himself on an asteroid with no previous personal memories, but an obvious robotics abilities. Many things about the asteroid’s operations are abnormal. I have some theories already as to what is going to happen, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please prove you are a human * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload the CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Post

Isaac Asimov’s Robot City Book 2: Suspicion by Mike McQuayIsaac Asimov’s Robot City Book 2: Suspicion by Mike McQuay

Robot City 2: Suspicion book cover

This review will most likely contain spoilers for any previous books in the series, read at your own risk.

After escaping from the alien Aranimas, and subsequently the space station that rescued them, Derec and Katherine find themselves miraculously transported to Robot City. They used the Key to Perihelion, a device that somehow allowed them to travel instantly across the galaxy. I like this idea because it is twist on space travel that allows the authors to work out unique plot elements throughout the rest of the series. Derec and Katherine arrive to find themselves the only 2 suspects in the murder of a human in a city full of robots.

It seems they’ve just traded one prison for another. Since they are the only humans on the planet, according to logic the robots think that one of them must have commited the murder, because no robot could have. This book revolves around Derec and Katherine’s investigation into the murder they are accused of at the end of Odyssey. Suspicion reminds me a bit of Elijah Baley’s murder investigations in Asimov’s original Robot Novels. The style is notably different, but the murder-mystery element kept me thinking back to the originals.

Asimov’s Mirage by Mark W. TidemannAsimov’s Mirage by Mark W. Tidemann

Mirage book cover

Mirage is a mystery that involves the investigation of the massacre intended to halt talks of a treaty between Earth and Spacer worlds. Derec Avery, from the Robot City series, starts an investigation to determine why both the Resident Intelligence in charge of security and his new experimental robot bodyguard Bogard failed. Early on there seems to be a conspiracy. Derec and Ariel, which have parted ways since Robots and Aliens, are forced to work together to find out who is behind the attack. What follows is an investigation with twists at almost every turn. (more…)

Isaac Asimov’s Robots and Aliens Book 6: Humanity by Jerry OltionIsaac Asimov’s Robots and Aliens Book 6: Humanity by Jerry Oltion

Robots and Aliens Volume 3 book cover

This review will most likely contain spoilers for any previous books in the series, read at your own risk.

Humanity starts out with a very brief, and rather insufficient, summary of the events of the series. Derec, Ariel, Mandelbrot, Wolruf, Dr. Avery, and the three learning robots are on their way back to the original robot city. They are in for a big surprise when they enter orbit. As with previous books in this series we get to see a good portion of action, as well as discussion about what is meant to be human.

We do get to see how the whole series is tied together. For my taste, it seems that everything fits together a bit too nicely. Also, I was expecting a bit more closure toward the end. I was left with the feeling that yet another series or at least novel should fill in the gap between this series and the Tiedemann Trilogy (Mirage, Chimera, Aurora) which involves both Derec and Ariel. I’ll discuss this in more detail in my general Robots and Aliens review which will follow as I can’t do this without major spoilers for this last novel.