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Adam Link, Robot
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Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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140 people want to read
About the author
Eando Binder
121 books12 followersA pseudonym used by brothers
Earl Andrew Binder and Otto Oscar Binder
Earl Andrew Binder and Otto Oscar Binder
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 6, 2022
A fix-up novel of the once famous Adam Link stories which were an influence on Isaac Asimov. Eando Binder was a pseudonym of famed comics writer Otto Binder, and it shows. Very pulpy and silly, especially by today's standards, but a lot of fun, and culturally important for featuring an early sympathetic robot.
October 19, 2021
Adam Link is a mostly forgotten character now, but was once somewhat well known. The character inspired Asimov to write his first robot story, sealing itself as a foundational work of science fiction. This fix-up novel collects the seemingly endless and harrowing adventures of Adam Link and his various friends, told in first person.
This was a hard one to read. It's heavy-handed and cheesy. The writing is blunt and simple and lacks any kind of style. It reads like a mid-century comic book. The good people are good and the bad people are bad and there is little subtly or nuance. I'm pretty sure Frankenstein was mentioned in every chapter, at least once. Despite being mostly silly and neutered, the last chapter is abruptly violent.
I wouldn't recommend this for anyone who isn't either deeply interested in the history of robots in fiction, or who isn't seven to ten years old. I'm only giving this three stars because it's a time-and-place kind of thing and it has an important place in SF history.
This was a hard one to read. It's heavy-handed and cheesy. The writing is blunt and simple and lacks any kind of style. It reads like a mid-century comic book. The good people are good and the bad people are bad and there is little subtly or nuance. I'm pretty sure Frankenstein was mentioned in every chapter, at least once. Despite being mostly silly and neutered, the last chapter is abruptly violent.
I wouldn't recommend this for anyone who isn't either deeply interested in the history of robots in fiction, or who isn't seven to ten years old. I'm only giving this three stars because it's a time-and-place kind of thing and it has an important place in SF history.
November 23, 2024
it started out with a robot slice of life story and then suddenly aliens showed up in the last third??? like ok. I guess. also the fact that everyone kept dying-but-not-actually…like at least three different characters. And then they saved the world, the president showed up at the end and everyone clapped, etc.
August 21, 2017
This novel (originally a series of short stories published in Amazing Stories magazine in the late 1930s-early 1940s) is told in the first person by Adam Link, the robot, but it says a lot about the human race and our prejudices. It's a good, solid science fiction adventure story, but it also has heart. It was way ahead of its time. A classic.
June 28, 2018
An interesting artifact.
The stories compiled into book form here are of interest primarily for the influence the first (“I, Robot” 1939) had on Issac Asimov. The series gets off to a strong start, with the first two stories’ first-person narration of how Adam Link’s robot-brain and human characteristics were formed and the initial response of frightened humanity to a thinking machine. The quality goes down markedly after that, with stories that are rather juvenile and cartoonish: robot Adam Link building his “metal mate” Eve and taking on cardboard cut-out villains. It also includes such silly plot devices as Adam rather routinely popping off his own robot head/brain and popping it on to a different robot body more suitable for the mission at hand, and Adam easily passing himself off as human at close quarters through superficial application of makeup.
The plots remain broad and simplistic, but the general quality picks up again towards the end when some existential ideas about the human/robot condition are at least touched upon if not deeply explored. The final story is fundamentally different: faced with an alien (non-human) foe, Adam Link becomes nihilistic and as murderous as a mechanical Conan the Barbarian.
In Binder’s world there are no programmed laws of robotics: robot behavior is regulated only by their character and values, which are entirely learned conditions. (Even gender identity is a learned condition for a Binder robot.) But in some of the stories that came after Asimov’s first Binder-inspired robot stories had seen print, he has Adam Link explicitly articulating principles governing his actions that are virtual paraphrases of Asimov’s laws of robotics, even the zeroth law. A possible reverse-influence?
Still, reading these, one is reminded that Otto Binder spend the 40s through the 60s writing for comic books. An interesting sci-fi history artifact, but uneven and rather weak if forced to stand on their own.
The stories compiled into book form here are of interest primarily for the influence the first (“I, Robot” 1939) had on Issac Asimov. The series gets off to a strong start, with the first two stories’ first-person narration of how Adam Link’s robot-brain and human characteristics were formed and the initial response of frightened humanity to a thinking machine. The quality goes down markedly after that, with stories that are rather juvenile and cartoonish: robot Adam Link building his “metal mate” Eve and taking on cardboard cut-out villains. It also includes such silly plot devices as Adam rather routinely popping off his own robot head/brain and popping it on to a different robot body more suitable for the mission at hand, and Adam easily passing himself off as human at close quarters through superficial application of makeup.
