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The Naked Sun Book Summary and Study Guide

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This is the sequel to the "Caves of Steel", bringing back the team of Elijah Bailey and R. Daneel Oliver. They have to investigate a murder on the planet Solaria, a spacer world which has very few people but hundreds of thousands of robots. Each spacer lives on isolated estates, surrounded by robot guards. They can "view" each other on TV, but physical contact has become taboo. (In fact, physical contact for sex is viewed as unpleasant and only done to do the necessary duty.).

Everyone suspects the wife of the murdered scientist, Gladia, who was on the scene when her husband died. Bailey does a little digging and finds out that a scientist named Leebig was really behind the murder (with a name like that, he has to be guilty, right?), and to boot he had this grandiose plan to use robots to conquer the galaxy.

Unfortunately, this book has one great big hole in it: Gladia, though manipulated, is in fact guilty of the crime she's accused of, murdering her husband! Yet she's free to go. There's never any real explanation why.

Best scene: when Bailey gets Daneel to reveal himself as a robot to other robots, and orders other robots to restrain him--a battle of the robots!

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of The Naked Sun


Mr. Asimov's version of the future where robots intermix with a future society is thought provoking.
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The review of this Book prepared by Bruce A. Humphrey




Well a detective from Earth is sent to another planet to investigate a murder. After long searches and lots of digging he finds out the murderer and reveals to everyone. But he reveals the wrong person and that is not explained why.
The review of this Book prepared by Joe




Although perhaps the less colorful of the three books in this series, it sets the mood wonderfully for a story that took almost thirty years to complete and stretches the imagination and soul to their limits. One must read the entire trilogy to grasp the 3-dimensional web that Asimov creates around you as only he can.
The review of this Book prepared by Michael Conner



Chapter Analysis of The Naked Sun

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Plot & Themes

Composition of Book Descript. of chases or violence 30%planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives 40%Feelings, relationships, character bio/development 20%Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places 10% Tone of book    -   suspenseful (sophisticated fear) FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?    -   science fiction story Robots, Computers, VR    -   Yes Robot, PC, VR Plotlets:    -   robot detective Is this an adult or child's book?    -   Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character

Identity:    -   Male Profession/status:    -   police/lawman Age:    -   40's-50's

Setting

Earth setting:    -   distant future A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body:    -   inhabited by friendly aliens Takes place on Earth?    -   Yes Planet outside solar system?    -   Yes

Writing Style

Accounts of torture and death?    -   generic/vague references to death/punishment How much dialogue?    -   roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

Books with storylines, themes & endings like The Naked Sun

The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov
Tangled Up in Blue by Joan D. Vinge
Dervish Is Digital by Pat Cadigan
The Return of Santiago by Mike Resnick
Isaac Asimov Books Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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