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Abissi d'acciaio (Robot #1)

by Isaac Asimov, Giuseppe Lippi (Translator)

4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 · rating details · 24,144 ratings · 593 reviews

New York è irriconoscibile: niente più torri e grattacieli, ma un'immensa metropoli 'coperta' che non viene mai a contatto con l'aria, dove milioni di uomini e donne brulicano come formiche su strade mobili. Dove, soprattutto, i robot stanno soffiando i posti di lavoro agli uomini a un ritmo sempre più preoccupante. E alle porte di New York si stende come una sfida Spaceto...more

Paperback, Oscar Bestsellers #568, 259 pages

Published January 1st 1995 by Mondadori (first published 1954)

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Nov 28, 2012 Megan Baxter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 obvi...more 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.

It's too bad, because I enjoy Asimov's actual mystery series quite a lot. But, as I've said in the past, the real key is, is there enough here, even when the mystery is gone? It's a big yes for me.

Lije Baley, cop, is paired with R(obot). Daneel Olivaw to solve a crime - a Spacer has been murdered in their separate Spacetown, and it appears to have been a job by an Earthman. Baley hates the idea of robots, and being partnered with one, but does his job - although he is often blinded by his hatred to some fairly obvious matters. It makes one wince. But his screw-ups are interesting and understandable.

But what made this book really work for me is the society Asimov has created, and his explorations of its strengths and weaknesses. This is not future capitalist society. Nor is it communism, but a curious mixture of both and something else - what he calls Cityism. In a highly interdependent society, everyone has access to the same base level of living (a very poor one), but can earn privileges based on the position one holds and its importance to the overall scheme.

It's centralization on a huge scale, and the places where it binds are obvious - indeed, the book revolves around a "Medievalist" revolt against the huge Citystate. (For "Medieval," read "20th Century".) They want to go back to the land, and hate and despise Spacers for starting to introduce crude robots to the culture.

But there are too many humans for that, really. Where could they go? Spacer worlds are underpopulated, but are stagnant (and regarded by the Medievalists as decadent.)

Where this gets particularly interesting is in the discussion over humans losing their jobs to robots, who can do basic tasks (Daneel, a Spacer robot, is far advanced beyond those available in general society.) It caught me short, when I noticed Asimov was using specific words to describe those robots that were taking people's jobs for less money (maintenance, basically), and the violent reaction against them.

It was "inscrutable" that did it. I started to pay attention, and most of the words used to describe these job-stealing robots were specifically ones that were commonly used to describe Chinese workers on the Pacific coast of the U.s. and Canada, when racism and violence frequently broke out, and the Chinese workers were targeted by angry white workers. It's very subtle, but it's not a mistake.

That parallel drawn, this opened up into an examination of how "foreigners" are regarded by the working-class, and the violence he was discussing was drawing on a long tradition of racism and nativism. Medievalism had worthwhile ideas, but there was this distinct tinge that was there to point out that these are not even necessarily new arguments, but they are sometimes ugly.

Where do you go from there? Asimov suggests into a hybrid culture, working with, not against, the "other." To create something entirely new, provide a genuinely new frontier to a world that had forgotten not only what a frontier was, but even what daybreak looked like.

On one level, Caves of Steel is not a great murder mystery. It's an interesting but not spectacular science fiction book. But once he started to get me thinking about race and class, I was hooked.(less)

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May 06, 2013 Simona Bartolotta rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classici, favorites, fantascienza-and-co

"E il robot disse: «Sto cercando di assimilare, amico Julius, alcune idee che Elijah mi ha trasmesso in questi giorni. E forse ci riuscirò, perché all'improvviso mi pare di capire che l'estirpazione di ciò che non deve essere, ossia ciò che voi uomini chiamate il male, è meno giusta e desiderabile della sua trasformazione in ciò che voi chiamate il bene.»
Esitò, poi, come sorpreso dalle sue stesse parole, disse: «Vai e non peccare più».
Baley sorrise, prese R. Daneel per il gomito e uscirono insie

...more

"E il robot disse: «Sto cercando di assimilare, amico Julius, alcune idee che Elijah mi ha trasmesso in questi giorni. E forse ci riuscirò, perché all'improvviso mi pare di capire che l'estirpazione di ciò che non deve essere, ossia ciò che voi uomini chiamate il male, è meno giusta e desiderabile della sua trasformazione in ciò che voi chiamate il bene.»
Esitò, poi, come sorpreso dalle sue stesse parole, disse: «Vai e non peccare più».
Baley sorrise, prese R. Daneel per il gomito e uscirono insieme, braccio sotto braccio.

