Review

“R. U. R.” by Karel Čapek is a play. A very significant play at that. Without it the word “robot” would never have been used the way it is today, though the concept of a robot would’ve. Another significant part of the play is the almost dystopian approach to the mechanisation of society to achieve one thing: Cheap labour.

The book itself is a play and it reads as a play. I also personally think that it would be an excellent play to watch. It is a very quick and somewhat light-hearted, despite the way things spin out of control, yet it still manages to make some crucial points, which sets the tone for robots in later society. It is in my opinion a thoroughly entertaining read.

Finding comparisons for plays can be a quite difficult thing, especially as I do not read a lot of plays. The closest comparison I can come up with is “Do androids dream of electric sheep?” by Philip K. Dick and due to the capitalistic conotations “Anthem” by Ayn Rand. Further, I believe that the Robot Series by Isaac Asimov would offer great elaboration on the ideas presented here.

Score: 7/10

The book is an entertaining read and the invention of the word robot is without a doubt siginificant. The pointed comments made on society are also excellent and it is a great play. However, as a book I feel that it falls short in treating the subject matter compared to other authors, as the shortness of the book also diminishes the depth in which it can be treated. I refer again to Isaac Asimov for a more complete treatment of the subject area.

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