Intended Audience: AdultSexual content: MildAce/Genderqueer characters: Yes (robots)Rating: PGWriting style: 3/5Likable characters: 3/5Plot/Concepts: 4/5Caliban (Robot CBN-001) came into consciousness standing above the motionless body of his creator, with no knowledge of why. Things are already tense on the planet Inferno, where Spacer and Settler have formed an uneasy truce in order to save the planet from environmental disaster. The last thing anyone wants to deal with is a robot who might be capable of murder, and it doesn’t take Caliban long to find out just how unwelcome his existence really is.As the first in a trilogy written in Asimov’s universe, Caliban delivers the most important things a fan of Asimov’s robot stories would be looking for. First of all, Allen “gets” Asimovian robots—he understands the limits, strengths, and weaknesses of the Three Laws of Robotics, and never crosses the line into misinterpreting them as so many adaptations seem to do. Instead of corrupting Asimov’s laws, he finds ways to introduce new types of robotic problems which feel firmly at home in the context of Asimov’s original universe. The Spacer-Settler antagonism of the original series is preserved despite the fact that on Inferno both must work together to save the planet. In some ways things are inverted from the situation in the Caves of Steel—for instance, instead of Spacetown we have Settlertown. The Settlers have come to try and save the Spacers rather than the Spacers coming in half-feigned benevolence to the people of Earth. But as always, the ways in which robots affect human progress are integral to the plot. Allen’s writing style is similar to Asimov’s in some respects. He is not afraid of dumping paragraphs of information on the reader while the central character is engaged in some activity which allows his or her mind to wander. In some genres this would make for extremely dull and frustrating reading. I will admit at times it goes beyond necessary exploration and ends up becoming repetitive, sometimes stating the same thing in multiple ways. But for this sort of book, knowing the psychology of each character is extremely important. More than murder or escape or riots, these books revolve around trying to unravel why people and robots do the things that they do, and how what they do reflects who they might really be. The excitement is primarily intellectual. Much like Elijah Bailey, the main character Sheriff Alvar Kresh has to understand human beings in order to do any sort of detective work. We are taken along for the entire messy process of untangling the who, why, and how of the attempted-murder mystery.I have done my share of feeling frustrated with Allen’s long-windedness, but if the ending can bring me close to tears, he must be doing something right. His robot characters are very strong, each one as individual as Asimov ever made his, perhaps more so. It is difficult to strike the needed balance between giving a robot a noticeable personality and still sticking to the robotic element or “feel”, but Allen succeeds, making each robot memorable and distinct. Caliban is of course the easiest to connect with, being the main character and in some ways more human than most of the other robots. But Donald—Kresh’s personal robotic assistant in the pursuit of justice—also has a very strong personality due to being programmed for police work, and there are at least two other robots who are given short but important roles in the story. As for the humans, Kresh is very Lije-like as he plays his role of the overworked cop trying to keep the city of Hades from going, well… to Hades. He’s not exactly the same, and I don’t think Allen intended to copy Elijah’s character so much as give a nod to the original stories which inspired his work. The other main human characters don’t stand out as much in this first installment, although they weren’t bad, and there were two notable female characters: Fredda Leving (Caliban’s creator) and Tonya Welton (leader of Settlertown). Fredda definitely comes off as the stronger character. She seems better-rounded in her motives and desires, while Tonya has many elements of a good character but they fail to come together in a way which feels real. In context of the mystery, she seems motivated primarily by relationships with the males in her life despite putting on a show of being independent and powerful. She could have been more complex, and the romantic subplot could still have been preserved and perhaps even added to that complexity, but as it is I never really connected with her character like I did with Kresh and Fredda. Still, her presence in the story is good for representation as a powerful woman of color who is about average in the motives that drive her. I also appreciated the presence of an important “female” robot who was not sexualized in any way (and the only feminine thing about her was her name).Finally, the plot had all the complexity a mystery should. The best thing is that Kresh and