The Soul of the Robot in John Sladek's "Roderick". Brian Stableford's review compared Bayley's absurd stylings with that of Alfred Jarry, concluding that the book was "thoroughly likeable." Alastair Reynolds remembered the "massive enjoyment" he had reading the book and mentioned that Jasperodus had formed part of the inspiration for the character of Hesperus in "House of Suns". The Soul of the Robot The Soul of the Robot is the sixth science fiction novel by Barrington J. Bayley, featuring the character Jasperodus from his 1956 story "Fugitive". The book tells of Jasperodus, the only robot with a soul, as he attempts to prove that he
Television licensing in the United Kingdom is £145.50 for colour TV and £49 for monochrome TV, per household. The radio-only licence was abolished on 1 February 1971, when it was £1.25 (actually £1-5s-0d in pre-decimal UK currency) or the equivalent of £ in prices. On 1 April 1991, the BBC took over the administration of television licensing in the UK, assuming the responsibility of licence fee collection and enforcement. Since this date, the BBC has been the statutory authority for issuing television licences (before April 1991, the statutory authority was the UK Home Office), although the UK Government retains certain powers and responsibilities with regards to