--- product_id: 86052404 title: "The Caves of Steel: The Robot Series" price: "VT3846" currency: VUV in_stock: false reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/86052404-the-caves-of-steel-the-robot-series store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # The Caves of Steel: The Robot Series **Price:** VT3846 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Caves of Steel: The Robot Series - **How much does it cost?** VT3846 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/86052404-the-caves-of-steel-the-robot-series) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The Caves of Steel: The Robot Series - Kindle edition by Asimov, Isaac. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Caves of Steel: The Robot Series. Review: Interesting, well-written, thought-provoking - I loved this book. It offered a look at an alternate future where overpopulation has fractured man into two camps. Earthlings never trusted their robot creations, preferring to keep them hidden or out of sight. Spacers embraced robots and looked to them for security and performing all the small tasks to which we're accustomed. The result is that people on Earth have lived in climate-controlled covered cities that sprawl not only above ground but below, and lived there so long that the act of being outside and exposed to nature brings forth anxiety attacks. Earthlings feel safe when they know there's people and walls all around them. Spacers, on the other hand, have taken over 50 other worlds and place more emphasis on privacy and independence, with the unacknowledged exception being their dependence on robots to watch over and protect them. The world-building in this series of novels is very deep and detailed. All citizens of Earth are given the necessities to live, but only just enough. You get basic food, a place to sleep, and a little bit of access to recreational services. Everyone is classified according to their jobs and contributions, and the higher a classification you have, the more you are entitled to. Higher classifications get better and bigger apartments and a wider selection of food. And with food being served in cavernous cafeterias, sometimes one even gets to occasionally prepare their own meals in their own kitchens, if their rating is high enough. Bathrooms are rarely in the apartments assigned to citizens, and instead are large and sprawling communal areas where different societal norms have taken hold. Women tend to chat and socialize extensively in their "Personals", while men, in an attempt to afford each other privacy, have developed a deep aversion to acknowledging in any way other residents (never look at someone, and never ever speak inside a Personal). The difference between the two sexes almost seems a bit sexist, but in reality just reflects some of the views towards the sexes that exist even to this day. Later books in the series where life is shown on Spacer worlds shatter these conventions and seem foreign to our protagonist. All in all, it's a fascinating background in which the story unfolds. And the story is a simple murder mystery. Elijah Baley is a detective in NYC's police department. NYC, incidentally, has grown over the centuries, and grown so large that cities like Trenton, NJ are considered boroughs and are part of the enclosed city-structure. There is a settlement of Spacers called Spacertown outside of NYC, and a prominent roboticist has been murdered. This creates a bit of a political crisis. Spacers have advanced their technology and can enforce their will upon Earth and Earthlings, who have been content to just live in their covered cities. Spacers tend to strongly dislike Earth, and there is a very real and substantial fear that Spacers may take control of Earth. Having one of their prominent citizens murdered will only enhance this, and it's up to Detective Baley to resolve this murder. He is assigned a partner in the form of R. Daneel Olivaw, a humaniform robot (one so lifelike it's hard to tell apart from a human). Daneel is one of only two robots in existence who are like this. Baley must get over his inherent dislike of robots that all Earthlings feel and work with Daneel to find the murderer and quell the rising unease between Earth and the Spacers. Isaac Asimov is not exactly a poet with his writing, but he's very effective and clear and professional, and his world-building is superb. His attention to details draws the reader in and makes for a very effective mystery. Like all good sci-fi writers, he doesn't lose sight of the story during the process of introducing the reader to the science. By the time the story is resolved, the reader does enjoy Baley and Daneel, and has the pleasure of looking forward to reading more about them in the two follow-up stories, "The Naked Sun" and "The Robots of Dawn". Those two take place on two different Spacer worlds, and in some wonderful writing, the differences in those worlds is as dramatic as the difference is between the futuristic Earth of "The Caves of Steel" and our own present Earth. If you enjoy science-fiction that introduces new advanced concepts and worlds and ideas, but still enjoy being not so far removed from our own world that everything is unfamiliar, this is a wonderful story in which to indulge. Review: Fascinating concept. I need to read more Asimov - “There were some eight hundred Cities on Earth, average population, ten million. Each city became a semiautonomous unit, economically all but self-sufficient. It could root itself in, gird itself about, burrow itself under. It became a steel cave, a tremendous, self-contained cave of steel and