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Isaac Asimov's Robot series - from the iconic collection I, Robot
to four classic novels - contains some of the most influential
works in the history of science fiction. Establishing and testing
the Three Laws of Robotics, they continue to shape the
understanding and design of artificial intelligence to this day.
Could a robot ever show true creativity? Is it wise to trust
self-driving cars? Will robotic body parts transform human beings
into machines? Will organic technology allow robots to become
human? The Complete Robot combines the stories in I, Robot and The
Rest of the Robots with many more found only in this collection -
including one of Asimov's masterpieces, the Hugo and Nebula
award-winning novella 'The Bicentennial Man'. Featuring Dr. Susan
Calvin, Donovan and Powell, and the detective Elijah Baley, hero of
the Robot novels, this is the ultimate collection of short stories
from a genius of the genre.
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I, Robot (Paperback)
Isaac Asimov
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R316
R228
Discovery Miles 2 280
Save R88 (28%)
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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Voyager Classics - timeless masterworks of science fiction and
fantasy. The classic collection of robot stories from the master of
the genre. In these stories Isaac Asimov creates the Three Laws of
Robotics and ushers in the Robot Age. Earth is ruled by
master-machines but the Three Laws of Robotics have been designed
to ensure humans maintain the upper hand: 1) A robot may not injure
a human being or allow a human being to come to harm 2) A robot
must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such
orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect
its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with
the First or Second Law. But what happens when a rogue robot's idea
of what is good for society contravenes the Three Laws?
Red and Slim found the two strange little animals the morning
after they heard the thunder sounds. They knew that they could
never show their new pets to their parents.
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Foundation (Paperback)
Isaac Asimov
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R316
R137
Discovery Miles 1 370
Save R179 (57%)
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST ALL-TIME SERIES The Foundation
series is Isaac Asimov's iconic masterpiece. Unfolding against the
backdrop of a crumbling Galactic Empire, the story of Hari Seldon's
two Foundations is a lasting testament to an extraordinary
imagination, one that shaped science fiction as we know it today.
The Galactic Empire has prospered for twelve thousand years. Nobody
suspects that the heart of the thriving Empire is rotten, until
psychohistorian Hari Seldon uses his new science to foresee its
terrible fate. Exiled to the desolate planet Terminus, Seldon
establishes a colony of the greatest minds in the Empire, a
Foundation which holds the key to changing the fate of the galaxy.
However, the death throes of the Empire breed hostile new enemies,
and the young Foundation's fate will be threatened first.
DISCOVER THE SAGA BEHIND THE APPLE TV+ ORIGINAL SERIES From a grand
master of science fiction comes the long awaited final novel of one
of the greatest series ever told. Completed just before his death,
FORWARD THE FOUNDATION is a crowning achievement and stirring
testament to the creative genius of Isaac Asimov. As Hari Seldon
struggles to perfect his revolutionary theory of psychohistory and
ensure a place for humanity among the stars, the once-mighty
Galactic Empire totters on the brink of apocalyptic collapse.
Caught in the maelstrom are Seldon and all he holds dear, pawns in
the struggle for dominance. Whoever can control Seldon will control
psychohistory—and with it the future of the galaxy. Among those
seeking to turn psychohistory into the greatest weapon known to man
are a populist political demagogue, the weak-willed Emperor Cleon
I, and a ruthless militaristic general. In his last act of service
to humankind, Hari Seldon must somehow save his life's work from
their grasp as he searches for his true heirs—a search that
begins with his own granddaughter and the dream of a new
Foundation.
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Foundation (Paperback)
Isaac Asimov
1
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R470
R358
Discovery Miles 3 580
Save R112 (24%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme.
Now it is dying. But only Hari Sheldon, creator of the
revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future--to
a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last
thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind,
Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire--both scientists and
scholars--and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the
Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for a fututre generations. He
calls his sanctuary the Foundation.
But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of
corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire.
Mankind's last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit
to the barbarians and be overrun--or fight them and be destroyed.
