Book Review ~~ I, Robot ~

Today I read the book “I, Robot,” by Isaac Asimov, a compilation of interesting short stories about robots and the various dilemmas that come with them, as well as the Three Laws of Robotics. In one story, a mind-reading robot is created, but, because it wasn’t supposed to cause harm to humans, lies and can’t give any information of use. After all, telling humans something they didn’t want to hear would hurt them emotionally. The robot had learned why it could read minds, information which could be incredibly useful to the company that created it, but he couldn’t tell them, because even the most skilled mathematicians in the company couldn’t figure it out, and explaining it would embarrass them and hurt their ego that a robot had managed something a human couldn’t. In the end, the robot went insane because the “robopsychologist” had discovered this and was angry at the robot for lying to her; she tormented it with the dilemma and it broke down. In another story, a new and expensive robot had had its potential to avoid danger increased so that staying safe was almost as important to it as following human orders. It had been given a order that wasn’t phrased so that it seemed urgent and involved a relatively risky amount of danger, inducing a drunken state that caused the robot to leave the area he was supposed to do work at as the potential for being damaged increased and begin to return as it lessened. Eventually, one of the field “roboticists” sent to test it sent himself into danger, because, since the First Law was to keep humans from harm at all times and was a great deal more important than the other two, to the robot, the robot had to save the human. I really enjoyed the many stories in this book and recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction or other stories of Isaac Asimov’s. I would rate it 9.7/10.

Book Review ~~ Fantastic Voyage ~~

Today I read “Fantastic Voyage”, an exciting novel adapted from a movie and written by Isaac Asimov. The story is well written, containing elements of both mystery and adventure, and I really enjoyed it. Basically, five people, each with different abilities, are miniaturized and injected into a very important man’s bloodstream in a miniaturized submarine, hoping that they can destroy a blood clot with a laser (also miniaturized). However, they encounter a variety of problems at every turn, and Grant, the agent running the mission, begins to suspect that one of the people is deliberately attempting to sabotage the mission, perhaps because the man they’re trying to save could provide valuable information to Grant’s side, as he was a very intelligent man who figured out how to miniaturize people indefinitely and may have explained how to do so to the other side (only referred to as “Their side” in the book), in which case they would lose the war without the information; meanwhile, if he hasn’t, they’ll win the war with the information, meaning that the defector, if there is one, has a very good reason for wanting to ruin the mission and make it take longer than the allotted hour, after which they’ll enlarge to their regular size and kill the person they’re inside. I liked the story because it was a great mystery (I didn’t know who the sabotageur was until the end, or if there even was one) and it involved a nice blend of action and adventure. I would rate it 9.8/10 and recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction, mystery, adventure, or Asimov novels in general.

Book Review ~~ To Tell at a Glance ~~

Today, I read To Tell at a Glance, a short mystery; it can be found in “The Winds of Change and Other Stories”, by Isaac Asimov. I found Asimov’s actual writing wonderful; he drew me into the plot and told me of the situation without having to explain any of the history behind the events from a point of view other than the narrator’s; a relatively difficult task, as the story, typical of Asimov, is set in a completely different world and time. I found his writing extremely skillful, but in introducing the story’s setting so that readers would know the intricacies of the plot beforehand, he revealed the crucial clue to the mystery and capitalized on it noticeably, so that it isn’t impossible to figure out beforehand how the main character, Elaine, realizes who the impostor is; in the story, there are thirteen “Orbital Worlds”, and Elaine wants them to form a union and gain independence. She lives on the Orbital World Gamma and is providing a tour for five tourists, one of whom (her informer believes) is someone from Earth who wants to sabotage the union by sabotaging Gamma, where the union’s strongest members are; however, as each is from a different Orbital World and the others are probably important members of their own worlds, simply detaining each of them would offend the others and further delay the independence Elaine and her group desire. Though the mystery was solved easily, Asimov wrote the plot and story behind it with skill, and I would rate it 9.5/10. I recommend it to anyone who likes mystery, Asimov, or science fiction.

Book Review ~~ The Dying Night ~~

Today, I read the short story “The Dying Night”, another mystery written by Isaac Asimov. Again, the mystery seemed to be almost impossible to solve, but for a crucial piece of evidence, and I enjoyed reading the story, as Wendell Urth was, amazingly, able to come up with the necessary evidence to solve the mystery. Three astronomers were meeting at an astronomical convention; they had been classmates ten years ago, but had all left for different planets—Talliaferro to the Moon, Kaunas to Mercury, and Ryger to Ceres. Villiers, however, who had been the best of the four handpicked astronomers, had gotten rheumatic fever and was unable to get a doctorate or even leave Earth. He sent a letter to the other three, though, announcing that he had found a method of mass transference and would soon be able to go to each of those planets. He visited them, briefly, and later on they went to his room, but they decided that he must be mad and thought little of it. Shortly after their visit, though, Mandel—an important astronomer—received a call from Villiers, discerning only the  word “classmate”, but when he called back, Villiers was dead, and the paper on mass transference, which Mandel said had been real, was destroyed. The undeveloped film was found on a windowsill, but the sunlight had already destroyed it. Mandel asked his friend, Wendell Urth, to help him solve the mystery, and Urth was successful. I really enjoyed reading the story and would recommend it for anyone who likes Asimov, mystery, or wants to read an interesting story, and rate it 9.8/10. Can you solve the mystery?

