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 York City police detective Elijah Baley had little love for either the arrogant Spacers or their robotic companions. But when a prominent Spacer is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Baley is ordered to the Outer Worlds to help track down the killer. The relationship between Life and his Spacer superiors, who distrusted all Earthmen, was strained from the start. Then he learned that they had assigned him a partner: R. Daneel Olivaw. Worst of all was that the "R" stood for robot - and his positronic partner was made in the image and likeness of the murder victim!

Listening Length

7 hours and 43 minutes
Author

Isaac Asimov
Narrator

William Dufris
Audible release date

July 15, 2014
Language

English
Publisher

Random House Audio
ASIN

B00KY2YPLO
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	7 hours and 43 minutes
Author	Isaac Asimov
Narrator	William Dufris
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	July 15, 2014
Publisher	Random House Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00KY2YPLO
Best Sellers Rank	#7,995 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #73 in Hard Science Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) #235 in Space Opera Science Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) #240 in Classic Literature (Audible Books & Originals)

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4.6 out of 5

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Lloyd

Classic Asimov's, and such a believable story

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 19, 2023

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What a treat, Asimov's 1st Robot story, and what a wonderful story, indeed. This story sets the stage for all of the others, so definitely read this, trust me. You'll also find it a fairly fast read, too, though don't mistake this for a simple story, because it's anything but.

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Robert Carnevali

Interesting, well-written, thought-provoking

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 27, 2019

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I loved this book. It offered a look at an alternate future where overpopulation has fractured man into two camps. Earthlings never trusted their robot creations, preferring to keep them hidden or out of sight. Spacers embraced robots and looked to them for security and performing all the small tasks to which we're accustomed. The result is that people on Earth have lived in climate-controlled covered cities that sprawl not only above ground but below, and lived there so long that the act of being outside and exposed to nature brings forth anxiety attacks. Earthlings feel safe when they know there's people and walls all around them. Spacers, on the other hand, have taken over 50 other worlds and place more emphasis on privacy and independence, with the unacknowledged exception being their dependence on robots to watch over and protect them.

The world-building in this series of novels is very deep and detailed. All citizens of Earth are given the necessities to live, but only just enough. You get basic food, a place to sleep, and a little bit of access to recreational services. Everyone is classified according to their jobs and contributions, and the higher a classification you have, the more you are entitled to. Higher classifications get better and bigger apartments and a wider selection of food. And with food being served in cavernous cafeterias, sometimes one even gets to occasionally prepare their own meals in their own kitchens, if their rating is high enough. Bathrooms are rarely in the apartments assigned to citizens, and instead are large and sprawling communal areas where different societal norms have taken hold. Women tend to chat and socialize extensively in their "Personals", while men, in an attempt to afford each other privacy, have developed a deep aversion to acknowledging in any way other residents (never look at someone, and never ever speak inside a Personal). The difference between the two sexes almost seems a bit sexist, but in reality just reflects some of the views towards the sexes that exist even to this day. Later books in the series where life is shown on Spacer worlds shatter these conventions and seem foreign to our protagonist. All in all, it's a fascinating background in which the story unfolds.

And the story is a simple murder mystery. Elijah Baley is a detective in NYC's police department. NYC, incidentally, has grown over the centuries, and grown so large that cities like Trenton, NJ are considered boroughs and are part of the enclosed city-structure. There is a settlement of Spacers called Spacertown outside of NYC, and a prominent roboticist has been murdered. This creates a bit of a political crisis. Spacers have advanced their technology and can enforce their will upon Earth and Earthlings, who have been content to just live in their covered cities. Spacers tend to strongly dislike Earth, and there is a very real and substantial fear that Spacers may take control of Earth. Having one of their prominent citizens murdered will only enhance this, and it's up to Detective Baley to resolve this murder. He is assigned a partner in the form of R. Daneel Olivaw, a humaniform robot (one so lifelike it's hard to tell apart from a human). Daneel is one of only two robots in existence who are like this. Baley must get over his inherent dislike of robots that all Earthlings feel and work with Daneel to find the murderer and quell the rising unease between Earth and the Spacers.

Isaac Asimov is not exactly a poet with his writing, but he's very effective and clear and professional, and his world-building is superb. His attention to details draws the reader in and makes for a very effective mystery. Like all good sci-fi writers, he doesn't lose sight of the story during the process of introducing the reader to the science. By the time the story is resolved, the reader does enjoy Baley and Daneel, and has the pleasure of looking forward to reading more about them in the two follow-up stories, "The Naked Sun" and "The Robots of Dawn". Those two take place on two different Spacer worlds, and in some wonderful writing, the differences in those worlds is as dramatic as the difference is between the futuristic Earth of "The Caves of Steel" and our own present Earth. If you enjoy science-fiction that introduces new advanced concepts and worlds and ideas, but still enjoy being not so far removed from our own world that everything is unfamiliar, this is a wonderful story in which to indulge.

