The Humanoids
First edition dustcover | |
| Author | Jack Williamson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction Campbellian science fiction |
| Publisher | Simon and Schuster (US) |
Publication date | 1949 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (periodical, hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 239 |
| Preceded by | "With Folded Hands..." (1947) |
| Followed by | The Humanoid Touch (1980) |
The Humanoids is a 1949 dystopian science fiction novel by American author Jack Williamson (1908–2006). Originally published as a three-part serial called "...And Searching Mind" in Astounding Science-Fiction (March, April, May 1948), it was in fact a sequel to an earlier novelette, "With Folded Hands...", appearing in the same magazine in July of the previous year of 1947. The Humanoids was published as a hardback book in 1949, but only in 1980 was the award-winning "With Folded Hands..." included in a reissue edition of The Humanoids. Also in 1980, Williamson added a final, separate work to the sequence, namely The Humanoid Touch.
The sequence tells the story of robots called humanoids, so perfect and efficient that human beings are left with nothing to do, and life is reduced to meaninglessness.