Per me è semplicemente un capolavoro.
Come ho già scritto altrove, sono del parere che la vera fantascienza non sia mai pura e semplice fantascienza: c'è sempre qualcosa di più, una scintilla particolare che guizza via dalla piccola fiamma per attecchire altrove, fino a che, dalla piccola scintilla, un incendio divampa; ci sono sempre trame intricate e realtà insospettabili che si nascondo sotto il mero susseguirsi di eventi e che sempre, inequivocabilmente lo superano in spettacolarità, una volta colte, per quanto studiato e intelligente possa essere quest'ultimo.
Si tratta di concetti, o meglio, di idee. Esse permeano tutta la storia, sono le componenti basilari dell'ossatura che la sorregge interamente, eppure vengono esplicitamente espresse solo nelle battute finali. E' una tecnica che, almeno su di me, ha molto effetto. Visto che, nella fattispecie, oltre che di fantascienza stiamo parlando di quella che è anche una detective story, si potrebbe pensare che mi stia riferendo semplicemente allo svelamento del colpevole, ma in realtà sto parlando di qualcosa di più profondo.
La forza di Abissi d'acciaio è una trama che, pur partendo da un livello già di per sé abbastanza complesso, non fa altro che puntare sempre più in alto, abbracciando orizzonti sempre più ampi, andando a indagare in maniera sempre più approfondita la psicologia e degli Spaziali e dei Terrestri. Qual è l'idea sulla quale Asimov costruisce questo romanzo? Non sono capace di comprimerla in una parola. Ho paura di ciò che ne verrebbe fuori se mi cimentassi nell'impresa di riassumerla in una frase. Ma posso dirvi cosa essa riguarda: al centro di tutto, vi è il futuro. Il futuro dell'umanità che, in un lontano domani non meglio precisato, vive stipata nelle enormi Città, metropoli al chiuso, mai a contatto con l'aria, né con la terra. Che futuro può avere un pianeta dalle risorse limitate, con una popolazione che supera gli otto miliardi di individui, addirittura retrogrado rispetto agli altri cinquanta mondi colonizzati ormai indipendenti, del tutto chiuso all'innovazione? La risposta è difficile da accettare, ma è l'unica via di salvezza possibile: lasciare la Terra. Colonizzare altri pianeti.
La lotta che Asimov rappresenta in questo romanzo non si limita allo scontro tra robot e uomo, intelligenza artificiale e intelligenza umana. C'è anche lo scontro tra i conservatori (qui chiamati medievalisti) e quella che in definitiva è la scelta giusta da fare per garantire la prosperità della specie, ossia lasciarsi alle spalle il passato e abbracciare l'idea del progresso, con tutto ciò che ne consegue, in questo caso una nuova esplorazione dello spazio e l'accettazione dei robot come componenti fisse delle società umane.

Non ho intenzione di dire altro. Ho cercato di fare ciò che ho potuto, ma (chiamatela pure incapacità d'espressione) mi sento letteralmente cascare le parole di bocca di fronte alla potenza di Abissi d'acciaio.(less)

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Jul 01, 2008 Christy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: readinglist2-sf, science-fiction-and-fantasy, science-fiction-institute-list

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 si...more 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. (less)

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Oct 28, 2012 Darciana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, mystery, series, reviewed, sci-fi-classics

4.5 stars

I've always had a fondness for robots/androids, and while Isaac Asimov's Robot series seems to be an obvious choice, I somehow never got around to reading any of the novels. Actually, it's my first Asimov altogether.
He was just a solid writer, his prose isn't particularly artistic or beautiful, but he had great ideas and knew how to mix them with a classic detective story, creepy dystopian plot elements and a nice pinch of humour to spice it all up and make it a fun read with substance....more

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Dec 03, 2012 Neelesh Singhal rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Confused whether you should read this really old, sci-fi murder mystery this far into the future? You Should!

