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The Caves of Steel cover The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov

Published by Bantam Spectra

Reviewed by Leigh Kimmel

Humanity is divided. On some fifty colony worlds the Spacers live luxurious extended spans with the aid of robots. On Earth the teeming masses jam the enormous Cities, self-contained environments where everything is carefully structured.

Spacers despise Earthlings as backward and disease-ridden. In return, Earthlings hate the Spacers as arrogant tyrants who enjoy lording it over the world that gave their ancestors birth.

Now a Spacer is dead, the victim of a brutal murder, on the edge of one of Earth's great Cities. The ultimatum is clear and simple -- find the murderer or Earth's bilions die.

Detective Lije Bailey is given this seemingly impossible task. Worse yet, he is given a robot as his partner. A Spacer-built robot, designed to be all but indistinguishable from humans.

If Lije fails, all humanity may pay the price. But if he succeeds, he may well pay a more personal price.

buy the book Click to buy The Caves of Steel in mass market paperback.

This review posted October 18, 2000

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