Isaac Asimov, "Steel Caves": description, summary and reviews

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The life of the writer Isaac Asimov was calm, he did not experience strong shocks. Isaac himself believed that his works did not cause a sensation. Yes, because of his books there were no revolutions, they acted differently. Readers who got acquainted with the writer's work noted that the books dragged them in and stunned them. Isaac's unbridled fantasy allowed him to create believable worlds, and a light style explained even difficult scientific terms to readers.

The early years of the writer

Isaac Asimov was born in 1920 in Russia in the Smolensk region, in the village of Petrovichi. He celebrated his birthday on January 2nd. After 3 years, the family emigrated to the United States. They settled in Brooklyn, one of the districts of New York. After 5 years, the family received citizenship. Also, the father of the future writer opened his own confectionery shop.

Isaac taught himself to read while still a preschooler. He had a photographic memory, was quick-witted and very intelligent.

Becoming a writer

Isaac helped his father in the store from an early age. There he spent 16 hours a day. On the shelves of the store, not only confectionery products were sold, but also magazines, in which there were many fantastic stories. Isaac read them avidly. At the age of 11 he composed his ownstory and wrote it down so that I could reread it later.

When the future writer turned 16, his father gave him his first typewriter. At the age of 18, Isaac went to the editorial office of a New York magazine with his first story, but was rejected. After 5 months, he again tried his luck with another story - "Captured by Vesta." It was published on October 21, 1938, paying the young talent $64 for 6,400 words of history.

After school, Isaac entered the Faculty of Zoology, but soon switched to Chemistry. Already in 1941 he became a master in chemistry, and in 1948 - a doctor in biochemistry. Asimov worked for more than ten years at the Boston University School of Medicine. During this time, he continued to work on his own novels. In 1958, he decided that he would only be a writer, since the fees by that time brought him more profit than his salary.

Steel caves

During his life, Isaac Asimov wrote more than 300 works of various genres. But he is best known for his fantasy novels. One of these works was a novel called "Steel Caves". Isaac Asimov at that time decided to experiment and create a work that would combine science fiction and a detective story.

The Caves of Steel novel was the first in a whole cycle of works dedicated to a detective named Elijah Bailey. In the future, the author wrote several more novels that became a continuation of this storyline.

Azimov, "Steel Caves"

Summary of the novel. A peaceful delegation from another planet has arrived on Earth. These aliens are called Spacers. Humanity itself lives in huge ant-cities suffering from total overpopulation. The former colonies are very aggressive towards the Earth, so the arrival of a peaceful delegation of astronites is what the planet, suffocating from overpopulation and many problems, needs.

But after a while, one of these aliens is killed. The Earth government understands that the case may acquire undesirable consequences, possibly the development of an interplanetary scandal. For humanity, this situation will be catastrophic. The decision of this issue is entrusted to a New York class C-5 detective named Elijah Bailey. He is identified as a partner by a strange spacer, whose name is R. Daniel Olivo. Soon, Elijah begins to suspect that things are not so simple with his partner. He later learns that the "R" in his partner's name means that he is a robot.

Readers see power in the work

The novel "Steel Caves" causes an ambiguous reaction from readers. Most fall in love with the world created by the author, empathize with the main character. But there are those who did not like the work at all.

Some of the readers saw the dark future of our planet in the novel. People are forced to live underground, found themselves in a dead end of their development. But even among them are born those who are ready to believe in the best, strive for the sublime. Readers saw in the novelsuffocating planet, and it made a strong impression on them.

Asimov wrote "Steel Caves" at a time when humanity began to conquer outer space. The author in many of his novels embodied the desire to leave Mother Earth, fly away towards the new, to the stars and planets. But now the government is devoting less and less time to space exploration. In light of this, the novel becomes more and more acute, urgent, necessary, acquires prophetic power.

The work itself resembles a robot

Some readers have a rather negative attitude towards the novel "Steel Caverns". The summary of the book at first delights. In the process of reading, they see an overpopulated planet in which people live by certain rules. Yes, the inhabitants of that Earth are all right, they are accustomed to such conditions, everything suits them. But the cosmonites look perfect against their background. Robots, on the other hand, deprive ordinary people of the opportunity to earn money for their existence. As in our times, cheap labor is valued more highly by employers.

One of the main shortcomings of the novel, some readers consider the protagonist himself. They just don't see him as a detective. He is anyone: a narrator, a philosopher - but not who he is in the story. Readers note that there are too many monologues in the work and almost no emotions. Some compare the plot with a robot, the main characters of the book seem to be not needed at all. Their enemies also do not cause delight, rather, pity forthemselves, they are helpless and often do ridiculous things.

In conclusion

Isaac Asimov's novel Caves of Steel is one of the stories in the Founding series. This work opens before each reader a new, distant world, full of its own secrets and questions. Someone sees in it only a pitiful caricature of the current state of things, while others discover an amazing planet, the confrontation between humanity and astronites, as well as many moments that you want to experience with the heroes again and again. In any case, the novel "Steel Caves" is a cult work of a talented author that will not leave anyone indifferent.