The Caves of Steel - Isaac Asimov

Advantages: great concepts and thrilling whodunit
Disadvantages: none

...Asimov he is one of the most influential Sci-fi writers of the last 50 years. With the Foundation Series and the invention of the 'Three Laws of Robotics' he single-handed sets the blueprint for modern sci-fi as we know it today. However there was more to Asimov than simply science fiction. Being a real life scientist he also wrote many popular science books that introduced science to the uninitiated and managed to inspire many (including myself) ...
...mystery short stories most famously the 'Tales of the Black Widowers' series as well as books about the Bible and History. 'The Caves of Steel' is a hybrid work part Science fiction (in the 'Robot' series), part mystery novel, part detective/crime novel. THE STORY The setting is Earth sometime in the future. The Earth has become overcrowded and some colonists have settled on faraway planets, this new start bringing with it prosperity and a higher ... Read review

Advantages: As relevant now as it was 30+ years ago
Disadvantages: Still hate the term 'blaster' for a hand-weapon

...will admit to not knowing the First Law - that "a Robot my not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm". Equally no self-respecting SF reader will admit to not knowing who formulated the Law. But I wonder, how many modern readers - especially among the young - know how many laws there are, and what they are, and perhaps just as importantly, why they are. To save distraction from what follows, I'll bring ...
...laws. After all as the US Robots & Mechanical Men Corporation likes to underline in its advertising: robots are better than men. We needed Ten Commandments, and still f'd it up. Robots only need 3. The first you have. The second is: A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. And finally: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with ... Read review