I am generally not one to rant and rave about a book, but Robot Dreams and in particular the story entitled 'The Final Question', is the exception. I ordinarily hesitate to sing the praises of something on the assumption that there might be something out there that I haven't read that is better; however, The Final Question is without any shadow of a doubt, the best short story I have ever read.
Let me elucidate. Starting with the seemingly innocuous question, "Can entropy be reversed?", Asimov proceeds, in a style all his own, to turn the reader's world upside down. When you've finished this story, you can do nothing but close the cover and sit and think for a while. In a piece that is a textbook example of the way a short story should be written, Mr. Asimov somehow manages to address that most basic of all questions, "What is the nature of our Universe, and by extension, what is the nature of ourselves?"
As an avid reader on all subjects, I enjoy being challenged by what I read but, speaking politely, the climax of this story, barely more than 15 pages in length, knocked me flat on my behind. No story I have read, before or since, has managed to turn life's basics quite so much on their ear as did this one.
I read somewhere that Mr. Asimov always felt that this was his favourite piece of writing, and I have no problem understanding why.
Read it...If you thought your world was dark before, I guarantee that "The Final Question", indeed, all of "Robot Dreams", will shed some light on the subject.
Sincerely,
Tony Hoffmann