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The Robots of Dawn

The Robots of Dawn

Hard Sci-FiMystery
Pages
471
Published
1983
Language
English

Synopsis

Detective Elijah Baley is sent to the Spacer world Aurora to investigate a complex case of roboticide. He and his robot partner, R. Daneel Olivaw, must work to prove a brilliant roboticist innocent, despite political intrigue and a tragic romance between a human and a robot. The outcome of this case will determine Earth's future in the Galaxy.

Prose complexity
7/10

Vibe

Thought-ProvokingComplexTenseIntellectual
Fish Out of WaterForbidden Love

Genres

Hard Sci-Fi Mystery Science Fiction Space Opera

About the author

I
Isaac Asimov

Asimov was born sometime between October 4, 1919 and January 2, 1920 in Petrovichi in Smolensk Oblast, RSFSR (now Russia), the son of a Jewish family of millers. Although his exact date of birth is uncertain, Asimov himself celebrated it on January 2. His family emigrated to Brooklyn, New York and opened a candy store when he was three years old. He taught himself to read at the age of five. He began reading the science fiction pulp magazines that his family's store carried. Around the age of...

Characters

Elijah BaleyProtagonist

Earth detective summoned to the Spacer world of Aurora to investigate the mental destruction of a humaniform robot, while wrestling with his own deep-seated agoraphobia.

R. Daneel OlivawSupporting

Baley's humaniform robot partner from Earth, created by Han Fastolfe and identical in appearance to the robot whose mind was destroyed.

Han FastolfeSupporting

Auroran roboticist who created Daneel and the destroyed robot Jander, and is the only person believed capable of the crime, though he denies committing it.

R. Giskard ReventlovSupporting

An earlier-model robot serving as Fastolfe's household aide on Aurora, quieter and less humanlike than Daneel but present throughout the investigation.

Vasilia AlienaSupporting

Han Fastolfe's estranged daughter and a roboticist in her own right, whose past work with his robots draws her into the investigation on Aurora.

All characters in The Robots of Dawn

Frequently asked questions

  • Did The Robots of Dawn win any awards?

    It was a finalist for the 1984 Hugo Award and the 1984 Locus Award for Best Novel, but did not win either.

  • Do I need to read the earlier Robot books before this one?

    Yes. The Robots of Dawn is the third novel in Asimov's Robot series, following The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun, and it relies on characters and events (including Gladia Delmarre) introduced in those earlier books.

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