The Humanoids are beautiful, black androids whose mission is inscribed in yellow on their chests: "To Serve and Obey, And Guard Men from Harm." They carry out this task a little too zealously, preventing human engagement in any activity that might result in harm. Science is off limits because it involves dangerous equipment and uncomfortable ideas. Swimming isn't allowed because one might drown. Cooking and sewing are right out. The Humanoids control everything, erecting buildings whose doors cannot be opened by humans, and sewing clothes whose closures must be activated by special rays the Humanoids emit.

This book (published in 1996) includes "With Folded Hands", the 1947 short story that introduced the Humanoids, and The Humanoids, the 1948 novel Williamson built out of the idea. Of the two, I liked the short story better. It introduces the core idea of the ways in which over-reliance on technology can harm humans and builds an interesting little story out of it. I'm coming to think that the short-story format is Williamson's strength, because his novels (at least the non-serialized novels) are not very good.

The novel version of this story is less successful than the short story, mostly because of the ambiguous ending. It's not clear who wins -- the Humanoids or the rebels -- and the reader is not left with enough to chew on to make the ambiguity worth the trouble. The ending is also similar to Williamson's Terraforming Earth, which detracted from the book since I despised Terraforming Earth.

The Humanoids is interesting from a historical perspective, since Williamson created much of what would later become cliche in science fiction. He is one of the least well-known founders of science fiction, so I am glad I read this book. However, readers with little interest in the genre's history can safely pass by this book.