Isaac Asimov's robot city Book

Inferno by Roger MacBride Allen

Intended Audience: Adult

Sexual content: None

Ace/Genderqueer characters: Yes (robots)

Rating: PG

Writing style: 2/5

Likable characters: 3/5

Plot/Concepts: 4/5

The assassination of Governor Chanto Grieg could mean death and chaos, not only for the robot Caliban and his friend Prospero, but for the entire world of Inferno. Sheriff Alvar Kresh must unravel the mystery while dealing with a multitude of political factions and treacherous conspirators.

As the second book in the Caliban trilogy, Inferno is not as strong as its predecessor. It feels a little rushed, a little too wrapped up in the mystery itself with little time to actually get to know the principal players in the game. In general the story felt much more bare-bones than Caliban, which was nicely balanced between introducing the world, showing character development, and examining the social situation on Inferno. That balance is mainly what is missing here'the mystery is complex, and Allen's skill in constructing and then deconstructing the entire twisted plot is admirable, but the storyline (which takes place almost entirely in the space of one day and night) could have used some more fleshing out in terms of emotional engagement.

That being said, there are some things which make up for that. Although they don't get as much screen time as I'd like, Caliban and Prospero are important parts of the story'in fact, the very first sentence of the story is about Prospero, and in every scene including him afterward his personality bursts off the page. His and Caliban's interactions are the main attraction for me. Being a New Law robot, personally designed by Fredda Leving, Prospero has a much more open (and restless) mind than the typical Three-Law robot… enough to philosophize in ways which make even Caliban uncomfortable. Although they are best friends, they are more often than not at odds with one another, especially as the political situation becomes more dangerous and complex. At the core of their debates is the value of robots outside of their usefulness to humans. In some ways this can serve as a parallel for historical debates about the worth of women in terms of their usefulness to men, or even racial themes. It is oddly painful to read in some places because Caliban seems to have internalized much of the "racism" of humans toward robots, in that he partially believes humans to be quantitatively superior. Donald's personality also comes off even stronger than before, now that he has developed a strong prejudice against "pseudo-robots" such as Caliban.

Kresh and Fredda have gained a greater respect for each other in this installment, but nearly all the other human characters are new additions or have not changed noticeably since the events in Caliban. A major plot point in Kresh's character arc happens, but I can't spoil it. There is little else in the human side of the story that I found to be immediately engaging--it is all a bit too convoluted to feel personal, although it is intellectually interesting.

Taken as a character in and of itself, the world of Inferno is also changing rapidly. The social ramifications of the New Laws' existence begin to be explored here, and much of the background plot is setting the stage for the third volume, Utopia. In short, there are some crucial and even exciting points to this book, but on the whole I consider it more of a stepping stone toward the third book than anything else.