I first read Asimov’s 1954 novel The Caves of Steel in the ’70s. Published not long after Second Foundation, on the surface it’s a very different story. I may have re-read at some point, reading now I was immediately struck by how developed Asimov’s writing style had become. Yes, it’s punctuated with amusing ideas on calculating machines and references to pipe-smoking, but that aside there’s a strong vision of a future.
Pushing through the decades, there are themes of over-crowding, the environment and a strong dose of reaction to the imposition of robots in the work-force. Sat here 70 years later it all sounds like today’s worries about AI replacing the workforce, and on many levels the book has contemporary concerns.
I learned in re-reading the other Asimov novels of his interest in the detective story. Here, then, is Elijah Bailey, a detective from the future mega-city (more than a little Judge Dredd!) of New York.
What’s the Caves of Steel about?
Here’s the standard blurb from the paperback:
In the vast, domed cities of Earth, artificial intelligence is strictly controlled; in the distant Outer Worlds, colonists and robots live side by side.
A Spacer ambassador is found dead and detective Elijah Baley is assigned to find the killer. But with relations between the two cultures in the balance, the Spacers insist that he work with a partner of their choosing – a robot partner, R. Daneel Olivaw.
Baley has never seen a robot like Daneel before – almost indistinguishable from a human – and soon, though the Three Laws of Robotics should render the crime impossible, Baley’s partner becomes his prime suspect.
So, yes, there’s a lot of ideas from his Robot stories, but this is not the same beast by any means. The hero is a cop and family man, not a scientist or other ‘geeky’ figure. In style this is more than a little cosy crime in the style of (my favourite) Death in Paradise. As the story moves forward, we tour the future Earth, learn of the real ambition of the Spacers and one by one Bailey accuses characters only to find he is completely wrong. Of course it all ends well, but not before Bailey changes as a character.
What I really like
In many ways this is the cornerstone of Asimov’s grand-unification of Foundation and Robot stories. R Daneel Olivaw becomes Demerzel in the Foundation and the style of writing about Earth is a lot like future Trantor. The ideas of mass-manipulation of population for the benefit of humanity as well as Daneel’s mood-reading sensors as a precursor to the future psychic abilities in the series are all there.
It’s an interesting read as a vision of the future from the past, short by modern standards and enjoyable. There are occasional rumours of a film version from Fox. Could Apple TV+ take a shot? Maybe not distinct enough from Foundation. It really does play to the heart of the Asimov vision, and I heartily recommend. Next stop the follow up, 1956 story The Naked Sun. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Symmetry Junction 