Caves Of Steel is the first (although Goodreads marks it as No. 2, the first one is a collection of short stories) of 4 books part of the Robot Series written by the Hugo Award winning American author Issac Asimov.

Asimov at the time (and long afterwards) was regarded as a master of hard science fiction. In his life, he wrote hundreds of books, most popular of which are the Foundation Seri ...more Confused whether you should read this really old, sci-fi murder mystery this far into the future? You Should!

Caves Of Steel is the first (although Goodreads marks it as No. 2, the first one is a collection of short stories) of 4 books part of the Robot Series written by the Hugo Award winning American author Issac Asimov.

Asimov at the time (and long afterwards) was regarded as a master of hard science fiction. In his life, he wrote hundreds of books, most popular of which are the Foundation Series and the Robot Series.

Focusing on Caves Of Steel although, the book is short by today's standards, with a little over 250 pages.
It is extensive science fiction, where Asimov presents a world far into the future, seen through the eyes of his Detective Elijah Baley. The robot has been invented and perfected, and outer planets have been colonized. Even though this looks like an idea which has been used too many times, it is not boring at all, but very fresh! I was extremely interested all throughout the book, and wished it would last for more time.
As far as the story goes, it is a very simple murder mystery, there aren't many mind-blowing plot twists or bone-chilling action sequences, I sorta guessed who did it, but the joy is in reading how Baley supports his claims, because even though I guessed right, I admit it was because (view spoiler). The connection with Baley is instant. He is a very well developed character, with his fear of open spaces and fresh air very amusing (cities have been enclosed in domes), while at the same time being entirely believable. His relationship with his 'partner', Daneel, is very interesting, and I felt very involved in it, even though it was of an amusingly peculiar kind.

Overall, this book is a pleasure to read, with a strong story, a fast moving pace, and a new take on all mundane things in life, which makes everything interesting!
It is a book without long philosophical speeches, long histories, or long descriptions, but all three of these things are presented in such a genius manner, that it captivates you, and makes you think. A must read for everyone!

-Neelesh
Follow me on twitter @TheDevilsIPod

(less)

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Jul 20, 2010 Sol Gonzalez rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, ciencia-ficción

Este es uno de mis libros favoritos… y no es ni la primera, ni la segunda vez que lo leo. Lo he leído tantas y tantas veces que creo que he perdido la cuenta… y no quiero ni por un momento aprendermelo de memoria.

Es en este libro en donde aparecen por primera vez Daneel Olivaw y Elijah Baley (o Elias Baley en la traducción al español). Ambos personajes son míticos y aparecen en el resto de la saga… mucho mas Daneel, sin embargo en la memoria de Daneel vivirá siempre su más entrañable amigo Elija...more

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Aug 20, 2008 Poo1987 Roykaew rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Of course, I wish I'm gonna praise for it. But I told to myself there have something to say, and should be said, of this book. I think it is more significant than praising of it merely how good it be, or blaming it for stupidity, in contrast.

This is not merely a detective fiction, but also a science fiction as you can count when you see this name 'Isaac Asimov', a big name in sci-fi genre printed on the cover. In this novel, Asimov's portrait of main characters: Elijah Baley, a middle-aged detec...more

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Jun 06, 2010 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: award-nominee-hugo, audiobook, easton-press, mystery, good-guys, science-fiction, humans-rule-the-galaxy, 1930-1953, metal-men

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 Ste...more

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May 19, 2012 sologdin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative, nerd-boiled

Decent detective story. Gotta love scifi settings that have robots, laser guns, and planetary colonization, but no cellular phones, GPS, or surveillance cameras everywhere. That said, it was written in 1953--so we might forgive the good professor for failing to predict the course of certain technological trifles.

