The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
“What I hold is not a neuronic whip, nor is it a tickler. It is a blaster and very deadly. I will use it and I will not aim over your heads. I will kill many of you before you seize me, perhaps most of you. I am serious. I look serious, do I not?”
The wonderful thing about Isaac Asimov is that he’s just so readable. A person can pick up one of his books and just dive in with little or no preparation, and yet Asimov is still able to open up different worlds and distant futures. Asimov also has a way of making one think about the issues that society will face in the future. These are just a few reasons why Asimov is rightly regarded as one of the real giants of science fiction.
The Caves of Steel is a mystery story. It is also a science fiction story. The title refers to how populated Earth has become in the distant future. There are so many people that our planet has become one gigantic city. Every piece of ground is covered with buildings that not only rise high into the air but also descend deep under the surface–like caves of steel. In this future, a murder has been committed, and police detective Elijah Bailey has been given the task of finding the killer. He is also forced to take on a new partner: Robot Daneel Olivaw.
For me, the pleasure of reading The Caves of Steel comes more from watching Bailey and Olivaw interact than from trying to solve the mystery. The mystery story is fairly interesting, but what I enjoyed more was trying to imagine what it would be like to live in a world populated by robots. Asimov does a very good job of showing the kinds of issues humanity would have to deal with if we ever got to the point of making intelligent, humanoid robots.
The Caves of Steel is an easy-to-read, entertaining book that asks important questions about the future. It’s a great introduction to science fiction, especially for those who don’t think that they like science fiction, and it’s also great for mystery fans looking for something different.
[This review was originally written for my students at Mr. Senger’s Junior High Reading Lists, a website for my 8th graders.]
