Reading: January 16, 2022

Turns out that Death Comes to the Archbishop was NOT completely free of murders. I mean, things were pretty rough out in the New Mexico Territory in the 1800s. The book was terrific, and there will be a lot to talk to Julie about on the podcast later this week. In the book, a Bishop and a priest created and served a diocese while the history of the American West, with all the dangers that implies, carried on around them. It was quite good, and I’ll talk more about it after we record. Thanks (yet again!) Julie.

I also managed in this very busy week to keep up with the Future History Project, reading five more stories: “True Love”, “Robbie”, “Robot AL-76 Goes Astray”, “Victory Unintentional”, and “Stranger in Paradise”. Even though Asimov invented eHarmony in “True Love” and “Robbie” is one of his most famous robot stories (and a good one), my favorite this week was “Robot AL-76 Goes Astray”.

“Robot AL-76 Goes Astray” was published in Amazing Stories in February 1942. See the glorious green cover on the right. Asimov sold his first story in 1939, so he was still fairly new and therefore wasn’t mentioned on the cover. Very nifty (or should I say “Amazing”?) to see Edgar Rice Burroughs and Isaac Asimov in the same magazine. I checked to make sure that Pellucidar story wasn’t a reprint – it wasn’t. ERB died in 1950 and at this time was still writing.

In Asimov’s story, Robot AL-76 is programmed to work on the moon, but escapes on Earth before being sent there. The robot wanders, meets a person, wonders why the person isn’t wearing a spacesuit, because isn’t this the Moon? The robot then builds a mining tool called a “Disinto” out of a pile of rubbish and two flashlight batteries. We don’t know what a Disinto is until he kicks it on, but kick it on he does, and it disintegrates the surrounding area. The story is funny, enjoyable. A great Asimov story. I loved how the engineers were heartbroken that the robot dismantled the Disinto.

I didn’t revist the vampires in Baltimore by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden this week, but I’m headed back that direction soon.

Books In:

• Drive, Part 3 by Dave Kellet (a science fiction comic, find it here)
• The Bachman Books by Stephen King (an older paperback that includes Rage)
• Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny (I ran across this article, and recalled the paperback)
• Artificial Things by Karen Joy Fowler (a short story collection)
• Pilgrim by David Whyte (poetry)