Reveals itself to be a gloss in the margin of Mary Shelley, insofar as Frankenstein is a "Medieval novel describing a robot that turned on its creator" (168), which is an odd way to desc...more

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Feb 13, 2012 Rich Rosell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's not so much that the resolution of the crime element of Caves of Steel is particularly rewarding (because it's not) it's just that Asimov's future world has a bleakly cool futuristic veneer to it. There's a reason he's one of the greats of sci-fi, and though this isn't his finest standalone work it was still a fun little robotic detective yarn written in the early 1950s about an Earth far into the future.../noir

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Apr 23, 2013 Parallel Worlds rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Intended Audience: Adult

Sexual content: N

Ace/Genderqueer characters: Y

Rating: PG

Writing style: 3/5

Likable characters: 4/5

To start things off, I thought I’d review the only science fiction series that I currently know of with any consistently and blatantly ace characters! These books started me into my love of robots, at a time when I still didn’t fully understand the asexual label or how it fit me. Generally, robots as a “race” are by default asexual, unless they are programmed otherwise. At lea...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Anthony rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, science-fiction

This is the second time I've read this book. The first reading was in 1989 and I decided to then put it on the shelf so I could forget the ending because, on the surface, this is a 'who dunnit?' mystery. Unfortunately, within the first pages, I remembered 'who dunnit'. However, that in no way ruined the story for me. This story is from the 'golden age of science fiction' and a classic. Set on Earth, in the far future, mankind is living in Cities within the earth, up to a mile deep, with populati...more This is the second time I've read this book. The first reading was in 1989 and I decided to then put it on the shelf so I could forget the ending because, on the surface, this is a 'who dunnit?' mystery. Unfortunately, within the first pages, I remembered 'who dunnit'. However, that in no way ruined the story for me. This story is from the 'golden age of science fiction' and a classic. Set on Earth, in the far future, mankind is living in Cities within the earth, up to a mile deep, with populations numbering in the millions. Fifty planets have also been colonised but there is a separation between those planets and mother Earth. Each look upon the other with disdain.

As mentioned, on the surface, this is a 'who dunnit?', a murder mystery. Beneath that, though, the author explores sociology. Asimov has set up an intriguing world: millions of people living in close proximity, have a fear of open space and distinct taboos that the average reader wouldn't consider to be taboo. There is a 'black and white' nature regarding the universe that's been created within this story but in reading the story, the reader will realise that the author acknowledges this and is saying that the human race needs to avoid this potential reality.

Asimov generally uses language, that is communication between two characters to progress the story and 'The Caves of Steel' is no exception. However, the story does allow the reader to explore life in this underground world, to experience the hardships and play with a little of the technology.

The story is easy to read and flows well. This reader did not really tire, or feel the need to rest during the course of events. The flow was simple and therefore allowed the imagination to conjure up the world being presented, thereby live in the reality of the story. For example, immediately after completing the novel, this reader happened board a train in an underground platform, surrounded by underground eateries and fashion stores. To get to this locating, moving catwalks were used taking me deeper underground. People were milling around, the air a little stale. The structures felt heavy and imposing. I could accept being in the situation; however unlike the characters of the novel I felt a longing to see the sky above me. We may live in caves for shelter but we need to be on the surface, to experience the elements and not buried in living tombs.

Yes, this is also one of Asimov's famous robot novels and the exploration between man and machine is covered nicely.

Some of the technology is a little dated but it doesn't smack you in the face to destroy the illusion being created.

This was a wonderful story and exploration of a possible future. (less)

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Jan 29, 2013 Sakacaca rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ya tenia bastantes ganas de entrarle al Robot Series, de hecho me eche I ROBOT y otros que no tenian nada que ver con esta primer de 4 libros pero aun asi me parecio interesante comenzar con los basics. Caves of Steel es un excelente libro. Se lee bien facil y es vacilon darse cuenta que ya se esta a punto de terminarse cuando uno cree que apenas se esta armando el ambiente de la ciudad de NY.

Si, por no averiguar mejor, esperaba una historia mas 'grande', que cubriera muchisimo mas tiempo y even...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Nathan Boole rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 det...more 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.(less)

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Dec 21, 2012 Jacob rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 26, 2012 Mike rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone

I know that I have read this book at least twice and probably thrice. I’m sure I’ll happily read it again in the future. Why? What’s the great attraction?

Well, two things mostly:

1) The underground world that Asimov creates for the mass of Earth-bound humanity.
2) Robots.

Well, it is science fiction.

But what is so great about this book? Let me spell it out for you: R-O-B-O-T-S.