Book Review ~~ What’s in a Name? ~~

Today I read the short story “What’s in a Name?”, a mystery by Isaac Asimov. I enjoyed reading the story because the detective knew who had committed the murder almost immediately, but couldn’t prove it easily. Two girls—librarians often referred to as the “Library Twins” because they looked similar at first glance—were drinking tea in the back room of the library when one of them—Louella-Marie—gave a cry and then died from potassium cyanide poisoning. The other girl, Susan Morey, had almost certainly killed her, but how could the detective prove it? She said that Louella-Marie had prepared the tea while she was at the front desk, and since it was during intersession and few people were around, no one could prove otherwise. At first, the detective wondered as to how the poison had been brought in, thinking that there would be a record, and his partner suggested that it had been smuggled in and hidden inside the Beilstein, but Professor Rodney disillusioned them quickly. There was potassium cyanide in his laboratory, and practically anyone could take it during the daylight. They tried to prove that it had been Louella-Marie at the front desk, but the few people who had visited—a German furrier and five students—didn’t know who had been at the desk, not having looked closely enough. Professor Rodney’s solution was quite ingenious and based on a simple name. The plot was carefully woven, and I would recommend the story to anyone who likes mystery, Asimov, or is just looking for an interesting book to read and rate it 9.8/10.

Book Review ~~ Nemesis ~~

“Nemesis,” by Agatha Christie, is another mystery novel, and — like most Agatha Christie novels — has a unique twist to it. After Mr. Rafiel’s death, his solicitors offer Miss Marple twenty thousand pounds if she can complete the task assigned to her — but she doesn’t know what that task is! Mr. Rafiel also sends her on a trip, though, and eventually she concludes that, on this tour, she must have to meet people that will help her in this task or visit a place that was essential to this task. As the story progresses, Miss Marple learns more from people that she meets through the tour or at various destinations, and eventually concludes that her task has something to do with Mr. Rafiel’s son, Michael, who was convicted of murdering Verity Hunt, who he supposedly loved and was going to marry before she was killed. Although Michael had been convicted of various crimes before, Miss Marple and some others doubted that he could have done it, given his character, so Miss Marple set out to learn whether or not he was the murderer, and, if not, who was. I really enjoyed reading this story and recommend it to anyone interested in a good mystery with an unusual twist. I would rate it 9.5/10.

Book Review ~~ What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! ~~

Recently, I read, “What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!” by Agatha Christie. The beginning of the story was interesting, though unusual, even for one of Christie’s murder mysteries. Mrs. McGillicuddy saw a tall, dark man strangling a woman as her train passed by a different train, where the murder occurred, and reported it to authorities — but the body wasn’t found! Eventually, her friend, Miss Marple, is informed of the problem and begins a search for the body. The exciting idea of a murder happening and the body not being found will interest you from the start, and by the time the body is found, you’ll have read enough of the book to keep you reading until the mystery is solved. I really enjoyed reading this story and learning about what the actual events of the crime. The killer’s identity was extremely surprising, and I greatly enjoyed reading about the actual motive of the crime, which was very different from what I suspected. I would rate it 9.4/10 and recommend it to anyone interested in a good story.

Book Review ~~ The Murder of Roger Ackroyd ~~

A few days ago, I finished reading the book, “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,” by Agatha Christie. I really enjoyed reading the book, which was full of twists as I tried to figure out who the murderer of Roger Ackroyd was. There were multiple motives — someone had sent Ackroyd a letter about a person who was blackmailing her, and the letter was burnt afterwards. Yet, it could just as easily be someone in his own family or house, desperate for money. Ackroyd was fairly rich, but he was still stingy with his money, often becoming angry if his wife or daughter spent money on unnecessary items. I was intrigued by how Christie was able to write the story in first person, from the point of view of a person who had visited Ackroyd shortly before his death, but still make it seem like third person, not telling the readers everything he did and only explaining some of his actions. The murderer came as a great surprise to me, and I admire Christie for being able to write such a novel without revealing what the narrator had done. I enjoyed reading the story and recommend it to anyone interested in mystery novels with almost impossible perpetrators. I would rate it 9.6/10.

Book Review ~~ The Mysterious Affair at Styles ~~

Recently, I read the book “The Mysterious Affair at Styles,” by Agatha Christie. It’s the first novel of hers featuring Hercule Poirot, so I thought it might be worth it to review it as well. I found the story to be a typical Christie novel; in this one, a rich woman is killed, only three months after she marries Alfred Inglethorp, who is, according to John Cavendish, “a fortune hunter.” Naturally, Inglethorp is the reader’s primary suspect — and yet, Poirot says that there is too much evidence against him, that the trail was laid deliberately — and looks elsewhere for the criminal! While the twist on the criminal isn’t as great as that seen in some of her later stories, it’s still quite hard to guess who it might be, as Christie predisposes you to other possible murderers first, so that it’s almost impossible to guess who the killer is until Poirot explains. I enjoyed reading it, and the ending surprised me immensely. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in mystery novels that are almost unsolvable until the detective reveals the murderer and rate it 9.4/10.

Book Review ~~ Death on the Nile ~~

Recently, I finished reading the book “Death on the Nile,” a great mystery book by Agatha Christie (I’m currently reading many of her detective novels — expect more reviews on her books soon). At first, it seems to be about a happily newlywed couple — Linnet and Simon Doyle — with only person who might cause them harm — Jacqueline Bellefort, Linnet’s former friend and Simon’s ex-fiancée — but when Linnet is killed and Jacqueline has a perfect alibi, Poirot begins to investigate the case, where everyone has either no motive or a suitable alibi. As is usual with Christie’s stories, the actual murderer is someone who no one would suspect, who, at first, no one would have believed to have killed Linnet until Poirot explains. I really enjoyed reading it, as the plot was really engaging and I couldn’t guess at the murderer until Poirot had unveiled almost every clue and had, basically, explained who the murderer was, though had not specifically said why. Even then, I didn’t guess at the full extent of the conspiracy that had happened to kill Linnet. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading mystery stories, but doesn’t have a need figure out who the murderer is beforehand — the truth is almost impossible to guess at. I would rate this book 9.4/10.