concrete.” This was my first go and foray into the world of Isaac Asimov, which is a pity because I have been missing out for years. Asimov’s The Caves of Steel is one of the novels in his Robot Series, and the novel’s title is sort of a metaphor to describe the basic structure of these “mega” cities with vast populations. I think most notable about the novel is the way Asimov can visualize, create, and set up with society and world, with the humans, robots, and Spacers. Likewise, the novel sprinkles in various thinking points and philosophical questions that make for a thought-provoking read. Interestingly, the novel is set up as both a mystery/crime as well as a science-fiction. The basic premise involves veteran New York City police detective Elijah Bailey being assigned the investigation of a suspicious murder of one of the prominent Spacers. As part of the investigation, Bailey teams up with a robot, R. Daneel, to help him search for the suspect and solve the crime. As mentioned earlier, it is interesting to see how the robots and humans coexist with each other and must live in the same society. We see this in Bailey’s natural distrust and dislike of the robots. His skepticism about his robot partner is one of the conflicts we follow, and this is explored more deeply as we move along in the novel. Bailey’s negative attitude about his fellow robots seems to be a microcosm of angst brewing within the general populace. One key scene early on that illustrates this is a near riot at a store that Bailey and Daneel get called to investigate. Human resentment over robots taking jobs in the work industry is one such factor in this friction. And, while the mystery itself might be pedestrian (that is, until the final few chapters where the book seems to hit another gear), all is forgivable because the book is such an engaging and compelling read in various other ways. The idea and set up of society that Asimov projects is quite fascinating and imaginative. He spends quite a bit of time giving background and context to how things work and the basic history of where we are. One point illustrating this is when Bailey must cross lines and had into Spacetown with Daneel as part of his investigation. Bailey’s point of view and perspective sheds light on how things operate in Spacetown. I thought both the science fiction and mystery elements were fused together nicely and worked in tandem with each other. The momentum really picks up in the final chapters as we head towards the conclusion. I also thought it was effective how Asimov does enough to give the book a sense of closure, yet also keeps the door open by setting up the next installment in the series. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #15,620 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) #8 in Classic Science Fiction eBooks #62 in Hard Science Fiction (Kindle Store) #68 in Hard Science Fiction (Books) | ## Images ![The Caves of Steel: The Robot Series - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81uaspgtpnL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Interesting, well-written, thought-provoking *by R***I on August 27, 2019* I loved this book. It offered a look at an alternate future where overpopulation has fractured man into two camps. Earthlings never trusted their robot creations, preferring to keep them hidden or out of sight. Spacers embraced robots and looked to them for security and performing all the small tasks to which we're accustomed. The result is that people on Earth have lived in climate-controlled covered cities that sprawl not only above ground but below, and lived there so long that the act of being outside and exposed to nature brings forth anxiety attacks. Earthlings feel safe when they know there's people and walls all around them. Spacers, on the other hand, have taken over 50 other worlds and place more emphasis on privacy and independence, with the unacknowledged exception being their dependence on robots to watch over and protect them. The world-building in this series of novels is very deep and detailed. All citizens of Earth are given the necessities to live, but only just enough. You get basic food, a place to sleep, and a little bit of access to recreational services. Everyone is classified according to their jobs and contributions, and the higher a classification you have, the more you are entitled to. Higher classifications get better and bigger apartments and a wider selection of food. And with food being served in cavernous cafeterias, sometimes one even gets to occasionally prepare their own meals in their own kitchens, if their rating is high enough. Bathrooms are rarely in the apartments assigned to citizens, and instead are large and sprawling communal areas where different societal norms have taken hold. Women tend to chat and socialize extensively in their "Personals", while men, in an attempt to afford each other privacy, have developed a deep aversion to acknowledging in any way other residents (never look at someone, and never ever speak inside a Personal). The difference between the two sexes almost seems a bit sexist, but in reality just reflects some of the views towards the sexes that exist even to this day. Later books in the series where life is shown on Spacer worlds shatter these conventions and seem foreign to our protagonist. All in all, it's a fascinating background in which the story unfolds. And the story is a simple murder mystery. Elijah Baley is a detective in NYC's police department. NYC, incidentally, has grown over the centuries, and grown so large that cities like Trenton, NJ are considered boroughs and are part of the