The plots remain broad and simplistic, but the general quality picks up again towards the end when some existential ideas about the human/robot condition are at least touched upon if not deeply explored. The final story is fundamentally different: faced with an alien (non-human) foe, Adam Link becomes nihilistic and as murderous as a mechanical Conan the Barbarian.
In Binder’s world there are no programmed laws of robotics: robot behavior is regulated only by their character and values, which are entirely learned conditions. (Even gender identity is a learned condition for a Binder robot.) But in some of the stories that came after Asimov’s first Binder-inspired robot stories had seen print, he has Adam Link explicitly articulating principles governing his actions that are virtual paraphrases of Asimov’s laws of robotics, even the zeroth law. A possible reverse-influence?
Still, reading these, one is reminded that Otto Binder spend the 40s through the 60s writing for comic books. An interesting sci-fi history artifact, but uneven and rather weak if forced to stand on their own.
April 13, 2020
I've never denied that I feel I should read the classics, or the stories that spawned various tropes, to have a good understanding of a genre's history. I am aware that Asimov is considered the robot writer by many, but the Binder brothers here craft a tale that veers very close to horror.
I say horror, because Adam appears to not only be one of the first fully developed robots in science fiction, but also an AI. An AI who ponders, more than once what does he owe the human race? An AI who understands that he is developing emotions of his own, and that he has little in common with humans. This becomes a significant factor towards the book's end.
Adam can replicate his late creator's work, and does so in building a female robot to be his companion. He does not want conflict between robots and humans, but has moments where he believes that said conflict might be inevitable.
It is Adam's dark musings that pushes this story towards horror. Because humans would have no hope against Adam and his kind.
Some might be familiar with the original Outer Limits episode that featured a much kinder Adam (and Leonard Nimoy).
I say horror, because Adam appears to not only be one of the first fully developed robots in science fiction, but also an AI. An AI who ponders, more than once what does he owe the human race? An AI who understands that he is developing emotions of his own, and that he has little in common with humans. This becomes a significant factor towards the book's end.
Adam can replicate his late creator's work, and does so in building a female robot to be his companion. He does not want conflict between robots and humans, but has moments where he believes that said conflict might be inevitable.
It is Adam's dark musings that pushes this story towards horror. Because humans would have no hope against Adam and his kind.
Some might be familiar with the original Outer Limits episode that featured a much kinder Adam (and Leonard Nimoy).
March 16, 2019
Adam Link, Robot, based on stories written by Eando Binder (Earl and Otto Binder) a couple decades before this novelization, seems crudely written, typical of early pulp fiction, and I almost wanted to put it down during the first few chapters. I would have given it 2½ stars, but would have bumped it up to 4 because the authors deserve extra credit for being first to explore some concepts about robots -- human rights & citizenship for robots, robot emotions, robot romance, etc., though I'm not sure exactly which, since Asimov was writing almost contemporaneously. Having said all that, I actually got interested in the second half, which includes an alien invasion, and would have given it 3½ - 4 stars anyway!
July 10, 2023
This story of the first self-aware robot and his uneasy relationship with humanity made me double-check the publication date: it feels so very X-Men in humanity fearing robots as a potential homo superior and Adam Link trying to convince humanity otherwise. While not great art, the stories are entertaining. And I really love Adam's eventual partner, Eve. Adam waffles a lot about how women aren't fathomable, even by his super-computer brain so I expected a bad gender stereotype. Instead Eve's smart, formidable and doesn't wind up dying tragically.
December 28, 2018
One of my favs. I enjoyed this character and his learning curve on how to function in a human world. It had an Outer Limits episode made out of it, with a different outcome. Gave me a lot to think about as a child...
March 1, 2024
If you love early sf pulps, and especially want to know what inspired Asimov to write his masterpiece "I Robot," this is your introduction. Part "Pinocchio," part "Frankenstein," all heart, Adam Link deserves to take his place in the pantheon of science fiction firsts.
November 20, 2017
and barely a 3, but it could be made into an interesting movie with lots of sequels
sony-or-android
May 14, 2020because "eando" is known to fans of classic sf and I want to be more well-read of the old stuff... also robot stories are often cool even if clunky... ;)
February 1, 2021
Like reading a cool comic book.
July 14, 2025
For the genre historians. Reads like a comic book without pictures, but pictures are what makes comic books good.
