Robot series reading order

A plan for the whole series

5 volumes, 1,644 pages, about 30 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 6 weeks.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 3, “The Naked Sun” (by 37%). Plan your break after volume 2, before the series plans it for you.

Stages

3 stages, with 2 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around December 21, 2026, 13 days later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 19 h12 daysby November 10, 2026

   • 1. I, Robot1950 · 245 pages · 4 h
   • 2. The Caves of Steel1954 · 259 pages · 5 h
2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by November 20, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 212 h16 daysby December 6, 2026

   • 3. The Naked Sun1957 · 226 pages · 4 h
   • 4. The Robots of Dawn1983 · 446 pages · 8 h
4. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 10, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 39 h11 daysby December 21, 2026

   • 5. Robots and Empire1985 · 468 pages · 9 h
6. The end of the series

   December 21, 2026

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.2 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.

Best volume: I, Robot (8.2, 1,723 ratings). Weakest: The Robots of Dawn (8.0). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 2 and 3: 37%. The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.2) scores close to the series average or above it.