I, robot | 
 enlarge | Author: Howard S. Smith
Creator: Kathy Harestad
Publisher: Robot Binaries & Press
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy New: $7.00
You Save: $10.95 (61%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 237600
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 408
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 1.4
ISBN: 1894689062
EAN: 9781894689069
ASIN: 1894689062
Publication Date: September 20, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In this technothriller, a Japanese detective stumbles onto deployment of military robots. With cutting-edge technology, I, Robot is a fast read.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Educational and Fun!! October 7, 2008
I am writing the review based on the Advanced Reading Copy which I note has the same page count and cover as the version here. I received this copy at Book Expo America in LA where I was vacationing and got to go to the show with a friend.
I,robot is a wonderful read. It's Asimov updated to 2012 technology and it's Asimov's rules (and the problems with these rules) but it's a totally different (and modern) story. I read it in one sitting. The ending makes you think a bit.
At then end of the book, a full glossary and discussion questions. Apparently the technology in the book is all real. (Well, that's the impression I get. I dunno... scary if it is...) The setting is our world, albeit in the near future.
The book has since made its way among our students, especially the guys. I think a much better read for them than much of the female-oriented fiction that tends to be on the market.
Thumbs up. One of the better ARCs I picked up at the show.
L.
 Leave writing to the writers September 21, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Dr. Howard S. Smith is an MIT-trained engineer and clearly an intelligent and learned man. Unfortunately, as an author, the man is a complete buffoon. Hence the title -- which Dr. Smith actually tried to justify by pointing out that his title uses a small "r" in "robot." Thereby proving that he doesn't understand grammar, or the purpose and value of a title on a work of fiction, and also resurrecting the memory of Vanilla Ice claiming he didn't steal the melody from the Bowie/Queen song "Under Pressure" because "Ice, Ice, Baby" used an extra beat instead of a rest in the drum track.
The robots described are, I'm sure, well-designed; not being a roboticist myself, I did not try to decipher the technical descriptions nor the diagrams, of which there are several. I didn't have any desire to analyze the technical diagrams, as they have nothing to do with the story, and I took this book up as a novel, not as a textbook on robotics with a sidebar in nuclear weapons technology. What I cared about was the storyline, where the book showed about as much style and grace as did the aforementioned rap "song."
So what's wrong with the fiction elements? First, at the beginning of the book, North Korea successfully tests an ICBM with a nuclear warhead, threatening Japan, and terrorists in Lebanon fire rockets at Israel. And somehow, despite the US and China and all the other nuclear powers having a very serious interest in any country becoming nuclear and developing attack capabilities, somehow Japan is left to deal with a nuclear North Korea all by itself. And despite the fact that terrorists have been attacking Israel since its creation half a century ago, when these rockets are fired, the Israeli military lets them land because their countermeasures are expensive and "they [the terrorists] never hit anything anyway." Then when the terrorists do hit their target, and the military are finished standing and staring like slack-jawed yokels, Israel counterattacks in the dumbest possible way, an airstrike without gathering any intelligence -- despite Israel's preeminent intelligence-gathering ability -- and when they bomb innocent civilians in Lebanon (something that has happened repeatedly over the course of Israel's struggles), all the other nations of the world immediately turn on Israel. Despite the fact that Israel has never been sanctioned for defending itself against terrorists. Maybe it was because the Israelis turned so stupid overnight -- a problem that is compounded when the Israelis send their tanks into Lebanon to deal with the terrorists directly, and all of them are wiped out by terrorists with anti-tank weapons. Because the Israeli army has no idea how to deal with anti-tank weapons. Not like they won a war in six days, or anything. But because these two nations have these suddenly insurmountable problems, they strike a deal: Israel will give Japan several working nuclear weapons, and Japan will give Israel robot foot soldiers.
But wait, there's more. The main character is a Japanese police inspector named Haruto. Haruto has obsessive compulsive disorder, and is thus a stickler for the rules. Fortunately for Haruto, his obsession with following the rules only rises when it is convenient: when he is falsely accused of murder, he says that sometimes you have to break the rules, and he refuses to turn himself in. Whenever he gets into trouble, he makes up new rules to get himself out of trouble -- when he falls overboard into the Pacific Ocean, for instance, he makes this new rule for himself: "Find the lifebuoy and conserve energy until a passing ship comes by and picks him up." That's a good rule. Good thing he has such wonderful control over his obsessive compulsive disorder, which is usually characterized by the need to perform actions that obstruct a normal life, rather than preserve it.