Caliban, as the two main characters, are both in the dark about what is really going on, and both are in a race to find the truth even while getting in each other’s way—Caliban by inadvertently creating panic over a rogue robot, and Kresh by having to try and calm that panic in the midst of a delicate political situation. Neither are enemies except in a circumstantial sense, although Kresh certainly is uncomfortable with the mere idea of Caliban and all his existence means for the future of Inferno. There is no absolute good or evil here, which leaves ample room for realistic philosophizing over many relevant aspects of society. And, Kresh is convincingly human in his inability to jump to the right conclusion for most of the book, being led down false trails and dead-end streets more often than not, despite assistance from Donald who is in nearly every sense Kresh’s equal in detective work.I had read this trilogy before but I had completely forgotten who the perpetrator actually was! Therefore I was able to re-experience nearly all the speculation and confusion I had the first time around, and had no idea who was guilty until the big reveal. And, even better, the big reveal was not only surprising in an intellectual sense, but it felt like a true climax in an emotional sense, as everything, all the questions—all the characters’ private hopes and fears—came to a head. The slow build up was well worth it, and the ending leaves just enough questions open to make the perfect hook for the next book. No frustrating cliffhanger, just a burning curiosity for what happens to the characters (and the planet) next.For anyone who loves Asimov’s robot stories and wants more robot characters to love, I highly recommend Caliban! Once you’re done, I’m sure you’ll want to join me in reading the sequel, Inferno.
Okay, okay, I know Asimov's considered this huge name in science fiction and this book really did stay true to Asimov's original concept. Now let me clarify why I only gave this book three stars. The plot is very good, easily four stars. The futuristic world where robots are so commonplace that they are taken for granted is realistically based in science - the very essence of great science fiction. However, I didn't find the characters to be very well-rounded or sympathetic. Maybe it's me, but I didn't really care one way or another about any of the characters. I liked the robot Caliban, but not enough to read this book at one sitting like some others I've read. I was able to put the book down without much effort and didn't feel the urgency to return to find out what happened to anyone. I would've only given the characters two stars. So, there's my three star rating. I averaged the plot and the characters to reach a decent story that was worth reading but not one I'd be excited to tell all of my friends to read. A good read but nothing inspiring or emotional.
What do You think about Isaac Asimov's Caliban (1997)?
Caliban, Inferno, and Utopia are a trilogy written in a universe that Isac Asimov created. They are Sci Fi Mysteries. Yes, the names are from Shakespeare. They are also sanctioned by Asimov himself, a few years before his death.Caliban is a robot without the three laws of robotics. An impossible crime is committed and Caliban is a suspect. The writing is very good and it fits nicely with Asimov's Sci Fi Robot Mysteries.Caliban is the best of the three, but the others are very good also. The last one ends a bit weak, which is too bad, being the last of the trilogy.
—Jim
Well... it's okay. Love his Robot characters as I do Asimov's. You can tell he's really dedicated to Asimov's world and style. Maybe I'm biased but I thought his writing was just not as good as Asimov's, though similar. I might be imagining this though... and I mean stylistically. I feel like a lot of descriptions were really repetitive and dragged on and on. There are also the dramatic one line paragraphs at the end of sections which always annoy me, and starting every section with "FIRST NAME LAST NAME was blahblahblah" when we are well aware of so and so already. The characters were a little flat but that is something Asimov suffered from as well so it's not particularly distracting. Worth a read if you like Asimov's robot stuff. But as always, I wish there was much, much more focus on the robot characters instead of the boring human ones.
—Cal
I finally got around to reading this series, and, well, I can understand why several times I started to read, put the book away, and never came back. The three novels tell the story of how the planet Inferno is saved from its original, faulty terra-forming. Along the way new robots, with a modified set of 'Asimov' laws are created. The story is competently written, but that is all. No spark of creativity, the characters are listless, going through the motions. The robots perhaps show more character than the humans? Or is that saying too much?Ok, to read once, just to see what it is all about, but not on my 'must re-read list'.
—Ian
