Tik-Tok
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $7.99
-
- $7.99
Publisher Description
'A Robot shall not injure a human being, or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm'.
That's Asimov's celebrated First Law of Robotics. And in the 21st century, all domestic robots are programmed according to that Law.
But something had gone terribly wrong with Tik-Tok's 'asimov circuits', and he sets out to injure as many people as possible - preferably fatally - while maintaining the exterior of a mild-mannered artist and a sincere campaigner for robot rights. So, like any self-respecting crook and murderer, he moves into politics, becoming the first robot candidate for Vice-President of the United States.
Tik-Tok follows his maniacal progress from humble beginnings to the top of the heap - or almost. Because in his devious cunning, there was one element that Tik-Tok had forgotten...
Winner of the BSFA Award for best novel, 1983
Customer Reviews
Horrifying and Hysterical in Equal Measure
Named after the famous copper automaton from the Oz books, the titular character of Tik-Tok is an antihero for the 21st century. Discovering that, quite unexpectedly, he is unfettered by the programmed-in Asimov rules that prevent robots from disobeying or harming human beings, Tik heads down the road toward a life of crime, tentatively at first, but rapidly gaining speed, with horrific consequences.
Superbly written and at times side-splittingly funny, the novel nonetheless asks pointed questions about the nature of servitude, and what it really means to be human. Highly recommended!