Rating: 
Summary: An excelent tale
Review: This book is incredible in that it can be entertaining on so many levels. It delves into a science fiction/murder mystery and still manages to establish two of the most enjoyable characters that asimov ever created. The characxter development is incredible and as it also starts Asimov's Robot mystery series, I recomend this book to all fans of Science fiction, or mysteries.
Rating:
Summary: One of Asimov's very best
Review: This is one of Asimov's best science fiction novels. The description of New York, in a future where Earth's cities are built underground (for fear of attack from other planets colonised by humans), is totally convincing. The people of Earth are agorophobic and live in standardised, basic conditions due to overpopulation and scarcity of resources. Asimov's description is fascinating. The novel also deals with robots in detail, according to Asimov's famous Three Laws which govern their behaviour. Asimov writes some very interesting speculation on robot psychology and attitude towards humans, and their attitude towards the robots. This novel really shows Asimov's talent for writng intelligent science fiction and plausible future history. It is mainly a mystery story, and althogh I haven't read many detective novels, I thoght it was well written and the ending was surprising. Before reading this novel, I would recommend reading Asimov's short stories dealing with robots. These deal with the early development of robots, and make what happens in this book clearer. 'The Caves of Steel' is followed by more Robot novels, and then the Galactic Empire and Foundation novels. You should read the whole series, but make sure you read them in order. Like all of Asimov's novels, this book has a clever plot and is very thought provoking. A must if you're a serious science fiction fan.
Rating: 
Summary: science fiction detective mystery [no spoilers]
Review: "The Caves of Steel" is a wonderful beginning to an awesome science fiction series involving Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw. This is the story of an agoraphobic (afraid of open places) plainclothes cop Elijah Baley, accustomed to living inside the large cities of future Earth, teaming up with technological masterpiece R. Daneel Olivaw to solve a murder in the nearby Spacer community. Daneel, a relatively new creation, learns about human behavior from his robot prejudice partner and restricted in his behavior by what is known as the Laws of Robotics. People of earth, also agoraphobic, will challenge the solution for the case from many angles because of their social limitations. The murder case is exciting to follow especially given the interaction between Elijah and Daneel.Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: John W. Campbell said this couldn't be done
Review: John W. Campbell, Jr., famously said that the two genres of detective fiction and SF couldn't be combined. He was mistaken, as Isaac Asimov eventually demonstrated for another publisher (Horace Gold at _Galaxy_) with this fine work. Building on his robot stories, Asimov here introduces two of his most memorable characters: detectives Elijah Baley (a human) and R. Daneel Olivaw (a robot). In Asimov's later work, these two are going to go down in galactic history. Here, they're just solving a mystery. The tale opens in a future version of New York, but despite some nods toward the "hard-boiled" genre, Asimov actually owes more to Dame Agatha Christie than to Mickey Spillane. At any rate I won't spoil it for you by telling you any more about it. The main reason I'm reviewing it now, in fact, is to recommend it to readers of Richard K. Morgan's brilliant _Altered Carbon_. There's a very short line of "mystery SF", running through Larry Niven's ARM stories; it starts here. If you're at all interested in this genre, this is one you'll want to read. The two sequels (_The Naked Sun_ and _The Robots of Dawn_) are excellent as well. And of course any reader of Asimov's later works knows what eventually became of R. Daneel Olivaw.
Rating:
Summary: A fun read
Review: Despite the fact that this sci-fi novel was written half a century ago, nearly all of the concepts and technologies described are still so far in the future that it might as well have been written yesterday. This book delivers on all counts: characterization, plot, immersion in the setting, engaging new concepts, questions of morality, and more. Absolutely worth your time. The story is basically a murder mystery and the identity and motive of the murderer will surprise you! I believe the Robot novels were written as serial novelettes appearing in a sci-fi magazine in the early 50s, so many of the chapters end on mini-cliffhangers. This would have been maddening back in the magazine days, but now it merely makes the book difficult to put down! I wish Asimov had fleshed out the logical transition of Earth from our time to the totally different underground city life described in the book. Also, Earth has more people than all 50 of the Outer Worlds combined. How is it possible then for the Outer Worlds to have such a political and technological stranglehold on Earth? These minor gripes aside, this novel is a great start to a long series (including Foundation) that I'm looking forward to working through!
