Robot Trilogy: The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, The Robots of Dawn [Paperback]

Isaac Asimov (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 684 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; 1st Ballantine Books trade ed edition (August 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345331192
• ISBN-13: 978-0345331199
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Asimov's great robot murder-mysteries, October 3, 2005

By 

neoninfusion (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Robot Trilogy: The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, The Robots of Dawn (Paperback)

Isaac Asimov is one of the greatest Science Fiction writer of all time as he brings science to the genre while writing in a very clever and accessable way. Not many SF authors were scientists before they became writers and Asimov clearly knows his science and, more importantly, the level of science the audience knows.

This "Robot Trilogy" is set two thousand years into the future; well after his "I, Robot" short stories which precede it and set up the now-universal Laws of Robotics, and before Asimov's 'Empire' novels. 'The Caves of Steel' (an acronym for the cities of the future) is set on Earth, while 'The Naked Sun' and 'The Robots of Dawn' are set on colonised planets elsewhere in the galaxy. Each story follows the investigations of detective Elijah Baley and his human-looking robot partner (mascarading as a 'Spacer'), Daneel Olivaw, as they solve murder mysteries on each planet.

These stories are well crafted and read like good old-fashioned murder mysteries. The unique aspects of these novels are their off-world settings and robot characters; the robots must obey the three laws of robotics, the first being that a robot cannot harm a human, or through inaction, allow a human to be harmed. But loopholes exist which Asimov explores brilliantly. But what drives these stories is the relationship between Earthmen and Spacers (outer world colonialists). Here, the two are distinctly polar in every way, thus fueling the stereotypical fears between the two groups. For example, Earthmen are considered by 'spacers' as second-class citizens due to their idiosynchratic indoor-only nature and susceptibility to disease, while spacers are considered elitist by Earthmen as they don't allow physical contact. A number of other psychological and social problems are also addressed by Asimov, in particular the "Frankenstein" complex that humans have developed in response to creating robots - other sentient beings. Other themes include community versus the individual, change versus stagnation, and dependance on technology to prolong life.

What is really impressive about Asimov is the fact that he has accomplished what he has without violence. I don't recall in any Asimov novel a gun being fired!

Why buy this book? Each novel can be read individually but are really designed to be read one story after another. So buy this omnibus instead of purchasing three separate books. You will want to read "The Naked Sun" and "The Robots of Dawn" after reading "The Caves of Steel" anyway. Also, read "I, Robot" before venturing into his other novels as Asimov sets up his rules here.

(Asimov began his robot novels with the collection of short stories entitled "I, Robot" which was set in the years 2010 to 2050 roughly and presented for the first time the Three Laws of Robotics. These stories revealed man's distrust of robots which were created to serve man and his occupations, especially in Earth orbit and in the Solar System (the extent of exploration at this point in human history), and importantly, not on Earth.)

4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!, August 31, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Robot Trilogy: The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, The Robots of Dawn (Paperback)

In these books, Asimov puts in views and theories and situations that may arise as well as fit in facts about books set in later eras, such as Foundation. Well written, sound bases. Gives a reader the feeling of "This is how it could be."