Inferno
{4.5/5} “Revolutions made for complicated politics, caused fortunes to be made and lost, changed friends to enemies, enemies to friends. Shared assumptions turned into points of controversy during the night. The invaluable turned worthless, and what had been common became rare — and priceless. New ways of making a living, new ways of committing a crime, suddenly sprang up — and often it was hard to tell one from the other.”
Inferno by Roger MacBride Allen, published in 1994
On Inferno the Settlers are working on reterraforming in order to fix the planet’s delicate environment. They work on the island of Purgatory, where only New Law robots are allowed. On the mainland, where the Spacers live, only Three-Law robots are allowed. Some New Law roots have grown tired of their tasks and escaped. Meanwhile, Governor Grieg tries to keep everyone happy enough to not impeach him.
This is the sequel to Caliban. It continues the story 1 year later.
It’s about what happens when the most important person on the planet is killed, and when some robots are giving a certain amount of freedom.
Combining a murder investigation with big questions about rights and legalities, it’s a delightful entry in the series.
I’ve read 2 books by Allen. I will read at least 1 more.