The Caves of Steel

Title: The Caves of Steel

Author: Isaac Asimov

Publisher: Random House

Publication Date: 1954/ Re-issue November 1991

Genre: Science Fiction/Mystery

Pages: 288

I have been a long time fan of Isaac Asimov. He is part of the reason I got into science fiction to begin with, and if I remember correctly the first book of his that I read was I,Robot . So you may be wondering why I am not doing I, Robot now. I am saving it for a later date.

I chose The Caves of Steel because of its duality. It is a science fiction novel that reads like a mystery....or is it a mystery novel that reads like science fiction? That is the true pleasure of this novel, it would appeal to both interests! It is the first book in a series of four dealing with the adventures of Elijah Bailey and R. Daneel Olivaw. The four books are:

1) The Caves of Steel (1954)
2) The Naked Sun (1956)
3) Robots of Dawn (1983)
4) Robots and Empire (1985)

I list them now because once you start reading them, you may want to read the entire series. They are that good.

The Caves of Steel is set in the far future, about one thousand years from now. Space has been colonized and the "positronic brain" has been created. Elijah Bailey, a New York City detective, is ordered to the Outer Worlds to investigate the murder of a prominent Spacer. Bailey has little love for spacers and even less for robots. The Spacers do not trust anyone from Earth, so they team him up with R. Daneel Olivaw, a robot who is modelled after the murder victim.

One of the problems when you read this is it is a bit dated.The language from 1954 comes through and sounds a little absurd and at time almost childish. However that is not enough to totally destroy an enjoyable reading experience. This is science fiction from a grand master. With over 500 books to his credit in genres from Science Fiction to mystery to science to religion, you know you are in good hands.

3 1/2 stars out of 5 (It could have been longer, and is a bit dated)
Re-readable factor of 2 out of 5