The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov

First sentence:

"Stubbornly Elijah Baley fought panic."

Description:

"Solaria was a beautiful planet, but a sparsely settled one, The Solarians had so isolated themselves that direct contact with others was almost unbearable, and all interpersonal dealings were conducted by solid-seeming trimensional projections.

Now there had been a murder. The victim had been so neurotic that even the presence of his wife was barely endurable, But someone had been close enough to beat him to death while he was attended by his robots. Naturally, the robots couldn't have done it-the first law of robotics would not let them harm a human being. No weapon had been found.

It seemed a paradox. So the authorities sent for Lije Baley, who was delighted to find that his old partner, the human-seeming robot R. Daneel Olivaw, would join him. The partnership was back in business - a strange business, indeed."

My thoughts:

This book was a good mix of science fiction and mystery. There was a theme of overcoming fears throughout the book, whether it was Lije's fear of the outdoors or the Solarian's fear of personal presence. I look forward to reading the first book in the series, The Caves of Steel.

Date read: 1/19/2008
Book #: 4
Series: R. Daneel Olivaw, #2
Challenges: Celebrate the Author Challenge, Winter Reading Challenge, TBR Challenge 2008
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: SF

ISBN-10: 0345313909
ISBN-13: 9780345313904
Publisher: Del Rey
Year: 1983
# of Pages: 208
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing Page