Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsPractically perfect anthology
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 29, 2014
I got this through Bookbub for $.99. I bought it because I like short stories, I enjoy anthologies, and most of all because I have always loved stories, novels, movies, whatever, about robots! Other than that, I had practically no expectations about the stories I would find in this book. I had never heard of any of the authors. I have learned since that several of them are popular and successful indie-published writers, but I am not up on who's hot in that field.
I did know what I expected from an anthology of science fiction short stories. A few classics from Famous Authors which I've read in a dozen other anthologies already. A few total duds which I would either painfully slog through, or meh-quit halfway through. And at least two or three awesomely cool stories that were new to me, which would (ideally) justify the price of admission (in cash) and the investment of time (in reading).
This collection blew my expectations away. I didn't gamble much on the price, but I will tell you that this one is worth the full price if you weren't as lucky as I to get it through Bookbub. As I mentioned, all of the authors, and hence all of the stories, were brand-new to me. I didn't find any stories in the collection which are duds. Every one of them succeeds in both entertaining me and making me think, and there is no higher goal any science fiction can attain, be it short story, novel, or ten-book maxi-series.
Oh, and since many readers and reviewers of e-books won't touch one if it has typos, misspelled words, broken grammar, flawed punctuation, or any other signs of lack of an editor and proofreader, allow me to assure you that the editing and proofreading of this volume is top-notch, and you will not find any of those annoying (for some of you, deal-breaking) gaffs here. I myself don't write off a book because of a few glitches, but I do e-mail the author and politely let him or her know what I found.
The other reviews have already done a great job of describing the individual stories. If any of those sparks your interest (and if not, short stories about robots are just Not Your Thing, and that's fine), then I invite you to purchase The Robot Chronicles, move it to somewhere in the top ten of your e-reader's list, and read these amazing stories as soon as you can. And if, like me, you read Asimov's I, Robot years ago, loved it, and would love nothing better than to read some new stories just as good, just as emotionally gripping, just as thought-provoking, then do what I did: after you buy this book, put it at the top of your list, and read all the stories straight through. You won't regret it for a second.
Now I need to track down the other works by the authors of these stories. I've been missing out on some books I really have to read!
