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The Caves of Steel

(Robot #1)

Isaac Asimov

4.18 · Rating details · 88,732 ratings · 3,288 reviews

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 Yo ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 12th Edition, 206 pages

Published 1997 by Voyager (first published October 1953)

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Jul 01, 2009 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, united-states, 20th-century, novels, science

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 favorit ...more

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Jan 24, 2021 Baba rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi

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 Sp ...more

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May 11, 2017 mark monday rated it liked it

Shelves: murdertime, scifi-classic, rain-man-reviews, earth-journal

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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

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Robot 2:

Author. is. carefu

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.

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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! ...more

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Mar 07, 2018 Mario the lone bookwolf rated it really liked it

Shelves: asimov-isaac

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 vil ...more

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Mar 17, 2022 Beverly rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction-classic

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 t ...more

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Feb 24, 2021 Trish rated it really liked it

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 ...more

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Dec 01, 2008 Manny rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

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 s

...more

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May 19, 2021 Adrian rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-again, detectives-mystery-general, sf-robots-n-empire, zz-i-book, zz-owned-books

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 enjoy 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.
...more

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Sep 22, 2019 Merphy Napier rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, three-stars, adult

While detective novels aren't my thing (at the moment, I'm still trying) I love Isaac Asimov's books. His worlds, explanations, AIs, and situations he writes are genius and can keep me interested even if it's the type of story I don't usually read ...more

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Jul 11, 2021 Jonathan O'Neill rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

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, ye ...more

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Dec 06, 2016 Lyn rated it liked it

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: Yel ...more

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Jul 11, 2013 Barbara rated it liked it

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 q ...more

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Aug 10, 2008 Stephen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: easton-press, science-fiction, humans-rule-the-galaxy, 1930-1953, audiobook, good-guys, mystery, award-nominee-hugo, 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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Mar 22, 2017 Sr3yas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-series-ongoing, hall-of-fame-2017, choice

❝ 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 ...more

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Oct 26, 2012 Megan Baxter rated it really liked it

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

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Mar 25, 2013 Bradley rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, 2021-shelf

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 a ...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Nathan Boole rated it it was ok

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 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. ...more

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Sep 29, 2007 Christy rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction-and-fantasy, readinglist2-sf, 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 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. ...more

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Jun 17, 2013 Penny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: highly-recommended, bookclub, classics, favourites, scifi-and-fantasy-club-bookshelf, science-fiction, series

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 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.

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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. ...more

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May 20, 2017 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi-fantasy-challenge-2017

I really enjoyed this but Jehoshaphat it was dated!

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Dec 10, 2017 Fran rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, mystery

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 nov ...more

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May 19, 2021 Tina ➹ the girl who lives in Fandoms rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: recs, favorite, reviews, classics, cover, mystery, 2021, wow-end, fav-side-chrctr

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 t ...more

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Jun 05, 2008 Michael rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Anyone who likes good sci-fi

Shelves: obscure-references-book-group, read-in-2009, science-fiction, re-read, audio-book, favorites, read-in-2021, summer-reading-2021

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 j ...more

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Aug 19, 2019 Ivana Books Are Magic rated it really liked it

The Caves of Steel, the first novel in Asimov's Robot series, is a wonderful introduction to the series. Like other novels in the series, a big part of it is devoted to the conflict between Spacers (humans who live on outer planets) and Earth people. When detective Elijah is asked to explore a murder that happened in Spacetown (territory of Spacers), he gets paired with a robot partner Daneel. Elijah is shocked by his human appearance, but getting adjusted to having a robotic partner seems the l The Caves of Steel, the first novel in Asimov's Robot series, is a wonderful introduction to the series. Like other novels in the series, a big part of it is devoted to the conflict between Spacers (humans who live on outer planets) and Earth people. When detective Elijah is asked to explore a murder that happened in Spacetown (territory of Spacers), he gets paired with a robot partner Daneel. Elijah is shocked by his human appearance, but getting adjusted to having a robotic partner seems the least of his concerned.

The Caves of Steel is a murder mystery that also happens to be a dystopian/science fiction novel. It is an interesting mix, and Asimov makes it work. I have already reviewed other novels in the series, you can read the reviews if you want to know more about what I think about this series in general. Not to repeat myself, I'd just say that The Caves of Steel is equally interested and well plotted as the other novels. However, for some reason The Caves of Steel feels more dated to me. I have a feeling that Asimov was more on point when he described Spacer worlds, that the imagined society of Earth.

Unlike its sequels, The Caves of Steel is set on Earth. A future Earth, one in which human kind has retreaded under-grown into Cities, an amazing achievement of human ingenious that came as an answer to overpopulation. However, when people retreated underground, they inevitably handicapped themselves. The Earth people can't even imagine being in the open, they are so used to spending time indoors. With Earth being so over population and the Spacer world refusing to admit any immigrants from Earth, what could the solution be?

