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This item shows signs of wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact , but may have aesthetic issues such as small tears, bends, scratches, and scuffs. Spine may also show signs of wear. Pages may include some notes and highlighting. May include "From the library of" labels. Satisfaction Guaranteed. This item shows signs of wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact , but may have aesthetic issues such as small tears, bends, scratches, and scuffs. Spine may also show signs of wear. Pages may include some notes and highlighting. May include "From the library of" labels. Satisfaction Guaranteed. See less

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The Humanoids: A Novel Paperback – Illustrated, January 15, 1996

by Jack Williamson (Author)

4.4 125 ratings

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Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publication date

January 15, 1996
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.68 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

0274900580
ISBN-13

978-0312852535
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0312852533
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Orb Books; First Edition (January 15, 1996)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0274900580
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312852535
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.68 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,486,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #15,708 in Space Operas
- #25,145 in Science Fiction Adventures

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4.4 125 ratings

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A. Robinson

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2011

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This not just a story about some humanoid robots taking over the world/universe, Jack tries to answer the question, "Has technology made the world a fundamentally better place to live?". In THE HUMANOIDS, once again a scientific discovery is misused by technology to develop a super-weapon, a bomb capable of turning all matter within a preset radius, directly into energy. So despite advances in technology, the world was preparing to repeat the age-old cycle of rise and ruin along with their enemies, only this time there is a difference: the humanoids offer to create a benevolent despotism and to "serve and obey and save men from harm", although not necessarily in that order. They are voted in but the Old School people find they don't like the thought of giving up all control and they wind up getting drugged in order to keep them safe and happy.

THE HUMANOIDS is about one of those people, Dr Forester, trying to escape and avoid becoming a victim to the humanoids "smother you with kindness" strategy. Forester learns that the only way he can do that is through "psychophysical" or paranormal powers of the mind, something the humanoids do not have...yet. So Dr Forester learns the scientific basis behind teleportation, telurgy, and clairvoyance and attempts to use his new found powers to destroy the humanoids. Dr Forester fails for two reasons, (1) he does not have the mental poise or peace to commit such a crime because (2) psychophysical energy requires mental poise and peace in order to use it since it is the basic creative force of the universe and cannot be used to destroy other people. Once again, a new technology rises up and is misused to try and ruin the world, answering the question if technology can make the world a fundamentally better place and the answer is "Hell no!". The basic problem isn't with technology, but with humans. The dark side of humans is too much for them to overcome, even with the most advanced technology.

The point that Jack Williamson is making then is that humans, by themselves, will never be able to stop themselves from ruining the world, and the only way humans will ever eliminate their dark side is to replace it with a better side -- and neither thing can ever take place without it being forced onto us by an outside party that has no dark side to begin with.

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Dave_42

Two Classics

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2004

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This book contains two classic SF works. The first is the novelette titled 'With Folded Hands...' published first in 1947 in 'Astounding Science Fiction'. The second story is the novel "The Humanoids", which was also published originally in 'Astounding Science Fiction' in 1948 (March - May) under the title '...And Searching Mind'. The two stories share the same nemesis, which are the robots known as The Humanoids.

The Humanoids' purpose is "To Serve and Obey, And Guard Men from Harm", which is really just a rewording of the first two laws of robotics that Asimov and Campbell create for Asimov's robot stories that first started to appear in 1940. However, this does not make these stories redundant, as Williamson's Humanoids take their purpose to the extreme, and go so far as to prevent men from doing anything that could potentially cause harm, which includes such activities as driving, or even reading in some cases.

In 'With Folded Hands...,' the hero is Mr. Underhill, who opposes the humanoids at first because they threaten his livelihood (he is an android salesman), but later because he can see the effect they have on people's lives. He works with the creator of the Humanoids, Mr. Sledge, who is desperately trying to put an end to his creation.

In 'The Humanoids,' the hero is Dr. Clay Forester, who is made aware of the Humanoid menace by a group of humans with various special abilities such as teleportation, clairvoyance, telekinesis, and telepathy. They refer to these types of abilities as "psychophysics". As the story proceeds, the reader becomes less and less sure who is right and who is wrong in the conflict. The Humanoids, though still a presence, are not the main foe for Dr. Forester. Instead he focuses on Frank Ironsmith, a former colleague who is helping the Humanoids, involved with Forester's wife Ruth, and is given much more freedom than other humans by the Humanoids. Although the Humanoids use some horrible methods of forcing people to be happy (e.g. drugs, surgery), they are not nearly as controlling as they were in `With Folded Hands....' One oddity between the two stories is that Williamson introduces a different creator of the Humanoids, whose name is Warren Mansfield.

These two stories are definitely worth reading for anyone interested in Science Fiction. `The Humanoids' rated 27th in 1952 for science fiction books, and tied for 18th in 1956 on the Astounding/Analog All-Time Polls. `With Folded Hands...' tied for 32nd in 1999 on the Locus All-Time Poll of novelettes.

13 people found this helpful

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H. R. Holt

Service, Sir? Want Euphoride?

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2014

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Jack Williamson was one of the most important science fiction writers in the 20th century, so after reading a few of his short stories I purchased this book. The story describes how humanoids take over planets with the Prime Directive to protect humans, but they don't allow anything that might harm humans such as driving, shaving, etc. In effect they become the masters. A small group of rebels tries to stop the humanoids. Read the book to see how it ends!

Mr. Williamson introduced a number of words to science fiction that have been used by later authors. Some parts of the story are outdated (remember that it was written in 1949!) but much is realistic enough for a good read. I felt that some parts were pretty technical, but this did little to get in the way of the overall plot. If you are a science fiction reader, Jack Williamson is one author that you should add to your reading list.

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Stjohn909

A classic, yet modern enough for our time.

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2017

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The idea of mechanical servants is not a new one, but post-war atomic-age writers never imagined the smartphone, cloud service, or digital assistant. The eponymous humanoids easily map to all three and raise questions of liberty vs safety, free will vs the common good, and the self vs society.

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