enclosed city-structure. There is a settlement of Spacers called Spacertown outside of NYC, and a prominent roboticist has been murdered. This creates a bit of a political crisis. Spacers have advanced their technology and can enforce their will upon Earth and Earthlings, who have been content to just live in their covered cities. Spacers tend to strongly dislike Earth, and there is a very real and substantial fear that Spacers may take control of Earth. Having one of their prominent citizens murdered will only enhance this, and it's up to Detective Baley to resolve this murder. He is assigned a partner in the form of R. Daneel Olivaw, a humaniform robot (one so lifelike it's hard to tell apart from a human). Daneel is one of only two robots in existence who are like this. Baley must get over his inherent dislike of robots that all Earthlings feel and work with Daneel to find the murderer and quell the rising unease between Earth and the Spacers. Isaac Asimov is not exactly a poet with his writing, but he's very effective and clear and professional, and his world-building is superb. His attention to details draws the reader in and makes for a very effective mystery. Like all good sci-fi writers, he doesn't lose sight of the story during the process of introducing the reader to the science. By the time the story is resolved, the reader does enjoy Baley and Daneel, and has the pleasure of looking forward to reading more about them in the two follow-up stories, "The Naked Sun" and "The Robots of Dawn". Those two take place on two different Spacer worlds, and in some wonderful writing, the differences in those worlds is as dramatic as the difference is between the futuristic Earth of "The Caves of Steel" and our own present Earth. If you enjoy science-fiction that introduces new advanced concepts and worlds and ideas, but still enjoy being not so far removed from our own world that everything is unfamiliar, this is a wonderful story in which to indulge. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fascinating concept. I need to read more Asimov *by F***9 on August 23, 2021* “There were some eight hundred Cities on Earth, average population, ten million. Each city became a semiautonomous unit, economically all but self-sufficient. It could root itself in, gird itself about, burrow itself under. It became a steel cave, a tremendous, self-contained cave of steel and concrete.” This was my first go and foray into the world of Isaac Asimov, which is a pity because I have been missing out for years. Asimov’s The Caves of Steel is one of the novels in his Robot Series, and the novel’s title is sort of a metaphor to describe the basic structure of these “mega” cities with vast populations. I think most notable about the novel is the way Asimov can visualize, create, and set up with society and world, with the humans, robots, and Spacers. Likewise, the novel sprinkles in various thinking points and philosophical questions that make for a thought-provoking read. Interestingly, the novel is set up as both a mystery/crime as well as a science-fiction. The basic premise involves veteran New York City police detective Elijah Bailey being assigned the investigation of a suspicious murder of one of the prominent Spacers. As part of the investigation, Bailey teams up with a robot, R. Daneel, to help him search for the suspect and solve the crime. As mentioned earlier, it is interesting to see how the robots and humans coexist with each other and must live in the same society. We see this in Bailey’s natural distrust and dislike of the robots. His skepticism about his robot partner is one of the conflicts we follow, and this is explored more deeply as we move along in the novel. Bailey’s negative attitude about his fellow robots seems to be a microcosm of angst brewing within the general populace. One key scene early on that illustrates this is a near riot at a store that Bailey and Daneel get called to investigate. Human resentment over robots taking jobs in the work industry is one such factor in this friction. And, while the mystery itself might be pedestrian (that is, until the final few chapters where the book seems to hit another gear), all is forgivable because the book is such an engaging and compelling read in various other ways. The idea and set up of society that Asimov projects is quite fascinating and imaginative. He spends quite a bit of time giving background and context to how things work and the basic history of where we are. One point illustrating this is when Bailey must cross lines and had into Spacetown with Daneel as part of his investigation. Bailey’s point of view and perspective sheds light on how things operate in Spacetown. I thought both the science fiction and mystery elements were fused together nicely and worked in tandem with each other. The momentum really picks up in the final chapters as we head towards the conclusion. I also thought it was effective how Asimov does enough to give the book a sense of closure, yet also keeps the door open by setting up the next installment in the series. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Must read in this world of AI *by L***E on December 3, 2025* Asimov is a must read in the world of AI we are living in. The parallels between his robots and the AI of today are in the very least interesting. Plus it is fun to read such a classic again. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/86052404-the-caves-of-steel-the-robot-series](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/86052404-the-caves-of-steel-the-robot-series) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-05-17*