Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best starting point for Asimov's future history, 25 April 2003
Some of the stories in THE COMPLETE ROBOT indicate the beginning of galactic civilization with the concept of hyperspace, but this novel shows the beginning of Earth's expansion into the galaxy.
However, that is only one of the factors in this science fiction/mystery novel. It works well on both levels. I've seen some criticism of the mystery elements, but with careful reading, the seasoned mystery reader will spot the necessary clues leading to the conclusion. The basic plot involves New York City detective Elijah Bailey's teaming with R. Daneel Olivaw, a spacer android, to solve the murder of a prominent spacer scientist. Earth's population is, as a whole, fearful of the growing use of robots. There's a combination of distrust of the robots and fear of robots taking over even complex jobs on an overcrowded Earth, and the police detective himself resents having to work with a non-human. Naturally, this changes in time as the two work together to solve the crime and as Bailey learns of the outer worlds' objective of inspiring Earth's participation in colonizing other worlds. As a whole, the story is well plotted and should encourage those new to Asimov to continue reading the robot series and then the Empire and Foundation books.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic introduction to robotics, 12 Nov 2005
The leading light in robot technology and design is murdered outside the city of New York. The murderer, it appears, is an Earthman, a human, and the murder is destined to drive an even greater wedge between the human city dwellers and those who live beyond its boundaries in the colony of the Spacers, people who have been born and raised on distant planets. It is the Spacers who advocate the further development and use of robots - to the Earthmen, these are totally alien creatures whose only purpose is to do them out of a job. But the police have to investigate the murder, and that means collaborating with both Spacers and robots."Caves of Steel" was written in the early-1950's, so it truly is a vintage work. This is Asimov speculating on the role, function, and morality of the robot, elaborating the rules which will ensure they cannot hurt a human. If the science seems a little quaint by modern standards, this is a future world conceived at the mid-point of the last century. It really is an essay from another world. What Asimov achieves, however, is an enquiry into how we perceive strangers, how we tolerate, or fail to tolerate, what we find alien. We struggle to hold on to traditional values, but those values were themselves once novel and alien, and often have rather tenuous provenance. There is a timeless quality in his enquiry into intolerance and discrimination. As a detective story, Asimov twists and turns the plot, but this is hardly a science fiction whodunnit. It is more of an investigation of how we could use artificial intelligence, written at a time when computing was in its infancy. The passage of time does make the science fiction appear quaint, and as a detective story it has severe limitations. However, this is a neatly paced and well written little novel which retains considerable fascination as an early classic of computing and robotics, and is a must read for anyone who considers him/herself a fan of science fiction.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Asimovs first detective story set in the future.., 12 Jun 1999
By A Customer
This book introduces an Earth inhabited by billions of city dwellers, frightened to go outside, suckling in the warm continual buzz of the enclosed steel cave which is the city they are born,live and die in. Earth people hate and fear robots who take their jobs. They fear even more the 'Spacers'. Humans who left Earth generations ago to found colonies on 50 other planetary systems. 'Spacers' are tall and noble featured, disease free, live in the open and are totally dependant on their robots. 'Spacers' have the power and it is 'Spacers' who are forcing robots on Earthmen. When a brilliant 'Spacer' roboticist is murdered on Earth, Elijah Bayley, the Earth detective called in to investige is forced to team up with a special 'Spacer' robot R. Daneel Olivaw which looks just like a human. Asimov displays his mastery of the growing relationship between the intuitive, blundering human and the constantly logical robot as they piece together the elements of the crime and capture the murderer. Togther with its sequels, 'the Naked Sun' and 'Robots of Dawn', 'the Caves of Steel' shows Asimov at his best. The reader is drawn inextricably into the world of the future, a thrilling detective story is told and a solid base laid as the first three books in Asimovs 14 book 'history of the future'. One word of warning DON'T TRUST THE COVER PICTURES on any of Asimovs books, they are totally miss leading and seem designed to put you off. All Asimovs books are about real Humans their actions and reactions, especially those which also involve robots.
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