Search Results for “Isaac Asimov” – Page 6

I, Robot – The Illustrated Screenplay by Harlan EllisonI, Robot – The Illustrated Screenplay by Harlan Ellison

January 19, 2008| Stettin| 2 Comments| 11:26 am

It has been almost 4 years since the movie I, Robot (2004) was released. I was terribly disappointed that the Hollywood movie was barely anything like the book of short stories that I remembered reading, which I explained in my review. After browsing the Internet looking for other reactions I discovered that a screenplay written by Harlan Ellison had received a glowing review from Isaac Asimov.

–edit– 4-16-2008
I just ran across this interesting NPR story from 2004 that talks about the fan reaction to the original I, Robot movie. There are a few comments from Harlan Ellison and Irving Kirchner, director of The Empire Strikes Back, as one the prospective directors. The audio story is available in Real Media and Windows Media Player formats.
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Flexible joint robot by Sarcos puts Honda’s ASIMO to shameFlexible joint robot by Sarcos puts Honda’s ASIMO to shame

December 6, 2007| Stettin| 0 Comment| 11:26 pm

I am always amazed that the developments in robotics that are happening in my lifetime. I wish that Isaac Asimov had lived just a bit longer so he could see what the industry is producing today. Sarcos has made the prototype, which is under development in Japan. This robot can recover from pushes intended to topple it over. I’m sure a lot of you have seen the video of the ASIMO robot falling down some simple steps. This new robot with flexible joints and advanced balancing system appears to be the next generation of humanoid robots. For more information, including a video demonstration, check out the full article at NewScientistTech. Found via SlashDot

Dune by Frank HerbertDune by Frank Herbert

November 15, 2007| Stettin| 2 Comments| 5:15 pm

Dune is by far one of the most famous classics in Sci-Fi, winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards for best science fiction novel in 1966. I am ashamed to say that I am just now getting around to reading it. I have of course seen the original theatrical movie, the Sci-Fi Channel remake, and subsequent mini-series Children of Dune. I have just vague memories of the original movie and don’t really remember much of the Sci-Fi Channel remake or Children of Dune. I wanted to see for myself the vision that Frank Herbert had for Dune, and then compare it to the movies afterwards. Keep an eye out for a DVD review of both the original movie and the Sci-Fi movie in the near future.

Frank Herbert includes a series of appendixes, glossary, and map at the end of Dune. I chose not to read any of the appendixes or glossary to see how much of the details are described throughout the novel. My first impression is that Herbert plunges the reader directly into a galaxy full of history and mysteries. I felt like the first few chapters, or even novels, had been left out. Herbert clearly spent a lot of time developing the history and background of the characters and worlds for this novel. The appendixes are very helpful, but I think there are too many spoilers for me to recommend reading them before diving into the novel. (more…)

Asimo Commercial and Demo by HondaAsimo Commercial and Demo by Honda

September 7, 2007| Stettin| 0 Comment| 10:46 pm

Everyone knows (or should!) that Honda has tipped their hat to Isaac Asimov by naming their robot line Asimo. For those that have been living in caves for the past 50 years, he inadvertently invented the word ‘robotics’ in his story Runaround. He assumed it already was a word, but he is attributed for the first use of it in a publication. I remember seeing a YouTube video of these little robots a few years ago which caught my eye. This commercial tries to show the ‘human’ side of robots. I highly doubt that all of the actions in the commercial were autonomous, but I can’t see why it won’t be possible in the near future. Considering I am just a few days away from finishing my huge book project in Asimov’s Robot &amp Foundation Universe I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across this.

A quick look to related videos on YouTube showcased a technical demo of some new abilities in the new Asimo robot version. I’m very impressed to see the progress that has been made. Many of the tasks they show are fairly simple, but I think if they can make the robots use power efficiently they will be useful. It’s amazing that probably within 100 years of Asimov’s robot stories there might be a working model similar to his creations. Of course we are a bit behind robot production, since US Robotics and Mechanical Men had positronic robots in production in the 1990s.

Of course there are several videos of failed demonstrations with the Asimo prototypes taking spills while trying to do something as simple as walking up and down stairs. I’m confident that Honda will work out the bugs with the programming and balancing servos sooner or later. I know I will be keeping an eye on development in robotics.

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Wow, looks like I’ve had quite a few hits from StumbleUpon. Hopefully I can get some interesting feedback with this nice spike in visitors.

So, do any of you think that Robots can or will ever become self aware? If so, how soon do you think it could happen given the rapid development of technology? Would humans revolt and ban such machines? Asimov covers that last question in his science fiction, which is one of my favorite themes. Are there any authors you might recommend that focus on human/robot relations?
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Misc LinksMisc Links

August 8, 2007| Stettin| 0 Comment| 7:43 pm

Here I’ll gather the various sites I visit to get my Science Fiction fix.

General Sci-Fi Links

Project Gutenberg Science Fiction Bookshelf – Free Public Domain Books
Real Men Love The Fifth Element – Comprehensive spoiler filled review of The Fifth Element, one of the best one’s I’ve seen

Asimov Links

Isaac Asimov Home Page – fairly comprehensive collection of information about my favorite author
Jenkins’ Spoiler-Laden Guide to Isaac Asimov – aside from the reviews there is an extensive list of all of Isaac Asimov’s works organized in many ways
Isaac Asimov interview with Don Swaim, 1987 – Interesting interview, requires RealPlayer
The “Reagan Doctrine” – Critisism of Ronald Reagan’s statments toward the Soviet Union
What is Intelligence Anyway? – Discussion of intelligence

Star Wars Links

Star Wars official Website – there is quite a bit of free content here, webcasts, and more. For those hard core fans that want exclusive content, you can subscribe to Hyperspace.
TheForce.Net – News on past movies, upcoming projects, fan films/fiction, games, collectibles and more. I started visiting this site a few years before Episode I came out, and was the original place I downloaded “Troops”.
The Top 15 Han Solo Quotes You Need to Use in Regular Conversation – Hilarious list

Product Search Links

Amazon.com – Search books at Amazon

BooksBooks

August 4, 2007| Stettin| 0 Comment| 6:13 pm

I finished reading all of the books written both by Isaac Asimov and authorized authors that take place in the Robot and Foundation universe. Johnny Pez was kind enough to allow me to use his updated “Insanely Complete Fiction List” chronology on this site. I have reviewed the books in chronological order of the timeline. I have done my best to keep plot spoilers out of the reviews for current book review. Please keep in mind that each review may contain spoilers for books that occur previously in the timeline.

