The Positronic Man - Isaac Asimov

Very few people fail to recognise the name Isaac Asimov: regarded as one of the great American science fiction writers of the 60s, along with Arthur C Clarke and Robert E Heinlein, he is probably most famous today for 'I, Robot' and its fictional Three Laws of Robotics. Asimov was a scientist, born in 1920 and publishing most of his work in the 1950s and 60s. By today's standards, his writing is clinical and unemotional - more science than drama, but his work is still an inspiration to many for its insight and innovation. 'The Positronic Man' started life in 1976 as a commissioned short story called 'Bicentennial Man', the original story was later expanded by ...  Read the complete review

This is very much in the spirit of Pinocchio or Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Basically it's a novel, set in a futuristic world in which every family has a robot. This particular robot, the Positronic Man of the title, wants to become human. That's the gist of the story. There is more to it than just that, and being an Asimov story it is very well written, of course. Sadly, I just could never get into this book. Let me say, I am a major Asimov fan, I have loved his work since I was a child, and even now, as a middle-aged Mum, I can read and enjoy his books over and over again. This one, for me anyway, is just the exception to the rule. ...  Read the complete review

I have read this book several times, before and after seeing the film of bicentennial man which is basically the same story with a different name. This book starts off by describing the setting: the family of the story is the Martin family of which there are many generations within the book. The Martin family purchase a robot/android whom has the serial code with the letters AND i it, because of this the daughter in the family decides that the robot deserved to be called Andrew Martin. With time Andrew begins to show skills which shouldn't normally be seen on an android i.e it begins to become very creative with pieces of wood and his own 'imagination'. ...  Read the complete review