The story doesn't get better. The love story is ridiculous -- she is an Israeli kibbutznik, whom Haruto impresses when he beats up her former (now abusive and threatening) boyfriend, impregnates almost immediately thereafter, and declares his undying love for. The war scenes are described with mathematic precision but little else, as we are given repeated instances of Dr. Smith's multiplication ability -- the Israeli robotic units are made up of one human soldier, 22 biped scout robots called Alphas (who are depicted on the front cover and look just like the robots in the film "I, Robot," but I'm sure that's a coincidence), and eight multi-legged carrier robots called Betas, and Dr. Smith repeatedly used lines like, "Lieutenant Chaim Dayan, 32 soldiers, 704 Alphas and 256 Betas -- nine hundred and ninety-three men and machines, were in Lebanon now." But when they attack, it's more along the lines of, "Then the robots ran up and set off the explosives, which killed all the terrorists. The end." (Not a direct quote.) When Dr. Smith cannot turn to mathematics or technical jargon, he falls back into the sci-fi fan's obsession with trivia: he uses the word "amaranth" to describe a character's red shirt, he has a Japanese character pause in the middle of a serious argument to give a small dissertation on seppuku, and Haruto's karate is described in loving detail, with the Japanese names for the specific blows and a running tally of the duration and time elapsed between strikes -- he lashed out with an oi-tsuki strike that shattered the man's nose in one-eleventh of a second, that sort of thing.
The story ends badly, with Haruto coming to an epiphany too late and ending in tears -- albeit totally cured of his OCD -- and the nations of the world falling into a new and deadly arms race. After that is an extensive glossary, with lengthy explanations of all technical terms used throughout the book, and an annotated bibliography that would fit better at the end of a scholarly article. Which is probably what Dr. Smith should have written, instead of inflicting this bunk on the science fiction world.
Is Israel Swapping Nuclear Bombs for Battle-Ready Robots? September 12, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Well, currently Israelis are not bartering for Robots (to the best of our knowledge) but in the second decade of the 21st Century that is exactly what's happening! From the first chapter of Howard Smith's version of "I, robot" we have run-away excitement! A ship viewing nuclear tests almost capsizes, murder disguised as suicide leads to a kidnapping with autos crashing through Tokyo streets then into the sea, underwater testing of megaton bombs, an attack on an Israeli kibbutz, and more, much more! This is no 1940s model robot tale, which is why author Howard S. Smith wrote it. Long a Sci-Fi fan, Smith acknowledges the genius of those who preceded him with many short stories, books, and television shows, even recent movies that used a version of that title. None have been as plausible as this. Smith should know, he is an MIT-trained engineer with a practical interest in artificial intelligence - supermarket self-checkout machines are all based on his work - as well as natural intelligence - human thinking.
Natural intelligence in this book is found throughout the large cast of brainiacs on both sides of a planned Israeli-Japanese trade - all interesting, believable characters who give credence to, and sympathy for, the needs of both countries. Using secret stores of plutonium, fictional Israelis have created small nuclear weapons with a large payload. Now a trade is underway with, of all countries, Japan! Even though Japan knows first-hand the devastation of a nuclear blast, they are trading their robot army creations for a working nuclear arsenal, after suffering for years while North Korean neighbors lobbed atomic warheads over their country to test them in Pacific waters.
There is only one character that does not accept the scenario, then works to stop the trade: Suzuki Haruto, a Tokyo Police Inspector and Karate black belt. Haruto (in Japanese culture the family name is placed first, then the given name) is a man obsessed with rules, either those existing or those he generates to fit the scene. It is against the rules to bring nuclear weapons into his country, certainly without first gaining approval of its people by vote, so he must stop the transaction. His ironclad compulsion has resulted in estrangement from his wife (who calls him "Jinzouningen" - artificial human or robot), as well as difficulties with his co-workers. Haruto's strong belief in rules forces him to act against the rule breaking individuals possessing atomic devices, even after witnessing the results of a robot army defending the Israeli border, and experiencing firsthand attacks assaulting a Kibbutz where he had found temporary refuge. After all, his reliance on "rules" helped save him after being buried in a coffin with hands and feet tied, and even from a shark attack during days he is afloat in the Pacific Ocean.