I will also add some general reviews of other authors and series that were memorable for me in the past when I have time. Many of these will probably represent memory from several years ago, but I think they will be useful for anyone looking for more books to read. I’ve also started comparing many books to their Hollywood movie counterparts.

AboutAbout

August 4, 2007| Stettin| 0 Comment| 4:55 pm

Welcome to The Science Fiction Review with Stettin. This is the name I played as in Star Wars Galaxies from 2003-2005. Most of my online friends know me by this name, so I chose to stick with it for this site. Some of my earliest memories of Sci-Fi were watching Star Wars at home on VHS since I was a bit too young to see any of them in the theaters. Ever since then I’ve been drawn to Sci-Fi in some form or another. The first Sci-Fi book I read was Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. My next big discovery was finding an old copy of I, Robot by Isaac Asimov in my dad’s garage. At the time I was caught up in Star Wars books, so I didn’t get around to reading it until much later. Once I finally did read it, I was hopelessly addicted to Isaac Asimov’s Robot and Foundation Universe.

The goal of this site is to allow me to post my thoughts on various Sci-Fi related topics. My main focus for starting this site was to keep track of my project of reading all books in Isaac Asimov’s Robot & Foundation Universe (see above). I’m glad to say that I have obtained permission from Johnny Pez to post his updated chronology on this site. I have added reviews to each entry, and links to where others can find these books if they are interested. My focus will be on reviewing books, but I will explore TV, movies, and games also.

I would love to hear any comments you have about my site or reviews. Feel free to post any comments, or if you would rather contact me directly you can use my e-mail. I can be reached at stettin [dot] palver [at] gmail [dot] com. I hope you enjoy the site.

Basic Website Information:
The banner image is a portion of a Hubble space telescope image “Five Star Rated Gravitational Lense”.

Foundation’s Fear by Gregory BenfordFoundation’s Fear by Gregory Benford

July 10, 2007| Stettin| 2 Comments| 10:00 pm

The Second Foundation Trilogy is a venture initiated by Asimov’s Estate. Gregory Benford was approached to work on the project, and eventually Greg Bear and David Brin finished the series. I remember from my previous experience with Foundation’s Fear back in 2000 or so that I didn’t like it. I made a point of keeping track of details that bugged me throughout the novel so that I could provide some constructive criticism. I tried to do my best to keep an open mind, but it wasn’t long before I remembered why I didn’t like this novel. There will be minor spoilers, but hopefully they will help you save some time reading this 597 page (paperback) monster. (more…)

Robot City series overview (spoiler free)Robot City series overview (spoiler free)

February 1, 2006| Stettin| 0 Comment| 7:07 pm

I thought it would be appropriate to write a little mini review of the entire Robot City series before starting on the individual books since I have read this series once before. I won’t go into any spoilers, just give a general feel for the series. Each novel begins with an introduction by Isaac Asimov which is a nice addition to each of the novels. As stated in the introduction for the first book, this series is the first time Asimov has allowed any other authors to write in the world he created. Essentially he had final say on anything that went into the books and was consulted to make sure the authors didn’t overstep their authority. The introductions themselves sometimes reveal minor plotline spoilers for the current book, but nothing major except for book six. I recommend reading the book six intro after you finish, but that’s up to you.

This series is really meant to be read as whole. It takes place approximately 20 years before Robots and Empire by Isaac Asimov. I chose to read Robots and Empire before this series. The first book really gives you a glimpse at what might happen in the following books. Book one is full of questions, very few answers, and can be best described as an “introduction” like the first 20 minutes of a movie. I was hooked on the series after the first book. Each book is only about 200 pages with short chapters so it is easy to just pick it up and read a little bit without having to stop in the middle of a chapter. There is a general consistency in the writing of the various authors in all 6 of the novels comprising the series. It really doesn’t feel like you are adjusting to a new author for each book. Overall, the series is a worthwhile addition to the universe that Asimov created.

Robots in Time: Predator by William F. WuRobots in Time: Predator by William F. Wu

October 1, 2005| Stettin| 0 Comment| 6:51 pm

This book is great for teens, not for adult readers or die-hard fans. I acquired this book along with about 16 Isaac Asimov classics (Foundation series, Caves of Steel, etc), otherwise I probably never would have purchased it. If you are a die-hard fan like me, you will find this book/series unbearable. The book is written for a young reader according to the author, so my reaction is to be expected. The main characters act out every single 3 law conflict over and over throughout the novel. Every situation is explained in detail with reason why Robot X can or can’t do this or that because of Law X.

For a new reader that isn’t familiar with Asimov this book would probably be very informative. If you are interested in Time travel, buy “The End of Eternity” by Isaac Asimov. If you want to read up on the Three Laws, buy “I, Robot”. If you want a combination of both for a younger reader, buy this book. I would suggest this book for readers around the age of 12-16 after they have read “I, Robot”.