Genre: Fiction--Science Fiction
Completed: 23 April 2020
Summary & Review:
Baley and his robotic partner R. Daneel Olivaw are sent to one of the Outer Worlds to investigate another murder. On the planet of Solaria where the murder took place, the residents live in isolated confinement, rarely if ever coming into physical contact with other humans and relying on robots for virtually everything. As Baley tries to wrap his head around the strange culture of the planet, he begins to unravel a plot far more dangerous than a simple murder.
At the end of book one in this series, The Caves of Steel (#497), it seemed as though Baley was ready to leave Earth and explore space and help with continuing human colonization of the outerworld. I assumed that that is where this second book would start and I was a little disappointed when this book found Baley simply investigating another murder. Most of the book would not have been markedly different if the setting was a small town in Iowa rather than a faraway planet as it was essentially a whodunit. Near the end of the book the science fiction angle became more prominent and it ended on a satisfying conclusion. While it wasn’t quite as good as The Caves of Steel, it was still a fun read and I am going to start on the third book soon.
Since the middle of March, we’ve been in a state-mandated “stay-at-home” scenario due to the outbreak of the Wuhan virus. It has been frustrating and surprising to see how many people have docilely accepted this incredible violation of our rights. Others appear to never want to leave their homes and are terrified of human contact. We have been living in government mandated isolation for weeks. With this as my background, it was interesting to read about the culture on the planet of Solaria that Asimov created. The planet is large but is home to only 20,000 people with population growth strictly controlled to retain hemeostasis. Each Solarian lives in a massive compound on large plots of land totally physically isolated from all others. They virtually never experience face-to-face interactions, what they call “seeing,” and instead rely on advanced holographic video chats, what they call “viewing.” The government of the planet instills this anthrophobia on all children as they are raised in a central lab and squashes out the natural instinct to socialize, form friendships, families, etc.
Baley comes to see the damage this type of society does. He notes, “‘The Solarians have given up something mankind has had for a million years; something worth more than atomic power, cities, agriculture, tools, fire, everything; because it’s something that made everything else possible.’ ‘I don’t want to guess, Baley. What is it?’ ‘The tribe, sir. Cooperation between individuals. Solaria has given it up entirely. It is a world of isolated individuals...Without the interplay of human against human, the chief interest in life is gone; most of the intellectual values are gone; most of the reason for living is gone. Viewing is no substitute for seeing.’” Indeed.
Rating: 7.0
No comments:
Post a Comment