Asimov, Isaac. The Caves of Steel. NY: Bantam Books, 1991 (originally published in 1954 by Doubleday). 224pp. $6.99 (paper). 54-5418. ISBN 0-553-29340-0. C.I.P.
Several thousand years in the future crowded humanity has adapted to living in cities that have become huge buildings. Individuals live in dormitories with their basic necessities provided for and an abject fear of being outside the city. A part of humanity, Spacers, who left Earth to colonize other planets, have sent back to Earth emissaries who live in separate conclaves on the edge of the cities. Lije Bailey, a New York City cop who detests the Spacers and their robots, is faced with solving the murder of one of the Spacers and is assigned a human-like robot, R. Daneel Olivaw, as a partner. If he fails, Bailey faces demotion and loss of privilege for his family. Bailey must first overcome his own prejudices. He represents what man has become. In struggling to survive with overpopulation and dwindling resources, people have reduced their dreams, shortened their scope, and turned inward. The great cities, such as the New York of this story, rise up and burrow down, becoming vast machines. Almost no one lives in the open spaces between the cities. The robot, Olivaw, represents the best of what technology has to offer, the high point of Spacer technology. A combination of Spacer technology and human ingenuity are needed to solve the case.—John O. Christensen, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
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