March 11, 2017
Good old-fashioned sci-fi
OK, the science is far-fetched and the plot is a little predictable, but this book is a fun adventure story. Although it was written before even I was born, one issue resonates still today: the question of identity and who can claim citizenship and who gets to decide these questions. Adam Link, Robot, doesn't really provide any answers, but as the United States and other countries in the West struggle with immigration issues, refugee crises, and battles over gay rights, this book should maybe make you think. And that is a good thing.
OK, the science is far-fetched and the plot is a little predictable, but this book is a fun adventure story. Although it was written before even I was born, one issue resonates still today: the question of identity and who can claim citizenship and who gets to decide these questions. Adam Link, Robot, doesn't really provide any answers, but as the United States and other countries in the West struggle with immigration issues, refugee crises, and battles over gay rights, this book should maybe make you think. And that is a good thing.
January 3, 2025
“i, robot” was originally a short story written by eando binder (pen name of author duo earl and otto binder), first published in the jan 1939 issue of Amazing Stories, the first american sci-fi magazine. it tells the story of a robot named adam link who is suspected of murdering his creator. in the subsequent episodes, adam is put on trial, goes through various obstacles in an attempt to prove his humanity and gain citizenship, falls in love, becomes a detective, saves the world from aliens, and so on. these short stories then received comic book adaptations, and were eventually compiled into a single novel titled “adam link- robot”, which is this edition, published in 1965.
the title “i, robot” was later used (dare i say plagiarized) for an original, unrelated publication by isaac asimov, against his wishes. in 1979, asimov wrote:
“[I, Robot] certainly caught my attention. Two months after I read it, I began “Robbie”, about a sympathetic robot, and that was the start of my positronic robot series. Eleven years later, when nine of my robot stories were collected into a book, the publisher named the collection I, Robot over my objections. My book is now the more famous, but Otto’s story was there first.”
the 2004 film starring will smith, undoubtedly the most famous of all the “i, robot”s, borrows some elements from asimov’s works, but is in fact based on the 1995 screenplay “hardwired” by jeff vinta. it was the studio who decided on the title of “i, robot.” in response, vinta decided to borrow a character name as well as the famous “3 laws of robotics” from asimov’s novel.
so now you know the origin of the title. the phrase “i, robot” is itself not uttered in the binders’ novella, although i did find two “i, adam link”s.
figuring this out took a bit of digging as the wiki is not totally complete. the following site has a more in depth chronology.
https://darkworldsquarterly.gwthomas....
the title “i, robot” was later used (dare i say plagiarized) for an original, unrelated publication by isaac asimov, against his wishes. in 1979, asimov wrote:
“[I, Robot] certainly caught my attention. Two months after I read it, I began “Robbie”, about a sympathetic robot, and that was the start of my positronic robot series. Eleven years later, when nine of my robot stories were collected into a book, the publisher named the collection I, Robot over my objections. My book is now the more famous, but Otto’s story was there first.”
the 2004 film starring will smith, undoubtedly the most famous of all the “i, robot”s, borrows some elements from asimov’s works, but is in fact based on the 1995 screenplay “hardwired” by jeff vinta. it was the studio who decided on the title of “i, robot.” in response, vinta decided to borrow a character name as well as the famous “3 laws of robotics” from asimov’s novel.
so now you know the origin of the title. the phrase “i, robot” is itself not uttered in the binders’ novella, although i did find two “i, adam link”s.
figuring this out took a bit of digging as the wiki is not totally complete. the following site has a more in depth chronology.
https://darkworldsquarterly.gwthomas....
July 19, 2016
This is a spoiler-free review. Visit my blog for a complete review.
This will be one of those post-book commentaries (I don’t dare to call all of them “reviews”) that are really difficult to write, because almost a year has passed since I read the book, and it wasn’t that good to remember that well. It took me two and a half months to finish, and that alone should tell you plenty.
That being said, I had to read it. Not because someone told me to, but because I was that determined to be thorough with my fictional AI research. Based on numerous recommendations, I was planning to finally read Asimov’s I, Robot. How could I possibly skip Adam Link, the original I, Robot, the one that inspired Asimov to write Robbie?
The only reason I rated this book 3 stars out of 5 is because of its historical (or should I say influential?) significance. When rating an old book I am always torn between “I should probably not judge it by nowadays standards” and “but I guess seeing if it’s still relevant today should be part of the rating”. I understand the idea was rather new at the time, and I acknowledge its significant contribution to the genre, but, to be perfectly honest, it just bored me to tears.
This will be one of those post-book commentaries (I don’t dare to call all of them “reviews”) that are really difficult to write, because almost a year has passed since I read the book, and it wasn’t that good to remember that well. It took me two and a half months to finish, and that alone should tell you plenty.
