Dave Langford reviewed Roderick at Random for White Dwarf #39, and stated that "The first worthwhile SF to arrive in 1983 is John Sladek's Roderick at Random [...] Sladek's satire is merciless, hilariously pointing out how humans prefer not to think for themselves, programmed by newspapers, tranquillizers, food fads or batty cults becoming much more predictable and less rational than poor Roderick. Sad, but not far from being true."
