Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.

8 used & new from CDN$ 0.01
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
The Humanoid Touch
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Humanoid Touch (Hardcover)

by Jack Williamson (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Available from these sellers.


1 new from CDN$ 64.06 7 used from CDN$ 0.01

Product Details

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

1 Review
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most helpful customer reviews

 
4.0 out of 5 stars Slightly Untouched, Mar 15 2004
By jrmspnc (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Humanoid Touch (Mass Market Paperback)
Jack Williamson deserves to be remembered among the all-time science fiction greats. With The Humanoid Touch, he revives the humanoids - robots whose Prime Directive is to protect Man from harm. The Humanoids debuted in "With Folded Hands" in the late 1940s (which I've read) and in the novel The Humanoids (which I've not). In The Humanoid Touch, a last bastion of humanity tries to hide from or fight against the inevitable humanoid advance.

Williamson's humanoids are provocative in every sense. What happens when robots become too perfect, no matter how "benevolent" their intentions? There is a latent horror throughout the book as the characters realize the humanoids are near. Williamson succeeds in creating the aura of fear that Saberhagen hints at with his Berserkers, or Star Trek with the Borg. Williamson's humanoids, however, are far more terrifying than either - who would have thought the words "At your service" could induce such spine-tingling horror?

The human characters more or less get in the way of the true protagonists, and here is where Williamson's skills perhaps aren't quite up to snuff. The interaction and personal relationships between characters is not much more advanced than in his 1930s pulp sci-fi Legion series (a nevertheless fine read). And the ending doesn't sit right; it's on the one hand too pat, and on the other too troubling - I can't say more without divulging spoilers.

All in all, however, this one ranks as a must read by all science fiction fans. The humanoids are among sci-fi's greatest creations, easily the equal of Dune's Fremen or Asimov's psychohistory. If you thought the Borg were creepy, you haven't seen anything until you've seen the humanoids.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject





i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.