The Robots of Dawn (1983)
The Robots of Dawn is a 1983 american science fiction book written by Isaac Asimov.
A murder on a world where no one carries a weapon and every household runs on robots. Detective Elijah Baley leaves the sealed cities of Earth for Aurora, oldest and proudest of the Spacer worlds, to investigate the destruction of a humaniform robot so advanced it could pass for a man. The prime suspect is the one roboticist capable of building it, and Baley must clear him. Working again beside R. Daneel Olivaw, his positronic partner, he faces Auroran customs, open skies that terrify a city-bred Earthman, and stakes that reach well past a single crime.
Quick answers
What is The Robots of Dawn about?
A murder on a world where no one carries a weapon and every household runs on robots. Detective Elijah Baley leaves the sealed cities of Earth for Aurora, oldest and proudest of the Spacer worlds, to investigate the destruction of a humaniform robot so advanced it could pass for a man. The prime suspect is the one roboticist capable of building it, and Baley must clear him. Working again beside R. Daneel Olivaw, his positronic partner, he faces Auroran customs, open skies that terrify a city-bred Earthman, and stakes that reach well past a single crime.
When was The Robots of Dawn published?
The Robots of Dawn was published in 1983.
Who made The Robots of Dawn?
The Robots of Dawn was written by Isaac Asimov.
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A few thoughts on The Robots of Dawn
Fans of thinking-machine mysteries should try Blade Runner, whose replicants raise the same question of where the human line falls, and Ex Machina for its intimate test of a built mind. For a playable version of Baley's moral puzzles, Detroit: Become Human puts you inside androids weighing obedience against conscience.
Murder cases built around a robot built to pass for human
The victim in The Robots of Dawn is a humaniform robot built so well it could pass for a man, and the whole case turns on what that means. Detroit: Become Human, Blade Runner, Ex Machina and Ghost in the Shell all build their story around a robot convincing enough to blur the line.
The genius who built something too perfect and has to answer for it
The one roboticist skilled enough to have built the robot in The Robots of Dawn is also the prime suspect, and Baley has to clear him without knowing the full design. BioShock, Half-Life, Portal 2 and Mass Effect 2 each follow a brilliant creator forced to reckon with what their invention actually did.
Investigators dropped into a culture where the rules are completely different
Baley leaves the sealed cities of Earth for Aurora in The Robots of Dawn, and every custom about robots turns out to work differently there. Avatar: Fire and Ash, Breath of the Wild, Assassin's Creed II and Galaxy Express 999 all send a traveler into a culture whose rules they have to learn fast.