The Book I'm About to Read: I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay by Harlan Ellison and Isaac Asimov

2/12/26

I've had this one on my shelf for many years. Decades. But I've never read it. Despite the fact that I'm quite fond of both Harlan Ellison and Isaac Asimov. Mostly because though I've read quite a few Harlan Ellison books, that was a long time ago, back in the Pyramid Ellison days...and when I got the itch to re-read him awhile back I chose Memos From Purgatory, and that ground me to a halt. In it, Ellison, undercover as a gang member, commits statutory rape, intimidates old people, and does other unsavory things. I don't think you can use Writer's Research as a cloak for that kind of shit. Also, in the second part of the book when Ellison is jailed for a weapons violation, he is incredibly whiny about what amounts to a very short time of incarceration. It's a bit histrionic, to say the least.

But that was then, this is now. I have read 49 Isaac Asimov books in succession. I wanted something special for my 50th. So I chose this.

🤞

2/16/26

I don't usually read my Asimov books this quickly. But I have to admit that even though there were great flaws in this script, I did find it a compelling read. As for the flaws, most of them were just Harlan Ellison being Harlan Ellison. He tends to write characters who explode into anger and violence at the slightest provocation...a kind of wild macho perspective. And his dialogue often suffers from affectation. "You're bugfuck! I'm bugfuck, too!" FF'sS.

So...50 Asimov books down now. Starting #51 tomorrow.