In a sweet side-story with heart-breaking consequences, Haruto is able to love again. This diversion in the midst of non-stop action does not detract. The book takes you via land, sea and air to several countries all fraught with thrills and danger. Whatever your politics, you will enjoy the results! This "I, robot" is definitely 21st Century action, not at all derivative, highly visual - a well-written, well-researched read. Its poignant ending will surprise you; I can hardly wait for the action film this "I, robot" is well suited to generate!
I, robot September 10, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
"Howard S. Smith's I, robot" wasn't what I was expecting. Initially I thought it was going to be some kind of poor imitation of what Tom Clancy might do to "Battletech", but I couldn't have been further from the truth. At it's core is the story of a Japanese police inspector who's obsessive compulsive disorder drives him to solve a murder case with very serious international implications that ultimately affect every man woman and child on Earth. It is the best kind of Science Fiction, where the characters must deal with very real (and imminently possible in the real world) scientific developments, and their consequences. Once I started reading it I found it quite compelling, and some of it's predictions were simply staggering. I was happy to add it to my library and look forward to further works from Mr. Smith.
A mesmerizing and memorable techno-thriller August 28, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Ignore the recycled title and unfortunate cover art; this techno-thriller has nothing to do with Isaac Asimov's book or Will Smith's movie of the same name. Innovative, fast-paced, and extraordinarily well-written, it's honestly better than both of those stories put together.
The premise could easily have been pulled from tomorrow's headlines. Japan is threatened by an increasingly hostile North Korean regime that sinks its ships, captures its sailors, and even fires missiles through its airspace, yet finds itself constitutionally prohibited from developing offensive weapons that many in the military feel it needs to properly defend itself. Besieged by terrorists and disdained by most of the rest of the world, Israel is also in desperate straits. Losing a slow war of attrition with their numerous enemies, the Israelis make a secret deal to trade tactical nuclear weapons and technology to the Japanese in exchange for a horde of artificially intelligent, combat-trained robots. Assigned to investigate the death of the owner of an electronics company that makes parts for the androids, police inspector Haruto Suzuki stumbles across the intrigue and gets caught up in the action.
Suzuki is fascinating. Obsessive-compulsive, he possesses the drive necessary to accomplish almost anything, yet this single-mindedness encumbers his life. He is overly conscientious and obsessed with rules. When officers in his unit accept free meals from local merchants, for instance, he turns them in, ruining their careers while unintentionally accelerating his own. He makes keibhu, full inspector, by age thirty five, an extraordinary achievement. He ruthlessly hones his body, excelling in karate as well. This trait saves his life more than once throughout his globe-spanning adventures. When he meets Mara, a beautiful Israeli woman, he discovers the one thing he'd been missing all his life--true happiness. The challenge is that he is torn between his obsession to follow the "rules" and the consequences such actions would bring upon his newfound love. This relationship is convincingly written, truly romantic, and not contrived in the least.
Smith, an MIT-trained engineer, really did his homework. Cutting edge technology is explained in ways that make it readily accessible to the lay-person. Harestad's charts and illustrations help clarify things even further. Everything from nuclear technology to advanced robotics and artificial intelligence is artfully described, believable, and surprisingly exciting. The author even describes how a nuclear test detonation could realistically be hidden from satellite surveillance. There's a thirteen-page bibliography at the end for readers more interested in the technology.
There are few faults in this spectacular tome, yet there is a bit of undefined terminology. While there is a short glossary, it contains roughly a quarter of the Japanese words actually used in the text so readers can get a little lost at times. The only other drawback is that some of the martial arts sequences are described using incorrect Japanese terminology; nothing that non-practitioners would even notice, but a minor glitch nevertheless. Overall, however, I, robot is a mesmerizing read with memorable characters, great dialogue, believable technology, and wonderful action.
Note: This review originally appeared in ForeWord Magazine
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