Dr. Susan Calvin (wait a minute; she doesn’t even make an appearance in this story!)
The Three Laws of Robotics
The Spacers...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Cora rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, detectives, robots

In the Caves of Steel, Asimov creates a world where colonization of the galaxy has occurred and robots (equipped with the Three Laws of Robotics) have been integrated into the societies on other worlds. On Earth, however, people have been resistant to robots that threaten to take their jobs and leave them without the status needed to live comfortably in the over populated Cities. Elijah "Lije" Baley, a New York police detective, is assigned a case where a spacer (a citizen from another world) is...more

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Oct 10, 2012 J Austill rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'd like to start out by contesting the placement of this as the 2nd book in the Robot series, rather than the first. Although Asimov himself put I,Robot (or the complete Robot) ahead of this in the whole series which includes the 3 Galaxy and 7 Foundation books, it doesn't really work. The last two stories in I, Robot deal with complex enough machines to pass off as humans and yet 1000 years later in The Caves of Steel we find out that R. Daneel Olivaw is the first sufficiently complex Robot to...more I'd like to start out by contesting the placement of this as the 2nd book in the Robot series, rather than the first. Although Asimov himself put I,Robot (or the complete Robot) ahead of this in the whole series which includes the 3 Galaxy and 7 Foundation books, it doesn't really work. The last two stories in I, Robot deal with complex enough machines to pass off as humans and yet 1000 years later in The Caves of Steel we find out that R. Daneel Olivaw is the first sufficiently complex Robot to pass off as a human.

Same universe; maybe. Same series; unlikely.

I gave this a 3 star rating as I consider it worth reading but not particularly impressive. On the positive side, the world that Asimov has created for this story is quite brilliant. It is well thought out and complex. Featuring many distinct groups of people and complex issues. I especially appreciate the science and the underlying message (Robot/Human integration mirrors 50's era White/ Black integration.) Baley starts out as a Racist who hates but is forced to work with a Robot and then changes over the course of the novel to appreciate and like his forced partner Olivaw.

The problem is the plot; in essence the Murder Mystery aspect of the book. Where the science could very well be too much for young readers, the plot is far to simple for anyone over the age of 12. Baley is assigned to the case in your standard buddy cop fashion and proceeds to do nothing toward the case for more than half of the novel. Instead, we get him exploring his world, the culture, and his family life as well as worrying about his job. This is all good, but should have been integrated with the plot development.

Throughout the book, Baley refuses to look at the evidence for the case. Instead, he logically concludes (based on no evidence) whodunnit - twice! In both cases he is wrong because: the evidence which he has yet to look at. This should not be considered as a spoiler as nobody could possibly believe that he solved the case at 50% or 60% of the way into the book.

Ultimately, when we do come to the conclusion of the book it is reached by looking at the evidence. Which means that this book could have been 20 pages long (i.e. one of the short stories) had he simply done his job.

What could have been done to make this book better:

- Have Baley actually look over and analyze the evidence. At least then we as a reader might buy into some of his conclusions and experience a false lead. The ending could just be some aspect of the evidence which he overlooked.

- Add a conflict between Robots and Humans late in the book where Baley has a chance to side with/protect Olivaw.

- Alternate between plot development and world exploration. (less)

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Aug 30, 2012 Eric Herboso rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: soft-science-fiction

Book two of the Robot series, and already things start to get interesting. Unfortunately, I can make no comments whatsoever without giving away plotlines, except to say that this is the kind of mystery novel where there is no deus ex machina (...or is there?) and the reader will be able to play along as detective to try and find the the perpetrator along with the main character.

However, there is much to say -- so if you have not yet read the Caves of Steel, please stop reading this review here.

D...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Mark Johansen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, mystery

This book is a rare combination genre: the science-fiction murder mystery.

This book is set something like 700 years in the future. People have colonized other planets, but relations between these "outer planets" and the Earth are strained. Then a citizen of one of these other planets is murdered while visiting the Earth, precipitating a diplomatic crisis. The hero of the book, Elijah Baley, is an Earth detective assigned to investigate the murder and hopefully avert the crisis.

"Caves" interweav...more This book is a rare combination genre: the science-fiction murder mystery.

This book is set something like 700 years in the future. People have colonized other planets, but relations between these "outer planets" and the Earth are strained. Then a citizen of one of these other planets is murdered while visiting the Earth, precipitating a diplomatic crisis. The hero of the book, Elijah Baley, is an Earth detective assigned to investigate the murder and hopefully avert the crisis.

"Caves" interweaves two story lines: One is a fairly traditional detective story. The other is a discussion of the world that the author envisions existing in this period.

One negative: The detective-hero is portrayed as the usual brilliant detective, but he comes across to me as a little incompetent. In any detective novel I expect the hero to have to chase a few red herrings. But here -- and I'm trying to avoid a spolier here, so let me just say that there are a couple of places where the hero is just too adamanat about a theory of the crime that is then shown to be false. I get the impression the hero stumbles into solving the crime more than solving it by his relentless detective skill.

To me, the most interesting thing about this book is seeing Asimov's portrayal of the world hundreds of years from now. This book was written in 1953, so we have the advantage of 60 years of hindsight.

Some of the author's wrong guesses are rather amusing. At one point he mentions a scientist using a slide rule. No hint of pocket calculators, much less computers. There's a crucial scene where an important clue hinges on the police using chemical film for photographs. Okay, I don't know if anyone in 1953 foresaw digital photography.

On a bigger scale, much of the book centers on how the world of this era is vastly overpopulated and struggling to support this huge population. The book is set in a future New York that is a huge city that extends deep below the surface and high into the sky to make room for all these people. It is impossible to feed all the people with conventional farms: they must rely on making food synthesized from yeast in huge factories. He says that they live one crisis away from disaster: at one point he says that cities in the past (our present) could have survived for weeks on stored food, energy supplies, etc in the event of some interuption of production, but that in this era they are just days or hours from disaster.

And the huge population that the Earth of this age struggles to support? He gives the number several times: 8 billion. When this book was written in 1953, the world population was about 2 1/2 billion, so he's supposing triple the number of people, and, it is clear, sees this as a number almost impossible to support. In 2012 we actually have something like 7 billion, so 8 billion doesn't seem all that far away. And clearly we are able to feed 7 billion without recourse to yeast factories. While there are, of course, poor people in every society who have trouble getting enough to eat, the only widespread starvation is in places ravaged by war or other man-made problems. Well, maybe the amazing progress we've actually had in agriculture -- the Green Revolution, genetically-engineered crops, etc -- is the real-life equivalent of Asimov's yeast factories. It doesn't look as "science-fictiony", but it's had the same effect.

I think it's interesting how space travel is an imporant element of this novel ... but all the action is on Earth. Indeed, all the action is in New York City. I find that ... philosophically interesting. The Greek dramatic unities, maybe.(less)

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Aug 24, 2012 Darryl Knickrehm rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3.5 out of 5
The I, Robot series was the beginnings of a world of robots. One that was developing and becoming realistic. The Caves of Steel is the result from that development -- an interesting mystery in a futuristic dystopia.

A lot here is carried over from the I, Robot series. Things like the 3 laws of robotics, the history of the world, and of course the robots. Unlike the I, Robot series, however, the style and prose here is more developed. There are lots of descriptions. And while most of t...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Willis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have always enjoyed reading Isaac Asimov's stories and novels. He is a gifted storyteller and an adequate, though not great, writer. His style is more about plot than character. While he tries to flesh out his characters somewhat, in the stories that I have read he does not study the characters. It is more like he is reporting about their actions. I've never read any of his "robot" stories so I decided to read "The Caves of Steel".

Asimov blends a lot of science in his fiction - after all that...more I have always enjoyed reading Isaac Asimov's stories and novels. He is a gifted storyteller and an adequate, though not great, writer. His style is more about plot than character. While he tries to flesh out his characters somewhat, in the stories that I have read he does not study the characters. It is more like he is reporting about their actions. I've never read any of his "robot" stories so I decided to read "The Caves of Steel".

