This is the fourth book in the Robot City series, which is based in Asimov’s Foundation universe. This one follows Odyssey, Suspicion and Cyborg.
This book has quite a different style, the robot characters using quite convoluted sentences, which I found annoying. It is a little jarring in this series that each book is by a different author — it takes me a little while to transition between the authors’ various styles when I read them, especially when they’re back to back. I think what Cover was trying to achieve is a more intellectual style of book than the others in the series, and it suffers the same fate as the Benford’s Foundation’s Fear — the style is out of place with the rest of the books in the series, and that decreases from the enjoyment to be derived from this book.
The actual plot line is fine though, if a little simplistic. Because of the very verbose style, it feels like less happened in this book than the others (which are of similar length). Overall, a bit of a disappointment.
Fiction
1988
176
Thrust into the ferment of a robotic renaissance, Derec and Ariel see positronic consciousness emerging in new forms of art, music and roboticide! Can they solve the most dangerous puzzle in Robot City? And will this mechanical menace reach its climax before Derec and Ariel can escape?