The Caves of Steel asks many interesting questions about the nature of humanity and proposes an interesting future scenario for the human race. Often, Elijah manages to be wonderfully philosophical: “There’s no way we can raise a positronic brain one inch above the level of perfect materialism. “We can’t, damn it, we can’t. Not as long as we don’t understand what makes our own brains tick. Not as long as things exist that science can’t measure. What is beauty, or goodness, or art, or love, or God? We’re forever teetering on the brink of the unknowable, and trying to understand what can’t be understood. It’s what makes us men.”

To conclude, The Caves of Steel is a very good science fiction work. It is a must read if you're a fan of Asimov and/or if you want to explore his Robot series. I liked it just a tiny bit less than the other works in the series, but I still liked it a lot. For me personally, the series got better with each novel. Still, this I would definitely recommend this one! ...more

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May 04, 2012 Wanda Pedersen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: robots-and-artificial-intelligence, speculative-fiction, reading-project, read-in-2021

It was more interesting reading this novel after a biography of Asimov. He has given some of his personal characteristics to his main character, Elijah Baley. It's no accident that The Caves of Steel is set in a future New York, the city where Asimov grew up. Baley is very much a city man and he likes the windowless coziness of the enormous cities of this future earth. Asimov wasn't a traveler—he hated flying and he didn't move far afield from the cities that he felt comfortable in. He also like It was more interesting reading this novel after a biography of Asimov. He has given some of his personal characteristics to his main character, Elijah Baley. It's no accident that The Caves of Steel is set in a future New York, the city where Asimov grew up. Baley is very much a city man and he likes the windowless coziness of the enormous cities of this future earth. Asimov wasn't a traveler—he hated flying and he didn't move far afield from the cities that he felt comfortable in. He also like smaller, windowless spaces to write in. He may have been able to identify with his future New Yorkers who can't fathom being willing to go outside.

Asimov portrays a pretty dismal future, with Earth's surface essentially covered by enormous cities, people living in barracks-like accommodations, and most people eating yeast derivatives for most meals. (It is very reminiscent of the planet of Trantor in his Foundation series). Humanity needs to spread itself to other planets, but how do you do that if your population is agoraphobic?

Perhaps Asimov was thinking about the courage it took his Russian family to pull up stakes and move to the United States. I am continually amazed by the bravery of those who left behind everything they knew and moved to another continent, my grandparents among them. Moving to another planet would require adventurousness of another order of magnitude.

Asimov also uses the situation between Earth citizens, Spacers, and robots to explore the nature of prejudice and discrimination. He felt the bite of anti-Semitism during his life, despite not being an observant Jew. He makes the Earther objections to robots look as unreasonable as our xenophobic attitudes today.

I know I loved these books as a teen, but now as an older adult I am not so enamoured. However I recognize this author's significance to the science fiction genre and the place of these books in the history of Iain M. Banks' Culture series and Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries. Some of my current favourites.

...more

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Mar 25, 2011 Sesana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, classics, audiobook

Caves of Steel is a detective story, set around the murder of a Spacer (a visiting colonist from another world). But I think it's fair to say that Asimov is at least as much interested in building his world as he is in the mystery itself. It's a good thing, because the mystery isn't entirely satisfactory.

The world he builds, on the other hand... Now that's interesting. Earth's population has been sequestered in cities and subjected to strict rationing. Intelligent and vaguely human-like robots a ...more

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Nov 17, 2010 Stephen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, easton-press, mystery, metal-men, 1930-1953, good-guys, humans-rule-the-galaxy, science-fiction, sff-detectives, the-worlds-the-thing

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Dec 02, 2017 Simona B rated it it was amazing

Shelves: in-english, science-fiction, mystery-and-crime, 1900, favorites

I read and reread this book whenever I can, and each time, it tells me a different story. If something like infinity is within our grasp, well, as far as I'm concerned, then it's to be found in The Caves of Steel. ...more

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Nov 19, 2017 Thomas rated it it was amazing

Asimov, Isaac. Caves of Steel. Daneel No. 1. 1953. Voyager, 1997.
Before I retired, commuting to work in the summer, leaving my airconditioned home, getting into an airconditioned car and driving to an airconditioned building, I could imagine myself living in the metal cocoon city of Caves of Steel. Technology that cuts us from the natural world is an ancient trope in science fiction. Asimov’s “Medievalists,” who dream unrealistically of going back to the land, are expressing a romantic impulse t ...more

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Oct 19, 2018 Patrick rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, classics

It’s Isaac Asimov. Need I say more? I just finished several hours of reading so the review may not be well written, but I’ll do my best!

The Caves of Steel was an awesome sci-fi mystery, the first I’ve read. I’m not big on mysteries but this one was great!

The back drop of this book begins way in the future where Earthmen fear and hate robots and Spacers. (Spacers are humans who went to colonize space.) Many of the Earthmen became Medievalists who dream of exiting the Caves of Steel and reestabl ...more

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About Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov

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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 one of the most prolific writers 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 o 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 one of the most prolific writers 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/wiki/Isaac_As... ...more