Friday, July 18, 2014

The Caves of Steel, by Isaac Asimov

Classic sci-fi doesn't get more classic that Isaac Asimov, and Asimov classics don't get more classic that his Robot trilogy. I recently listened to the audio version of The Caves of Steel, book 1 of Asimov's Robot Series.  I had read it years ago, and was not disappointed in the audio update.

On one level, this is a simple detective story.  New York detective Elijah Baley is teamed up with a new partner, R. Daneel Olivaw, to solve the murder of a robotocist.  The twist: Daneel is a robot himself!  As Elijah and Daneel track down leads and learn to work together, Asimov builds a future world that is both imaginative and prophetic. 

This audio version is great.  It's a straight, single-actor reading, not a dramatization, but William Dufris pulls off the narration perfectly.  His voicing of Daneel brought to mind Star Trek's Data, which is appropriate, as Data is clearly modeled after Asimov's vision of a robotic future.

If you've never read Asimov, this is a great place to start.  If you have, he's always worth returning to!


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