That being said, I had to read it. Not because someone told me to, but because I was that determined to be thorough with my fictional AI research. Based on numerous recommendations, I was planning to finally read Asimov’s I, Robot. How could I possibly skip Adam Link, the original I, Robot, the one that inspired Asimov to write Robbie?
The only reason I rated this book 3 stars out of 5 is because of its historical (or should I say influential?) significance. When rating an old book I am always torn between “I should probably not judge it by nowadays standards” and “but I guess seeing if it’s still relevant today should be part of the rating”. I understand the idea was rather new at the time, and I acknowledge its significant contribution to the genre, but, to be perfectly honest, it just bored me to tears.
December 5, 2017
Generally when one writer hits on an idea it inspires many other writers to explore similar paths. Brothers E and O Binder came up with the idea of an intelligent robot. One could argue the idea goes back to Pygmalion of Greek mythology, but that's neither here nor there. Perhaps the most interesting thing about it is it led to Isaac Asimov's robot series where iridium-sponge brains were replaced by positronic circuitry. This is science fiction in the classic style where a few terms are tossed around and used as a launching pad for fantasy settings. Whether it's good or bad depends on how much you like that sort of thing. I found it okay at best. Some of the attitudes are dated but they reflect the time. It's good if you read it, but it really not essential.
April 17, 2015
Adam Link - Robot was OK; I don't regret reading it but I don't know that I would have missed anything if I hadn't. I'm a big fan of robot stories, so from a completist POV I'm glad I read it; but Adam Link doesn't feel particularly robot-like to me. He could just as easily be a superhuman.
The 10 Adam Link stories this novel was based on were first published between 1939 and 1942. The stories were collected (and revised?) in 1965 for this volume. There's also a single page epilogue which I assume is new.
I suppose I'm a purist of sorts, but I'm curious about how many (if any) changes were made for the book publication. I wish I had (and had read) a straight up collection of the short stories. One was published in 2009 (The Complete Adventures Of Adam Link), but I missed it, and in Amazon marketplace the cheapest copy (of only 3) is over $300, so I guess I'm out of luck. (Alibris doesn't show any copies!)
The 10 Adam Link stories this novel was based on were first published between 1939 and 1942. The stories were collected (and revised?) in 1965 for this volume. There's also a single page epilogue which I assume is new.
I suppose I'm a purist of sorts, but I'm curious about how many (if any) changes were made for the book publication. I wish I had (and had read) a straight up collection of the short stories. One was published in 2009 (The Complete Adventures Of Adam Link), but I missed it, and in Amazon marketplace the cheapest copy (of only 3) is over $300, so I guess I'm out of luck. (Alibris doesn't show any copies!)
October 10, 2014
"Intelligent robots can help civilization. But not as slaves, or pieces of property. For then one day the robots might revolt"
Reading passages like that early on, led me to almost believe that Adam Link, Robot was the second coming of R.U.R.
However, subsequent malevolent scientist spewed dialogue such as "Adam Link...your brain controls every cable and cog in your body. But your brain, in turn is under my command. I am amazed at my own success..." or banter from Outer Space Foes such as "Our radio has just contacted Ship Two, which is now approaching the Solar System. Leave all posts and come to the Apex Room. Chief Thorg wishes to outline further plans,..." ultimately revealed otherwise.
Adam Link, Robot ~ while having some interesting concepts (e.g. what does it really mean to be human?) ~ really comes across often as pulpish storytelling in the Gernsbackian tradition. Generally it's good pulpish storytelling in the Gernsbackian tradition, so it ekes out a rating of 4.
Reading passages like that early on, led me to almost believe that Adam Link, Robot was the second coming of R.U.R.
However, subsequent malevolent scientist spewed dialogue such as "Adam Link...your brain controls every cable and cog in your body. But your brain, in turn is under my command. I am amazed at my own success..." or banter from Outer Space Foes such as "Our radio has just contacted Ship Two, which is now approaching the Solar System. Leave all posts and come to the Apex Room. Chief Thorg wishes to outline further plans,..." ultimately revealed otherwise.
Adam Link, Robot ~ while having some interesting concepts (e.g. what does it really mean to be human?) ~ really comes across often as pulpish storytelling in the Gernsbackian tradition. Generally it's good pulpish storytelling in the Gernsbackian tradition, so it ekes out a rating of 4.
December 10, 2016
Questo libro è un'antologia di racconti scritti fra il 1939 e il 1940. Ha ispirato tutta la saga dei robot di Asimov (Il primo racconto dei Binder infatti si chiama Io, Robot. Suona familiare?)
