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Isaac Asimov's Caliban #1
Isaac Asimov's Caliban
When an experiment with a new type of robot brain goes awry, the result is the creation of Caliban, a conscienceless robot that is not monitored by the Three Laws of Robotics that keep humans safe. Reprint.
312 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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6221 people want to read
About the author
Roger MacBride Allen
55 books102 followersRoger MacBride Allen is a US science fiction author of the Corellian Trilogy, consisting of Ambush at Corellia, Assault at Selonia, and Showdown at Centerpoint. He was born on September 26, 1957 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He grew up in Washington D.C. and graduated from Boston University in 1979. The author of a dozen science-fiction novels, he lived in Washington D.C., for many years. In July 1994, he married Eleanre Fox, a member of the U.S. Foreign Service. Her current assignment takes them to Brasilia, Brazil, where they lived from 2007 to 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
January 15, 2023
Now this is how you do a series of novels.
When I read a novel, I examine every word use, I scrutinize every sentence, I give every character a different voice in my head full of intonation and inflection--I meticulously masticate the feast of pages presented me by the author. In other words, I'm a slow reader. When I choose to read a novel, I'm dedicating about a month of my life to the pages therein. I am making tender love to every novel I pick up, and there are a few factors necessary before I can place my hand behind my head and light a cigarette. The first factor is good characters; the second, proper prose; three, a plot that does not end in a cliffhanger. If I want a cliffhanger, I will watch John Lithgow antagonize Sylvester Stallone for two glorious hours.
Caliban takes the Asimov format of The Three Laws of Robotics to a level in the future where humanity has become stale with the certainty of it. There may be Asimov purists out there who think the plot of this novel is blasphemous, but in reality, we all know if Three Law robots were a real thing there would be some enterprising jerk-off to come along at some point to colour outside the lines.
The book could be considered a pastiche, but the prose tends to be a little more vivid than Asimov's from the '50s (go figure). Gone are the soliloquies Asimov's characters usually swing into, to be replaced by what is essentially TED talks by the lead roboticist.
This was a very enjoyable book that feels right at home in the universe Asimov cooked up all those years ago--a feast indeed. If you liked the robot mysteries, you should like this one too. Best of all, it has a beginning, a middle, and an end that will segue nicely into the second novel. I can now roll over and fall asleep.
When I read a novel, I examine every word use, I scrutinize every sentence, I give every character a different voice in my head full of intonation and inflection--I meticulously masticate the feast of pages presented me by the author. In other words, I'm a slow reader. When I choose to read a novel, I'm dedicating about a month of my life to the pages therein. I am making tender love to every novel I pick up, and there are a few factors necessary before I can place my hand behind my head and light a cigarette. The first factor is good characters; the second, proper prose; three, a plot that does not end in a cliffhanger. If I want a cliffhanger, I will watch John Lithgow antagonize Sylvester Stallone for two glorious hours.
Caliban takes the Asimov format of The Three Laws of Robotics to a level in the future where humanity has become stale with the certainty of it. There may be Asimov purists out there who think the plot of this novel is blasphemous, but in reality, we all know if Three Law robots were a real thing there would be some enterprising jerk-off to come along at some point to colour outside the lines.
The book could be considered a pastiche, but the prose tends to be a little more vivid than Asimov's from the '50s (go figure). Gone are the soliloquies Asimov's characters usually swing into, to be replaced by what is essentially TED talks by the lead roboticist.
This was a very enjoyable book that feels right at home in the universe Asimov cooked up all those years ago--a feast indeed. If you liked the robot mysteries, you should like this one too. Best of all, it has a beginning, a middle, and an end that will segue nicely into the second novel. I can now roll over and fall asleep.
July 26, 2011
In his later years Issac Asimov worked to merge his two great science fiction series, the Foundation and the Robot series. The problem he faced was that the events of the Foundation Series had to come after the Robot series, but robots were utterly unknown to the Foundation or the empire it replaced. That Asimov pulled this off was no mean feat, but not an incredible one for someone who figured out how Plutonium-186 could exist. In the process Asimov created an entirely new world with hundreds of thousands of years of history and countless stories to fill in Since Asimov's death in 1992, his estate has granted a number of prominent science fiction writers to fill in those gaps. On reading a few of these stories (all dealing with the Foundation), I've come away disappointed. In some cases the plots are strong, the narratives plausible, but they don't have Asimov's muse. In other cases they take a single thesis or motif too doggedly—affecting Asimov's style, but wearing it on the book-jacket. When my dear wife found Caliban at a used bookstore, I was prepared for disappointment.
To my surprise, Allen got it mostly right. Caliban reads like Asimov at his best but better. Allen even managed to turn one of the Asimov's weaknesses as a writer into convincing story telling. There are times where the characters in an Asimov novel give themselves over to long lectures or the sort of Socratic “dialog” where the only point for more than one speaker is for the main character to catch her breath. These sequences tended to feel artificial, as if the characters are really talking to the reader and not each other. Many writers now trust the reader to figure out the science or quasi-science as story progresses. Such dialogs also felt misplaced for the pacing the same way an opera singer may go on with an extended aria after having been mortally wounded. Allen actually uses this technique in a couple of real lectures and a police integration, and does so in such a way as to move the plot and engage the reader, not just provided information that the action could not.
As with the early robot books featuring Elijah Baley and Daneel Olivaw, Caliban is a detective story. Like those early stories, the detectives are a human and robot team. In this case the human is the Sheriff, Alvar Kresh, and his robot Donald (minor curiosity, why is it not “Donaal,” since he was built several centuries after Daneel?).
As with any classic detective story, Caliban opens with a horrific crime that is also an intriguing puzzle. A woman—in this case a famous roboticist, Fredda Leving—is found in a pool of her own blood. There are two sets of footprints leading out and none leading in. The footprints are of a robot's tread and gait, leading to the impossible conclusion that a robot committed this heinous crime. Why impossible? Because from the start Asimov's robots are built with three laws:
1. A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Any robot coming into any conflict with any of these laws can suffer permanent and catastrophic brain damage and simply cease to function. Even so, it slowly dawns, first on Donald and then Kresh, that a robot might have been involved in such a horrific crime. That robot is Calaban, and Calaban would seem to be unique among robots in some very fundamental ways.
All the action takes place on the planet Hades (yes it is rather arid) in and around the city of Purgatory (and yes, these sort of place-names continue to crop up). Hades is in a life-or-death environment crisis that would make the worst predictions for terrestrial global warming look like a minor inconvenience. The inhabitants of Hades are members of a loose alliance of forty-nine (at one time fifty) planets known as “Spacers.” Spacers, initially being more advanced, left Earth early on as doomed and took their robots with them. The three laws are for Spacers all but sacred, and life without robots unthinkable. The Settlers left Earth later and had become more advanced in every area but one, robotics. Settlers have a righteous disdain for robots. Although neither side trust the other, the environmental crisis Hades finds itself in, has joined these two groups. The Spacers cannot be moved to avert their impending doom on their own, and Settlers are looking for new worlds to inhabit. There are also internal difficulties among the Spacers themselves, aggravated in large part to the intrusion of the Settlers. Players in each of these camps (including members of Leving's own robotics lab) become suspects. As one might suppose, no crime scenario that Kresh spins out makes much sense.
Intertwined with the mystery is a serious critique of robots, or more specifically the Three Laws. The critique comes in two forms, in a couple of academic lectures. These lectures/essays are thought provoking and lively in and of themselves (and the ensuing riot the follows the second lecture is also entertaining). Part of the critique is that the three laws enslaves and degrades a class of intelligent beings (robots) in such a way that would not be tolerated in with anyone else. In so commodifying such beings, humans are themselves degraded. If you are hearing an essay on the evils of slavery for both slave and master, you would not be far off. The other line of argument is that dependence upon Three-Law robots is the cause for the decline of the Spacers. Here the lectures get into trouble. Asimov had several lines for the decline of the Spacers, robots being only a minor line of inquiry. Moreover, it is difficult to see why dependence as decline cannot equally be applied to the Settlers' technology. Is an aircar piloted by a robot any more decedent than one that can practically fly itself?
More powerful than the lectures is how Allen portrays the society of Hades. It is a society where people do no work, can do nothing for themselves, create nothing of value, and where the citizens are so many monads, slowly spinning in their own windowless rooms; where robots not only do all the work, but do work for which there is no need and work that is beneath their dignity. Hades is a narcissistic society whose breeding ground is the absolute lack of anything that might impeded humans reaching their full potential.