Here you will find the collective experience of three writers and
editors distilled into a complete guide to writing science fiction.
It contains separate chapters covering idea, plot, character,
background, Science, tragedy, and comedy. The twelve stories, each
a first sale by its author, illustrate the main points of the book.
A foreword by Isaac Asimov gives an overall look at the task of
becoming an SF writer, and an appendix by the editors explains
exactly how to prepare a manuscript for publication.
Caught up in an experiment gone wrong, Joseph Schwartz is
transported forward in time from post-war Chicago to the heyday of
the first Galactic Empire. Earth, he soon learns, is a backwater,
despised by the other two hundred million planets of the Empire
because its people dare to claim it as the original home of man.
And Earth is poor, with great areas of radioactivity ruining much
of its soil - so poor that everyone is sentenced to death at the
age of sixty. And Joseph Schwartz is sixty-two. Asimov's Galactic
Empire novels are among the earliest stories by one of the
twentieth century's greatest visionaries. Filled with ideas and
wonders, they are classic adventures from science fiction's Golden
Age.
Isaac Asimov’s Robot series – from the iconic collection I,
Robot to four classic novels – contains some of the most
influential works in the history of science fiction. Establishing
and testing the Three Laws of Robotics, they continue to shape the
understanding and design of artificial intelligence to this day.
What happens when a robot begins to question its creators? What
would be the consequences of creating a robot with a sense of
humour? Or the ability to lie? How do we truly tell the difference
between man and machine? In I, Robot, Asimov sets out the Three
Laws of Robotics – designed to protect humans from their robotic
creations – and pushes them to their limits and beyond. Following
genius robopsychologist Dr. Susan Calvin and engineers Powell and
Donovan, these short stories helped to transform artificial
intelligence from a dream into a science and changed perceptions of
robots for ever.
THE SECOND BOOK OF THE GALATIC EMPIRE SERIES A nova-bright
adventure and the spectacular precursor to the classic Foundation
series by a founding father of science fiction. The fate of the
galaxy hangs in the balance. High above the planet Florina, the
Squires of Sark live in unimaginable wealth and comfort. Down in
the eternal spring of its surface, however, the native Florinians
labour ceaselessly for their Sarkite masters. Rebellion is
unthinkable and impossible. But now both worlds are hurtling toward
a cataclysm, and only one man knows the truth; a man without a
memory or a past, unaware of the secret locked inside his own
brain. . . Their world is doomed.
First published fifteen years ago, shortly after his death, inside
this collection are some of the finest short stories of science
fiction writing from one of the genre's greatest writers, Isaac
Asimov. Isaac Asimov was the Grand Master of the Science Fiction
Writers of America, the founder of robot ethics, and one of the
world's most prolific authors of fiction and non-fiction. The Good
Doctor's short fiction has been enjoyed by millions for more than
half a century. Now the definitive Asimov collection is underway
with Volume One of The Complete Stories. Many of these stories are
classics of the genre, and the last, 'The Last Question', the
absolute personal favourite of Asimov himself. Always entertaining
and thought provoking, these stories display Asimov's mastery of
the short story form. He remains supreme as the thinking person's
science fiction writer.
One of Isaac Asimov's SF masterpieces, this stand-alone novel is a
monument of the flowering of SF in the 20th century. It is widely
regarded as Asimov's single best SF novel and one every SF fan
should read.
Andrew Harlan is an Eternal, a member of the elite of the future.
One of the few who live in Eternity, a location outside of place
and time, Harlan's job is to create carefully controlled and
enacted Reality Changes. These Changes are small, exactingly
calculated shifts in the course of history made for the benefit of
humankind. Though each Change has been made for the greater good,
there are always costs.
During one of his assignments, Harlan meets and falls in love with
Noÿs Lambent, a woman who lives in real time and space. Then Harlan
learns that Noÿs will cease to exist after the next change, and
risks everything to sneak her into Eternity.
Unfortunately, they are caught. Harlan's punishment? His next
assignment: kill the woman he loves before the paradox they have
created results in the destruction of Eternity.
