I basically did a one-eighty from fantasy-obsessed to sci-fi-obsessed when I discovered science fiction was more than bumpy-headed aliens and awkward nerds (I’m not dissing either, though!). Even my X-Files poster is finally seeing the light of day again after being locked away in the Warehouse 13 mockery I call my closet. (Now if only I had a poster of Mulder …)

The Naked Sun

I read The Caves of Steel for one of my classes, and even though Isaac Asimov spreads the action pretty thin, I did enjoy the good ol’ detective mystery with robots. Plus, the fact that Elijah Baley’s partner is the humanoid robot R. Daneel Olivaw just makes it even juicer. Goddamn you, positronic brain!

As far as content goes, the Caves of Steel sequel, The Naked Sun, didn’t really step the game up more than a notch. Baley is still a detective (albeit a higher-ranking one), Daneel is still a robot (only this time his Auroran disguise is especially critical), and the book starts (again) with a murder. When someone or something murders Rikainne Delmarre in his own home, the Solarian government requests an Earthman to investigate—and of course, that Earthman turns out to be Plainclothesman Baley.

Like The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun presents a good mystery and offers solid, interesting ideas and themes, but honestly I thought the first book in the Robot series had a little more bulk to it. Either way, I still like Asimov—even if it felt like he just churned out The Caves of Steel again, but on a different planet and with a different twist. There’s certainly no mistaking Asimov’s style, but I guess I expected more of a complex plot with more characters. The Naked Sun was a good read, so most likely I’ll pick up the third novel.