Robot Dreams

Another Asimov story collection, this one misleadingly titled - less than half the 21 stories, 1947-86, are about robots. However, the title piece is a new - albeit anachronistic and ephemeral - yarn featuring robot psychologist Susan Calvin. There are illustrations. The famous entries: "Little Lost Robot" (one of the best Susan Calvin yarns), "Breeds There a Man. . .?" (anti-war device has unforeseen consequences), "Strikebreaker" (asteroidal sewage plant), "The Martian Way" (ice miners in the rings of Saturn), three Multivac tales, "The Feeling of Power" (rediscovery of elementary calculation), "Spell My Name with an S" (galactic meddlers), "The Ugly Little Boy" (Neanderthal tragedy), and "The Billiard Ball" (murder by means of). And there's a fair variety of themes in the less well-known tales, from computerized cars, memory enhancement, disembodied beings, and chats with God to love-lorn computers, visiting aliens, and a pocket version of Vonnegut's The Sirens of Titan. A useful supplement for libraries and individuals whose Asimov collections - can it be possible? - are thin. (Kirkus Reviews)