Asimov blends a lot of science in his fiction - after all that is is training. And it is usually very good science, even the predictive science that he uses. "Predictive science" would be science of future time for which there were only hints at the time of Asimov's writing. He wrote "The Caves of Steel" in 1952-53. He adequately shows that energy derived from fossil fuels has long since been exhausted by Earth in the future time setting of the novel. Humankind is using nuclear power as its main energy source but he doesn't explain the dangers involved but only cursorily and shows that the raw material for the power source is becoming less plentiful and humans are working to harness solar power. These issues are mentioned only briefly but the time setting for this novel is thousands of years into the future. As we now know, alternatives to fossil fuels and nuclear energy are earnestly being looked at today. So, while Asimov's assumption about using nuclear and solar power are predictive, his thoughts on when they would be needed are vastly too far into the future. Also, he gives hints of "streaming video", "recording video on small devices that can also be used as projectors", and "3D high definition video", are pretty cool for someone writing in 1953, as is his "city world" where people move around the city by moving sidewalks similar to subway systems but without the need to stop at terminals for passengers to get on and off. His prediction about the form that robots take in the future is totally off what our reality shows. Asimov has his characters discuss in the novel why robots are made in humanoid form and why that is more efficient than designing the structure of a robot to fit its function. Our reality today contradicts Asimov's thinking by showing that it is more efficient to build robots in a structure to fit their function rather than making them to mimic humans. Thus, today we have robots built specifically to do welding on building cars and other equipment, robots made for the specific function of vacuuming the floor or mowing the grass, robots made to fly through the air and spy on our enemies or even bomb them, robots to fly to Mars or Jupiter or Saturn and gather information for us. Predictive science can be tricky.

All of that aside, Asimov was writing "The Caves of Steel" to be a murder mystery. He weaves a pretty good mystery with missteps by the investigating officer, complications from outside sources, and a surprise ending. Sometimes the discussion of robots and future world overpopulation and limited resources almost get in the way of the plot but Asimov manages to weave the plot through them and get to where he needs to go.

A good novel but not a great novel.(less)

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Jul 24, 2012 Scott Rhee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"The Caves of Steel", written in the 1950s by Isaac Asimov, may have been the first successful genre-crossover, combining science fiction with detective fiction. In the distant future, Earth has become over-populated with billions of people crammed into underground cities. Natural resources have become so depleted that food and fuel shortages are common. Tensions are high, as humans regularly protest against robots (each generation of advanced models gradually take over human jobs) and Spacers,...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Stuart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another easy and enjoyable story by Asimov. He moves the story along without unnecessary details, allowing the reader to imagine how things may work. With skill he manipulates the reader to anticipate certain events, and then draws us back until the finale. Clever writing.

The sociological motifs beneath this book must have been culturally relevant themes in his day. The issue of food production and overpopulation appear in this book and the Foundation Series. He seems dissatisfied with the socio...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Maria rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

E ceva foarte reconfortant in scrierile lui Isaac Asimov, sunt limpezi, bine construite, fluente si captivante. "Cavernele de otel" sau "The Caves of Steel", al doilea roman al lui Isaac Asimov din seria Robotilor, este un SF politist in care ni se arata cum s-au creat niste prejudecati, cum se manifesta ele si cum Elijah Baley le depaseste pentru a rezolva o crima cu multe implicatii.
In epoca romanului, marea parte a omenirii locuieste in orase subterane, evita instinctiv spatiile deschise s...more

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Dec 31, 2011 Kirstin DeGeer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-mystery, books-scifi-fantasy, own-yes, read-once

In this series of novels, Asimov looks to a distant future where descendants of human colonies in space, along with the robots that are a fundamental part of their culture, have returned to Earth in order to save an overgrown population of Earthers from themselves. The Earthers are dependent upon millions of people living in close quarters in giant cities and have an intense hatred for the Spacers and the robots they believe are trying to destroy their way of life. Each novel is centered around...more In this series of novels, Asimov looks to a distant future where descendants of human colonies in space, along with the robots that are a fundamental part of their culture, have returned to Earth in order to save an overgrown population of Earthers from themselves. The Earthers are dependent upon millions of people living in close quarters in giant cities and have an intense hatred for the Spacers and the robots they believe are trying to destroy their way of life. Each novel is centered around the policeman, Elijah Baley, and his partner, the human-looking robot Daneel Olivaw, and a crime they are investigating. In this book, the partners are first thrown together, against Baley's wishes, to investigate the murder of a Spacer. This murder has great implications for the relationship between Earthers and Spacers and the future of humankind. In fact, the understanding of humanity and the question of what constitutes life are ultimately at the heart of this mystery story.

This was a quick read that kept me interested, regardless of the starts and stops in the action. As a mystery, it was fairly mediocre. Baley makes too many false attempts at accusations to seem a realistic detective. Some of the mystery/crime drama elements are also cliched. As a philosophical piece, the novel is much better, although terribly unsubtle. The two sides (mystery and philosophy) acting together, however, is what makes this book enjoyable.

