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Jonathan O'Neill's Reviews > The Caves of Steel
The Caves of Steel (Robot, #1)
by
by
3.5 �
Come for the Retro Sci-Fi. Pull up a seat and stay a while for a fun murder mystery and some predictive philosophising on the future of humanity.
”Ladies and germs, this is so random and bizarre! I’m joined today by none other than the lead singer of The Strokes, Julian Casablancas. Jules, baby, you just finished the book recently yourself, right?�
Last Niiiiiiiiite!
Yeah, that’s what I thought. What’d you think?
Is this it?
Yeah, that’s the one, Caves of Steel.
Is this iiiiit?
Umm, yeah, I just sai...
Is this. IT?
Mate, why are you fuc�
[I could] take it, or leave it, or take it, or leave it!
Wow, really? That’s a little harsh, no? I thought it was a fairly entertaining Murder Mystery with a scarily believable distant future Sci-Fi setting and some interesting Philosophical musings that beg relevant questions of our present-day selves. I mean, in just 250 pages, Asimov gives us what is, in its own right, a decent investigative thriller set in New York, 3000 years in the future, imbued with well-trodden but always compelling topics such as the unsustainability of an ever-increasing population and its correlation with life expectancy, interplanetary colonisation, genetic selection/designer children, the self-sufficiency (or lack thereof) of cities, AI’s role in the future of humanity and problems pertaining to inevitably differing levels of acceptance, culturally ingrained prejudices and the age old dilemmas on the morality of sacrificing one for the good of many/the end justifying the means etc.
Yeah, I read the book.
Of course. Sorry about that! Any other thoughts?
New York City Cops!
Yeah?
New York City Cops!
What of ‘em?
New York City Cops!
Jehoshaphat, man! Spit it ou�
They ain’t too smaaaart!
Oh, Julian, have mercy my friend, you’re such a loose cannon! Clearly, you’re referring to Elijah Bailey, a New York City Police Officer and the protagonist of the story! Well, I agree! I don’t remember a whole lot about him from the short story ‘Mirror Image� in ‘The Complete Robot� but I certainly don’t remember him being so dull and/or dim-witted. Aside from being completely vanilla, cardboard, beige, or whatever other word best describes an entirely basic and mundane individual, he also seemed like an absolute simpleton for 90% of the book, rarely living up to his reputation as a sharp-minded detective with incredible attention to detail. For the most part he just asked stupid questions and made completely bizarre and unjustified allegations based on ill-informed conclusions. He proves himself not entirely clueless in the end but really, the majority of his investigative predictions are wildly off the mark.
Anyway, thanks for joining me and offering some incredible insights, Jules!
I don't care no more,
I know this for sure,
I'm walking out that door!
Hmm, suit yourself, pal! *(mutters)what a prick!*
Come for the Retro Sci-Fi. Pull up a seat and stay a while for a fun murder mystery and some predictive philosophising on the future of humanity.
”Ladies and germs, this is so random and bizarre! I’m joined today by none other than the lead singer of The Strokes, Julian Casablancas. Jules, baby, you just finished the book recently yourself, right?�
Last Niiiiiiiiite!
Yeah, that’s what I thought. What’d you think?
Is this it?
Yeah, that’s the one, Caves of Steel.
Is this iiiiit?
Umm, yeah, I just sai...
Is this. IT?
Mate, why are you fuc�
[I could] take it, or leave it, or take it, or leave it!
Wow, really? That’s a little harsh, no? I thought it was a fairly entertaining Murder Mystery with a scarily believable distant future Sci-Fi setting and some interesting Philosophical musings that beg relevant questions of our present-day selves. I mean, in just 250 pages, Asimov gives us what is, in its own right, a decent investigative thriller set in New York, 3000 years in the future, imbued with well-trodden but always compelling topics such as the unsustainability of an ever-increasing population and its correlation with life expectancy, interplanetary colonisation, genetic selection/designer children, the self-sufficiency (or lack thereof) of cities, AI’s role in the future of humanity and problems pertaining to inevitably differing levels of acceptance, culturally ingrained prejudices and the age old dilemmas on the morality of sacrificing one for the good of many/the end justifying the means etc.
Yeah, I read the book.
Of course. Sorry about that! Any other thoughts?
New York City Cops!
Yeah?
New York City Cops!
What of ‘em?
New York City Cops!
