The Caves of Steel

Welcome to the future. Yes it is Asimov and he takes us on a journey to a near future at the wake of C/Fe civilization i.e., the human-robot civilization, the brainchild of the Spacers who had migrated from the Earth to form a world of healthy beings. Yes, the ethical part kept aside, the Spacers, humans from Earth formed a colony of their own by selecting the healthiest of the human race right from birth itself. Thus the nobility of the future, so formed, had, at once, been both the subject of fascination and hatred to the Earthmen. Infact, the human civilization too had undergone a radical change by the construction of steel caves that they named Cities which covered the entire human organization. Ambience, inside these caves, were controlled to suit the need of development and work and thus it was not surprising when we find the household kitchen being replaced by a community dining hall where all the city dwellers timely consumed their daily ration. This automatically gave birth to a sect, appropriately categorized as Mediavalists, that functioned illegally in a hope to bring back the past and crushing anything modern. That they would be against robots was natural but some of them, in course of time, modified their views when they found these choice was automatic and gradually started to cope up with the change. One of these was police officer, Elijah Lije Bailey, whose practical approach seemed to be the apparent reason for his recommendation by his friend and boss, Commissioner Enderby, to investigate the murder of one Dr. Sarton, a specialist in humanoid robots at Spacetown. Lije would have tolerated this not so encouraging task but for the ordeal of being accompanied by a detective robot Daneel Olivaw that seemed too much for him.

A gripping story follows with elaborate paragraphs detailing, for the sake of the readers, the future world in the author’s vision, that increases both in pace and mystery till the very climax. Lije seemed to be bent on accusing the Spacers of the crime but Daneel in each step refuted his views with solid counter proofs. The delicate situation of unmasking the criminal while preventing an impending riot seemed to slip of Lije’s hand at each occassion but the turn of events, each time, seemed to send him back to the right track. The sinister evil lurking behind the crime was finally unveiled by Lije and the readers will thoroughly enjoy the story though a certain amount of concentration is required if its true flavour is to be savoured.

The Rest of the Robots

I'd read Asimov only once quite some years back and that too one of his novels on the Foundation series. Maybe it was my age that was responsible but I found the novel exciting but a bit boring too. So for several years after the experience I'd avoided going thru an Asimov again. Thus it was only an impulse that guided me to pick this book up in an used book store. That my impulse was justified is evident as after all these years I again grasped this book from my shelf to indulge once more in some of the best science fiction stories ever written with the author's style of mixing humour to these anecdotes making them quite unique in its genre.

The content runs as

· The Coming of the Robots

§ Robot AL-76 Goes Astray

§ Victory Unintentional

· The Laws of Robotics

§ First Law

§ Let’s Get Together

· Susan Calvin

§ Satisfaction Guaranteed

§ Risk

§ Lenny

§ Galley Slave

The most wonderful thing of the book is that each and every story is being preceded by the author's introductions that are equally entertaining as the stories themselves. The 1st section contains two hilarious pieces though the mood is dampened somewhat by the 1st story of the 2nd section. But the 2nd one more than compensates for the excitement that was due. But the best and the most though provoking are the stories in the 3rd section where the robopsychologist Susan Calvin offers all the explanations to the apparent contradictory or erratic behaviours of certain robots. Asimov's detailing in each of the stories seemed something to be complimented about and also his theme of aversion to robots by the general public is equally well portrayed. The Three Laws governing robotics have also been clearly explained while the misinterpretations and exception of these were equally well used in some of the robot stories. The book is fascinating and will definitely provide a source of entertainment, offering a new insight into science fiction stories by crossing the border of blending science with fiction and passing on to the realm of literary excellence.
In AL-76 Goes Astray, the confused activities of a robot designed for lunar excavations that somehow was transported to Earth will keep you in all smiles as will the timed misunderstanding on the part of Jovians in Victory Unintentional due to their lack of knowledge in earthian robotics. The First Law is somewhat a trivial story in that respect but in Let's Get Together, the mystery with science fiction blends all too well for a classic climax. We get introduced to Susan Calvin in Satisfaction Guaranteed though she is more than overshadowed by the fascinating personality of the robot that this story portrys. In Risk, you will surely be more than irritated at the way Calvin persuades Gerald Black to take the risk of his life but will no doubt agree to her reasonings at the final phases of the crisis. The story Lenny is a revelation to Calvin's singular character while Galley Slave is another fascinating courtroom drama with a proofreading robot as the central figure.
After doing a bit of a research on the compilation of the Asimov's fictions, I found that I was somewhat cheated of the marvellous writings by two novels that the original edition of the book contained while the one that I purchased was just an abridged version.