| THE SOUL OF THE ROBOT |
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Doubleday, 1976 [this edition is abridged] Condor, 1976, cover art A. Echevarria Allison & Busby, UK Orbit, UK Pan, UK Edhasa, 1980 (Spain) as "El Alma del Robot" Taschenbücher (Germany) as "Die Seele des Roboters" Hayakawa (Japan) |
He was unique. Alone in a world that did not understand him, he tested the super-powers of his mind and body. More than a machine, but less than a man, he searched restlessly for the truth. Before his quest was done, he had died and been reborn, had fought his way from a grim dungeon to a royal throne. But still it was not enough..
THE SOUL OF THE ROBOT is a rare blend of exciting adventure and thought-provoking ideas. Its fast-paced action makes it compelling reading. Its challenging religious and philosophical implications linger on long after the story ends.
"A wonderful, fascinating, memorable novel." - Michael Moorcock
"..study in robot existentialism ... makes complex play with a number of philosophical paradoxes, though BJB's touch here is uncharacteristically light." - John Clute
"Bayley has taken Asimov's robotics stories one step further...He brings the picaresque tradition to science-fiction traditions." - James Gunn
"Bayley has the disconcerting ability, like the robotician in this novel, of removing an inspection plate from the back of your skull and makind adjustments therein..." - Andrew Darlington, Arena 10
[read Brian Stableford's review of the novel]
| Barrington Bayley: Long after I had written it I realized that THE SOUL OF THE ROBOT repeats the story of the Little Gingerbread Man, who comes out of the oven, runs out of the door looking for adventure, and in four gulps ceases to exist." |