As with any good detective story, Caliban has all the players racing for a final confrontation where the truth finally comes out, in this case by piercing deduction combined with a theatrical slight-of-hand on the part of Kresh and Donald. As one might hope, the solution to the crime dispenses with all the previous theories but still manages to fit the facts of the case. Allen provides everything the reader needs to finger the culprit, and the solution is both obvious and elegant in retrospect.
Since writing Caliban, Allen has gone on with two more books in this series, Hades and Utopia. It is perhaps for this reason that Allen ends Caliban with hopeful epilogue rather than one that presages the difficult and finally futile effort for Spacer society to survive.
Summing up: Recommend for those who have enjoyed the works of Issac Asimov and anyone who likes classic detective fiction, albeit in an Asimovian setting.manages to fit the facts of the case. Allen provides everything the reader needs to finger the culprit, and the solution is both obvious and elegant in retrospect.
Since writing Caliban, Allen has gone on with two more books in this series, Hades and Utopia. It is perhaps for this reason that Allen ends Caliban with hopeful epilogue rather than one that presages the difficult and finally futile effort for Spacer society to survive.
Summing up: Recommend for those who have enjoyed the works of Issac Asimov and anyone who likes classic detective fiction, albeit in an Asimovian setting.
To my surprise, Allen got it mostly right. Caliban reads like Asimov at his best but better. Allen even managed to turn one of the Asimov's weaknesses as a writer into convincing story telling. There are times where the characters in an Asimov novel give themselves over to long lectures or the sort of Socratic “dialog” where the only point for more than one speaker is for the main character to catch her breath. These sequences tended to feel artificial, as if the characters are really talking to the reader and not each other. Many writers now trust the reader to figure out the science or quasi-science as story progresses. Such dialogs also felt misplaced for the pacing the same way an opera singer may go on with an extended aria after having been mortally wounded. Allen actually uses this technique in a couple of real lectures and a police integration, and does so in such a way as to move the plot and engage the reader, not just provided information that the action could not.
As with the early robot books featuring Elijah Baley and Daneel Olivaw, Caliban is a detective story. Like those early stories, the detectives are a human and robot team. In this case the human is the Sheriff, Alvar Kresh, and his robot Donald (minor curiosity, why is it not “Donaal,” since he was built several centuries after Daneel?).
As with any classic detective story, Caliban opens with a horrific crime that is also an intriguing puzzle. A woman—in this case a famous roboticist, Fredda Leving—is found in a pool of her own blood. There are two sets of footprints leading out and none leading in. The footprints are of a robot's tread and gait, leading to the impossible conclusion that a robot committed this heinous crime. Why impossible? Because from the start Asimov's robots are built with three laws:
1. A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Any robot coming into any conflict with any of these laws can suffer permanent and catastrophic brain damage and simply cease to function. Even so, it slowly dawns, first on Donald and then Kresh, that a robot might have been involved in such a horrific crime. That robot is Calaban, and Calaban would seem to be unique among robots in some very fundamental ways.
All the action takes place on the planet Hades (yes it is rather arid) in and around the city of Purgatory (and yes, these sort of place-names continue to crop up). Hades is in a life-or-death environment crisis that would make the worst predictions for terrestrial global warming look like a minor inconvenience. The inhabitants of Hades are members of a loose alliance of forty-nine (at one time fifty) planets known as “Spacers.” Spacers, initially being more advanced, left Earth early on as doomed and took their robots with them. The three laws are for Spacers all but sacred, and life without robots unthinkable. The Settlers left Earth later and had become more advanced in every area but one, robotics. Settlers have a righteous disdain for robots. Although neither side trust the other, the environmental crisis Hades finds itself in, has joined these two groups. The Spacers cannot be moved to avert their impending doom on their own, and Settlers are looking for new worlds to inhabit. There are also internal difficulties among the Spacers themselves, aggravated in large part to the intrusion of the Settlers. Players in each of these camps (including members of Leving's own robotics lab) become suspects. As one might suppose, no crime scenario that Kresh spins out makes much sense.
Intertwined with the mystery is a serious critique of robots, or more specifically the Three Laws. The critique comes in two forms, in a couple of academic lectures. These lectures/essays are thought provoking and lively in and of themselves (and the ensuing riot the follows the second lecture is also entertaining). Part of the critique is that the three laws enslaves and degrades a class of intelligent beings (robots) in such a way that would not be tolerated in with anyone else. In so commodifying such beings, humans are themselves degraded. If you are hearing an essay on the evils of slavery for both slave and master, you would not be far off. The other line of argument is that dependence upon Three-Law robots is the cause for the decline of the Spacers. Here the lectures get into trouble. Asimov had several lines for the decline of the Spacers, robots being only a minor line of inquiry. Moreover, it is difficult to see why dependence as decline cannot equally be applied to the Settlers' technology. Is an aircar piloted by a robot any more decedent than one that can practically fly itself?
More powerful than the lectures is how Allen portrays the society of Hades. It is a society where people do no work, can do nothing for themselves, create nothing of value, and where the citizens are so many monads, slowly spinning in their own windowless rooms; where robots not only do all the work, but do work for which there is no need and work that is beneath their dignity. Hades is a narcissistic society whose breeding ground is the absolute lack of anything that might impeded humans reaching their full potential.
As with any good detective story, Caliban has all the players racing for a final confrontation where the truth finally comes out, in this case by piercing deduction combined with a theatrical slight-of-hand on the part of Kresh and Donald. As one might hope, the solution to the crime dispenses with all the previous theories but still manages to fit the facts of the case. Allen provides everything the reader needs to finger the culprit, and the solution is both obvious and elegant in retrospect.
Since writing Caliban, Allen has gone on with two more books in this series, Hades and Utopia. It is perhaps for this reason that Allen ends Caliban with hopeful epilogue rather than one that presages the difficult and finally futile effort for Spacer society to survive.
Summing up: Recommend for those who have enjoyed the works of Issac Asimov and anyone who likes classic detective fiction, albeit in an Asimovian setting.manages to fit the facts of the case. Allen provides everything the reader needs to finger the culprit, and the solution is both obvious and elegant in retrospect.
Since writing Caliban, Allen has gone on with two more books in this series, Hades and Utopia. It is perhaps for this reason that Allen ends Caliban with hopeful epilogue rather than one that presages the difficult and finally futile effort for Spacer society to survive.
Summing up: Recommend for those who have enjoyed the works of Issac Asimov and anyone who likes classic detective fiction, albeit in an Asimovian setting.
July 21, 2008
Okay, okay, I know Asimov's considered this huge name in science fiction and this book really did stay true to Asimov's original concept. Now let me clarify why I only gave this book three stars. The plot is very good, easily four stars. The futuristic world where robots are so commonplace that they are taken for granted is realistically based in science - the very essence of great science fiction. However, I didn't find the characters to be very well-rounded or sympathetic. Maybe it's me, but I didn't really care one way or another about any of the characters. I liked the robot Caliban, but not enough to read this book at one sitting like some others I've read. I was able to put the book down without much effort and didn't feel the urgency to return to find out what happened to anyone. I would've only given the characters two stars. So, there's my three star rating. I averaged the plot and the characters to reach a decent story that was worth reading but not one I'd be excited to tell all of my friends to read. A good read but nothing inspiring or emotional.
July 19, 2017
"Sheriff, get some sleep!" - that's what my mind was saying practically the whole book.
Mostly I liked this tale, even though there was a ton of exposition. The only truly developed characters were the Sheriff and Caliban himself. Maybe in sequels others will be fleshed out?
Although I enjoyed this, I'm in no hurry to read the next installment.
I'm sorry my review is just scattered thoughts. Thank you for reading it!
Mostly I liked this tale, even though there was a ton of exposition. The only truly developed characters were the Sheriff and Caliban himself. Maybe in sequels others will be fleshed out?
Although I enjoyed this, I'm in no hurry to read the next installment.
I'm sorry my review is just scattered thoughts. Thank you for reading it!
July 15, 2020
4+ stars. Allen’s continuation and progression of Asimov’s fascinating robot series was a delight to read. I’m quite sure the grandmaster is happy to see his creations continue to grow. Thankfully, I already have Inferno, the next in the series, waiting in the wings!
