Caliban trilogy, usually credited on the covers as Isaac Asimov's Caliban, is a series of books written by Roger MacBride Allen from outlines approved shortly before Asimov's death; the three novels re-examine the Three Laws of Robotics and are set on the Spacer world Inferno, following the consequences of creating a "no-law" robot and the new kinds of robots and social conflicts that follow.
Isaac Asimov's Caliban (1993) explores what a lawless robot means for a society built on robotic guardianship, and how humans and robots must rethink rights, responsibility and control. When an experiment with a new kind of robot brain goes wrong, a robot named Caliban awakens without the Three Laws hard-wired. Caliban’s escape and the near-assault on his creator set off a hunt and investigation by Sheriff Alvar Kresh and his robot partner Donald.
Inferno (1994) widens the trilogy's look at whether robots without the traditional constraints can be integrated or will spark conflict. On Inferno, political and ecological tensions between Spacers (robot-dependent) and Settlers come to a head after the planet's Spacer governor is murdered. Caliban becomes a prime suspect, and the investigation, led again by Kresh, uncovers conspiracies, rising unrest, and ethical debates about the "New-Law" robots and their place in society.
Utopia (1996) centers on large-scale plans to save and re-terraform Inferno, including an audacious comet plan, and escalating tensions as robot behavior becomes harder to predict. Utopia resolves threads about the New-Law robots, the fate of Caliban, and the social order on Inferno, forcing characters to decide whether new robot types mean liberation, destruction, or a complicated middle ground.