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Strange Playfellow, by Isaac Asimov
Description
Robbie was only a machine, but he was Gloria’s best friend, and she wanted him back.
"Strange Playfellow" appeared in the September 1940 issue of "Super Science Stories" on pages 67 to 77.
"Strange Playfellow" was Asimov's first robot story, written on June 10, 1939, and initially titled "Strange Playfellow" by editor Frederik Pohl. The story was later reprinted under Asimov's preferred title, "Robbie", in collections such as "I, Robot" (1950), "The Complete Robot" (1982), and "Robot Visions" (1990). The story also features early elements of Asimov’s later Robot series, including the Three Laws of Robotics.
In 2016, the story, titled as "Robbie", won the retrospective 1941 Hugo Award for Best Short Story, in recognition of its significance in science fiction.
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Isaac Asimov (c. January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books. He also wrote an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. Best known for his hard science fiction, Asimov also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as popular science and other non-fiction.
Asimov's most famous work is the "Foundation" series, the first three books of which won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. His other major series are the "Galactic Empire" series and the "Robot" series. He also wrote more than 380 short stories, including the social science fiction novelette "Nightfall", which in 1964 was voted the best short science fiction story of all time by the Science Fiction Writers of America.
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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know at goldenagefiction@proton.me.
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Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.