Jehoshaphat, man! Spit it ou�
They ain’t too smaaaart!
Oh, Julian, have mercy my friend, you’re such a loose cannon! Clearly, you’re referring to Elijah Bailey, a New York City Police Officer and the protagonist of the story! Well, I agree! I don’t remember a whole lot about him from the short story ‘Mirror Image� in ‘The Complete Robot� but I certainly don’t remember him being so dull and/or dim-witted. Aside from being completely vanilla, cardboard, beige, or whatever other word best describes an entirely basic and mundane individual, he also seemed like an absolute simpleton for 90% of the book, rarely living up to his reputation as a sharp-minded detective with incredible attention to detail. For the most part he just asked stupid questions and made completely bizarre and unjustified allegations based on ill-informed conclusions. He proves himself not entirely clueless in the end but really, the majority of his investigative predictions are wildly off the mark.
Anyway, thanks for joining me and offering some incredible insights, Jules!
I don't care no more,
I know this for sure,
I'm walking out that door!
Hmm, suit yourself, pal! *(mutters)what a prick!*
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Reading Progress
July 4, 2021
–
Started Reading
July 4, 2021
– Shelved
July 6, 2021
–
21.09%
"Slow expository beginning. A necessary evil and interesting enough. Not a fan of Lije Bailey. Met him in 'The Complete Robot' but he seems particularly whiney, petty and materialistic here."
page
54
July 11, 2021
–
Finished Reading
October 29, 2021
– Shelved as:
sci-fi
Comments Showing 1-13 of 13 (13 new)
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message 1:
by
preoccupiedbybooks
(new)
Jul 11, 2021 06:45AM
😂Well now I have last night as an ear worm! Never a bad thing!
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Yes! You've gotta love it when you get a good one, Fran! I had The Beatles' 'Oh, Darling' stuck in my head for (no shit) about 18 months. Every day, come shower time, something about the inimitable acoustics of a bathroom and the dulcet tones of running water on tile would bring out my inner McCartney.On the other hand, my Niece showed me a video on YouTube, 'Pen, PIneapple, apple, pen' a while back and I wasn't right for a week so, you take the good with the bad! 😅
That song is hilariously bad! My 6 year old laughed at it, but she loves a song called breakfast burrito, look that one up 😂
preoccupiedbybooks wrote: "That song is hilariously bad! My 6 year old laughed at it, but she loves a song called breakfast burrito, look that one up 😂""You're fueling my dreams with your morning-time beans"
Wow. Thanks, Fran... Thanks very much. 😂
Oh btw, as much as us Aussies love taking the piss out of the poms, my sincere condolences for this morning's match. Can't imagine how Rashford feels. Macguires pen in the top right was an absolute rocket!
Feeling rough and sad this morning, but proud of those young lads who stepped up to take a pen. They do not deserve the vile racism from a minority of idiots. Maguire and Lane's pens were bangers, shame about the rest. I said to my son, this is what it's like to be an England fan, we lose at penalties ha ha! Thanks Jonathan, bring on the World Cup!
Thanks Jonathan, bring on the World Cup!😑 I'm Australian, remember. Just trying to qualify is a stressful experience! 😂
Dude, that is a very funny and clever review - I loved it!! Bahahahah - seems like Julian was very indifferent about this story. The coppers by the way do sound a bit dim ;-)
Mark wrote: "Dude, that is a very funny and clever review - I loved it!! Bahahahah - seems like Julian was very indifferent about this story. The coppers by the way do sound a bit dim ;-)"Thanks, Mark! This kind of nonsense occurs every now and then when I don't have a whole lot to say about a book! 😄
This one would've really alienated any of my GR friends who aren't familiar with the Strokes. 😅
Jonathan wrote: "Mark wrote: "Dude, that is a very funny and clever review - I loved it!! Bahahahah - seems like Julian was very indifferent about this story. The coppers by the way do sound a bit dim ;-)"Thanks,..."
Bahahaha - nothing like a good dose of 'alienation' :)
Another funny and great review Jonathon! :)
Let me know, mate, when you bring Julian back for an encore
Haha! I wouldn't put you through another one of these, H! 😂I can't quite remember why I went with the Strokes theme here. I can only assume I was struggling with what to write and made the veeeery loose 'New York City Cops' connection. 😅 Thanks for reading, my friend! :)
