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4.5 to 5.0 stars. Just re-read this after having first read it many years ago. Asimov was a superb story-teller and his books are almost always fun, easy to read and full of big ideas. This one is no exception.

Set on Earth many millennia before the time when the The Foundation Trilogy takes place, it is a time when humans have been divided into two main groups, the Earthmen and the Spacers. The first are those 8 Billion souls on Earth living in massively croweded "mega cities" (the Caves of Steel) where food and other goods are rationed due to limited supply. In order to allow necessary production efficiencies, Robots are used but are alomost universally hated by Earthmen as they are seen as taking away jobs from real people.

The second group, the Spacers, are the decendants of "Earth" first colonists who years before left the Earth to colonize the 50 "Outerworlds." In contrast to the Earth, the Outerworlds have very low populations and live a life of luxury, in part do their embrace of Robots as useful tools to help make life easier. They are also incredibly long-lived due to their scientific advancements.

There is a lot of animosity and hate between the two groups which is pivotal part of the story. The story itself is a murder mystery involving a murdered Spacer. An Earth cop, Elijah Bailey, is partnered with a Spacer Robot (the soon to be famous R. Daneel Olivaw) to solve the crime. The real charm of the story is the description of life on Earth, the contrast between that life and that of the Spacers and the Earthmen and the explorations of the various prejudices among the groups.

An excellent read and a great introduction to the Robot novels of Asimov.

Nominee: Hugo (Retro) Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1953)