Suvudu Universe

Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot: To Obey by Mickey Zucker Reichert

Synopsis:
Law 2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

2036: Robotic technology has evolved into the realm of self-aware, sentient mechanical entities. But even as humanity contends with the consequences of its most brilliant creation, there are those who have their own designs for the robots: enslavement…or annihilation.

Susan Calvin is about to enter her second year as a psych resident at the Manhattan Hasbro teaching hospital when a violent crime strikes her very close to home.

When she was young, Susan lost her mother in a terrible car wreck that also badly injured her father. She now believes the accident was an attempted murder by government powers who wanted her parents dead. Susan has always known that there was a faction of the U.S. government that wanted to hijack her father’s work for military use. Now, it seems that faction is back.

As she struggles to overcome her pain and confusion as well as deal with her studies, Susan finds herself hunted by violent anti-tech vigilantes who would revert mankind to the dark ages—and at the same time watched very closely by extremists who want high-tech genocide. Somehow she must find a way to stop them both.

Review:
Susan cares deeply for her patients, and takes their cases personally – looking for misdiagnosis and cures instead of just treating the way former doctors have. And as she is just recovering from her boyfriend’s death, another murder happens to someone close to her. Now Susan must put aside her career to uncover a mystery about her past and the present while fleeing from people who think she holds the secret to unlocking the robotic laws.

This sequel is even more exciting than the last novel. Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot: To Obey blends medical drama, science fiction, mystery, and intrigue. Though the action doesn’t really pick up until about a third of the way in the novel. While the first part is interesting and moving, I don’t get as into medical drama and procedures. However, the second half of the book certainly pays off as Susan gets pulled into her father’s work and a fight against an unknown enemy. Susan is a great character; and the story is intriguing. I look forward to the next in this solid series.