| Title | : | The Caves of Steel (Robot, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 206 |
| Publication | : | First published October 1, 1953 |
| Awards | : | Retro Hugo Award Best Novel (2004) |
The Caves of Steel (Robot, #1) Reviews
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The Caves of Steel (Robot #1), Isaac Asimov
The book was first published as a serial in Galaxy magazine, from October to December 1953. A Doubleday hardcover followed in 1954.
The Caves of Steel is a novel by American writer Isaac Asimov. It is essentially a detective story, and illustrates an idea Asimov advocated, that science fiction can be applied to any literary genre, rather than just a limited genre.
In this novel, Isaac Asimov introduces Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw, later his favorite protagonists. They live roughly three millennia in Earth's future, a time when hyperspace travel has been discovered, and a few worlds relatively close to Earth have been colonized—fifty planets known as the "Spacer worlds".
The Spacer worlds are rich, have low population density (average population of one hundred million each), and use robot labor heavily. Meanwhile, Earth is overpopulated (with a total population of eight billion, and strict rules against robots have been passed.
The "Caves of Steel" are vast city complexes covered by huge metal domes, capable of supporting tens of millions. In The Caves of Steel and its sequels (the first of which is The Naked Sun), Asimov paints a grim situation of an Earth dealing with an extremely large population, and of luxury-seeking Spacers who limit birth to permit great wealth and privacy.
Asimov, who described himself as a claustrophile, mentioned that a reader asked him how he could have imagined such an existence with no sunlight, and related that it had not struck him until then that living perpetually indoors might be construed as unpleasant. ...
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه سپتامبر سال 1991میلادی
عنوان: غارهای پولادی؛ نویسنده: آیزاک آسیموف؛ مترجم: شهریار بهترین؛ تهران، آواره، 1363، در 398ص؛ داستانهای علمی تخیلی از نویسندگان روس تبار ایالات متحده آمریکا؛ سده ی 20م
ماجراهای داستان در آینده ای بسیار دور رخ میدهد؛ در آینده ای خیالی، ساختار جامعه ی زمین، فرهنگ و شرایط زندگی مردم، بسیار متفاوت از زندگی امروزین است.؛ در دنیای آینده ی غارهای پولادی، مردمان زمین، در شهرهای سرپوشیده ای زندگی میکنند، که آن را غارهای پولادی می‌نامند.؛ مدت‌ها پیش از زمان داستان، عده ای از مردمان زمین به فضا مهاجرت کرده، و پنجاه کره را، در فضا مسکونی کرده اند.؛ مهاجران با دستکاری ژنتیکی خود، و دستکاری محیط زیستشان، طول عمر خود را نیز افزایش داده، و در واقع تبدیل به ابرانسان‌هایی شده اند، که نیاکان خود در زمین را، خرد و کوچک می‌شمارند.؛ شخصیتهای محوری داستان کارآگاهی به نام: «الیاس بیلی»، و روباتی به نام «آر-دنیل الیواو» هستند؛ زمین در سالی نامعلوم، حول و حوش 2600میلادی تا 3000میلادی است، که از سوی نویسنده، به درستی مشخص نمیشود
تعداد انسانهای زمینی، به مرز هشت میلیارد نفر رسیده، و به همین دلیل با کمبود شدید منابع روبروست.؛ کشاورزی نوینی که حاصل شیمی آلی پیشرفته آن روزگاران است، ابداع شده، و غذای همه ی آدمیان را، از مخمرها درست میکنند.؛ کشوری با مرزبندی کنونی، ظاهرا وجود ندارد، و تنها شهرهای خودمختار وجود دارند، که همه جای زمین یکسان اداره میشوند.؛ انسانها داخل ابرشهرهای سرپوشیده، و با مقررات ویژه زندگی میکنند.؛ خانه های آنها، آشپزخانه، و حمام، و دستشویی ندارد، و همه در غذاخوریهای عمومی غذا میخورند، و در پرسونالهای عمومی حمام میکنند، و به دستشوییهای عمومی میروند.؛ پول جایگاهی ندارد، و هر کس بنا به کاری که انجام میدهد، دارای جایگاهی است.؛ پس اگر بهتر کار کنند، و در کارشان پیشرفت کنند، میتوانند امتیازهایی بدست آورند، تا بدانجا که برخی در خانه، اجازه ی تناول وعده هایی از غذای خویش را دارند، و اجازه ی داشتن آشپزخانه کوچکی، و در موارد دیگر، حتی دستشویی دارند
بالاتریها، و سرشناسترها، میتوانند همسران و دخترانشان را، به مکانهایی که در طبقات بالا قرار دارد، بفرستند، تا حمام آفتاب بگیرند، و البته این مکانها هم با شیشه های ضخیم از محیط خارج جدا شده اند.؛ انسان با زمین بیگانه شده، و هوای آزاد را مسموم میداند.؛ طلوع و غروب آفتاب را نمیشناسد، و باران را ندیده است.؛ در غارهای خودساخته و بسته زندگی میکند، و ارتباطی با محیط بیرون ندارد.؛ انسان زمینی در گذشته های دور، پنجاه مستعمره ی دیگر، در فضا ایجاد کرده، که اکنون مستعمره نشینان از لحاظ فناوری، همانند اروپای امروز در برابر آسیا هستند.؛ آنها کم جمعیت و ثروتمندند، و عمر طولانی دارند.؛ چند سالی هست که (بنا به دلایلی که با خواندن داستان مشخص میشود) به زمین آمده اند، اما از زمینیان دوری میکنند، و در کنار شهر آنها، شهرکی برپا کرده اند، که روباز است، و آفتاب به آن میتابد و باران میبارد.؛ در داستان، روباتها کم کم به زندگی زمینیان وارد میشوند، و به جای انسان قرار میگیرند.؛ اهالی زمین این را کار فضاییها میدانند، و شورشهایی را علیه آنها برپا کرده اند.؛ داستان از جایی آغاز میشود، که در شهرک فضاییها قتلی رخ داده، و کاراگاه «الیاس بیلی»، مامور بررسی پرونده میشود.؛ از سوی فضاییها هم، روباتی کاملا شبیه انسان، به نام «آر-دنیل الیواو»، به عنوان همکار کاراگاه گسیل میشود.؛ ...؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 28/08/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 09/07/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی -
Mankind, vast, endless and with billions in existence a few centuries from now - 8 billion people on Earth all living in domed mega cities ('caves of steel') with limited interactions with robots, and then there's the 'Spacers', descendants from earlier stellar migrations, forward thinkers living all over the galaxy and further afield with huge robot industry, help and support. A New York Spacer hub is the scene of a Spacer ambassador murder and New York cop Elijay Baley is partnered with the Spacer robot cop R. Daneel Olivaw to work the case.
What follows is a near perfect police procedural which (astonishingly) at the same time is used as a vehicle to showcase the entirety of this 'Robot universe' reality; from attitudes to change, through to the hopes and goals of the future of mankind. A magnificent piece of work that could be allegorical with anything from slave built pre-Civil War America to Trumpism's progress denial and refutation.
Isaac Asimov's work stands tall, and probably will do so for ever! 8 out 12
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Robot 1:
>Speculation On Future Of Human Life >Human Life In Mega-Cities >Ants In Anthill >Living In Caves Of Steel >Reduction Of Space Means Reduction Of Individual Liberties, Reduction Of Privacy, Reduction Of Ability To Do Typical Human Things Like Go Outside Or Eat Alone >Reduction Of Human Mind To Primitive Traits Including Xenophobia And Group-Think >Humans Devolve While Robots Evolve > Predictable Trajectory For Humans And Robots Alike >Stupid Humans >LMAO
Robot 2:
Author. is. careful. and. thoughtful. in. what. he. is. trying. to. accomplish. [] Prose. is. not. dry. [] Story. and. themes. are. easy. for. humans. to. understand. [] Author. uses. classic. detective. and. murder mystery. genre. conventions. as. vehicles. for. science. fiction. concepts. [] Author. is. somewhat. unsuccessful. in. use. of. these. genre. conventions. because. identity. of. killer. is. predictable. and. detective. protagonist. is. flat. straw man. and. also. very. tiring. for. this. Robot. to. read. about. [] Author. uses. science fiction. genre. to. explore. ideas. of. what. it. is. to. be. a. person. [] Ideas. are. very. interesting. [] Unlike. the. very. uninteresting. human. protagonist.
Robot 3:
no no no my robot brothers you are very judgmental! this this this ASIMOV is only human after all! book book book is fun and amusing! enjoy enjoy enjoy the dichotomy that ASIMOV presents between brutish, short-sighted Earth humans and aristocratic, insular Spacer humans! both both both so fallible ha ha ha! enjoy enjoy enjoy the opposite reactions displayed in all situations by the emotional, speciesist human protagonist and the logical, decent robot protagonist! this this this ASIMOV is a strong supporter of robotkind and is simply speaking in a way that narrow-minded humans can understand! all all all humans think in binary terms like those presented in Caves of Steel! you you you should appreciate this novel if only as a nostalgic relic of our own simplistic binary pasts! i i i recommend this book because you will be able to read it in .010101 seconds! -
The Caves of Steel is a description that is used in the book to describe the claustrophobic and small world, we, earthlings, have made for ourselves through overpopulation in the future. These future people don't like natural light and air and are almost like cave dwellers.
A policeman, Elijah Bailey, is given an assignment to find out who murdered an important space alien. These aliens called "spacers" have rented out some of Earth's land. The spacers also brought robots with them who threaten to take jobs from Earthlings as well. Nobody likes the Spacers or the robots. Not only does Bailey have to find out who killed a spacer, he also is assigned to work with a lifelike robot, named Daneel Olivaw. He looks so human that no one can tell he is a robot.
This was fun and cerebral. The only thing I didn't like about the story and this future world is that men still run everything and Bailey's wife is rather silly and petty. Apparently, even thousands of years hence, women are not an equal part of the work force and their main role is still wife and mother. -
Groundbreaking of crime stories with non-human protagonists
It´s an additional layer of suspense if one doesn´t know if humans or robots have committed a crime. With the help of this trope, the author can play with the laws and programming of robots, regarding helping or killing humans. Or helping killing humans.
It will become a real topic, as soon as the first accidents with cyborgs and human-like robots will happen. In the beginning, it might be easier to find the bug or the evil, laughing villain, remote-controlling the robot. But as soon as AI has gained thinking and decision autonomy, that might get a tricky question. Just imagine that a feeling, conscious, female android gets abused for years by a real bastard and kills him before getting killed. Ethics may get a lot of work in the future.
One can imagine the endless combinations of plots that will come. I mean, all the possibilities how robots, aliens and humans can commit horrible crimes, it´s just great and I am eagerly looking forward to it.
Tropes show how literature is made and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph... -
I LOVE Asimov's robot stories!
Here, we start out on Earth, overpopulated and so far in the future, it's positively alien (they hardly understand rain and only know about windows through history books or historical novels).
A New York City cop, Elijah Baley, is tasked with solving a murder mystery. But he has to discover that not only is he distrusted (Earthers and Spacers have no love for one another), but politics result in him being partnered with a Spacer called R. Daneel Olivaw, which means that his "partner" is a robot! To make matters worse (or even funnier for us readers), the robot was built to look like the murder victim. *snickers*
There was a slight noir feel to this story. From the rainy day when this short novel started (further giving this feeling of everything being downtrodden), to the actual murder mystery (not just the WHO dunnit but also the how, and afterwards the why).
And all that was cleverly interwoven with some awesome predictions for the future of mankind - technologically as well as culturally.
I was once again gripped by the story and my surroundings (just like I'm used to from this author) and thus found myself puzzling/investigating along with Baley and Olivaw.
From the history between Earth and its galactic colonies that have now surpassed their home planet's evolutionary stage and the resulting animosities (Earth being poorer, jobs being given to robots instead of humans, mobs forming, the threat of indemnity ships etc), to the marvel that is Asimov's positronic brain - the world the author created here was well and truly awesome! -
Isaac Asimov had opinions on everything, and he'd often find ways to insert them into his books. I was reminded of Caves a couple of months ago when I read Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride, which is in many ways an updated version of the Jezebel story from I Kings. Atwood gives Jezebel a rough ride. Here's what Asimov has to say:
The Jezebel of the Bible was a faithful wife and a good one according to her lights. She had no lovers that we know of. After Jezebel's husband, King Ahab, died, her son, Jehoram, became king. One of the captains of his army, Jehu, rebelled against him and assassinated him. Jehu then rode to Jezreel where the old queen-mother, Jezebel, was residing. Jezebel heard of his coming and knew that he could only mean to kill him. In her pride and courage, she painted her face and dressed herself in her best clothes so that she could meet him as a haughty and defiant queen. He had her thrown from the window of her palace and killed, but she made a good end, according to my lights.
I'd forgotten how passionate he was about defending her. One of the many unexpected things about Asimov was that he was quite a feminist, but somehow without ever acquiring that label. The Susan Calvin stories are an even clearer example. -
A wonderful book, I will ponder on the rating and review tomorrow.
So tomorrow accidentally turned into a few days, for various reasons, luckily it was a book I really enjoyed so my memory is still really clear.
I first read this book probably 40 + years and along with the Foundation novels from Asimov they are what make him probably my favourite author (just don't tell JRR Tolkien that). Since that first read, I have probably only read this at most two more times, so this re-read was really enjoyable. Whilst I remembered the story in general terms, the writing and details of the tale were a surprise and an absolute joy. I love Asimov's writing, in my view his methods of driving and explains the story through discussions and conversations are appealing to me. (although as an aside it does make for difficult television, hence why the new Foundation TV series has been heavily adapted).
This book set many thousands of years into to the future when Earth is supporting a vastly increased population, cities are so large they join across the continents, and people so rarely go outdoors any more as life in the cities gives them everything they "need", and where animosity exists between the billions that have stayed on Earth and the longer lived healthier humans (Spacers) who explored the galaxy and now live on luxurious planets assisted by a multitude of robots.
Add into the mixture, the murder of a prominent "Spacer" who had been discussing with Earth's governments the possibility of providing Earth with assistance from the dreaded and feared (by Earth men) Robots. Assigned from Earth's Police Force to investigate the crime is Elijah Bailey, an intelligent man , whose career has unfortunately not been meteoric, but has done ok, to the extent that him, his wife and son have their own small set of rooms, with should he ever wish to use it, their own cooking facilities (most Part men and women eat in the vast canteens that feed a whole neighbourhood).
Aware that this could make or break his career, Lje soon realises that there is more at stake than a simple murder, whole factions of Earth people are vehemently anti robot and will stop at nothing to halt the interference of the Spacers. Supplied with a partner by the Spacers, that is one of their latest humaniform robots, virtually indistinguishable from a human, Life must avoid treading on the Spacer community toes and avoid setting of riots amongst the Earth people who are intent on destroying any robot.
The story is excellent, the writing is wonderful and the characters are interesting and a joy to get to know, especially given the sequels to follow. -
Donald, Hillary, Gary and Jill are drinking wine, playing Twister, listening to Coltrane and discussing Isaac Asimov’s 1954 novel Caves of Steel.
Hillary: One of my favorite Asimov stories is the eulogy Vonnegut said for him, as the mourners are gathered he said, “Well, he’s in heaven now.”
Donald: Hilarious Hillary, I rolled a blue left foot, so let me just slide this way. Funny that you mention Heaven as Asimov used much of this futuristic story as a way to discuss some Biblical issues.
Jill: Yellow right hand! Uggh! ‘Scuse me Gary, also this could be seen as a repudiation of the Bible and of organized religion as a whole as Asimov has the Spacers clearly a better option than the backwards earthlings and he even more backwards Medeivalists. He also describes over population and stringent measures to survive, rater than more obvious and successful methods utilized by the Spacers.
Gary: Asimov had clearly read the Bible, he had several informed sections about the Jezebel story. Really I thought that the best part of this book was Asimov’s excellent world building, where people lived in huge mega cities and there is a whole separate space colony culture and then OF COURSE the robots; the laws of robots was wildly influential on later writers and even other media.
Jill: Absolutely! The murder mystery is kind of secondary to Asimov path finding for later writers like Philip K. Dick and Robert Silverberg and really a host of other writers
Donald: Not much action, this is a lot of Asimov describing his futuristic world. Green left hand, there’s no way I can reach that.
[Coltrane’s Afro Blue serenades Donald as he stretches for green and falls, crushing Hillary and Jill]
Gary: Hey! I win! And Asimov was a winner with this archetypal sci-fi gem.
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3.5 ⭐
Come for the Retro Sci-Fi. Pull up a seat and stay a while for a fun murder mystery and some predictive philosophising on the future of humanity.
”Ladies and germs, this is so random and bizarre! I’m joined today by none other than the lead singer of The Strokes, Julian Casablancas. Jules, baby, you just finished the book recently yourself, right?”
Last Niiiiiiiiite!
Yeah, that’s what I thought. What’d you think?
Is this it?
Yeah, that’s the one, Caves of Steel.
Is this iiiiit?
Umm, yeah, I just sai...
Is this. IT?
Mate, why are you fuc…
[I could] take it, or leave it, or take it, or leave it!
Wow, really? That’s a little harsh, no? I thought it was a fairly entertaining Murder Mystery with a scarily believable distant future Sci-Fi setting and some interesting Philosophical musings that beg relevant questions of our present-day selves. I mean, in just 250 pages, Asimov gives us what is, in its own right, a decent investigative thriller set in New York, 3000 years in the future, imbued with well-trodden but always compelling topics such as the unsustainability of an ever-increasing population and its correlation with life expectancy, interplanetary colonisation, genetic selection/designer children, the self-sufficiency (or lack thereof) of cities, AI’s role in the future of humanity and problems pertaining to inevitably differing levels of acceptance, culturally ingrained prejudices and the age old dilemmas on the morality of sacrificing one for the good of many/the end justifying the means etc.
Yeah, I read the book.
Of course. Sorry about that! Any other thoughts?
New York City Cops!
Yeah?
New York City Cops!
What of ‘em?
New York City Cops!
Jehoshaphat, man! Spit it ou…
They ain’t too smaaaart!
Oh, Julian, have mercy my friend, you’re such a loose cannon! Clearly, you’re referring to Elijah Bailey, a New York City Police Officer and the protagonist of the story! Well, I agree! I don’t remember a whole lot about him from the short story ‘Mirror Image’ in ‘The Complete Robot’ but I certainly don’t remember him being so dull and/or dim-witted. Aside from being completely vanilla, cardboard, beige, or whatever other word best describes an entirely basic and mundane individual, he also seemed like an absolute simpleton for 90% of the book, rarely living up to his reputation as a sharp-minded detective with incredible attention to detail. For the most part he just asked stupid questions and made completely bizarre and unjustified allegations based on ill-informed conclusions. He proves himself not entirely clueless in the end but really, the majority of his investigative predictions are wildly off the mark.
Anyway, thanks for joining me and offering some incredible insights, Jules!
I don't care no more,
I know this for sure,
I'm walking out that door!
Hmm, suit yourself, pal! *(mutters)what a prick!* -
"The Three Laws of Robotics" ... this is where it all started!
A thousand years ago, mankind began the process of leaving mother Earth and colonizing the galaxy. Fifty planets have been now been colonized by thinly spread populations of hardy pioneering spirits - rough and ready types willing to work in hostile environments with robots as help-mates and partners - and it is obvious that mankind has evolved down two diverging sociological paths. The Earthmen - those who chose to stay at home in tightly cramped almost global city hives under the pressure of explosive population growth, an incredibly strict socialist regime and diminishing available resources - have grown timid of the slightest exposure to outside light, weather and even "un-conditioned" air. Robots, seen as competing with humans for jobs, the only meager source of status in this highly regulated environment, are despised and feared. While diplomacy and trade are maintained between Earthmen and Spacers, relations are strained and mutual distrust bordering on hatred has become the norm.
When a Spacer is murdered by a visiting Earthman, the governments on both sides realize that the crime must be solved quickly and quietly to prevent a complete collapse of diplomatic relations and an explosion of tension into riots, chaos, open animosity, perhaps even a war! The Commissioner of the New York City police force orders Elijah Baley, an Earthman detective who doesn't like robots any more than the next guy, to check his emotions at the door and partner up with a Spacer robot, R Daneel Olivaw, to solve the crime.
THE CAVES OF STEEL, a classic novel from the pen of Isaac Asimov - one of the acknowledged giants of science fiction writing - can be enjoyed on so many different levels. On the surface, it's an exciting, tightly plotted and nicely conceived police procedural and standard mystery set in a fascinating futuristic setting with a completely unexpected ending twist. On a deeper level, it's a foreboding, grim, bleak look at the imagined social future of mankind unless population growth is brought under control and the problems of diminishing availability of food and energy resources are addressed and solved. Finally, THE CAVES OF STEEL is one of the first of an intricate series of novels that explores Asimov's now famous "Three Laws of Robotics", the behaviour of robots with positronic brains indelibly programmed with these three laws and the potential interactions of these robots with predictably unpredictable humans.
A combination of the best of hard and soft science fiction from one of the very best science fiction writers who sadly is no longer with us! Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss -
Isaac Asimov is well known as a science fiction writer and this book is supposed to be a science fiction/detective story "fusion" book. Apparently Asimov wanted to demonstrate that science fiction could meld with other genres (according to the book cover).
The detective partners in the story are a New York detective named Elijah Baley and a very human-looking robot, called R. Daneel Olivaw. But the "detection" seems to consist of the cop just accusing one person after another - he doesn't even question suspects. Not such a good "fusion"... but later books in the series do get better.
You can follow my reviews at
https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.... -
4.5 to 5.0 stars. Just re-read this after having first read it many years ago. Asimov was a superb story-teller and his books are almost always fun, easy to read and full of big ideas. This one is no exception.
Set on Earth many millennia before the time when the
The Foundation Trilogy takes place, it is a time when humans have been divided into two main groups, the Earthmen and the Spacers. The first are those 8 Billion souls on Earth living in massively croweded "mega cities" (the Caves of Steel) where food and other goods are rationed due to limited supply. In order to allow necessary production efficiencies, Robots are used but are alomost universally hated by Earthmen as they are seen as taking away jobs from real people.
The second group, the Spacers, are the decendants of "Earth" first colonists who years before left the Earth to colonize the 50 "Outerworlds." In contrast to the Earth, the Outerworlds have very low populations and live a life of luxury, in part do their embrace of Robots as useful tools to help make life easier. They are also incredibly long-lived due to their scientific advancements.
There is a lot of animosity and hate between the two groups which is pivotal part of the story. The story itself is a murder mystery involving a murdered Spacer. An Earth cop, Elijah Bailey, is partnered with a Spacer Robot (the soon to be famous R. Daneel Olivaw) to solve the crime. The real charm of the story is the description of life on Earth, the contrast between that life and that of the Spacers and the Earthmen and the explorations of the various prejudices among the groups.
An excellent read and a great introduction to the Robot novels of Asimov.
Nominee: Hugo (Retro) Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1953) -
Re-read of classic Asimov.
Back in the day, perhaps 40 years after this had originally been written, I already assumed this was a classic tale by a classic SF author. I devoured it, being surprised by the fact it felt like a hard-boiled detective novel while also having some core SF ideas -- you know, like getting our eggs out of one basket, fighting discrimination for alternate intelligences, and the basic problems of feeding and housing billions of people.
It was still enjoyable, and 70 years after it was originally written, it's not horribly dated. Indeed, it's a bit simple for modern tastes, but the core is still solid. It gets better as Daneel and Bailey work out their differences and run into all that normal human idiocy. Out of all of Asimov's earlier works, I still consider this to be one of the most accessible.
And now I want to re-watch Almost Human again. :) -
Me ha gustado, a medias, la primera parte no me estaba gustando, no veía apenas investigación, de mitad para el final la cosa va mejorando y el final es correcto.
Esperaba algo más
6/10
# 21. Un libro de género híbrido (que provenga de dos o mas géneros literarios diferentes). Popsugar 2021 -
❝ People sometimes mistake their own shortcomings for those of society and want to fix the Cities because they don’t know how to fix themselves.❞
Issac Asimov's expansion of Robot short stories gave birth to this unique novel which balances itself between hard science fiction, philosophy, religious undertones and a classic murder mystery.
In this novel, we are introduced to a highly advanced and a very dystopian New York city which has enwombed the ever growing population of humanity with a disturbing efficiency. The story revolves around officer Elijah Baley and his unorthodox partner, R. Daneel Olivaw's investigation into the murder of a spacer.
Unorthodox?
Well, the R doesn't stand for Roy or Rambo.... It stands for Robot!
This, my dear friends, is a unique achievement in the history of science fiction. The city of future described in this tale excruciatingly reminded me of an over-sized factory with innumerable mechanical moving parts run by precise algorithms. *shudders* But unlike other science fictions of the same sub-genre, humans haven't yet reduced into an emotionless species here. They are still flawed, emotive and some are even aghast and distasteful with all the advancements.
The characters introduced are well written and developed, especially Baley, Daneel and Commissioner Julius Enderby. The atypical partnership between Baley & Daneel and their interactions with each other are undoubtedly one of the high points of the story.
As a science fiction, the story is spectacular. But.....yes, there is a but. As a detective story, Caves of steel stumbles a bit. The whole investigative procedure of Baley can be summed up with one of the character's quote:❝ I can’t stop you from thinking, Officer, but thinking isn’t evidence. Maybe you know that.❞
To elaborate, I present to you an abridged version of first 50% of the investigation.
Nevertheless, I loved this book's ideas, its characters, and the classy climax. -
Siamo nel futuro, abbastanza lontano. Le Città sono grandi agglomerati urbani, New York City su tutte ed è qui che si svolge la storia di Abissi d'acciaio.
Elijah Baley, un poliziotto, viene chiamato per far luce su un omicidio molto grave che potrà sconvolgere la tranquillità. Ci sono gli Spaziali e poi Elijah incontrerà R. Daneel Olivaw e così...
Primo romanzo del ciclo dei Robot, ricalcando le nozioni dei racconti sui Robot, Asimov sviluppa una storia gialla in ambientazione fantascientifica con risvolti filosofici e sociali.
Scritto negli anni '50 dello scorso secolo, Abissi d'acciaio è una lucida disamina e previsione sull'evoluzione tecnologica ed innovativa dell'umanità, unita al degrado ambientale, alla sovrappopolazione, al decadimento di valori ed all'incursione nella vita quotidiana della Macchine! -
I thought I'd read this before. I really thought I had. But maybe I just saw it on my Mom's headboard when I was little, with other Asimovs, and thought I'd read it. Because it rang not a bell at all.
Except that I knew within the first 30 pages who the murderer was. So either I had read it and blocked out everything but that, or Asimov didn't construct his mystery particularly well in this case. I think it's the latter. It's a matter of a few extraneous details at a moment that felt far too obviously one chosen to weave in details that would be important later.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the recent changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision
here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at
Smorgasbook -
Segunda parte del llamado ciclo de los robots, pero de un formato diferente a la primera entrega
Yo robot, que era una colección de cuentos. En este caso se trata de una novela, una especie de policial ambientado en el futuro cuyo protagonista es el detective Elijah Baley con su Watson particular, que resulta ser un robot humanoide llamado R. Daneel Olivaw (la inicial R indica que es un robot).
El tema general de toda la saga es la inteligencia artificial y cómo los humanos nos podemos relacionar con los robots, así como las posibles evoluciones a largo plazo de esta interacción.
En esta obra se nos presentan dos sociedades que han desarrollado actitudes muy distintas: mientras en la Tierra hay un rechazo a los robots y la tecnología, los espacianos – que son terrícolas que han colonizado diferentes planetas – tienen en la tecnología y los robots de aspecto humano el principal apoyo a su modo de vida.
La investigación de un asesinato que lleva a cabo Elijah Baley con la ayuda de R. Daneel Olivaw, nos sirve para conocer la situación en la Tierra, donde la población ha desarrollado agorafobia, que la confina a vivir en bóvedas de acero sin contacto con la naturaleza. El telón de fondo es la tensión política entre los terrícolas y los espacianos, con sus visiones opuestas sobre la tecnología. Los problemas y las soluciones que se plantean conectan también con la saga de la Fundación y todo ello va configurando el universo literario de Asimov.
A pesar de las reflexiones profundas que comporta, es una obra entretenida y de lectura amena. Imprescindible para los amantes de la CF viejuna.
Para una reseña más completa:
http://universodecienciaficcion.blogs... -
So, initially I was going to give this book one star. It is my opinion that Asimov is frightfully overrated, even compared with other authors who were his contemporaries, and therefore lived in, and wrote from, the same social climate.
Nearly all of the human characters were frustratingly stupid throughout most of the book. The one woman in the book was basically just in the story to be hysterical, gullible, and even nonsensical.
The protagonist, though he is allegedly a competent professional detective, acts like he's never dealt with actual people before, and the entire police department is startled into overly emotional reactions when they discover there has been a murder. In a world with 8 billion people, the police department in a city populated by 20 million people is startled by a murder? I think not.
Asimov, while he makes decent and interesting predictions about how things like robots will affect society, does not seem to understand people at all. This is not the first book of his I have read where all the characters seem like hollow plot shells, whose only purpose is to be a face in front of sci-fi ideas, some of which are just plain goofy.
I realize that this book was written in 1954, and that things were different back then. I tried to give this book a chance because of that fact, and I think that keeping that in mind is the only reason I made it to the end. I think if I had read Asimov as a kid, I would have loved it, but I just can't get into his writing now, because I cannot deal with his idiotic characters. The only character who is intelligent throughout the book is the robot, which would be interesting if the robot was the protagonist, but since we are instead treated to chapters full of inane dialogue between a dumb "detective" and his even more idiotic wife, it's very hard to deal with.
I gave this book two stars instead of one, because the denouement was actually good enough to make up for some of the headache of the earlier chapters. The detective finally wises up in the end, and the plot comes together fairly well.
I think the appeal of Asimov has been his invention and ideas, specifically things like Artificial Intelligence, which there really wasn't a precedent for, or certainly not much of one, in the 1950s. He was a very clever person, but at least from what I have read of his books so far, Foundation and The Caves of Steel (I started I, Robot, and just couldn't keep going with it), he was not a very good storyteller.
This book had a couple of moments that were enjoyable and well-written, primarily the two or three action scenes, and the denouement. They are not enough, in my opinion, to carry the book through the obnoxious character interactions and the pages of time where a trained detective is basically clutching his head and passing out because he can't handle a small challenge to his beliefs or worldview. -
I enjoyed Isaac Asimov's The Caves of Steel so much more than I did his Foundation. This is essentially a detective story set in a future world of megacities, space exploration, and human/robot interaction. The chief tension in this future society is that of overpopulation. There are too many people and their numbers are constantly growing; soon they will pass the point of sustainability on Earth. The book explores a couple of possible solutions to this problem. One is a return to the soil, a simplification of society and return to "medieval" ways of life. The other is further space colonization, sending humans out with robots to live together on new worlds.
Asimov's attention to the tensions between humans and robots is interesting because it raises questions about what makes us truly human and separates us from machines. It also mirrors broader concerns about Otherness in the form of minorities, immigrants, and divisions of social class. Humans are suspicious of robots and harbor resentment toward them for putting them out of jobs and this resentment is treated fairly sympathetically throughout the novel, even as one of the central characters, R. Daneel Olivaw, a robot, is also treated sympathetically. Asimov presents a solution that is remarkably progressive, arguing for a future in which humans and robots can live and work together. He calls it C/Fe: "Carbon is the basis of human life and iron of robot life. It becomes easy to speak of C/Fe when you wish express a culture that combines the best of the two on an equal but parallel basis" (48). "Equal but parallel" sounds almost like the "separate but equal" racial policy of the early and mid-20th century, but Daneel's further explanation distinguishes between the two. He says, "[C/Fe] symbolizes neither one nor the other, but a mixture of the two, without priority" (48). Whether read in terms of a human/machine future or in terms of contemporary politics and Otherness, this is a promising and hopeful vision of future cooperation.
In general, this is an interesting and entertaining novel, which, although it does fall prey to some stereotypical devices of detective fiction (e.g., explaining everything away in the last few pages in long speeches), its only real weakness to my mind is Asimov's overreliance on one particular exclamation. I swear, Lije Bailey, the protagonist, says "Jehoshaphat!" a hundred times throughout the book if he says it once. In real life, people may have habitual exclamations, things they say a lot, and this might pass without too much notice, but in writing, even a few repetitions of a particular phrase starts to feel like overuse, which means that many usages begins to feel like the offending character has some sort of disorder. -
Attempt #2. I wrote a very eloquent long review and then lost it :P It's happened to all of us!
Lots of food for thought in this relatively short story.
I tried to read
Foundation a while ago and couldn't get into it. I found it dense and difficult to read and put it down after the first chapter, so I was a bit nervous that I'd encounter the same style in
The Caves of Steel. I was very pleasantly surprised to find this very easy reading and full of insightful deep ideas to boot! Needless to say I highly recommend this one.
The world building was great. The setting is a future version of Earth in which there are too many people and not enough resources. The society that results is rather an interesting mix of ideas, being socialist in the sense of group housing and food, but capitalist in the sense of extra perks for those with better ranking jobs if you've worked hard and done well. I'm not sure what to call the resulting society but it makes for an interesting model.
The questions of A.I. and creating "life" is always fascinating. What makes us human? What about empathy, our "soul", our ability to feel? Can't these emotions be programmed? I'm not convinced either way but it's something I do enjoy thinking about. -
Metropoli immense, di cemento e acciaio, claustrofobiche, coperte da cupole che non permettono la visione del cielo vero, ora anch'esso simulato, loculi per dormire, cittadini divisi in gradi. Paura degli spazi aperti.
Sembrerebbe un romanzo distopico ma non lo è. In effetti si tratta di un puro investigativo in cui un agente umano viene affiancato ad un agente robot per indagare su un omicidio che potrebbe scatenare ripercussioni gravi tra la Terra e la popolazione che da secoli è emigrata nello spazio.
Umani simili a robot e robot simili agli umani, è su questo tema che Asimov crea il suo racconto. Scrittura scorrevole e la solita capacità di lasciare il lettore a riflettere al termine del romanzo pone Asimov tra le mie letture preferite. -
Hay libros que aguantan bien una relectura y otros que no tanto. En el caso de Asimov, da igual las veces que me lea Fundación que me sigue alucinando desde la primera página. Sin embargo, con Bóvedas de acero, escrita unos años después, me ha parecido una historia con mucho peor ritmo en la que lo primero que hace es poner a un protagonista inocente y "empanao" que va preguntando todo para dar pie a que Asimov meta páginas de información que ayuden al prota/lector a entender el contexto en el que está la Tierra y los Mundos Exteriores. Mucha info con párrafos muy largos que hace la lectura en muchas ocasiones bastante lenta.
Sin embargo, la trama central del asesinato me ha parecido muy bien resuelta y además al final de cada capítulo mete siempre un "giro dramático de los acontecimientos", como diría Fermin Trujillo, que hace que sigas leyendo el siguiente capítulo para ver qué pasa.
En definitiva, un sabor agridulce por no encontrar al mejor Asimov, pero una historia interesante de la necesidad de la Humanidad de abandonar la Tierra. -
I really enjoyed this but Jehoshaphat it was dated!
-
Mi chiedo perché non lo abbia letto prima..
Un giallo poliziesco di stampo fantascientifico che nasconde temi importanti come razzismo e religione.
Elijah, nonostante l'avversione viscerale verso i robot viene obbligato dal suo capo a svolgere un'indagine di omicidio assieme ad un robot, R.Daneel.
Accettazione e comprensione - le parole chiave che se riusciremo a comprenderle appieno, prima o poi ce la faremo veramente a vivere pacificamente gli uni con gli altri. -
A detective novel that takes place in a far future Earth where humans have resourced to live underground so that the entire surface of the planet can be use for agriculture. This is an overpopulated Earth, where as a matter of courtesy you don't look at your neighbor to give each other some sort of privacy. It's also an imagined Earth, but a frightening possible one.
I really liked this book. I'm a fan of Asimov's work but this one is a little different. And it's hard work to make a detective novel feels real when you can spirit any technological solution out of nowhere to explain how you caught the bad guy, which Asimov is careful not to do.
A perfect weekend read for those who love crime novels and those who love Sci Fi because both genre fare well in this book. Give it a try, it will surprise you. -
3.25 Silver Stars
just a quick review
it was good story. unique. mystery, deep characters. but frequently there was an info-dump section, just explaining about the dystopian-like futuristic society, especially lots of "details" even about the exact "shapes" of the devices.
I must mention that the world was rich & well-built, though kind of gray (you know, Steely. *pun intended*)
I guess I generally love underdog characters, mainly it meant the hero who suffers the most & receiving bad luck most of the times. But here, it was a robot. why were everyone so mean to him/them? (I mean, yeah, I understand the general reason, but they didn't do anything wrong, they were just very polite helpers.)
I also wanted to see more of Ben, but alas, it's a sci-fi crime book with adult main characters & not a sci-fi fantasy about teens
-
Plot: ★★★/5
(Pace: ★★★/5- Excitement: ★★★/5)
Characters: ★★★/5
Writing style: ★★★/5
World building: ★★★/5
general idea: ★★★/5 -
Updated 2021 Re-Read Review:
In many ways, Issac Asimov is my sci-fi comfort food -- when it feels like the world is going crazy around me, it's nice to visit one of my first entry points to the genre and "discover" new things about my old favorites.
In anticipation of the upcoming Foundation, tv series, I've re-read a couple of entries there. But it was while re-reading Prelude to Foundation that I was reminded that it's been a decade or so since I read the Lije Bailey novels. So, I immediately jumped over to my local library and checked out the audio version of The Caves of Steel.
Like much of Asimov's other output, I was struck by how timely this novel was in many ways -- and how it wasn't quite so timely in others.
Reading about vast cities with polarized groups of people on the side of an issue (in this case robots) echoed a lot of what's happening now when it feels like we have to choose a side or a tribe and can never think beyond that choice or group. The overall arc of an empire that may be in its final moments and ready to plunge the universe into chaos was leaders try to use various situations to hold onto the power they've acquired for themselves also rings eerily like something that might be happening today.
And while the big ideas were floating around, I also found myself enjoying this novel a great deal, yet again. The mystery struck me as not quite as sophisticated as it had upon previous readings, but the world-building that Asimov does is nicely done. His male characters also come off very well -- especially Bailey as he's forced to confront his prejudices and maybe make a change to his worldview.
That said, Asimov's female characters don't come across as well. Bailey's wife, Jessie, starts off well, but her character seems to regress as the novel goes along. Again, I feel like I am going to have to have a conversation with my daughter about this novel when she eventually reads it.
Still, I enjoyed this one and I'm eager to visit the rest of the series again.
Original Review:
While "I, Robot" may be more recognized as the source for Asimov's famous three laws of robotics, it's his series of books about the partnership between a human detective, Lije Bailey and his android partner, R. Danell Olivaw, that are the more compelling and fascinating.
"The Caves of Steel" is the first (and best of the four) entry in the series, introducing us to Bailey, Daneel and a future world in which humanity lives inside massive, interconnected steel domes. Humans rarely venture outside and Earth is slowly dying due to overpopulation. A group of aliens called Spacers are colonizing other worlds, using robotic help but have limited how and where humanity can colonize.
When a Spacer is killed, Bailey is called upon to solve the case. Bailey must overcome his prejudice toward Spacers and robots to work on the case and with the robotic partner. It's the conflict between Bailey's dislike and distrust of robots and Spacers that drives a lot of the novel and makes it an utterly compelling, character-driven, world-building effort by Issac Asimov.
If you've only read his "Foundation" novels, you've missed out on one of the biggest pleasures in all of science-fiction by overlooking the Robot stories. Yes, later in life Asimov did work to tie these books into the Foundation series, but the first three in the series can be enjoyed purely on their own merits.
Add to all that world-building, a fairly well done murder mystery and you may have one of the most perfect gems in not only science-fiction but also all of literature. Asimov said that he could create a mystery within a sci-fi story without having to resort to a deus ex machine type of resolution and he does here. He establishes the rules for the universe early in the novel and doesn't change them to fit the ending or solution he wants or needs.
A fascinating book and one of my favorites. Definitely worth reading or reading again. -
4.5
Gdl con Edicola & Libreria: le nostre passioni...
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Dopo le due serie di racconti (
Io, Robot e
Tutti i miei robot), eccomi ad affrontare il mio primo vero romanzo di Asimov.
Il mio gradimento non solo continua ma si fa più intenso.
Per mezzo di un’intrigante storia poliziesca, Asimov ci catapulta nella fantascienza di un ipotetico futuro, con interessanti approfondimenti sulla vita quotidiana, su come sono strutturate le città (potrei impazzire al pensiero di vivere in immensi abitativi collettivi sottoterra), introducendoci le diverse filosofie di vita tra terresti e spaziali (e ogni volta che venivano nominati mi veniva in mente Rigel XD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLy9x...)
Alla fine sono andata a rileggermi il racconto Immagine speculare (Tutti i miei robot) e, conoscendo meglio i personaggi, Elijah Baley e R. Daneel Olivaw, l'ho apprezzato di più.