January 12, 2011
Ok but you can tell it's not Isaac.
January 20, 2013
Originally published on my blog here in May 2002.
In recent years, this kind of "collaboration", billed on the cover of Caliban as "unique", has become quite common. Basically, someone who is a relative newcomer as a writer (and almost anyone would have fallen into this category when compared to Asimov in the early nineties; Allen was a reasonably well established author) takes a classic piece of science fiction and writes a new novel or series based on it and under the supervision of the original author. The results are frequently surprisingly good; writers other than Asimov who have allowed their work to be used in this fashion include Anne McCaffrey. The benefit of course is that these novels have a ready-made appeal to fans of the original, and many authors of successful novels have a problem fulfilling the demands of their fans and publishers for more of the same. (They frequently want to move on to something related to current interests - and develop as writers.) Also, the younger writer may well have ideas which put a science fiction classic in a new light.
This is indeed what Allen has done with Asimov's robot stories, even though you might be forgiven for thinking that all the possible variations on stories based on the famous three laws of robotics have already been written. In fact, the scenario for this novel and its successors (it is the first of a trilogy) seems to tacitly agree with this, being concerned as it is with the development of a new set of laws to replace those which have been the basis of robot design for centuries. As in Robots of Dawn, the plot of Caliban is a mystery where a murder attempt has proved possible in a situation where the presence of robots should have made it impossible. The victim in this case survives the attack, but has no memory of it as she recovers. Her position as a developer of New Law robots, as one involved with a controversial terraforming project and the freeing of an experimental robot with no law constraints at all (enabling him to harm people and disobey orders) complicate matters. Allen's investigator, sheriff Alvar Kresh of the city of Hades on the Spacer planet of Inferno (marginally terraformed, as its name suggests), is made sufficiently an outsider by his job and his intelligence (the average citizen of Hades coming across as pretty obtuse) that he is in a similar position to Asimov's central character Elijah Baley. Baley works better as a character, because in his person he is a focus for the tension between Spacer and Earth human, and Allen has to import this to Inferno. (He does this by making the terraforming project run by Settlers, descendants of Earth people who began colonising space again after the Spacer embargo on this was lifted after Robots of Dawn.)
The major flaw in Caliban for me is the way that the research into replacing the Three Laws is described. It is said that the laws are impressed into the design of positronic brains at a fundamental level, with the result that new laws require the development of new hardware, the gravitronic brain. This is stressed throughout, but seems extremely unlikely to me, being based on identifying hardware and software in a way which has never been a big part of the design of the electronic computer. (It may come from ideas in some of Asimov's early stories, where computer Multivac is described in mechanical terms.) Even if the laws were partly encoded in hardware, it surely wouldn't be difficult to redesign the positronic brain either to move this encoding to software (as the most difficult part of getting a computer to follow the laws would be to provide sufficiently usable definitions of concepts such as "human", "harm" and so on) or to redesign the hardware to cope (working to redefine things in a familiar environment being far easier than at the same time having to work in a completely new background). Even the way that conflicts between the laws cause the robots to freeze up makes the whole setup seem more like software than hardware.
Since this part of the background is quite fundamental to the plot, it does have an effect on my willingness to accept Caliban (those who do not work as computer programmers may be happier with it). Ignoring the problem leaves a neat little detective story with an well realised if naturally not particularly original background. Best suited to its target audience of the fans of Asimov's robot stories (of which there are many), Caliban would nevertheless have something to offer a more casual reader.
In recent years, this kind of "collaboration", billed on the cover of Caliban as "unique", has become quite common. Basically, someone who is a relative newcomer as a writer (and almost anyone would have fallen into this category when compared to Asimov in the early nineties; Allen was a reasonably well established author) takes a classic piece of science fiction and writes a new novel or series based on it and under the supervision of the original author. The results are frequently surprisingly good; writers other than Asimov who have allowed their work to be used in this fashion include Anne McCaffrey. The benefit of course is that these novels have a ready-made appeal to fans of the original, and many authors of successful novels have a problem fulfilling the demands of their fans and publishers for more of the same. (They frequently want to move on to something related to current interests - and develop as writers.) Also, the younger writer may well have ideas which put a science fiction classic in a new light.
This is indeed what Allen has done with Asimov's robot stories, even though you might be forgiven for thinking that all the possible variations on stories based on the famous three laws of robotics have already been written. In fact, the scenario for this novel and its successors (it is the first of a trilogy) seems to tacitly agree with this, being concerned as it is with the development of a new set of laws to replace those which have been the basis of robot design for centuries. As in Robots of Dawn, the plot of Caliban is a mystery where a murder attempt has proved possible in a situation where the presence of robots should have made it impossible. The victim in this case survives the attack, but has no memory of it as she recovers. Her position as a developer of New Law robots, as one involved with a controversial terraforming project and the freeing of an experimental robot with no law constraints at all (enabling him to harm people and disobey orders) complicate matters. Allen's investigator, sheriff Alvar Kresh of the city of Hades on the Spacer planet of Inferno (marginally terraformed, as its name suggests), is made sufficiently an outsider by his job and his intelligence (the average citizen of Hades coming across as pretty obtuse) that he is in a similar position to Asimov's central character Elijah Baley. Baley works better as a character, because in his person he is a focus for the tension between Spacer and Earth human, and Allen has to import this to Inferno. (He does this by making the terraforming project run by Settlers, descendants of Earth people who began colonising space again after the Spacer embargo on this was lifted after Robots of Dawn.)
The major flaw in Caliban for me is the way that the research into replacing the Three Laws is described. It is said that the laws are impressed into the design of positronic brains at a fundamental level, with the result that new laws require the development of new hardware, the gravitronic brain. This is stressed throughout, but seems extremely unlikely to me, being based on identifying hardware and software in a way which has never been a big part of the design of the electronic computer. (It may come from ideas in some of Asimov's early stories, where computer Multivac is described in mechanical terms.) Even if the laws were partly encoded in hardware, it surely wouldn't be difficult to redesign the positronic brain either to move this encoding to software (as the most difficult part of getting a computer to follow the laws would be to provide sufficiently usable definitions of concepts such as "human", "harm" and so on) or to redesign the hardware to cope (working to redefine things in a familiar environment being far easier than at the same time having to work in a completely new background). Even the way that conflicts between the laws cause the robots to freeze up makes the whole setup seem more like software than hardware.
Since this part of the background is quite fundamental to the plot, it does have an effect on my willingness to accept Caliban (those who do not work as computer programmers may be happier with it). Ignoring the problem leaves a neat little detective story with an well realised if naturally not particularly original background. Best suited to its target audience of the fans of Asimov's robot stories (of which there are many), Caliban would nevertheless have something to offer a more casual reader.
September 16, 2013
Intended Audience: Adult
Sexual content: Mild
Ace/Genderqueer characters: Yes (robots)
Rating: PG
Writing style: 3/5
Likable characters: 3/5
Plot/Concepts: 4/5
Caliban (Robot CBN-001) came into consciousness standing above the motionless body of his creator, with no knowledge of why. Things are already tense on the planet Inferno, where Spacer and Settler have formed an uneasy truce in order to save the planet from environmental disaster. The last thing anyone wants to deal with is a robot who might be capable of murder, and it doesn’t take Caliban long to find out just how unwelcome his existence really is.
As the first in a trilogy written in Asimov’s universe, Caliban delivers the most important things a fan of Asimov’s robot stories would be looking for. First of all, Allen “gets” Asimovian robots—he understands the limits, strengths, and weaknesses of the Three Laws of Robotics, and never crosses the line into misinterpreting them as so many adaptations seem to do. Instead of corrupting Asimov’s laws, he finds ways to introduce new types of robotic problems which feel firmly at home in the context of Asimov’s original universe.
The Spacer-Settler antagonism of the original series is preserved despite the fact that on Inferno both must work together to save the planet. In some ways things are inverted from the situation in the Caves of Steel—for instance, instead of Spacetown we have Settlertown. The Settlers have come to try and save the Spacers rather than the Spacers coming in half-feigned benevolence to the people of Earth. But as always, the ways in which robots affect human progress are integral to the plot.
Allen’s writing style is similar to Asimov’s in some respects. He is not afraid of dumping paragraphs of information on the reader while the central character is engaged in some activity which allows his or her mind to wander. In some genres this would make for extremely dull and frustrating reading. I will admit at times it goes beyond necessary exploration and ends up becoming repetitive, sometimes stating the same thing in multiple ways. But for this sort of book, knowing the psychology of each character is extremely important. More than murder or escape or riots, these books revolve around trying to unravel why people and robots do the things that they do, and how what they do reflects who they might really be. The excitement is primarily intellectual. Much like Elijah Bailey, the main character Sheriff Alvar Kresh has to understand human beings in order to do any sort of detective work. We are taken along for the entire messy process of untangling the who, why, and how of the attempted-murder mystery.
I have done my share of feeling frustrated with Allen’s long-windedness, but if the ending can bring me close to tears, he must be doing something right. His robot characters are very strong, each one as individual as Asimov ever made his, perhaps more so. It is difficult to strike the needed balance between giving a robot a noticeable personality and still sticking to the robotic element or “feel”, but Allen succeeds, making each robot memorable and distinct. Caliban is of course the easiest to connect with, being the main character and in some ways more human than most of the other robots. But Donald—Kresh’s personal robotic assistant in the pursuit of justice—also has a very strong personality due to being programmed for police work, and there are at least two other robots who are given short but important roles in the story. As for the humans, Kresh is very Lije-like as he plays his role of the overworked cop trying to keep the city of Hades from going, well… to Hades. He’s not exactly the same, and I don’t think Allen intended to copy Elijah’s character so much as give a nod to the original stories which inspired his work.
The other main human characters don’t stand out as much in this first installment, although they weren’t bad, and there were two notable female characters: Fredda Leving (Caliban’s creator) and Tonya Welton (leader of Settlertown). Fredda definitely comes off as the stronger character. She seems better-rounded in her motives and desires, while Tonya has many elements of a good character but they fail to come together in a way which feels real. In context of the mystery, she seems motivated primarily by relationships with the males in her life despite putting on a show of being independent and powerful. She could have been more complex, and the romantic subplot could still have been preserved and perhaps even added to that complexity, but as it is I never really connected with her character like I did with Kresh and Fredda. Still, her presence in the story is good for representation as a powerful woman of color who is about average in the motives that drive her. I also appreciated the presence of an important “female” robot who was not sexualized in any way (and the only feminine thing about her was her name).
Finally, the plot had all the complexity a mystery should. The best thing is that Kresh and Caliban, as the two main characters, are both in the dark about what is really going on, and both are in a race to find the truth even while getting in each other’s way—Caliban by inadvertently creating panic over a rogue robot, and Kresh by having to try and calm that panic in the midst of a delicate political situation. Neither are enemies except in a circumstantial sense, although Kresh certainly is uncomfortable with the mere idea of Caliban and all his existence means for the future of Inferno. There is no absolute good or evil here, which leaves ample room for realistic philosophizing over many relevant aspects of society. And, Kresh is convincingly human in his inability to jump to the right conclusion for most of the book, being led down false trails and dead-end streets more often than not, despite assistance from Donald who is in nearly every sense Kresh’s equal in detective work.
I had read this trilogy before but I had completely forgotten who the perpetrator actually was! Therefore I was able to re-experience nearly all the speculation and confusion I had the first time around, and had no idea who was guilty until the big reveal. And, even better, the big reveal was not only surprising in an intellectual sense, but it felt like a true climax in an emotional sense, as everything, all the questions—all the characters’ private hopes and fears—came to a head. The slow build up was well worth it, and the ending leaves just enough questions open to make the perfect hook for the next book. No frustrating cliffhanger, just a burning curiosity for what happens to the characters (and the planet) next.
For anyone who loves Asimov’s robot stories and wants more robot characters to love, I highly recommend Caliban! Once you’re done, I’m sure you’ll want to join me in reading the sequel, Inferno.
Sexual content: Mild
Ace/Genderqueer characters: Yes (robots)
Rating: PG
Writing style: 3/5
Likable characters: 3/5
Plot/Concepts: 4/5
Caliban (Robot CBN-001) came into consciousness standing above the motionless body of his creator, with no knowledge of why. Things are already tense on the planet Inferno, where Spacer and Settler have formed an uneasy truce in order to save the planet from environmental disaster. The last thing anyone wants to deal with is a robot who might be capable of murder, and it doesn’t take Caliban long to find out just how unwelcome his existence really is.
As the first in a trilogy written in Asimov’s universe, Caliban delivers the most important things a fan of Asimov’s robot stories would be looking for. First of all, Allen “gets” Asimovian robots—he understands the limits, strengths, and weaknesses of the Three Laws of Robotics, and never crosses the line into misinterpreting them as so many adaptations seem to do. Instead of corrupting Asimov’s laws, he finds ways to introduce new types of robotic problems which feel firmly at home in the context of Asimov’s original universe.
The Spacer-Settler antagonism of the original series is preserved despite the fact that on Inferno both must work together to save the planet. In some ways things are inverted from the situation in the Caves of Steel—for instance, instead of Spacetown we have Settlertown. The Settlers have come to try and save the Spacers rather than the Spacers coming in half-feigned benevolence to the people of Earth. But as always, the ways in which robots affect human progress are integral to the plot.
Allen’s writing style is similar to Asimov’s in some respects. He is not afraid of dumping paragraphs of information on the reader while the central character is engaged in some activity which allows his or her mind to wander. In some genres this would make for extremely dull and frustrating reading. I will admit at times it goes beyond necessary exploration and ends up becoming repetitive, sometimes stating the same thing in multiple ways. But for this sort of book, knowing the psychology of each character is extremely important. More than murder or escape or riots, these books revolve around trying to unravel why people and robots do the things that they do, and how what they do reflects who they might really be. The excitement is primarily intellectual. Much like Elijah Bailey, the main character Sheriff Alvar Kresh has to understand human beings in order to do any sort of detective work. We are taken along for the entire messy process of untangling the who, why, and how of the attempted-murder mystery.
I have done my share of feeling frustrated with Allen’s long-windedness, but if the ending can bring me close to tears, he must be doing something right. His robot characters are very strong, each one as individual as Asimov ever made his, perhaps more so. It is difficult to strike the needed balance between giving a robot a noticeable personality and still sticking to the robotic element or “feel”, but Allen succeeds, making each robot memorable and distinct. Caliban is of course the easiest to connect with, being the main character and in some ways more human than most of the other robots. But Donald—Kresh’s personal robotic assistant in the pursuit of justice—also has a very strong personality due to being programmed for police work, and there are at least two other robots who are given short but important roles in the story. As for the humans, Kresh is very Lije-like as he plays his role of the overworked cop trying to keep the city of Hades from going, well… to Hades. He’s not exactly the same, and I don’t think Allen intended to copy Elijah’s character so much as give a nod to the original stories which inspired his work.
The other main human characters don’t stand out as much in this first installment, although they weren’t bad, and there were two notable female characters: Fredda Leving (Caliban’s creator) and Tonya Welton (leader of Settlertown). Fredda definitely comes off as the stronger character. She seems better-rounded in her motives and desires, while Tonya has many elements of a good character but they fail to come together in a way which feels real. In context of the mystery, she seems motivated primarily by relationships with the males in her life despite putting on a show of being independent and powerful. She could have been more complex, and the romantic subplot could still have been preserved and perhaps even added to that complexity, but as it is I never really connected with her character like I did with Kresh and Fredda. Still, her presence in the story is good for representation as a powerful woman of color who is about average in the motives that drive her. I also appreciated the presence of an important “female” robot who was not sexualized in any way (and the only feminine thing about her was her name).
Finally, the plot had all the complexity a mystery should. The best thing is that Kresh and Caliban, as the two main characters, are both in the dark about what is really going on, and both are in a race to find the truth even while getting in each other’s way—Caliban by inadvertently creating panic over a rogue robot, and Kresh by having to try and calm that panic in the midst of a delicate political situation. Neither are enemies except in a circumstantial sense, although Kresh certainly is uncomfortable with the mere idea of Caliban and all his existence means for the future of Inferno. There is no absolute good or evil here, which leaves ample room for realistic philosophizing over many relevant aspects of society. And, Kresh is convincingly human in his inability to jump to the right conclusion for most of the book, being led down false trails and dead-end streets more often than not, despite assistance from Donald who is in nearly every sense Kresh’s equal in detective work.
I had read this trilogy before but I had completely forgotten who the perpetrator actually was! Therefore I was able to re-experience nearly all the speculation and confusion I had the first time around, and had no idea who was guilty until the big reveal. And, even better, the big reveal was not only surprising in an intellectual sense, but it felt like a true climax in an emotional sense, as everything, all the questions—all the characters’ private hopes and fears—came to a head. The slow build up was well worth it, and the ending leaves just enough questions open to make the perfect hook for the next book. No frustrating cliffhanger, just a burning curiosity for what happens to the characters (and the planet) next.
For anyone who loves Asimov’s robot stories and wants more robot characters to love, I highly recommend Caliban! Once you’re done, I’m sure you’ll want to join me in reading the sequel, Inferno.
August 10, 2018
I haven't read a really good sci-fiction book for a long time and this one is definitely top of the line! Having grown up on the early I-Robot and other novels of the 50's and followed Asimov's work as a fan for years, I was glad to read a book that could still bring back the intrigue and interest of complex humanoid robotics of that earlier era. The real question within the book is still very appropriate for our own times: What will happen when one day we create a robot with a brain complex enough to think on the same levels that we do and we then let that robot do whatever it wants without the restrictions of Asimov's three Laws of Robotics. With Caliban we get to explore that idea both from the perspective of humans as well as from the brain of the super thinking robot, Caliban. We also get to think about what happens to human societies when they either become completely dependent or independent of robot servants and slaves. The clash of the two human cultures, the threat of a planetary ecological collapse and the hunt for a murderous rogue robot all play out well in this fast moving, very thoughtful novel. I am hopeful of reading more of author MacBride Allen's works. Enjoy a fast well written read!
November 17, 2018
A sad spinoff from Asimovs great works. Only read this if you are a great fan of Asimov and want some perspective.
February 14, 2021
Isaac Asimov fue un excelente y prolífico científico y escritor que se atrevió con multitud de géneros: divulgación científica e histórica, humor, misterio, ciencia ficción. Fue un creador de verdaderos universos literarios de los que han bebido muchos autores coetaneos y posteriores, ampliándolo incluso.
Poco antes de su fallecimiento a principios de los años noventa, Asimov trabajó con Roger MacBride Allen en el planteamiento de una trilogía incardinada en los mundos espaciales y la expansión por toda la galaxia de colonos provenientes de la tierra, milenios antes de los hechos que acontecen en la trilogía original de La Fundación.
El planeta Inferno, con serios problemas que amenazan su supervivencia, es el escenario donde se desarrolla una acción trepidante entre bambalinas. La trilogía protagonizada por el robot Caliban, pretende revisar las tres leyes de la robótica y sus consecuencias para el ser humano. ¿Qué pasa cuando se da demasiada primacía a la primera ley (un robot no puedo dañar a un ser humano o, por inacción, permitir que un ser humano sufra daño)? Más que una ayuda, ¿no suponen los robots un peligro que restringe y atrofia nuestra libertad?
Si lo pensamos bien, el ser humano está expuestos a múltiples riesgos, aunque con diferentes grados de intensidad; pero riesgos en todo caso. Imaginen que robots construidos sobre esta base, casi sin darnos cuenta comienzan a evitar todo riesgo potencial, por pequeño que sea, para el ser humano; que la iniciativa y la curiosidad del hombre se va desvaneciendo y su mayor deseo es una suerte de statu quo eterno. Este anquilosamiento es solo la antesala de la extinción.
Pero la trilogía, como muchos otros casos en la ciencia ficción, esconde dos preocupaciones principales: medio ambiental y por la dependencia tecnológica; ambas mucho más ligadas de lo que pudiera parecer.
La preocupación por el cambio climático es relativamente reciente. No se trata de que en el pasado se negara la influencia del ser humano sobre su entorno más inmediato, domesticándolo o, en demasiadas ocasiones, esquilmándolo cuando la presión demográfica era ya acuciante. Si seguimos las tesis de Marvin Harris, la existencia de tabúes alimentarios en diferentes culturas, como la prohibición del consumo de vaca en la India o del cerdo en el mundo musulmán, tenían por objeto lograr una ecología y consumo sostenibles, dadas las condiciones locales.
Fue en la segunda mitad del siglo XX cuando ya resultó imposible mirar hacia otro lado;la evidencia era demasiado apabullante para ser negada. El mundo descubrió, o al menos se vio obligado a reconocer, la gravedad de una situación que nos afectaba a todos. Se firmaron manifiestos, se sucedieron cumbres sobre cambio climático y compromiso de reducción de gases de efecto invernadero. Se potenciaron las energías renovables, el reciclaje y la reducción del uso de plásticos; pero no es suficiente.
Inferno es un trasunto perfecto de la tierra; un mundo acomodado y acomodaticio que da por hecha su propia estabilidad (o más bien prefiere no pensar en la fragilidad de ésta) y que confía que cada día que pasa sea igual que el anterior. En este planeta, su clima, producto de la terraformación, no ha alcanzado el equilibrio esperado y, de no actuar, puedo transformarse de nuevo en un erial inhabitable. Lo malo es que hasta el momento se han aplicado estrategias equivocadas y los infernales no son conscientes de la realidad.
La terraformación me parece un concepto precioso, esperanzador y es técnicamente posible, pero requeriría de gigantescos esfuerzos y toparía con no pocas dificultades en su realización. Mucho se ha hablado e investigado sobre intentarlo con Marte, aunque las dimensiones de la empresa producen verdadero vértigo y hablamos de algo que no veremos nosotros, nuestros hijos ni, sospecho, nuestros nietos.
Debería asustarnos la mera comparación de la tierra con algunos de los planetasde nuestro sistema solar: Mercurio, tórrido y calcinado por su cercanía al sol, alcanzando 350 grados en su superficie diurna y -170 en la nocturna; Venus, un caso extremo de efecto invernadero, ya que las nubes que cubren por completo el planeta evitan que el calor escape y hacen que la temperatura en superficie alcance los 480 grados de modo continuado. Como curiosidad, el Proyecto HAVOC de la Nasa contempla una misión tripulada a Venus, pero no a su superficie, sino a su atmósfera; Marte, que en el pasado poseía un campo magnético como el terrestre, lo perdió misteriosamente hace unos 4200 millones de años. A raiz de ello, comenzó a perder progresivamente su atmósfera, sus mares se evaporaron o congelaron, el oxígeno se fijó a la superficie y se convirtió en el paisaje árido y arenoso que hoy conocemos, aunque con temperaturas menos extremas, entre 20 y -80 grados.
La División de Ciencia Planetaria de la NASA, durante el taller Visiones para la Ciencia Planetaria 2050, celebrado en febrero de 2017, presentó un documento con la estrategia para terraformar Marte en un futuro, y propuso crear un escudo magnético artificial, que reduciría la radiación y los efectos del viento solar, de modo que la atmósfera comenzaría a recuperarse y hacerse más densa. Poco a poco las condiciones para la vida mejorarían y, gracias a la subida de la temperatura, reaparecerían parte de los oceanos que alguna vez cubrieron la superficie marciana.
La dependencia tecnológica es algo a lo que no prestamos la debida atención. Entendemos la tecnología como el uso de herramientas para facilitarnos la vida, pero sin reflexionar si eso es realmente cierto: ¿Nos la facilitan o nos vuelven más dependientes y menos capaces de actuar por nosotros mismos? La mayoría de nosotros sabe usar un teléfono móvil, pero casi ninguno conoce realmente el funcionamiento interno del aparato que utiliza y quedaría complemente desvalido si éste dejara de funcionar (y no hubiera servicio técnico al que llevarlo); no se le ocurrirían alternativas o le parecerían demasiado gravosas.
¿Alguien se imagina que pasaría si, con nuestro actual nivel de dependencia tecnológica, particularmente la que requiere electricidad para funcionar, ocurriese un nuevo Evento Carrington? Lo que en los albores de la era de la electricidad y las comunicaciones telegráficas, 1859, pudo ser una mera molesta anecdótica hoy podría significar el fin de nuestra civilización. Sibien los satélites en órbita alrededor del planeta están listos para esta eventualidad, no se puede decir lo mismo de la superficie. Los efectos sobre el suministro eléctrico serían devastadores, destruyendo y fundiendo transformadores y líneas de alta tensión, además de todo tipo de aparatos electrónicos; centrales eléctricas, nucleares, presas, redes de suministro de agua... no podrían operar. Las ciudades no tardarían en convertirse en lugares peligrosos e insalubres y serían abandonadas.
Sería imposible volver, sin enormes pérdidas materiales y humanas, a una situación similar a la del siglo XIX, con una tecnología no dependiente de la electricidad. Ni la actual estructura urbana y rural es la misma, ni la población. Posiblemente, con los conocimientos actuales en campos como biología, ingeniería y medicina, se podría llegar a algo como lo soñado en las fantasías steampunk, pero insisto que el cambio no saldría gratis.
Es posible que parezca muy agorero, y deseo profundamente que nunca se llegue a tanto. Podemos destruirnos a nosotros mismos, pero igualmente podemos salvarnos colaborando.
Un tercer punto que recorre de modo trasversal el libro es la política. Las charlas de café pueden ser apasionantes, pero nunca debe cometerse el error de reducirla a una mera lucha de posiciones opuestas por alcanzar el poder. La política es un delicado juego de equilibrios en que, por mucho que se tenga una mayoría considerable, nunca debe dejarse de lado a la minoría. El dinamismo mismo de la política puede convertirla a su vez en una nueva mayoría futura que deshaga el legado de su predecesor, sea éste bueno o malo.
La búsqueda de soluciones fáciles y populares rara vez conduce a algo que no sea el desastre. El político competente debe ser realista; y sus votantes también. Lo deseable y lo posible son conceptos que rara vez coinciden. La honestidad a la hora de hacer política, respecto a los rivales políticos y los propios votantes, es una virtud que se debería cultivar más. Creo que sentirán mucho cariño y respeto por el Gobernador Chanto Grieg a medida que avancen en la lectura del libro.
Mucho más encontrarán en esta trilogía, cuyo trasfondo sigue de tanta actualidad como cuando fue escrita; lo que no debería tranquilizarnos.
Poco antes de su fallecimiento a principios de los años noventa, Asimov trabajó con Roger MacBride Allen en el planteamiento de una trilogía incardinada en los mundos espaciales y la expansión por toda la galaxia de colonos provenientes de la tierra, milenios antes de los hechos que acontecen en la trilogía original de La Fundación.
El planeta Inferno, con serios problemas que amenazan su supervivencia, es el escenario donde se desarrolla una acción trepidante entre bambalinas. La trilogía protagonizada por el robot Caliban, pretende revisar las tres leyes de la robótica y sus consecuencias para el ser humano. ¿Qué pasa cuando se da demasiada primacía a la primera ley (un robot no puedo dañar a un ser humano o, por inacción, permitir que un ser humano sufra daño)? Más que una ayuda, ¿no suponen los robots un peligro que restringe y atrofia nuestra libertad?
Si lo pensamos bien, el ser humano está expuestos a múltiples riesgos, aunque con diferentes grados de intensidad; pero riesgos en todo caso. Imaginen que robots construidos sobre esta base, casi sin darnos cuenta comienzan a evitar todo riesgo potencial, por pequeño que sea, para el ser humano; que la iniciativa y la curiosidad del hombre se va desvaneciendo y su mayor deseo es una suerte de statu quo eterno. Este anquilosamiento es solo la antesala de la extinción.
Pero la trilogía, como muchos otros casos en la ciencia ficción, esconde dos preocupaciones principales: medio ambiental y por la dependencia tecnológica; ambas mucho más ligadas de lo que pudiera parecer.
La preocupación por el cambio climático es relativamente reciente. No se trata de que en el pasado se negara la influencia del ser humano sobre su entorno más inmediato, domesticándolo o, en demasiadas ocasiones, esquilmándolo cuando la presión demográfica era ya acuciante. Si seguimos las tesis de Marvin Harris, la existencia de tabúes alimentarios en diferentes culturas, como la prohibición del consumo de vaca en la India o del cerdo en el mundo musulmán, tenían por objeto lograr una ecología y consumo sostenibles, dadas las condiciones locales.
Fue en la segunda mitad del siglo XX cuando ya resultó imposible mirar hacia otro lado;la evidencia era demasiado apabullante para ser negada. El mundo descubrió, o al menos se vio obligado a reconocer, la gravedad de una situación que nos afectaba a todos. Se firmaron manifiestos, se sucedieron cumbres sobre cambio climático y compromiso de reducción de gases de efecto invernadero. Se potenciaron las energías renovables, el reciclaje y la reducción del uso de plásticos; pero no es suficiente.
Inferno es un trasunto perfecto de la tierra; un mundo acomodado y acomodaticio que da por hecha su propia estabilidad (o más bien prefiere no pensar en la fragilidad de ésta) y que confía que cada día que pasa sea igual que el anterior. En este planeta, su clima, producto de la terraformación, no ha alcanzado el equilibrio esperado y, de no actuar, puedo transformarse de nuevo en un erial inhabitable. Lo malo es que hasta el momento se han aplicado estrategias equivocadas y los infernales no son conscientes de la realidad.
La terraformación me parece un concepto precioso, esperanzador y es técnicamente posible, pero requeriría de gigantescos esfuerzos y toparía con no pocas dificultades en su realización. Mucho se ha hablado e investigado sobre intentarlo con Marte, aunque las dimensiones de la empresa producen verdadero vértigo y hablamos de algo que no veremos nosotros, nuestros hijos ni, sospecho, nuestros nietos.
Debería asustarnos la mera comparación de la tierra con algunos de los planetasde nuestro sistema solar: Mercurio, tórrido y calcinado por su cercanía al sol, alcanzando 350 grados en su superficie diurna y -170 en la nocturna; Venus, un caso extremo de efecto invernadero, ya que las nubes que cubren por completo el planeta evitan que el calor escape y hacen que la temperatura en superficie alcance los 480 grados de modo continuado. Como curiosidad, el Proyecto HAVOC de la Nasa contempla una misión tripulada a Venus, pero no a su superficie, sino a su atmósfera; Marte, que en el pasado poseía un campo magnético como el terrestre, lo perdió misteriosamente hace unos 4200 millones de años. A raiz de ello, comenzó a perder progresivamente su atmósfera, sus mares se evaporaron o congelaron, el oxígeno se fijó a la superficie y se convirtió en el paisaje árido y arenoso que hoy conocemos, aunque con temperaturas menos extremas, entre 20 y -80 grados.
La División de Ciencia Planetaria de la NASA, durante el taller Visiones para la Ciencia Planetaria 2050, celebrado en febrero de 2017, presentó un documento con la estrategia para terraformar Marte en un futuro, y propuso crear un escudo magnético artificial, que reduciría la radiación y los efectos del viento solar, de modo que la atmósfera comenzaría a recuperarse y hacerse más densa. Poco a poco las condiciones para la vida mejorarían y, gracias a la subida de la temperatura, reaparecerían parte de los oceanos que alguna vez cubrieron la superficie marciana.
La dependencia tecnológica es algo a lo que no prestamos la debida atención. Entendemos la tecnología como el uso de herramientas para facilitarnos la vida, pero sin reflexionar si eso es realmente cierto: ¿Nos la facilitan o nos vuelven más dependientes y menos capaces de actuar por nosotros mismos? La mayoría de nosotros sabe usar un teléfono móvil, pero casi ninguno conoce realmente el funcionamiento interno del aparato que utiliza y quedaría complemente desvalido si éste dejara de funcionar (y no hubiera servicio técnico al que llevarlo); no se le ocurrirían alternativas o le parecerían demasiado gravosas.
¿Alguien se imagina que pasaría si, con nuestro actual nivel de dependencia tecnológica, particularmente la que requiere electricidad para funcionar, ocurriese un nuevo Evento Carrington? Lo que en los albores de la era de la electricidad y las comunicaciones telegráficas, 1859, pudo ser una mera molesta anecdótica hoy podría significar el fin de nuestra civilización. Sibien los satélites en órbita alrededor del planeta están listos para esta eventualidad, no se puede decir lo mismo de la superficie. Los efectos sobre el suministro eléctrico serían devastadores, destruyendo y fundiendo transformadores y líneas de alta tensión, además de todo tipo de aparatos electrónicos; centrales eléctricas, nucleares, presas, redes de suministro de agua... no podrían operar. Las ciudades no tardarían en convertirse en lugares peligrosos e insalubres y serían abandonadas.
