From the Bookshelf of Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy…

The Caves of Steel (Robot, #1)

Isaac Asimov

Start date: April 1, 2017

Finish date: April 27, 2017

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Discussion leader: Silvana

Why we're reading this: Group Classic SF Discussion April, 2017
#94 on NPR's Top 100 SF/F novels of all time (2011 poll) http://ww …more
[close] Group Classic SF Discussion April, 2017
#94 on NPR's Top 100 SF/F novels of all time (2011 poll) http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/1390858...
#56 on Locus Magazines Best SciFi novels of the 20th century http://www.locusmag.com/2012/AllCentu...

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Mar 07, 2015 Rob Thompson rated it liked it

Shelves: audio, reviewed, radio, sci-fi, sf-masterworks, poetry, 2015-challenge

This was my first Isaac Asimov novel and it was okay. I didn't think it was earth shattering, it was simply entertaining enough to hold my interest to the end.

Asimov wrote this book back in 1953 and it is a detective story set in a future world of megacities, space colonisation and human/robot coexistence.

I guess Asimov had to make some tough decisions when he was writing The Caves of Steel? For example, just how far into the future do you set a novel like this? Books such as 1984 and 2001 were This was my first Isaac Asimov novel and it was okay. I didn't think it was earth shattering, it was simply entertaining enough to hold my interest to the end.

Asimov wrote this book back in 1953 and it is a detective story set in a future world of megacities, space colonisation and human/robot coexistence.

I guess Asimov had to make some tough decisions when he was writing The Caves of Steel? For example, just how far into the future do you set a novel like this? Books such as 1984 and 2001 were set too close to the present, in my opinion. It wasn’t long before the future arrived and the extrapolations made by the authors based on the technology and culture of the era they were writing caught up. Asimov gets it just about right here and he uses a sci-fi detective story to highlight issues which concerned him.

Asimov does have a tendency to digress into long-winded examinations of his pet subjects. These include robots, colonisation of other worlds, the nature of humanity and overpopulation. I got the impression that on the one hand Asimov was advocating a simplification of society while on the other blasting humans off to other worlds with robot helpers.

He tries to sandwich these digressions between action sequences or, in this particular book, detectives doing some, well … detecting! This structure interrupts the pacing of the story. The flow becomes disjointed but it did have the benefit of keeping curiosity levels high enough to make me want to keep on going.

In a way the book was like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep in so much that it questioned when does a machine become human? The suspicion and resentment felt towards robots by humans mirrored the way many citizens feel about minorities and immigrants too. Both of these ideas were woven into the plot.

Asimov didn’t seem to the particularly comfortable writing for the female characters (not that there were many). They were window decoration who were only good for hiding behind their husbands or gossiping. And finally, The Caves of Steel also suffered from the classic, “explain everything in the last couple of pages” syndrome.

So, in summary despite my criticisms above The Caves of Steel wasn’t a bad novel it just wasn’t a great novel. It was good enough to make me want to read some more of his works and I’d be happy to recommend it as a quick and straightforward enough read.
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Mar 10, 2011 Ash rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: robots-androids, _isaac-asimov, 2012-read, science-fiction, hard-sf

Sci-fi + murder mystery -> Two of my most favourite genres fused into a single novel. What more could I ask for?
Simple language and a very fast read, just like all the rest of the Asimov's novels. But for me, Foundation series is still better than Robot series.
Daneel was cute. Wish I could own a robot like him :)
One reason why I like reading these classical Sci-fi books is because they are full of innovative ideas, predicting future of humankind which makes them interesting. ...more

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Nov 26, 2013 Aleix Dorca rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, whodunit

I think it would have been better as a short story, like the rest of Robot tales.

All in all, a quick painless read full of the typical 'what ifs' that Asimov was a master in when dealing with the Robot psyche. ...more

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