Customer Reviews

Isaac Asimov's "Caliban"

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Let me start by saying that I have read all of Asimov's Robot series and enjoyed them tremendously. To me, this book represents a major achievement in the understanding of robots in Asimov's Universe. I completely enjoyed this book from cover to cover, reading it in one night. But the most important part (I think), was how Caliban developed. Never before have we had a look into a robots mind like this, regardless of the Three Laws. The way Allen described the development of the robot was amazing. I hope to see more of his development in Inferno, which I will definitely purchase. In addition, I thank Mr. Allen for leaving Asimov's Universe intact, not changing any of his fundamentals (Except for the Three Laws obviously), and for helping to fill a blank in Asimov's future history between the Spacer and Settler era, and Trantor's rise.

Allen does a wonderful job of expanding on Asimov's universe and upon ideas about robots and the Three Laws. Anyone who liked the Elijah Baley and R.Daneel Olivaw novels by Asimov should enjoy these very much. However it is a Spacer not an Earthman or Settler that is the main character behind the three books in this series. Like Baley he is a lawman and has to solve some interesting cases. The "No Law" Robot Caliban is in the background and is not really the central character, but does play a pivotal role in all three novels. It really gets into the relationship between the Spacer and Settler worlds as one civilization is in decline and the other just blooming. The other thing is that he presents a pretty good mystery into the science fiction realm and does it about a well as Asimov did. This is not an easy task. Allen has got me hooked now. I'll be looking for his other works including his Corellian Trilogy in the Star Wars universe. He definitely has talent.

This was my first time reading a sci fi book..i wasn't really looking forward to it, for fear of high-tech robotic jargon....but did i get proved wrong! i read this book cover to cover in a day, and it was great! i never knew that sci-fi books cover so many other aspects of society like political corruption, moral dilemmas, philosophy, and so much more. it was a great book....it raised an interesting question about if we have robots whose primary goal is to keep humans from being injured..what about pursuing things that could be perilous? since life is about taking chances, in this society it would not be possible to pursue something 'risky' because a robot's natural instinct would be to protect the human being. all it all, it was a great book, that stimulated my mind in all directions...i think i will try out this whole sci-fi deal now!

Superficially, at least, Isaac Asimov's Caliban is like many of the Asimov robot novels: a human investigator working with a robot partner to solve a crime against a political background. The way the story is contructed is somewhat similar, as is the restrained use of language and the "feel". But I found this book far superior to any of Asimov's novels.
A crime is committed at Leving Laboratories on the planet of Inferno. The planet's best roboticist has been assaulted, and unbelievably, the attacker seems to have been - a robot. The Sheriff of Hades, Alvar Kresh, is called in to investigate with his robot assistant, Donald. Meanwhile, the presence of Settlers on the planet, called in to assist with Inferno's failing terraforming, complicates matters . . . and the robot Caliban is awake and on the loose, with only a limited understanding of what is around him.
Allen just writes so well, and so much better than Asimov ever did. His characters, both human and robot, leap out at you as real. Alvar Kresh and Fredda Leving, the roboticist, have genuine depth and engage our sympathies. The setting of Inferno is really brought to life, both its geography and people, and we are thus given something that Asimov never gave us: a solid picture of Spacer society. In Caliban, we have the naive observer, who both drives the action and provides a useful commentary on what he sees around him. That commentary links in to the central issues of the novel: why are things the way they are between humans and robots? Is the status quo harmful to both? Fredda's responses to these questions, the actions they lead her into, and what results from them, are really at the heart of this story.
I always really enjoyed Asimov's classic robot novels, but reading Allen's has shown me how limited they are. With his superior characterisation and writing abilities, and the way he takes fresh ideas about robots to their logical conclusion, Allen gives us a more enjoyable and thought-provoking read than Asimov ever did.

It must be daunting for any writer to pick up the threads of the popular works of a deceased author. Roger MacBride Allen, in CALIBAN, has had the nerve to write what clearly is but the first in a new series of novels set in Asimov's pre-Foundation robot series--and has pulled it off. Allen has used elements of Asimov's style and has improved on it, eliminating much of the static preachiness that so often stilted the Master's canon.
In CALIBAN, Allen writes of a new type of robot, one that is not bound by the iron-clad strictures of the sacred Three Laws. The robot Caliban is accused of murder, and since it is publicized that he is a non-Three Law robot, he is pursued so that he may be disassembled. The plot involves the intricate working out of the details that relate to his supposed guilt. The charm of the novel lies in Allen's ability to plug in the philosophical holes that Asimov left in his Robot series. Why exactly were robots built? What has caused some humans (Spacers) to rely on robots for their very lives and others (Settlers) to hate robots enough to write them out of Settler history books? And finally, what is the future relationship between Spacers, Settlers, and robots? Mr. Allen does a superb job of tying together the disparate threads of Asimov while still managing to weave a gripping tapestry of his own that can stand on its own.

Asimov's robot novels are my favorite novels by any author. Therefore Allen had a tough road ahead of him in my mind when writing additional material for that universe and he succeed completely. I very much enjoyed Caliban. It faithfully followed the "historical" course started in Asimov's books. Something I consider essential when writing in another author's universe. It provided a wonderful example of the Spacer/Settler struggle and how it may have played out through the centuries until the complete decline of the Spacer worlds. It was very interesting to witness a Spacer world in decline, not just culturally but also in the enviromental sense given that the idea of the Spacer worlds degenerating enviromentally was a theme touched on by Asimov in Foundation and Earth. Also, the idea that at least some of the Spacer worlds may have been adbandonned due to enviromental neglect as opposed to the neglect setting in after they had left is thought provoking. The spirit of cooperation represented by the Spacer/Settler union was also a nice theme. It could have only been better if Gladia Delmarre had made an appearance as liaison between Inferno and the Settlers but you can't have everything now that the Master himself has gone. I highly recommend this book.

Roger MacBride Allen has written a novel that could perhaps only be equaled by the Grandmaster of Science-fiction the late, Isaac Asimov. This novel is based on the three laws of Robotics, that previous readers of Asimov's robot novels, should be quite familiar with. In the beginning, of the novel, Allen makes Caliban,the main character of the book and a no-law robot appear like a Frankenstein-type character, however, as the book progresses you learn that Caliban is, in fact, more human than any other robot in the Asimov universe. Due to the absence of the three laws Caliban is blessed with something no Asimov robot ever had before, his own free-will

Caliban is a fresh look on well known Three Laws. There were hints in Robot Series (The Naked Sun, The Robots Of Dawn), that the Laws aren't perfect. But only this book showed the main errors, and the price Spacers must pay is terrible... This book is great addition to Dr.Asimov's robots (even through it's a sad one). I suggest also re-read the whole Robot Series after reading that book.

This is a murder mystery, as Many of Assimov's books were, but this takes on important new levels. An in depth look at the famous 3 laws from the perspective of what it does to the society attitudes and pyschology. It talks about change, risk and spends time focusing on what some of the robots think, especially the radical new robot Caliban. It speculates on what what slave owners might have thought about the propoerty that dearly depended on, and reminds us that what we do everyday can matter, at least to ourselves. The ending of the mystery was a little to convienient, that is why only 4 stars.

I've read all of Isaac Asimov's robot novels and they all have their good points, but they also suffer from the same formulaic plots and the same stock characters. Not so with this first in a series novel. Allen takes Asimov's laws of robotics to a new level. The characters are more interesting and the plot is engaging. This is an excellent extension of Asimov's formula. A better story that is still respectful to its source material.