I, Robot: To Protect tells the story of the early medical life of Dr. Susan Calvin, a frequent protagonist in the science-fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov that redefined the genre's concept of robotics. To Protect is the first in a planned trilogy (authorized by Asimov's estate) by fantasy novelist and pediatrician Mickey Zucker Reichert where, as in Asimov’s vision of the future, the Three Laws of Robotics--"A robot may not injure a human being," etc.--are beyond reproach as an ethical system, and humankind is invariably at fault, not science or robots. In fact, a profound level of optimism and faith in science is on display throughout To Protect.
The novel may be set in Asimov's universe, but Reichert applies her own vision to the material. As a first-year psychiatric resident, Susan Calvin is given the most hopeless pediatric cases. She's also involved in secret research involving nanorobots, bringing her closer to U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, the secretive company her father has worked for all his adult life. Calvin's plotline eventually intersects with a broader story about terrorists out to destroy any thinking machines, especially those indistinguishable from humans, but Reichert gives equal weight to the details of Calvin's pediatric work and the robotic developments, and both aspects prove fascinating and ring equally true in the novel's near-future setting. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor