Title: The Caves of Steel
Series: The Robot Series
Author: Issac Asimov
Genre: Classic Science Fiction, Hard Science Fiction
Publisher: Spectra
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0-553-29340-0
Summary: A millennium into the future two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. Isaac Asimov’s Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partnership between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together.
Like most people left behind on an over-populated Earth, New York City police detective Elijah Baley had little love for either the arrogant Spacers or their robotic companions. But when a prominent Spacer is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Baley is ordered to the Outer Worlds to help track down the killer.
The relationship between Life and his Spacer superiors, who distrusted all Earthmen, was strained from the start. Then he learned that they had assigned him a partner: R. Daneel Olivaw. Worst of all was that the “R” stood for robot—and his positronic partner was made in the image and likeness of the murder victim!
First Impressions
Caves of Steel was the very first science fiction novel I ever read and remains one of my favorites to this day. I absolutely love the world building and character development that Asimov puts into his novels. It’s a unique blend of an old detective novel, post-apocalyptic Earth, and a utopian space exploration. By this time, humans have colonized the stars. These books are set before Foundation, one of the biggest classic science fiction novels of all time.
One thing to think about when reading this novel is that the terminology is going to be a little older due to the time period that it was released in. For example, Robot Daneel Olivaw would actually be considered a synthetic human or android in current media. It is interesting to see the terminology evolve in science fiction during the ages.
What I Loved About The Caves of Steel
Setting: With a lot of science fiction I’ve read, Earth is not really in a great place. Hence, all the outer world colonization. Earth is dirty, gross, and overpopulated. Very post-apocalyptic. It’s not that relevant to the story but I liked how it is a social commentary, even in the 1950s, about how we treat the planet and what could happen. So, of course, humans have colonized and terraformed other planets which includes ones in our solar system and beyond. Then I enjoy the commentary of off-worlders, or “spacers,” on Earth and “Earthman.” It is fairly typical but I still found it fun.
Characters: The main character, Elijah Baley, is a very curious but distrusting person. I found him to be an interesting character, partly because of how he was written. It was easy to connect with him and get in his head. Being inside his head and listening to his internal dialog was interesting, partly because of all the social commentary on life today (well almost 70 years ago anyway).
R. Daneel Olivaw is probably one of my favorite characters of all time. Like Elijah, you definitely distrust him at the start. However, that might be because it is common in media to distrust artificial intelligence. He reminds me a lot of Lt. Commander Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation or David from Prometheus because he is definitely stiff and not entirely human but close enough to kind of blend in. I loved watching his evolution and his partnership with Baley. I’m, personally, a huge fan of android characters and watching their evolution from machine to becoming more human.
I’m one of those suckers who loves the buddy cop stories where they didn’t really want to work with each other and are forced to. The chemistry is interesting, especially between a human and a humanoid robot.
One major part of the Robot Series are the Three Laws of Robotics. They were an interesting concept created by Issac Asimov. I find it compelling because it is interesting to see how they work and the consequences of violating those laws. Today, those laws are up to debate on whether or not they would actually work on artificial intelligence. But for storytelling, I think it is still thought provoking.
First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
What I Wasn't Crazy About
So I do have to say, this book was published in 1954 which means, unfortunately, some themes and terms are a little out-dated. It has some mild religious references that I don’t care for personally as I am not religious. Terminology is a little old. Then again, the older terminology can be a little fun.
My biggest issue is the depictions of women, especially the wife. It is a very out-dated and sexist depiction of women that, unfortunately, carries into the sequels. Fortunately, it is not very present and, with a little cringing, can be overlooked. I just sort of roll my eyes and move along.
Verdict & Recommendation
Firstly, I would not recommend this book someone who doesn’t like old fashioned and sexist views of women. This book is very mid-20th century and does not have a flattering or feminist view of women, nor do the sequels. That being said, it really isn’t a huge part of the book. The story and the psychology of robots really overshadows that particular issue.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book for a multitude of reasons. Asimov is one biggest names of classic science fiction and a great starting point for anyone wanting to get into the genre. He is one of my favorite authors because of the way he writes his characters and the atmosphere he creates. There are so many reasons to love this book and to love the series, there is too much to list. It kept me up all night, wondering what was going to happen. It’s a wonderful classic science fiction novel and a fun read.
