Robot anthologies of Pulp stories in the 20th Century surprised me. They also confirmed a few things I thought as well. Science Fiction anthologies have been a steady business since 1946’s Adventures in Time and Space by Healy and McComus. That book contained four robot classics along with others about space travel, time travel, etc. Most collections were a mix of subjects. But as time went on, the themed anthology came along and readers could find books based on one idea.
Here is the first surprise: most anthologies do not repeat the same dozen stories over and over. In fact, I could not find one story that appeared more than four times in thirty-six years. The most popular was: “Answer” by Fredric Brown. This short-short established the idea of a computer who becomes god.
On the not surprising side, certain authors appear over and over, like Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore (usually writing together), Philip K. Dick, Lester Del Rey, and, of course, Isaac Asimov. Each time, anthologists tried to choose different stories by these robot-oriented authors. Most anthologies include a list of some kind at the end for further research.
The other non-surprise is that the majority of stories appeared in John W. Campbell’s Astounding Science-Fiction. The first anthology, like Adventures in Time and Space, is almost entirely taken from that magazine with nine out of ten. Only Bernard Wolfe’s Galaxy story “Self Portrait” is not. There are a few later books that don’t include any.
(1953) The Robot and the Man (edited by Martin Greenberg)
“The Mechanical Answer” by John D. MacDonald (Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1948)
“Self Portrait” (Galaxy, November 1951) by Bernard Wolfe
“Deadlock” (Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1942 by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore [as Lewis Padgett]
“Robinc” (Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1943) by Anthony Boucher (as H. H. Holmes)
“Burning Bright” (Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1948 by Robert Moore Williams (as John S. Browning)
“Final Command” (Astounding Science-Fiction, November 1949) by A. E. van Vogt
“Though Dreamers Die” (Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1944) by Lester del Rey
“Rust” (Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1939) by Joseph E. Kelleam
“Robots Return” (Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1938) by Robert Moore Williams
“Into Thy Hands” (Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1945) by Lester del Rey
(1954) Science Fiction Thinking Machines (edited by Groff Conklin)
“Automata: I” (Weird Tales, September 1929) by S. Fowler Wright
“Moxon’s Master” (San Francisco Examiner, April 16, 1899) by Ambrose Bierce
“Robbie” (aka Strange Playfellow) (Super Science Stories, September 1940) by Isaac Asimov
“The Scarab” (Astounding Stories, August 1936) by Raymond Z. Gallun
“The Mechanical Bride” (Science-Fiction Thinking Machines: Robots, Androids, Computers, 1954) by Fritz Leiber
“Virtuoso” (Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 1953) by Herbert Goldstone
“Automata: II” (Weird Tales, September 1929) by S. Fowler Wright
“Boomerang” (aka A Great Deal of Power) (Fantastic Universe, August-September 1953) by Eric Frank Russell
“The Jester” (Thrilling Wonder Stories, August 1951) by William Tenn
“R. U. R” by Karel Čapek (1920)
“Skirmish” (Amazing Stories, December 1950) by Clifford D. Simak
“Soldier Boy” (Galaxy, July 1953) by Michael Shaara
“Automata: III” (Weird Tales, September 1929) by S. Fowler Wright
“Men Are Different” (Science-Fiction Thinking Machines: Robots, Androids, Computers, 1954) by Alan Bloch
“Letter to Ellen” (Astounding Science-Fiction, June1947) by Chan Davis
“Sculptors of Life” (Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1939) by Wallace West
“The Golden Egg” (Unknown, August 1941) by Theodore Sturgeon
“Dead End” (Galaxy, January 1952) by W. Macfarlane (as Wallace Macfarlane)
“Answer” (Astounding Science-Fiction, April 1947) by Hal Clement
“Sam Hall” (Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1953) by Poul Anderson
“Dumb Waiter” (Astounding Science-Fiction, April 1952) by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
“Problem for Emmy” (Startling Stories, June 1952) by Robert Sherman Townes
(1963) The Coming of the Robots (edited by Sam Moskowitz)
“I, Robot” (Amazing Stories, January 1939) by Otto Binder (as Eando Binder)
“Helen O’Loy” (Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1938) by Lester del Rey