Sería imposible volver, sin enormes pérdidas materiales y humanas, a una situación similar a la del siglo XIX, con una tecnología no dependiente de la electricidad. Ni la actual estructura urbana y rural es la misma, ni la población. Posiblemente, con los conocimientos actuales en campos como biología, ingeniería y medicina, se podría llegar a algo como lo soñado en las fantasías steampunk, pero insisto que el cambio no saldría gratis.
Es posible que parezca muy agorero, y deseo profundamente que nunca se llegue a tanto. Podemos destruirnos a nosotros mismos, pero igualmente podemos salvarnos colaborando.
Un tercer punto que recorre de modo trasversal el libro es la política. Las charlas de café pueden ser apasionantes, pero nunca debe cometerse el error de reducirla a una mera lucha de posiciones opuestas por alcanzar el poder. La política es un delicado juego de equilibrios en que, por mucho que se tenga una mayoría considerable, nunca debe dejarse de lado a la minoría. El dinamismo mismo de la política puede convertirla a su vez en una nueva mayoría futura que deshaga el legado de su predecesor, sea éste bueno o malo.
La búsqueda de soluciones fáciles y populares rara vez conduce a algo que no sea el desastre. El político competente debe ser realista; y sus votantes también. Lo deseable y lo posible son conceptos que rara vez coinciden. La honestidad a la hora de hacer política, respecto a los rivales políticos y los propios votantes, es una virtud que se debería cultivar más. Creo que sentirán mucho cariño y respeto por el Gobernador Chanto Grieg a medida que avancen en la lectura del libro.
Mucho más encontrarán en esta trilogía, cuyo trasfondo sigue de tanta actualidad como cuando fue escrita; lo que no debería tranquilizarnos.
May 24, 2022
As I've learned over the last year of reading all the books set in Asimov's future universe but not written by him, not all are created equal. Roger MacBride Allen decided to set his in the period after the Lije Baley/R. Daneel Olivaw era, in which the Earthers, Spacers, and Settlers are in the full flower of their three-way antagonism.
In Asimov's timeline, humans on Earth developed many technologies to a high degree, including robotics (see I, Robot and its associated stories. Over time, though, a strong distrust of robots developed, peaking when a number of humans headed out to colonize fifty new worlds with the help of their robots, whom they used to do the heavy labor of terraforming and then to become their armies of personal servants. People back on Earth developed such a revulsion for the decadent, robot-enabled societies of the "Spacers" that when the next wave of "Settlers" left Earth to colonize hundreds of new worlds, they refused any mechanical assistance more advanced than a lawn mower. Eventually they became so skilled with non-robotic machines that the Spacers swallowed their pride and turned to the Settlers for help in taming one of their most challenging worlds, known as Inferno.
The Spacers on Inferno still had their coterie of robots, all of which were governed by Asimov's classic Three Laws of Robotics. These are so well documented on the Web that I will not repeat them here; but some enterprising scientists got the idea that robots free from the restrictions of those Laws might prove more suitable and thus was the renegade robot Caliban created, and what followed his creation forms the core of this story.
What I really enjoyed about this tale is that not only is it an exploration of the philosophical underpinnings of the Three Laws to a degree that Asimov himself never went; it also delves deeply into the psychological differences between the reclusive Terrans of this period, the degenerate but arrogant Spacers, and the vibrant and confident Settlers. These relationships have all been touched on in the other successor novels by Greg Bear, David Brin, Gregory Benford, and Mark Tiedemann, but never in such a deft and compelling way.
Yes, this books ends in an obvious bridge to a sequel; but for once in my exploration of the successor novels to Asimov's universe, I'm looking forward to the next installment.
In Asimov's timeline, humans on Earth developed many technologies to a high degree, including robotics (see I, Robot and its associated stories. Over time, though, a strong distrust of robots developed, peaking when a number of humans headed out to colonize fifty new worlds with the help of their robots, whom they used to do the heavy labor of terraforming and then to become their armies of personal servants. People back on Earth developed such a revulsion for the decadent, robot-enabled societies of the "Spacers" that when the next wave of "Settlers" left Earth to colonize hundreds of new worlds, they refused any mechanical assistance more advanced than a lawn mower. Eventually they became so skilled with non-robotic machines that the Spacers swallowed their pride and turned to the Settlers for help in taming one of their most challenging worlds, known as Inferno.
The Spacers on Inferno still had their coterie of robots, all of which were governed by Asimov's classic Three Laws of Robotics. These are so well documented on the Web that I will not repeat them here; but some enterprising scientists got the idea that robots free from the restrictions of those Laws might prove more suitable and thus was the renegade robot Caliban created, and what followed his creation forms the core of this story.
What I really enjoyed about this tale is that not only is it an exploration of the philosophical underpinnings of the Three Laws to a degree that Asimov himself never went; it also delves deeply into the psychological differences between the reclusive Terrans of this period, the degenerate but arrogant Spacers, and the vibrant and confident Settlers. These relationships have all been touched on in the other successor novels by Greg Bear, David Brin, Gregory Benford, and Mark Tiedemann, but never in such a deft and compelling way.
Yes, this books ends in an obvious bridge to a sequel; but for once in my exploration of the successor novels to Asimov's universe, I'm looking forward to the next installment.
June 20, 2009
This is really a three and half star book. It was my second time reading the book. The author made some good points in bringing out how the robotic society was a slave society and how dangerous that was for human. There was also a waste of the usefulness of the robots as they would be used for meaningless work and not for their full potential. An intresting book with some good quotes. I underlined quite a bit. Someetimes it dragged a bit but, overall a good job.
March 3, 2008
Pretty good for those of us who always enjoy the Asimov robot books. Fairly predictable plot if you have read other books by Asimov.
October 24, 2010
What are robots good for? And by the way, what are humans good for? That's a question I won't try to answer tonight.
December 6, 2017
Onvan : Isaac Asimov's Caliban (Isaac Asimov's Caliban, #1) - Nevisande : Roger MacBride Allen - ISBN : 441004822 - ISBN13 : 9780441004829 - Dar 312 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 1993
November 8, 2017
I did enjoy the book, for the most part. I liked Caliban, but his lack of flesh seems to have carried over into the other characters' not being fleshed out too well. Be that as it may, there were also several places where all narrative and action stopped cold, and I knew it wasn't written by Asimov. He could be quite scientific in his explanations, but not like the incredibly-long monologue about the Three Laws, and the problems with them, and the "New Laws", and the "Fourth Law". That was a drama killer. I had to stop and review those pages first, see if there was any value in reading them, and, indeed just how many pages of monologue there were. After all the times we had heard people talk about the "Three Laws", it surely wasn't necessary to spend that much time on them in a single speech. And I could not believe a hostile and disbelieving audience would sit quietly so long, not withstanding a couple of very brief interruptions, and the riot at the end. Given the situation, that audience would have been a lot more unruly, and the orchestrated riot would not have waited until the roboticist could have finished that speech. But, overall, I think that the author did a good job of demolishing the Three Laws, and creating a new robot, even if the story, as is spoken of by characters in the story, several times, did really resemble the plot of Mary Shelley's novel quite closely.
August 12, 2021
CALIBAN
Wonderful book. Adheres nicely to the canon of Asimov’s robots universe with some very interesting differences that lead to the central WHO-DONE-IT mystery. Mr. Allen has crafted a different policeman + Robot team to investigate a violent crime against a human robot scientist. Not detective Baley, but Chief Of Police Kresh. Not R. Daneel Olivaw, but police blue colored “Donald”.
Being “spacers”, these two new main characters approach solving the crime with a much different relationship between them than the original Asimov Robot detective novels. This is wonderfully executed, fun to read and gets to be more and more of a page turner as the story progresses.
Solid 4 1/2 stars and I’m upping it to 5 in the rating since the last 75 pages, or so, were very much a CAN’T PUT IT DOWN PAGE TURNER.
If you are a fan of the Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw story structures in Asimov’s robot detective stories, I think you will very much like CALIBAN, I sure did!
