In the title story, which also opens the collection, Sheckley gives a workaholic an option: to buy a doppleganger robot who will do the fun stuff while he works-works-works to earn money and rise in society. Trouble is, the man meets a woman he wants to marry. What to do? The robot knows—and the underlying commentary is on point. Sheckley had a deconstructive streak in him, and in “Slaves of Time” he seems to enjoy rolling in the absurdity of time travel. Part personal story of the inventor of a time machine, part dystopia for the society it inspires, and all piss take for the flaws in humanity, Sheckley, as usual, gets a lot out of a little.
Dating apps before there were dating apps, “Sneak Previews” looks at one man who is looking to find the perfect mate. Computer simulations available, he goes through them all, only to find... well, humans remain human, of course—the details for the delight of the reader. Space opera with wit, “Zirn Left Unguarded, the Jenghik Palace in Flames, Jon Westerley Dead” puts mankind's thrust into space against an alien civilization's shield. Resolved through dialog rather than laser blasters (this is Sheckley), universe vs universe nevertheless reveals its kernel of truth.
Addressing the Daoist wheel of Hollywood actors through the lens of westerns, “The Never-Ending Western Movie” by Robert Sheckley features an aging western star named Washburn (John Wayne, no?). Recently remarried to a much younger woman, he has signed up for his last big show, his last Western on the silver screen, and so heads on set. Slightly slipstream and wholly western, Sheckley’s sharp, intelligent style digs at the mindset of popularity and celebrity-ism. A larf, “What Is Life?” begins in the Nepalese nether regions as an American student walks the mountains looking for enlightenment, and ends... in hilarious nihilism. Written with Harlan Ellison, “I See a Man Sitting on a Chair, and the Chair Is Biting His Leg” is set in a post WWIII future in which humanity is left harvesting goo from the world's oceans for sustenance. Feeling like a story the writers took turns with (you 5-7 pages, now you 5 or so, pages, now you again...), there is no direction suspense: where the hell is this story going? I don't think anywhere.
The collection closes on a couple of quick stories. “Is That What People Do?” is a spot of commentary on humanity's penchant for voyeurism. The conclusion a touch pithy, the escalation of imagination to reach that point, however, is the reason to read it. “Silversmith Wishes” is a cynical take on the afterlife. When everyday man Silversmith is granted wishes, an arc of understanding transformation.
In the end, The Robot Who Looked Like Me is a fine, representative sample of Sheckley in short form—the form he was most proficient and productive at. The road less traveled, readers looking for core sf will need to look elsewhere. Sheckley had his own voice and goals, goals, that used science fiction more as a means to a way than a way. And thus while several obvious motifs of sf exist (space opera, time travel, robots, etc.), the reader should not expect the stories to play out in sensawunda fashion. As ugly as it sounds, sensa-existence is more like it (with a French accent, if you can).
The following are the thirteen stories collected in The Robot Who Looked Like Me:
The Robot Who Looked Like Me
Slaves of Time
Voices
A Supplicant in Space
Sneak Previews
Zirn Left Unguarded, the Jenghik Palace in Flames, Jon Westerley Dead
Welcome to the Standard Nightmare
The Never-Ending Western Movie
What Is Life?
I See a Man Sitting on a Chair, and the Chair Is Biting His Leg (with Harlan Ellison)
Is That What People Do?
Silversmith Wishes
End City
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