“The Lost Machine” (Amazing Stories, April 1932) by John Wyndham
“Runaround” (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1942) by Isaac Asimov
“Earth for Inspiration” (Thrilling Wonder Stories, April 1941) by Clifford D. Simak
“Lost Memory” (Galaxy, May 1952) by Peter Phillips
“Rex” (Astounding Science-Fiction, June 1934) by Harl Vincent
“True Confession” (Thrilling Wonder Stories, February 1940) by F. Orlin Tremaine
“Derelict” (Astounding Stories, October 1935) by Raymond Z. Gallun
“Misfit” (Science Fiction-Plus, December 1953) by Michael Fischer
(1963) Of Men and Machines (edited by Arthur O. Lewis)
This anthology contains many poems and essays by non-Science Fiction authors. I haven’t bothered with the Emily Dickinsons and Adam Smiths. Here are the Pulp stories and pieces of interest to the SF fan:
“R. U. R” by Karel Čapek (1920)
“Problem for Emmy” (Startling Stories, June 1952) by Robert Sherman Townes
“Robbie” (aka Strange Playfellow) (Super Science Stories, September 1940) by Isaac Asimov
“The Portable Phonograph” (The Yale Review, Spring 1941) by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
“The Machine Stops” (The Oxford and Cambridge Review, Michaelmass 1909) by E. M. Forster
“But Who Can Replace a Man?” (Infinity, June 1958) by Brian W. Aldiss
“There Will Come Soft Rains” (Colliers’, May 6, 1950) by Ray Bradbury
(1965) Invasion of the Robots (edited by Roger Elwood)
“Satisfaction Guaranteed” (Amazing Stories, April 1951) by Isaac Asimov
“Piggy Bank” (Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1942) by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore (as Henry Kuttner)
“With Folded Hands …” (Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1947) by Jack Williamson
“Brother to the Machine” (If, November 1952) by Richard Matheson
“The Defenders” (Galaxy, January 1953) by Philip K. Dick
“Almost Human” (Fantastic Adventures, June 1943) by Robert Bloch (as Tarleton Fiske)
“Into Thy Hands” (Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1945) by Lester del Rey
“Boomerang” (aka A Great Deal of Power) (Fantastic Universe, August-September 1953) by Eric Frank Russell
(1965) Pseudo People: Androids in Science Fiction (edited by William F. Nolan)
“Those Among Us” (aka “Android”) (Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 1951) by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore (as Henry Kuttner)
“Changeling” (Super Science Stories, July 1949) by Ray Bradbury
“The Addict” (Pseudo People: Androids in Science Fiction, 1965) by Shelly Lowenkopf
“The Life Game” (Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1953) by Chad Oliver
“Evidence” (Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1946) by Isaac Asimov
“The Show Must Go On (“So Lovely, So Lost”) (Orbit 5, November-December 1954) by James Causey
“Geever’s Flight” (Pseudo People: Androids in Science Fiction, 1965) by Charles E. Fritch
“The Fires of Night” (Pseudo People: Androids in Science Fiction, 1965) by Dennis Etchison
“Steel” (Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 1956) by Richard Matheson
“Badinage” (Pseudo People: Androids in Science Fiction, 1965) by Ron Goulart
“Juke Doll” (1959, Pseudo People: Androids in Science Fiction, 1965) by Robert F. Young
“Last Rites” (If, October 1955) by Charles Beaumont
“The Fasterfaster Affair” (Pseudo People: Androids in Science Fiction, 1965) by William F. Nolan (as Frank Anmar)
“The Joy of Living” (If, August, 1954) by William F. Nolan
(1968) Men and Machines (edited by Robert Silverberg)
“Counter Foil” (Analog, April 1964) by George O. Smith
“A Bad Day for Sales” (Galaxy, July 1953) by Fritz Leiber
“Without a Thought” (aka “Fortress Ship”) (If, January 1963) by Fred Saberhagen
“Solar Plexus” (Astonishing Stories, September 1941) by James Blish
“The Macauley Circuit” (Fantastic Universe, August 1956) by Robert Silverberg
“But Who Can Replace a Man?” (Infinity, June 1958) by Brian W. Aldiss
“Instinct” (Astounding Science-Fiction, January 1952) by Lester del Rey
“The Hunting Lodge” (Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1954) by Randall Garrett
“With Folded Hands…” (Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1948) by Jack Williamson
(1968) The Metal Smile (edited by Damon Knight)
“The New Father Christmas” (Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 1958) by Brian W. Aldiss
“Answer” (Angels & Spaceships, 1954) by Fredric Brown
“Fool’s Mate” (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1953) by Robert Sheckley