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling Detective Story
Review: In the future of Asimov's Caves of Steel, human society has been spit in two. On the Outer Worlds, 50 planets that had been colonized by humans, populations are low and humans work hand-in-hand with robots. On Earth, the population has exploded out of control, and the humans live in giant city-hives (the Caves of Steel mentioned in the title), and they never venture into the open air. They live in a tightly controlled socialist system and most humans detest robots as job-stealers. Elijah Baley, a police detective, gets a call from the New York City police commissioner. A Spacer, as the inhabitants of the Outer Worlds are known, has been murdered by an Earthman. If the crime isn't solved, then there will be terrible diplomatic problems for Earth which may even lead to the invasion of Earth by the Spacers. To help him out, he is given a Spacer partner who also happens to be an advanced robot. Can he get along with his partner? Can he avert the destruction of human society on Earth? This is a very easy read. It's easy to see why Asimov is considered to be one of the best science fiction writers of all times. He keeps the plot twisting and surprises you in the end. Recently, we've been bombarded with the image of robots as out-of-control menaces. It's refreshing to see a robot as a true helper and friend fo mankind. I would like to see more emphasis on this type of robot in the future of science fiction. It give us more to think about when the danger in a story comes from human attitudes rather than from blood-thirsty robots. You really have to think about how you would react if you were placed in a similar situation. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
Rating:
Summary: A Superb sci-fi murder mystery.
Review: Asimov, one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time, shows a world of the future filled with political and technological conflicts between earthlings and the Spacers - people from outside planets. This book works in two ways. It gives an excellent picture of the future, while also presenting a great murder mystery. From pedestrian highways, planet colonies, robot-human conflict, to over-population, the future is presented in a way that relates to modern society and modern problems. This gives the reader a greater understanding of the setting compared to most other books. The mystery itself is also very intriguing. Who killed the Spacer? Would the human looking robot be accepted by his partner? What were the political ramifications of this murder? All these problems become apparent throughout this book, and makes the book even more interesting as you read along. I highly recommend this book, as it is one Asimov's finest.
Rating:
Summary: Robots Rule
Review: This was a delightful book and it, along with The Naked Sun, are good reads today, and splendid examples of the beginning of modern science fiction. Asimov is good--the story will ring as true today as it did decades ago when it was written. I bought them not long ago, having read that they were his first Robot novels, and I loved them.
Rating:
Summary: Great Introduction to Asimov's vision
Review: The only reason I've rated this book only four stars is because some of Asimov's later books in the same series, written later in his career (Naked Sun, Robots of Dawn) get even better. However, this is where you need to begin--don't jump ahead. This is a thought-provoking and entertaining read in its own right. Asimov combines the mystery genre and many of his futurist ideas together in this series. You'll enter a world where people live underground because there isn't enough living space, and where many people have grown resentful of robots that are taking over jobs that humans once held. Not only do you get to experience a great mystery-adventure, but you're also exploring the social consequences of near-human robots and the continued urbanization of the Earth. Daneel Olivaw, the robot partner to detective Elijah Baley, is one of the most memorable characters in the field of speculative fiction. This is the best place to start reading Asimov. If you enjoy this, you will absolutely love the sequels. After reading the Robots books, try the Foundation series, which starts slower but gets very good--and ultimately rewards readers of the Robot books by tieing it all together.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Foundation
Review: This is, believe it or not better than the Foundation series. It is a much higher quality of writing and a more interesting story. For any real Asimov fans who understand that everything Asimov wrote is connected--this is where the foundation really begins...as an idea in the mind of a robot in the caves of steel.
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