One of Asimov's earliest and best books. Humanity has gone underground, living in cramped quarters in huge cities under the earth. But humans who have gone to the stars and come back, called "Spacers" have developed a very different lifestyle, living in the open air with robot helpers. Humans still on Earth hate robots and hate spacers.
But when a prominent Spacer is murdered, R. Daneel Oliver the spacer's robot (who, to complicate things, looks exactly like the murdered Spacer), is paired up with a human detective Elijah Bailey. The story is ostensibly about solving the murder, but is really about exploring life in a regimented, overcrowded underground megacity, while at the same time exploring what robots are and how they behave.
It's a very enjoyable story, with Bailey sort of the emotional Kirk to Oliver's emotionless Spock. The funniest scene: when a citydweller slaps Oliver on the face, Daneel immediate worries that the guy who slapped him may have hurt his hands!
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| Plot Summary of The Caves of Steel |
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"Elijah Baley has been called on to take the very sensitive case of an outerworld Spacer who was blasted in his home. Things begin to get really wild, however, when he's assigned a Spacer robot, R. Daneel Oliver, as his partner. Baley doesn't exactly like robots, and this is his first encounter with a lifelike one. But they perserve together to find the killer."
Steve, Resident Scholar
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"A detective must solve a crime that is larger than it seems...the murder of a well-known scientist. His helper is Robot Daneel Olivaw. The detective must overcome his own prejudices and solve a crime that could start a war between two worlds."
danielle woodruff, Resident Scholar
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"Detective Elijah Bailey and his robot friend R. Daneel Olivar must solve a murder mystery."
steve, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Caves of Steel |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book
- very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- science fiction story
Spying & Investigations
Yes
What is main char. doing?
- finding a killer (criminal)
- unraveling a conspiracy
Robots, Computers, VR
Yes
Robot, PC, VR Plotlets:
- good robot(s)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric:
Yes
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Earth setting:
- medium future 22-24th century
- distant future
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How much dialogue?
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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