Caves of Steel – Isaac Asimov

The caves of steel are the enclosed mega-cities of Earth a millennia or so in the future, where men and women live heavily communal lives with the limited space and food supplies rationed out.

In contrast, just outside New York city limits, is the spaciously laid out Spacetown, a closely guarded transit port for inter-planetary travel and trade with the outer worlds – planets colonised centuries ago, now independent of and slightly contemptuous of Earth. The Spacers are disease-free, technologically advanced, and enjoy a lifestyle that most Earthmen resent.

Another bone of contention between Earth and the Spacers is the use of robots. The sparsely populated outer worlds rely on them for labour and even more advanced operations; on Earth their increasing use is putting people out of work - and out of work means losing status and associated lifestyle privileges such as a wash basin in the apartment and a seat on the expressway.

So when New York police detective Elijah Baley is teamed up with Spacer R Daneel Olivar to investigate a murder in Spacetown, it is a bit of a challenge; because R stands for Robot, and is the only obvious giveaway in his humanoid appearance and behaviour.

The investigation proceeds haphazardly, hampered by political and social barriers. The scientific advances in evidence are interesting but it is the social developments and the unchanging human condition that forms the mainstay of the book. Solving the crime soon becomes part of the bigger issue of fixing Earth – Spacer relations and seeing a way forward for the teeming masses of the home planet.

Asimov writes a good book, deftly combining plot, dialogue, and context. When I first read this aged sixteen it was the futuristic setting that fascinated; now some 45 years later the sociological aspects hold as much interest. And while the whodunit element is secondary it does work at that level too.