- Roderick (novel)
infobox Book |
name = Roderick
title_orig =
translator =
image_caption =
author =John Sladek
cover_artist =
country =United Kingdom
language = English
series =
genre =Science fiction novel
publisher =Granada
release_date =13 November 1980
media_type = Print (Hardback &Paperback )
pages = 352 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-246-11437-1
preceded_by =
followed_by =:"This article is about the novel of the same title. Roderick is also a variant spelling of
Roderic , the last Visigothic king of Spain. For the saint, seeSaint Roderick .""Roderick" is a 1980
science fiction novel byJohn Sladek . It was followed in 1983 by "Roderick at Random ". The two books were originally intended as a single longer novel, and were finally reissued together in 2001 as "The Complete Roderick ".Plot introduction
The title character is an intelligent
robot , the first to be invented. The opening chapters describe the creation of Roderick and show his mind (at first consisting of a bodilesscomputer program ) developing through several stages of awareness. Finally, Roderick is given a rudimentary body and, through a series of misadventures, finds himself alone in the world. Due to his sketchy understanding of human customs, and intrigues surrounding the project that created him, he unwittingly becomes the center of various criminal schemes and other unfortunate events.Major themes
Though the "Roderick" books are in many ways serious examinations of philosophical issues surrounding the idea of intelligent machines, their plot is (typically for Sladek) propelled by energetic
farce andsatire . Nearly every human institution, particularlyacademia andgovernment , is portrayed as grievously incompetent (the Roderick project itself is originally an elaboratefraud ), and the growingcomputer ization of modern society causes no end of trouble for people—though Roderick is able to turn it to his advantage. A running joke throughout is that although Roderick is not particularly human-looking, people are unable to believe that he is a robot or simply fail to notice, and treat him instead as an insane man or a disabled child; but, likeCandide , he never complains and always seeks to please. The story is also peppered with Sladek's usual puns and word games, and satirical jabs at other science fiction themes, particularlyIsaac Asimov 'sThree Laws of Robotics .
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