tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984067990467963645.post1105020265671980761..comments2024-03-21T22:22:59.425-07:00Comments on Vintage Pop Fictions: Isaac Asimov’s The Caves of Steeldfordoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984067990467963645.post-75596561482071354282019-01-12T22:48:40.918-08:002019-01-12T22:48:40.918-08:00I have not read a lot of Asimov, science fiction o...<em>I have not read a lot of Asimov, science fiction or mystery, but what I have read has been enjoyable.</em><br /><br />I've also read very little of his work. I'm starting to wonder if I've unfairly neglected him.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984067990467963645.post-71347874443135652019-01-12T21:17:35.645-08:002019-01-12T21:17:35.645-08:00I read this book several years ago and then The Na...I read this book several years ago and then The Naked Sun. I liked both of them a lot. Late in 2018 I found a copy of #3 in the series, The Robots of Dawn, at a book sale, and will be reading that sometime this year. I have not read a lot of Asimov, science fiction or mystery, but what I have read has been enjoyable.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984067990467963645.post-76259424516193022322019-01-11T15:52:25.714-08:002019-01-11T15:52:25.714-08:00You're right about THE CAVES OF STEEL being a ...You're right about THE CAVES OF STEEL being a dystopian novel, but until now I never thought about calling it that. Asimov beat that overpopulation drum until the day he died, so it makes sense he'd postulate an overcrowded Earth as a threat to human-ity. In THE NAKED SUN, as you'll see, he completely flips that idea on its head with an UNDERpopulated planet on which murder shouldn't be possible. The method isn't new, but the perpetrators are.Mike Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984067990467963645.post-36356038937049416612019-01-11T14:57:59.518-08:002019-01-11T14:57:59.518-08:00The Naked Sun and Inherit the Stars are both on my...<em>The Naked Sun</em> and <em>Inherit the Stars</em> are both on my shopping list.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984067990467963645.post-87932250254154750312019-01-11T07:10:27.316-08:002019-01-11T07:10:27.316-08:00I knew you would like this one and agree with pret...I knew you would like this one and agree with pretty much everything you said about the book. I'm not a science-fiction readers myself and was mostly interested in the plot, but you have a point about <i>Caves of Steel</i> being a subtle dystopian novel when it comes to its depiction of society and culture. Or lack thereof. Hopefully, Asimov was wrong about that as well! <br /><br />Anyway, you might also like the sequel, <i>The Naked Sun</i>, which takes place on one of the Settler worlds and deals with a society that has withdrawn from social interactions in favor of a solitary, hermit-like existence – only communicating with each other through computers. Asimov uses this situation to create a quasi-impossible murder scenario almost as good as the one from <i>Caves of Steel</i>. After this, the books in the series become more science-fiction than mystery novels. <br /><br />I would also love your take on James Hogan's <i>Inherit the Stars</i>. A pure science-fiction novel that worked surprisingly well as a detective story with a smasher of a reveal. That's why we have culturally appropriated it from SF genre. It's ours now! :) TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.com