“Quixote and the Windmill” (Astounding Science-Fiction, November 1950) by Poul Anderson
“Two-Handed Engine” (Fantasy & Science Fiction, August 1955) by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore
“First to Serve” (Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1954) by Algis Budrys
“I Made You” (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1954) by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
“The Monkey Wrench” (Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1951) by Gordon R. Dickson
“Impostor” (Astounding Science-Fiction, June 1953) by Philip K. Dick
“Someday” (Infinity, August 1956) by Isaac Asimov
“Short in the Chest” (Fantastic Universe, July 1954) by Margaret St. Clair (as Idris Seabright)
(1975) Human Machines: An Anthology of Stories about Cyborgs (edited by Thomas N. Scortia and George Zebrowski)
“Men of Iron” (The Magazine of Fantasy, Fall 1940) by Guy Endore
“I’m With You in Rockland” (Strange Bedfellows, 1972) by Jack Dann
“Masks” (Playboy, July 1968) by Damon Knight
“Fortitude” (Playboy, September 1968) by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
“No Woman Born” (Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1944) by C. L. Moore
Camouflage” (Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1945) by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore (as Henry Kuttner)
“Crucifixus Etiam” (Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1953) by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
“Period Piece” (Astounding Science-Fiction, November 1948 by John R. Pierce (as J. J. Coupling)
“Solar Plexus” (Astonishing Stories, September 1941) by James Blish
“Sea Change” (Astounding Science-Fiction, June 1956) by Thomas N. Scortia
“Starcrossed” (Eros in Orbit, 1973) by George Zebrowski
(1977) Souls in Metal: An Anthology of Robot Futures (edited by Mike Ashley)
“Helen O’Loy” (Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1938) by Lester del Rey
“—That Thou Art Mindful of Him!” (Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 1974) by Isaac Asimov
“The Twonky” (Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1942) by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore (as Lewis Padgett)
“A Logic Named Joe” (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1946) by Murray Leinster
“Impostor” (Astounding Science-Fiction, June 1953) by Philip K. Dick
“But Who Can Replace a Man?” (Infinity, June 1958) by Brian W. Aldiss
“The Velvet Glove” (Fantastic Universe, November 1956) by Harry Harrison
“I Am Crying All Inside” (Galaxy, August 1969) by Clifford D. Simak
“Internal Combustion” (Infinity, February 1956) by L. Sprague de Camp
(1979) The Androids Are Coming (edited by Robert Silverberg)
“The Captain’s Dog” (Nebula 35, February 1958) by E. C. Tubb
“Good Night, Mr. James” (Galaxy, March 1951) by Clifford D. Simak
“Evidence” (Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1946) by Isaac Asimov
“Made in U.S.A.” (Galaxy, April 1953) by J. T. McIntosh
“The Electric Ant” (Fantasy & Science Fiction, October 1969) by Philip K. Dick
“The Golem” (Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 1955) by Avram Davidson
“Fondly Fahrenheit” (Fantasy & Science Fiction, August 1954) by Alfred Bester
(1982) Thinking Machines (edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh)
“Prototaph” (Analog, March 1966) by Keith Laumer
“A Bad Day for Sales” (Galaxy, July 1953) by Fritz Leiber
“Answer” (Angels & Spaceships, 1954) by Fredric Brown
“Road Stop” (If, January 1963) by David Mason
“The Nine Billion Names of God” (Star Science Fiction, 1953) by Arthur C. Clarke
(1983) Those Amazing Electronic Thinking Machines!: An Anthology of Robot and Computer Stories (edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh)
“Sally” (Fantastic, May-June 1953) by Isaac Asimov
“Full Circle” (Fantastic, Summer 1952) by H. B. Hickey
“To Avenge Man” (Galaxy, December 1964) by Lester del Rey
“Prototaph” (Analog, March 1966) by Keith Laumer
“Dial ‘F’ for Frankenstein” (Playboy, January 1965) by Arthur C. Clarke
“The Other Side” (Super Science Stories, April 1951) by Walter Kubilius
“Computers Don’t Argue” (Analog, September 1965) by Gordon R. Dickson
“Placement Test” (Amazing Stories, July 1964) by Keith Laumer
“Answer” (Angels & Spaceships, 1954) by Fredric Brown
(1985) Machines That Think: The Best Science Fiction Stories About Robots and Computers (edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh)
“Moxon’s Master” (San Francisco Examiner, April 16, 1899) by Ambrose Bierce