I racconti sono raccontati in prima persona dal robot, che si chiama Adam Link, e non risponde alle famose tre leggi della robotica perché beh..non esistono ancora. È un robot con pretese di umanità, anche la sua descrizione è più focalizzata sulla componente mentale "umana" che non quella fisica e più che la componente fantascientifica è esaltata la parte filosofica dell'esistenza. I robot intelligenti sono vivi? Sono capaci di amare?
Purtroppo ho trovato un po' di confusione fra un racconto e l'altro, alcuni problemi di concetto nella trama, e in generale tutti i racconti sono scritti con una sorta di ingenuità, comprensibile nel caso di un genere, quello della fantascienza robotica, agli albori.
L'ho trovato a volte stimolante, a volte esasperante. Più spesso la seconda della prima.
I racconti sono raccontati in prima persona dal robot, che si chiama Adam Link, e non risponde alle famose tre leggi della robotica perché beh..non esistono ancora. È un robot con pretese di umanità, anche la sua descrizione è più focalizzata sulla componente mentale "umana" che non quella fisica e più che la componente fantascientifica è esaltata la parte filosofica dell'esistenza. I robot intelligenti sono vivi? Sono capaci di amare?
Purtroppo ho trovato un po' di confusione fra un racconto e l'altro, alcuni problemi di concetto nella trama, e in generale tutti i racconti sono scritti con una sorta di ingenuità, comprensibile nel caso di un genere, quello della fantascienza robotica, agli albori.
L'ho trovato a volte stimolante, a volte esasperante. Più spesso la seconda della prima.
January 13, 2011
Adam Link has some interesting sci-fi concepts considering the original stories were published as early as 1939 - 1942. Namely the whole human-robot trope which was explored by later writers like Asimov and Philip K. Dick; the first story in this series being called 'I, Robot' which was later appropriated by Asimov, although unwillingly on his part from what I've read.
I'm not sure if the version I read was the original from the late 30s/early 40s or whether it was rehashed for the first paper back edition in the 1960s. But whatever the case it was a poor read. As so often in sci-fi the concepts are exciting but the writing is piss-poor. The first story is not too bad but the later stories suffer from 'jumping the shark' syndrome as Adam Link fights gangsters, the yellow press and aliens resembling oxen - very hammy.
February 6, 2015
Very reminiscent of Frankenstein, all the way up until it is mentioned at the end. The interesting thing for me is that it “misses” probably due to being written so long ago. It is basically the Frankenstein metaphor of AI just with gears and wheels. That is, learning would occur in a human-like manner, just at a much more rapid rate. What it misses, is that would not be true for an AI system. In an AI brain the knowledge or at least “encyclopedic” knowledge could be pre-loaded. There would be no need for learning of facts to be experiential (a list of n nouns and action verbs could have been installed in the brain before it was “awake” as opposed to presenting the in a written format post-birth. So if it just reduces down to a re-telling of the Frankenstein story, is it really that innovative?
March 7, 2008
This was one of the 1st, if not THE 1st robot bk I ever read. I probably read it when it was hot-off-the-presses in 1965 when I was 11 or 12. I don't remember it at all except for a sortof warm fuzzy feeling associated w/ having read ANYTHING that I liked at that age. I've never heard of the author since. On the front cover, Issac Asimov promotes the bk by saying: "The robot-with-emotion has rarely been so well-handled." Even though that's probably just hype I think it's interesting b/c just how many entire novels had been written by them about the "robot-with-emotion"? It doesn't seem like it cd've been that many!
April 8, 2014
Before Asimov's I, Robotincidentally the title of the first Adam Link story we have this collection of short stories adapted in this edition into one continues story. Binder differed considerably from Asimov as he saw his Robot Adam and later Eve as human's in a metal shell, with the full gamut of human emotions. This a fair book that was first to give the ideas of Robots to the masses.
June 26, 2022
Ho. Lee. Fuck.
No, Eando. Get out of your room. Talk to a lady. No, put down that pulp novel. Women are humans, that's not how romance works, and for God's sake, try a little subtlety in your critique of human folly.
No, Eando. Get out of your room. Talk to a lady. No, put down that pulp novel. Women are humans, that's not how romance works, and for God's sake, try a little subtlety in your critique of human folly.
July 30, 2008
Classic stories of robot Adam Link told in first person from the robot's point of view.
April 3, 2015
I LOOOOVE this BOOOK!! Give me a script--I'll make the movie! Ow, BABY!!
January 28, 2015
A excellent example of Sci-Fi and modernized retelling of Frankenstein.
May 25, 2016
read some time in 1988
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews