Sealed Isaac Asimov Reads His Robots of Dawn A Lije hotsell Baley Novel A Portrait of Gladia by Isaac Asimov Vinyl Record Album LP Caedmon TC 1732

Isaac Asimov Reads His The Robots of Dawn A Lije Baley Novel A Portrait of Gladia is a story written and read by Isaac Asimov on this Caedmon release. From the back cover by Isaac Asimov: Lije and Gladia by Isaac Asimov. The Robots of Dawn is the third novel of a trilogy. Fear not! Each novel is self-contained, including this third one, but I can still talk a little about the first two. As my friend Ward Botsford of Caedmon Records would say-it couldn't hurt.

The first novel, The Caves of Steel, was published by Doubleday in 1954, after it had been serialized toward the end of 1953 in Galaxy. It is set in the future, at a time when Earth is a crowded world consisting of enormous cities built largely underground.

Fifty other worlds ("Spacer worlds") have been settled by Earthmen. The descendents of the settlers have made use of biotechnology to lengthen their lifespan to between three and four centuries, have wiped out disease, and have developed powerful and advanced civilizations. Though relatively few in number, the "Spacers" now dominate an Earth still populated by short-lived, disease-ridden individuals. "Spacetown," on the outskirts of New York, with its complement of Spacers, is the real power on the planet.

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Isaac Asimov Reads His The Robots of Dawn A Lije Baley Novel A Portrait of Gladia written by Isaac Asimov

Vinyl: Sealed
Cover: Sealed, some bumps. Edge has shrink tear at opening.

Album Tracks:
Side One: 25:31
Side Two: 25:06
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Robots have reached a high pitch of perfection and are used freely on the Spacer worlds. On Earth, however, robots are feared and resented.

There is therefore a crisis when a Spacer is found to have been murdered and it is suspected that some Earthman must have committed the crime. The murderer must be found and punished quickly or all Earth will suffer. Elijah ("Lije") Baley, a detective of the New York police force, is given the task, and the Spacers insist that he work with one of their robots, Daneel Olivaw, who, as it happens, is of a new model that looks entirely human.

The murder is, of course, solved (you'll have to read The Caves of Steel for the details), and, in the process, Lije and Daneel learn to be friends. Lije gains an enviable reputation among the Spacers as an effective sleuth, and the Spacer domination of Earth is, to some extent, lifted.

The second book of the trilogy is The Naked Sun, published by Doubleday in 1957, after being serialized in Astounding Science Fiction late in 1956.

The scene is now Solaria, the last of the Spacer worlds to be settled. On this world there are very few human beings and very many robots-precisely the reverse of the situation on Earth. There are so few human beings that they never need see each other-and never do. All contact is by way of closed-circuit television ("viewing") except for rare occasions when husband and wife must make physical contact.

On Solaria, a man is killed with a blunt instrument, but who could have been close enough to do so? Only his wife, Gladia, is a possible suspect, but she could not have done it either.

So Lije Baley and Daneel Olivaw must go to Solaria, a year after their first case, to solve the puzzle, with Earth's officials stressing the dangers that failure might pose for Earth.

The task is not an easy one, but Lije once again manages to solve the mystery and come up with what is indeed a surprising solution (and, once again, you will have to read The Naked Sun for the details).

In the course of the investigation, Lije finds himself powerfully attracted to Gladia, but, of course, any intimacy between an Earthman and a Spacer woman is quite unthinkable. For one thing, Gladia, as would be true of any Spacer, is deathly afraid of infection and disease if she should make contact with anyone from Earth. Even so, her last act is to remove her glove and touch his cheek with her bare hand.

Gladia then hotsell leaves for the longest-settled and most powerful of the Spacer worlds, Aurora. That is Daneel's home-world, too. As for Lije, he returns to Earth.

But then, two years later, on Aurora, the most advanced robot in all the worlds is destroyed, and the only suspect seems to be the best friend Earth has among the Spacers-the one Spacer who has Earth's interests at heart.

Once again Lije must go out into space-to Aurora-with the fate of Earth riding on his back and, with that, The Robots of Dawn begins.

Lije and Daneel are together again, and once on Aurora, Lije meets Gladia once more. The complications are many and the mystery deepens with each move.

This record contains scenes from the novel and, in particular, the interplay between Lije and Gladia and between Lije and the robots of Aurora-or, if we remember our Latin, the robots of dawn.

I'm reading those scenes on the recording. I'm not the world's best actor-in fact, I'm no actor at all-but the words I read are mine which, perhaps, will lend them a bit of dimension.

And one other thing: The scenes, while interesting in themselves, by no means reveal the full meaning of the book, or the denouement. For that, yet again, you must read The Robots of Dawn. THE END - Isaac Asimov

It is perfectly obvious on internal evidence that Isaac Asimov is a figment of someone's imagination. It is self evident that no one can write 280 (or is it 282 or 283 or 284) books with such diverse titles as The Sensuous Dirty Old Man and The Asimov Guide to the Bible - not to mention The Foundation Quartet Caedmon TC 1508, TC 1527, TC 1661, TC 1710) and a host of other bestselling volumes both fiction and nonfiction. So let us merely say that if there was no Isaac Asimov, it would have been necessary to invent him.

Among Dr. Asimov's greatest inventions is the Three Laws of Robotics, first postulated in one of his first robot stories called Runabout, which appeared in the March Astounding Science Fiction of 1942. These Three Laws are disarming in their simplicity and logic. One might almost say, "Why, anyone could have thought of that!" Anyone could have; but it happened to be Isaac.

Now, at the time it was written, computers and robots existed only in the imagination. But today's marvels are routinely in the morning paper, the home, the factory and the office. Yet it is only recently that a real, genuine robot for the home has been available. Not long after Heathkit began marketing HERO 1 both as a kit -"Build yourself a robot" -and made to order, it has been obvious he and Dr. Asimov must be introduced. This momentous occasion took place on June 8, 1983, at Heathkit's White Plains store when Hero tooled around the corner of a computer, lifted his claw in supplication and with misty red eyes raised to the good Doctor said: "DADDY!" and repeated the Three Laws. With the kind assistance of Heathkit, HERO I begins this record with a recitation of these Three Laws. Pay attention! The solution to the mystery of The Robots of Dawn is contained therein! -Ward Botsford

CREDITS: The Three Laws of Robotics spoken by HERO 1, the world's first sophisticated personal/teaching robot. HERO 1 was designed and manufactured by Heath Company
Cover 1983 Leo and Diane Dillon
Liner photograph 1983 Fred Scruton
Library of Congress #: 83-740020

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