“The Lost Machine” (Amazing Stories, April 1932) by John Wyndham
“Rex” (Astounding Science-Fiction, June 1934) by Harl Vincent “Robbie” (aka Strange Playfellow) (Super Science Stories, September 1940) by Isaac Asimov
“Farewell to the Master” (Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1940) by Harry Bates
“Robots Return” (Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1938) by Robert Moore Williams
“Though Dreamers Die” (Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1944) by Lester del Rey
“Fulfillment” (New Tales of Time & Space, 1951) by A. E. van Vogt
“Runaround” (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1942) by Isaac Asimov
“I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” (If, March 1967) by Harlan Ellison
“The Evitable Conflict” (Astounding Science-Fiction, June 1950) by Isaac Asimov
“A Logic Named Joe” (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1946) by Murray Leinster
“Sam Hall” (Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1953) by Poul Anderson
“I Made You” (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1954) by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
“Triggerman” (Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1958) by J. F. Bone
“War with the Robots” (Science Fiction Adventures, September 1962) by Harry Harrison
“Evidence” (Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1946) by Isaac Asimov
“2066: Election Day” (Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1956) by Michael Shaara
“If There Were No Benny Cemoli” (Galaxy, December 1963) by Philip K. Dick
“The Monkey Wrench” (Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1951) by Gordon R. Dickson
“Dial ‘F’ for Frankenstein” (Playboy, January 1965) by Arthur C. Clarke
“The Macauley Circuit” (Fantastic Universe, August 1956) by Robert Silverberg
“Judas” (Dangerous Visions, 1967) by John Brunner
“Answer” (Angels & Spaceships, 1954) by Fredric Brown
“The Electric Ant” (Fantasy & Science Fiction, October 1969) by Philip K. Dick
“The Bicentennial Man” (Stellar #2, 1976) by Isaac Asimov
“Long Shot” (Analog, August 1972) by Vernor Vinge
“Alien Stones” (Orbit 11, 1972) • novelette by Gene Wolfe
“Starcrossed” (Eros in Orbit, 1973) by George Zebrowski
(1989) Isaac Asimov’s Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction: Robots (edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh)
“The Tunnel Under the World” (Galaxy, January 1955) by Frederik Pohl
“Brother Robot” (Amazing Stories, May 1958) by Henry Slesar
“The Lifeboat Mutiny” (Galaxy, April 1955) by Robert Sheckley
“The Warm Space” (Far Frontiers, 1985) by David Brin
“How-2” (Galaxy, November 1954) by Clifford D. Simak
“Too Robot to Marry” (Fantastic Universe, November 1959) by George H. Smith
“The Education of Tigress McCardle” (Venture SF, July 1957) by C. M. Kornbluth
“Sally” (Fantastic, May-June 1953) by Isaac Asimov
“Breakfast of Champions” (Robots, 1980) by Thomas A. Easton
“Sun Up” (Faster Than Light, 1976) by A. A. Jackson, IV and Howard Waldrop
“Second Variety” (Space Science Fiction, May 1953) by Philip K. Dick
“The Problem Was Lubrication” (Fantastic, May 1961) by David R. Bunch
“First to Serve” (Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1954) by Algis Budrys
“Two-Handed Engine” (Fantasy & Science Fiction, August 1955) by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore
“Though Dreamers Die” (Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1944) by Lester del Rey
“Soldier Boy” (Galaxy, July 1953) by Michael Shaara
“Farewell to the Master” (Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1940) by Harry Bates
Now, suddenly in 1990, Robot anthologies did not stop. But they did change. Titles like (1991) Isaac Asimov’s Robots (edited by Sheila Williams and Gardner Dozois) and (2012) Robots: The Recent A. I. (edited by Rich Horton and Sean Wallace) do not reprint Pulp and magazine stories. They use new tales written specifically for these books. The anthologists want to hear new voices. This is a healthy thing.
I love a good anthology of old Pulp tales but there have been so many new developments in robotics since magazines cost a dime. The ideas that Asimov and the other Golden-Agers saw back in the 1940s have come to pass and moved beyond. There is the 21st Century in which robot factories, A. I.-guided algorithms, computer surveillance, and the Internet all bring new realities. We need new stories to look at where we are now.
I may have missed one of your favorite anthologies from the 1940s to the 1980s. Let me know…