7 people found this helpful

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Allen Gerner

who Done It

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 25, 2023

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Good Murder mystery. This book is the basis for the movie, “I, Robot”. You won’t guess who did it until the very end.

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aawillis

The Caves of Steel

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 21, 2023

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This was a gift I gave to my daughter this past Christmas. She was very happy to receive it.

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fra7299

Fascinating concept. I need to read more Asimov

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 23, 2021

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“There were some eight hundred Cities on Earth, average population, ten million.
Each city became a semiautonomous unit, economically all but self-sufficient. It could root itself in, gird itself about, burrow itself under. It became a steel cave, a tremendous, self-contained cave of steel and concrete.”

This was my first go and foray into the world of Isaac Asimov, which is a pity because I have been missing out for years. Asimov’s The Caves of Steel is one of the novels in his Robot Series, and the novel’s title is sort of a metaphor to describe the basic structure of these “mega” cities with vast populations. I think most notable about the novel is the way Asimov can visualize, create, and set up with society and world, with the humans, robots, and Spacers. Likewise, the novel sprinkles in various thinking points and philosophical questions that make for a thought-provoking read.

Interestingly, the novel is set up as both a mystery/crime as well as a science-fiction. The basic premise involves veteran New York City police detective Elijah Bailey being assigned the investigation of a suspicious murder of one of the prominent Spacers. As part of the investigation, Bailey teams up with a robot, R. Daneel, to help him search for the suspect and solve the crime.

As mentioned earlier, it is interesting to see how the robots and humans coexist with each other and must live in the same society. We see this in Bailey’s natural distrust and dislike of the robots. His skepticism about his robot partner is one of the conflicts we follow, and this is explored more deeply as we move along in the novel. Bailey’s negative attitude about his fellow robots seems to be a microcosm of angst brewing within the general populace. One key scene early on that illustrates this is a near riot at a store that Bailey and Daneel get called to investigate. Human resentment over robots taking jobs in the work industry is one such factor in this friction.

And, while the mystery itself might be pedestrian (that is, until the final few chapters where the book seems to hit another gear), all is forgivable because the book is such an engaging and compelling read in various other ways. The idea and set up of society that Asimov projects is quite fascinating and imaginative. He spends quite a bit of time giving background and context to how things work and the basic history of where we are. One point illustrating this is when Bailey must cross lines and had into Spacetown with Daneel as part of his investigation. Bailey’s point of view and perspective sheds light on how things operate in Spacetown.

I thought both the science fiction and mystery elements were fused together nicely and worked in tandem with each other. The momentum really picks up in the final chapters as we head towards the conclusion. I also thought it was effective how Asimov does enough to give the book a sense of closure, yet also keeps the door open by setting up the next installment in the series.

2 people found this helpful

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C. Heartwell

Don't hate - enjoying the written word is totally subjective

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 4, 2022

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I have read most of Isaac Asimov's stories, and the Foundation series is among my favorite reads of all time (I have a big Sci-Fi collection, and I've read the foundation series - all of the books - multiple times). But I had never read the original Robot series. I figured it had to be good, and should even be "familiar" (if you have read other stories in the same universe). But to me the main (human) character is annoying. I know that the character needs a lot of exposure and explaining given the nature of the unfamiliar environment in which he's living (you cannot relate to this character from experience, only from the narration)... but that part just rubs me the wrong way and uses a lot of story/page space that I don't find very enjoyable. Not to mention, that the character has so many flaws, he comes across as someone you like only because you're invested, not because he's likable. BUT - that is TOTALLY subjective, and I still recommend this book and all of Asimov's books. Maybe I should have read the catalog in the original order:-)

One person found this helpful

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Eric Faragher

Asimov at his Best

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 4, 2020

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One of the best of Asimov’s considerable body of work. The enclosed city and its moving walkways hark back to H G Wells, but the main theme of the novel, the social and evolutionary aspects of the introduction of robots, is all Asimov’s own. In particular, his use of his famous laws of robotics and the role they play in a "murder". One of the flaws of the established Asimov is that his story and his characters can suffer from an overweening tendency toward philosophical explaining, as if success stimulated an over confidence, as it did with Wells also, in my opinion. This doesn’t happen here. Baley is a recognisable and sympathetic protagonist, understandable and very human and the plot is not overpowered by philosophical debate concerning the future of mankind, whilst at the same time many an interesting and arresting conversation does fall aptly into its natural place in line with the novel’s developing themes. Very engrossing and worth re-reading (fourth time for me). The sequel “The Naked Sun”, whilst not quite as good is also well worth reading.

3 people found this helpful

Robert Tostevin

Asimov at his ever prescient best

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 5, 2018

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Caves of Steel was written in 1954 by the remarkably ever prescient Asimov and, chronologically, is the first in his suite of "future histories". The book is tinged, of course, with a 50's optimistic vision of how they saw the future: robots, speeders, space travel (and still with people smoking tobacco) but you HAVE to admire Asimov's ability to start predicting things that we have either seen come to pass or at least are looking more and more likely.