The only other problem with the novel is that many portions are quite dated. For a reader 60 years later, much of the technology feels old, rather than conceivably new 3000 years in the future. Also, the book asks us to imagine the horror of trying to cope with 8 billion people on the Earth. To a 1953 audience looking at reaching 3 billion, this must have been inconceivable. To a modern audience living with 7 billion other people on the planet, another billion doesn't seem so terrifying. However, if you can put the specifics aside and think about the implications of sequestering an overgrown population in enormous covered cities away from the natural world (the titular caves of steel), you can begin to feel the grimness of the future in which this story is set.

Overall, Asmiov tells a compelling tale, highlighting many of the strengths and weaknesses in our nature. The philosophical elements of the story are relevant to any society and any time period. Although not a true analogy, the anti-robot movements among Earthers could be compared to anti-immigrant movements throughout modern Earth. This is science fiction in its purest sense - using a different reality to comment on our own. This novel should not be dismissed because of the sci-fi or mystery elements, but taken for what it actually is, a tool to better understand your fellow man.(less)

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Sep 26, 2011 Kirsten rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, from-library, spec-fic

This classic SF novel combines a well-realized future world with a good mystery. Lije Baley is a New York City cop in a future where all humans on Earth live in vast hive-like cities. Society has begun uneasily making use of robots, but there is a great deal of mistrust of them, particularly since they can replace many workers. There is also a lot of mistrust of the Spacers, former colonists from the outer planets who have returned to Earth and live in their own enclaves. The Spacers don't live...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Mathieu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Premier roman de ce qu'on appelle communément le cycle des robots d'Isaac Asimov.

Il s'agit autant d'un roman policier que d'un roman d'anticipation, puisqu'on y suit l'enquête d'un policier New Yorkais, Elijah Baley, chargé d'enquêter sur la mort d'un "spacien", un descendant de colon terrien revenu sur Terre.

Mais l'adjoint de Baley est un peu particulier, car il s'agit d'un robot dernier cri, dont l'apparence humaine est très poussée. Les robots étant mal accepté sur Terre, la collaboration est...more

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May 16, 2011 Christer Karlsson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An early but one of Asimov's better books. The population of Earth is now residing in huge underground cities. Humanity no longer walk the face of their planet but fear the open skies. Humans has also traveled to and with the help of robots settled the closest inhabitable stars. Those humans that have made the trip to the stars are called 'Spacers' and have developed a very different lifestyle from the one on Earth. Living in the open air with their robot helpers. Those still living on Earth hat...more

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Mar 20, 2011 Rob Maynard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A friend loaned this to me when I asked for a science fiction recommendation last year, and the 1972 Fawcett paperback edition languished on my nightstand for a while, but in the last couple of months I picked it up and read it beginning to end. This is actually the first of Asimov's original robot series of books, published in 1954. I don't recommend going to the goodreads link above, as it is wrong not only about the book's place in the sequence but also about the main character Lije (Elijah)...more

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About Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov was a Russian-born, American author, a professor of biochemistry, and a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.

Professor Asimov is generally considered the most prolific writer of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. He has works published in nine of the te...more Isaac Asimov was a Russian-born, American author, a professor of biochemistry, and a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.

Professor Asimov is generally considered the most prolific writer of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. He has works published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System (lacking only an entry in the 100s category of Philosophy).

Asimov is widely considered a master of the science-fiction genre and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, was considered one of the "Big Three" science-fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov's most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series, both of which he later tied into the same fictional universe as the Foundation Series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson. He penned numerous short stories, among them "Nightfall", which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time, a title many still honor. He also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as a great amount of nonfiction. Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French.

Most of Asimov's popularized science books explain scientific concepts in a historical way, going as far back as possible to a time when the science in question was at its simplest stage. He often provides nationalities, birth dates, and death dates for the scientists he mentions, as well as etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Examples include his Guide to Science, the three volume set Understanding Physics, and Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery.

Asimov was a long-time member and Vice President of Mensa International, albeit reluctantly; he described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs" He took more joy in being president of the American Humanist Association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, a Brooklyn, NY elementary school, and two different Isaac Asimov Awards are named in his honor.

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Isaac Asimov. (2007, November 29). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:50, November 29, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?t...(less)

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