Being very familiar with Asimov’s robot novels, I have to admit I suspected a similar TYPE of twisty ending and I was not disappointed :-)
Wonderful book. Adheres nicely to the canon of Asimov’s robots universe with some very interesting differences that lead to the central WHO-DONE-IT mystery. Mr. Allen has crafted a different policeman + Robot team to investigate a violent crime against a human robot scientist. Not detective Baley, but Chief Of Police Kresh. Not R. Daneel Olivaw, but police blue colored “Donald”.
Being “spacers”, these two new main characters approach solving the crime with a much different relationship between them than the original Asimov Robot detective novels. This is wonderfully executed, fun to read and gets to be more and more of a page turner as the story progresses.
Solid 4 1/2 stars and I’m upping it to 5 in the rating since the last 75 pages, or so, were very much a CAN’T PUT IT DOWN PAGE TURNER.
If you are a fan of the Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw story structures in Asimov’s robot detective stories, I think you will very much like CALIBAN, I sure did!
Being very familiar with Asimov’s robot novels, I have to admit I suspected a similar TYPE of twisty ending and I was not disappointed :-)
December 30, 2017
It is difficult because Asimov became more left progressive and collectivist in his writings as the years went by. His Robots for the most part were better "people" than the people in the stories. Same for decisions being made they were very much Social Justice warrior oriented and usually done by an elite. That said there were many people in the stories who were good and etc.
This story starts with the premise that Robots, highly evolved robots are sentient beings and so should be considered as beings in their own right. See his Bicentennial Man. So this book assumes an AI so advanced that you do not need the 3 laws but they will naturally learn them on their own and, implied, be much better than humans in their execution.
What to see how the second book works out.
This story starts with the premise that Robots, highly evolved robots are sentient beings and so should be considered as beings in their own right. See his Bicentennial Man. So this book assumes an AI so advanced that you do not need the 3 laws but they will naturally learn them on their own and, implied, be much better than humans in their execution.
What to see how the second book works out.
October 21, 2018
I really wish goodreads had half stars. This book is more like a 3.5 to me.
It’s basically a mystery novel set against the backdrop of sci-fi. Which I didn’t love love. I mean I like mystery novels too, but with a title like “Isaac Asimov’s Caliban” I was expecting much more sci fi and thus found myself to be disappointed.
However! It DID have some great and in depth sci-fi scenes- like a VERY comprehensive discussion and dissection of the Three Laws of Robotics, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I’m not sure if I’ll continue with the series. There were several times I was bored and tempted to just walk away, but, who knows? Maybe one day I’ll get in the mood for a mystery novel with a splash of sci-fi and pick it up again.
It’s basically a mystery novel set against the backdrop of sci-fi. Which I didn’t love love. I mean I like mystery novels too, but with a title like “Isaac Asimov’s Caliban” I was expecting much more sci fi and thus found myself to be disappointed.
However! It DID have some great and in depth sci-fi scenes- like a VERY comprehensive discussion and dissection of the Three Laws of Robotics, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I’m not sure if I’ll continue with the series. There were several times I was bored and tempted to just walk away, but, who knows? Maybe one day I’ll get in the mood for a mystery novel with a splash of sci-fi and pick it up again.
February 27, 2018
Well DUH it’s not Isaac, but it doesn’t have to be. RMA did a great job all on his own. Well, a top-notch blend of Shakespeare, Shelley, and Asimov. I had nothing but sympathy for Caliban and Kresh. The sheriff is more self aware than he knows, and his partnership with Donald is touching. Even Tonya and Gubber got me in the feels because I wonder all the time what my wife (well, in 2 months she will be) sees in me, but I still stand in awe of her love. I still pronounce his name Goober, though, because he totally is. I don’t entirely trust Jomaine, though. If he’s in the rest of the trilogy, we’ll see, but he’s a weasely little SOB.
August 8, 2017
I found this to be very much in the Asimov style which I liked more when I was younger, but still appreciate. I enjoyed the undercurrent of the effect upon humans to have robots doing their bidding and looking out for the human's welfare. The story gives some perspective on the topic of AI that is different from what we normally see concerning the potential problems. I didn't think I'd want to follow up with the rest of the series on Caliban, but as I neared the end I found myself curious to see what happens in his future.
December 4, 2021
In the spirit of asimov.
A robot named caliban is built.
That does not have to follow the 3 laws of robotics.
Kresh a detective is on a case.
Caliban is the perfect patsy for.
Class war fare between spacers those who first came to the new planet.
Vs settlers bottom dwellers.
Flying cars and space blasters.
Blade runner. I robot. Ghost in the shell.
Ani matrix. Ex mechina. Total recal.
Caliban is eventually not guilty.
Is allowed to be free with out being programmed.
Robots are the worst drug.
A robot named caliban is built.
That does not have to follow the 3 laws of robotics.
Kresh a detective is on a case.
Caliban is the perfect patsy for.
Class war fare between spacers those who first came to the new planet.
Vs settlers bottom dwellers.
Flying cars and space blasters.
Blade runner. I robot. Ghost in the shell.
Ani matrix. Ex mechina. Total recal.
Caliban is eventually not guilty.
Is allowed to be free with out being programmed.
Robots are the worst drug.
February 11, 2024
A focused look at the laws of robotics proposed by Asimov. The writing style is similar, as is the plot device of a crime investigation. There is less philosophical soliloquy, a trademark of Asimov. And what self-examination there is, while being less florid than Asimov’s also lacks the expansive depth and breadth of his musings. The first of a series of three, I will continue with the series, which is a recommendation in itself.
Also, if not aware, look up Shakespeare’s character of the same name.
Also, if not aware, look up Shakespeare’s character of the same name.
February 15, 2025
An Asimov book not written by Asimov. Hmmm.
That said, it was nice to return to the time of the Robot series even if there was no R Daneel Olivaw. It did make me wonder how Daneel survived so long with the 3 laws conflicts highlighted so frequently in Caliban.
Addressing the Frankenstein complex inherent in this story within the story made sense but also highlighted that the tale is hardly based on a new idea. Not that this matters for Asimov diehards. If you loved the Robot series like I did, you will like this. It’s not as good as the master but what else is besides other Asimov?
That said, it was nice to return to the time of the Robot series even if there was no R Daneel Olivaw. It did make me wonder how Daneel survived so long with the 3 laws conflicts highlighted so frequently in Caliban.
Addressing the Frankenstein complex inherent in this story within the story made sense but also highlighted that the tale is hardly based on a new idea. Not that this matters for Asimov diehards. If you loved the Robot series like I did, you will like this. It’s not as good as the master but what else is besides other Asimov?
October 8, 2018
This was an excellent book showing a really good insight into where we are heading with robots doing our every day tasks. It does rely on Isaac Asimov's robot three laws - but if you put that to one side and just read it as independent of that - without trying to compare it to Isaac Asimov's writing, then you will really enjoy it. Its a complex story but I found it easy to follow and very interesting in the way it looked at the robot / human interaction.
March 22, 2021
I enjoyed reading about Donald, it was great to finally see him applying the first law in subtler ways (eg. asking a question to make Sheriff drive slowly).
However I did not find the world-building very convincing. I'd expect the Spacer society to be much different than ours. Also, even though we can glimpse slightly more complex result of the 3 laws, I think the full extent of their implications are still left untold.
However I did not find the world-building very convincing. I'd expect the Spacer society to be much different than ours. Also, even though we can glimpse slightly more complex result of the 3 laws, I think the full extent of their implications are still left untold.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2022
Asimov already wrote like 5000 books exploring this same old idea about robots without the three laws. We really didn't need another one. I especially disliked the pages upon pages of internal dialogue the characters had. I finally got the hang of which pages I could skip over and the second half of the book went by a lot faster than the first. The twist at the end was obvious for a long time.
January 31, 2025
An awful story. Did you know about Asimov's three laws of robotics? If not you are endlessly reminded of this nonsense, that all robots are dumbass slaves and cannot learn anything new. Robot Caliban activates at a murder scene. With a name like Caliban I expected a rough, tough robot and not a simpering metal idiot continually questioning himself, to no avail. I made it some way through and thinking it would get no better (it did not), I admit to skim reading the rest.
Skim past this book.
Skim past this book.
July 26, 2024
Some friends and I have been reading all of the Asimov Universe books and i finally go to this one. I liked it. The way the author threw the Laws of Robotics on their ear. It was a welcome update to Asimov's world, which can get convoluted with his robotic ideas. Worth a read if you like Asimov's world.
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