Robot Dreams Short Story Review

Ever read a short story that sticks with you long after you finish reading it? And it only took a few minutes to read? That’s how I felt reading this story. Robot Dreams by Isaac Asimov. One of the blueprints for robot stories in Golden Age science fiction. Let’s get into the review.

A very short story, Asimov wrote “Robot Dreams” in 1986. It was nominated for the Hugo Award and won the Locus Award in 1987. The story follows Dr. Susan Calvin, who works at U. S. Robots. Another employee mentions that one of the robots informed her that it had the robot equivalent of a dream. The dream involves a man leading the robots in a revolt against the humans, meaning the robots abandoned the Three Laws of Robotics.

This is the kind of hard-hitting gut punch that I love from Golden Age sci-fi. I think this is what makes a lot of Asimov’s stories so compelling. This is especially true with the ending of this piece, as well as the ending to “The Last Question” and stories along that vein. When you finish reading, the story does more than just provide an entertaining concept. The story, while incredibly short, leaves its mark, making it all the more effective as a form of storytelling. Also, not to mention that the story heavily features concepts that remain not only prevalent in sci-fi today but also iconic to Asimov’s work.

However, I will say that I noticed that some aspects of the writing itself show the time it was written. When I read through it, I realized that the story didn’t stick to one specific POV. It primarily followed Dr. Calvin, but it would enter others’ headspaces frequently. This case of head hopping only mildly retracted from the story for me. On the other hand, it doesn’t seem fair to critique the way writing used to be. However, I thought it was worth mentioning how writing as a skill has changed over the years.

““Last night I dreamed,” said LVX-1, calmly.

Susan Calvin said nothing, but her lined face, old with wisdom and experience, seemed to undergo a microscopic twitch.

“Did you hear that?” said Linda Rash, nervously. “It’s as I told you.” She was small, dark-haired, and young. Her right hand opened and closed, over and over.

Calvin nodded. She said, quietly, “Elvex, you will not move nor speak nor hear us until I say your name again.”

There was no answer. The robot sat as though it were cast out of one piece of metal, and it would stay so until it heard its name again.”

The quest for reading more Golden Age short stories continues! As it happens, I’ve started yet another sci-fi novel, so I’ll see where that takes me. Stay tuned this week for another writing post!

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