For more than forty years, Isaac Asimov thrilled millions of
readers with his bestselling Foundation series, a spellbinding tale
of the future that spans thousands of years and dozens of worlds.
Completed just weeks before his death in April 1992, Forward the
Foundation is the seventh and concluding volume of this masterwork,
which was awarded a Hugo for the 'Best All-Time Science Fiction
Series'. In the earlier Foundation novels, Hari Seldon, the guiding
genius of the Foundation, was a figure of history. By going back to
the great mathmatician's life, in Forward the Foundation, Asimov
fills in the remaining gaps in his epic story. Asimov acknowledged
that he always regarded Seldon as his alter ego, and this novel is
all the more poignant for the fact that he himself died only weeks
after writing about Seldon's death. A resounding tour de force,
Forward the Foundation offers the dramatic climax to the Foundation
series, and perhaps the greatest moment in science fiction to date.
Isaac Asimov's Robot series - from the iconic collection I, Robot
to four classic novels - contains some of the most influential
works in the history of science fiction. Establishing and testing
the Three Laws of Robotics, they continue to shape the
understanding and design of artificial intelligence to this day. On
the planet of Solaria, Spacers live in almost complete isolation,
tended by robot servants and disgusted by the thought of human
contact. And yet, one of their number has been beaten to death.
Incapable of solving the crime, the authorities of the Outer Worlds
seek help from Earth - from renowned detective Elijah Baley.
Partnered once again with the robot Daneel Olivaw, Baley travels to
this strange new world and uncovers a plot that could change the
relationship between humans and robots for ever.
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Foundation (Paperback)
Isaac Asimov
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R246
R190
Discovery Miles 1 900
Save R56 (23%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Sheldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future--to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire--both scientists and scholars--and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for a fututre generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation. But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. Mankind's last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and be overrun--or fight them and be destroyed.
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I, Robot (Paperback)
Isaac Asimov
1
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R456
R350
Discovery Miles 3 500
Save R106 (23%)
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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The three laws of Robotics:
1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow
a human being to come to harm
2) A robot must obey orders givein to it by human beings except
where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such
protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
With these three, simple directives, Isaac Asimov changed our
perception of robots forever when he formulated the laws governing
their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of
the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its
primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the
not-so-distant future--a future in which humanity itself may be
rendered obsolete.
Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-read robots, and
robots with a sense of humor. Of robot politicians, and robots who
secretly run the world--all told with the dramatic blend of science
fact and science fiction that has become Asmiov's trademark.
"From the Hardcover edition."
In the twenty-third century pioneers have escaped the crowded earth for life in self-sustaining orbital colonies. One of the colonies, Rotor, has broken away from the solar system to create its own renegade utopia around an unknown red star two light-years from Earth: a star named Nemesis. Now a fifteen-year-old Rotorian girl has learned of the dire threat that nemesis poses to Earth's people--but she is prevented from warning them. Soon she will realize that Nemesis endangers Rotor as well. And so it will be up to her alone to save both Earth and Rotor as--drawn inexorably by Nemesis, the death star--they hurtle toward certain disaster.
Here you will find the collective experience of three writers and
editors distilled into a complete guide to writing science fiction.
Separate chapters cover Idea, Plot, Character, Background, Science,
Tragedy, and Comedy. Twelve stories, each a first sale by its
author, illustrate the main points of the book. A foreword by Isaac
Asimov gives an overall look at the task of becoming an SF writer,
and an appendix by the editors explains exactly how to prepare a
manuscript for publication.
Gold is the final and crowning achievement of the fifty-year career of science fiction's transcendent genius, the world-famous author who defined the field of science fiction for its practitioners, its millions of readers, and the world at large. The first section contains stories that range from the humorous to the profound, at the heart of which is the title story, "Gold," a moving and revealing drama about a writer who gambles everything on a chance at immortality: a gamble Asimov himself made -- and won. The second section contains the grand master's ruminations on the SF genre itself. And the final section is comprised of Asimov's thoughts on the craft and writing of science fiction.
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