His insight into the "human condition" and what motivates mankind to evolve/excel/invent/revolutionise is nothing short of remarkable.
In this novel he gives us a vision of what earth might look like in 1,000 years with an ever burgeoning population - a strain on Earth's resources along with a sort of inevitable erosion of some of the forces that had previously driven mankind through the millennia to expand. He sees a risk-averse, conformant homogenised society - ring any bells with modern globalisation and our very present "health and safety" risk-averse society we can see 'blossoming' before our very eyes? This, he identifies, is the problem with earthmen of 1,000 years plus. Consider this ... would Christopher Columbus ever have set sail if he's had the "health & safety" brigade doing risk assesments on his "project proposal" to set off into the unknown to discover a hypothetical 'new world'?

He develops this theme into how mankind can get out of this sociological 'cul-de-sac' in an intriguing and thought provoking way.

8 people found this helpful

Tracey Madeley

Fantastic ideas, but writing could be clearer.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 19, 2019

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After seeing the film, I Robot, I had very high expectations for this book, the first in his robot series. It is good, but I was a little disappointed. The idea of a human robot is present, with the positronic brain and the author has taken it a step further by making it look human. However, there is no desire to understand or explore human emotions compared to I Robot (the film). The book does make a good distinction between the way Baley speaks and the robot Daneel. You can tell the thought processes are different and there is a desire to learn and fit in with human society.

I like the idea of Medievalists who oppose the spread of robots and technology in general. The commissioner's use of a disguised window is one example. I found the idea of Spacers a little unclear. At first, I wondered if they were robots, but they just use robots as useful tools. They are in fact the original descendants of earth. They are the ruling elite who keep the new settlers in megacities, ration food and enforce a classification linked to privileges. These people fear robots will come and take their jobs away resulting in de-classification.

The murder mystery element of the book is a little forced in the sense that it does not flow smoothly. The clues to the identity of the murderer and their motives are in the book and there is a logical revelation at the end, but it lacks the sophistication readers may expect.

I think Asimov, like Huxley, is a brilliant scientist but lacks literary technique in the modern sense of the word. His novels will be read for their insightful ideas, not for their literary brilliance.

One person found this helpful

A. Butler

Simply timeless and brilliant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 14, 2016

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Is such a shame that whoever wrote the synopsis for amazon didn't actually bother to read the book before they write it. Anyone who actually does read the book will discover early on that the New York City we know lasted for at least 3000 years before the New York City that becomes The City of the story comes into being and this new City is several hundred years old at this point.

Ok, that's the gripe about the synopsis over and done with.

Earth, thousands of years into the future. Massively overpopulated ever everyone loves in one of 800 Cities - enormous structures that protect their population from the outside, the feed them, Clothe then and nurture them. There is nothing wrong with the outside, it's just that people have been closeted in the Cities for so long that they simply don't go outside. On the outskirts of New York is Spacertown. A reminder to earth that it lost the war against is one time colonies of in the stars. Spacertown is where the ever arrogant and superior spaces stay when visiting old Earth. And now one of them is dead. Murdered. A major diplomatic incident needs to be avoided as any such week price very costly for dear old Earth. Plainclothesman Elijah Baley , C5 rated, of the New York police department is assigned the case along with a partner from the space community. Solving the case will save Earth and will also save Elijah Baley and his family , because fake is not an option.

I've always loved the good doctors books and these books that start what turned into the Robots and Foundation series, a massive conglomeration of a lot of his scifi works, are among my favourites of all. If you can find 'I, Robot' and 'The Rest Of The Robots' these will give you a great background info the Asimov Robots, robots built upon a foundation of ethics, the laws of robotics. a more modern collection is 'The Complete Robot' anthology.

With this book and is follow ups ('The Naked Sun' and 'Robots Of Dawn') we meet one of Asimov's most loved characters, Elijah Baley. An Earth detective called on to solve the most difficult of crimes - murder. Elijah is human, fallible and capable in equal measure. He has to offer come his feelings and failings as he feels into the complicated world and lives of the Spacers.
Surely one of the best characters ever created. Elijah Baley seems to blunder around the problems accidentally finding the solution to the tricky problems with which he is faced. He is so completely human, timelessly so. Thrown into situations that no school could ever prepare him for, he's so it off his depth and comfort zone. But somehow he finally sees the core, the one thing that let's him solve the problem.

Alongside our good detective is his Space partner, Danieel Oliver, their to smooth ruffled father's and explain the Society and technology that no man of Death could ever hope to understand otherwise.

The characterisations are brilliant and the stories are well crafted for all that they were created and published back in 1950.

8 people found this helpful

Norma López-Sancho

Avoid this edition, it's awful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 5, 2022

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The print is absolutely terrible, too small, bold and blurry. Also it's quite crocked (as in inclined lines), printed by amazon, absolutely painful for the eyes and the soul. I returned it. There's other publisher edition in amazon, printed by a real printer and much better, look for that one, which by the way, is also cheaper....
As per the book, good classic Asimov, always great writing, great stories

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