It was more interesting reading this novel after a biography of Asimov. He has given some of his personal characteristics to his main character, Elijah Baley. It's no accident that The Caves of Steel is set in a future New York, the city where Asimov grew up. Baley is very much a city man and he likes the windowless coziness of the enormous cities of this future earth. Asimov wasn't a traveler—he hated flying and he didn't move far afield from the cities that he felt comfortable in. He also like smaller, windowless spaces to write in. He may have been able to identify with his future New Yorkers who can't fathom being willing to go outside.
Asimov portrays a pretty dismal future, with Earth's surface essentially covered by enormous cities, people living in barracks-like accommodations, and most people eating yeast derivatives for most meals. (It is very reminiscent of the planet of Trantor in his Foundation series). Humanity needs to spread itself to other planets, but how do you do that if your population is agoraphobic?
Perhaps Asimov was thinking about the courage it took his Russian family to pull up stakes and move to the United States. I am continually amazed by the bravery of those who left behind everything they knew and moved to another continent, my grandparents among them. Moving to another planet would require adventurousness of another order of magnitude.
Asimov also uses the situation between Earth citizens, Spacers, and robots to explore the nature of prejudice and discrimination. He felt the bite of anti-Semitism during his life, despite not being an observant Jew. He makes the Earther objections to robots look as unreasonable as our xenophobic attitudes today.
I know I loved these books as a teen, but now as an older adult I am not so enamoured. However I recognize this author's significance to the science fiction genre and the place of these books in the history of Iain M. Banks' Culture series and Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries. Some of my current favourites.
Asimov portrays a pretty dismal future, with Earth's surface essentially covered by enormous cities, people living in barracks-like accommodations, and most people eating yeast derivatives for most meals. (It is very reminiscent of the planet of Trantor in his Foundation series). Humanity needs to spread itself to other planets, but how do you do that if your population is agoraphobic?
Perhaps Asimov was thinking about the courage it took his Russian family to pull up stakes and move to the United States. I am continually amazed by the bravery of those who left behind everything they knew and moved to another continent, my grandparents among them. Moving to another planet would require adventurousness of another order of magnitude.
Asimov also uses the situation between Earth citizens, Spacers, and robots to explore the nature of prejudice and discrimination. He felt the bite of anti-Semitism during his life, despite not being an observant Jew. He makes the Earther objections to robots look as unreasonable as our xenophobic attitudes today.
I know I loved these books as a teen, but now as an older adult I am not so enamoured. However I recognize this author's significance to the science fiction genre and the place of these books in the history of Iain M. Banks' Culture series and Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries. Some of my current favourites.
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