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The essence of a truly null-Earth logic may never be as clearly defined as in this novel-length package of interplanetary surprises. Ride The Wormway To No-Wonderland. Consider this marooned astronaut. His spaceship and supplies are swallowed in one gulp by something from beneath the featureless plain of an unknown world. The natives are not hostile but incurious. He fathers a child without ever touching the mother. It's when he does physically create his true offspring that he gets his most startling surprise.
- GenresScience Fiction
160 pages
First published January 1, 1974
1 person is currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
Neal Barrett Jr.
133 books44 followersNeal Barrett, Jr. was a writer of fantasy, science fiction, mystery/suspense, and historical fiction. His story "Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus" was nominated for both the 1988 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and the 1989 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 21, 2020
DAW Collectors #128
Cover Artist: Josh Kirby
l Name: Barrett, Neal Patrick, Jr., Birthplace: San Antonio, Texas, USA, (03 November 1929 - 12 January 2014)
Alternate Name: Victor Appleton
Andrew Gavin is an economics professor who, following a major malfunction of his spaceship, finds himself stranded on an unknown planet.
He is saved from death from thirst and hunger by the chance passing of a humanoid alien named 'Phrecti', who, although indifferent to Gavin, nonetheless directs him to sources of food and water.
Tagging along with the noncommittal Phrecti introduces Gavin to a unique method of travel: inside the digestive tract of an enormous earthworm, as it tunnels its way under the planet’s surface.
Gavin soon encounters other tribes of humanoids, some more welcoming than others, and arrives at some semblance of normalcy in terms of his castaway status.
However, Gavin discovers that life on his planetary refuge simply gets stranger and more inexplicable with each passing day. His humanoid neighbors are utterly devoid of imagination or drive, content to embrace the status quo of their primitive existence.
Unable to succumb to universal apathy, Gavin sets off on a journey, the destination of which is unknown even to him. But travel he must, for until he can gain an explanation of some purpose or meaning to life on his adopted home, he will never rest easily.
I like Mr. Barrett's work. This a good read.
Cover Artist: Josh Kirby
l Name: Barrett, Neal Patrick, Jr., Birthplace: San Antonio, Texas, USA, (03 November 1929 - 12 January 2014)
Alternate Name: Victor Appleton
Andrew Gavin is an economics professor who, following a major malfunction of his spaceship, finds himself stranded on an unknown planet.
He is saved from death from thirst and hunger by the chance passing of a humanoid alien named 'Phrecti', who, although indifferent to Gavin, nonetheless directs him to sources of food and water.
Tagging along with the noncommittal Phrecti introduces Gavin to a unique method of travel: inside the digestive tract of an enormous earthworm, as it tunnels its way under the planet’s surface.
Gavin soon encounters other tribes of humanoids, some more welcoming than others, and arrives at some semblance of normalcy in terms of his castaway status.
However, Gavin discovers that life on his planetary refuge simply gets stranger and more inexplicable with each passing day. His humanoid neighbors are utterly devoid of imagination or drive, content to embrace the status quo of their primitive existence.
Unable to succumb to universal apathy, Gavin sets off on a journey, the destination of which is unknown even to him. But travel he must, for until he can gain an explanation of some purpose or meaning to life on his adopted home, he will never rest easily.
I like Mr. Barrett's work. This a good read.
January 24, 2022
Pretty astonishing and fun read about being marooned on a bizarre world, but there's something very everyman about it all, like what a cynical snarky but curious character would behave like if he were in a John Carteresque situation. Simply took me on a nice little journey into a very surreal and sci-fi like escapism. It's like following a reluctant tourist rather than a hero. In all honesty I think that I'd like more sci fi books like this, Phillip K Dick gets it; in that most of his protaganists are just sorry blokes who take a wrong turn and get fucked up. There's no real heroes journey here, and that's kind of what's great about it. Also the ending is pretty sick.
May 28, 2015
A quick, reasonably well paced story about an economics professor cast-off on a strange planet and forced to find a way to survive. Surreal and dream-like at times, but the plot never goes completely off the rails thanks to the wry humor of the first person narration. The ending is a bit rushed, but isn't entirely unsatisfying.
Any book where the protaginist responds to the mysterious motivations of an alien being by repeatedly flipping him off behind his back gets a thumbs up from me.
Any book where the protaginist responds to the mysterious motivations of an alien being by repeatedly flipping him off behind his back gets a thumbs up from me.
May 1, 2010
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1430202.html
A story of a bloke who crashes on an alien planet where strange creatures live, some of them formed by his own thoughts and desires. (Solaris meets 'A Martian Odyssey' only nothing like as good.) His fantasy woman is created for him and it doesn't work out. Only 160 pages, thank God.
A story of a bloke who crashes on an alien planet where strange creatures live, some of them formed by his own thoughts and desires. (Solaris meets 'A Martian Odyssey' only nothing like as good.) His fantasy woman is created for him and it doesn't work out. Only 160 pages, thank God.
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August 13, 2019Short novel. Not hard SF.
After a starship crisis, an escape pod leaves an economist on an unknown world. It's a mostly desolate planet inhabited by not-so-smart quasi-humanoids with little creativity or curiosity. A few of them give him limited help, which allows him to get the necessities of life. However, they tend not to give him advance warnings of upcoming events.
Females (somehow) shape their baby's attributes based on something glimpsed in a male's mind. As a result, one of the native women produces an egg which soon becomes a woman resembles a student the economist had fantasized about. She looks human on the outside, but has a mind closer to that of the natives. This mix affects her and the relationship between the two. The two of them eventually travel the world until the economist learns what caused this world to be so odd.
After a starship crisis, an escape pod leaves an economist on an unknown world. It's a mostly desolate planet inhabited by not-so-smart quasi-humanoids with little creativity or curiosity. A few of them give him limited help, which allows him to get the necessities of life. However, they tend not to give him advance warnings of upcoming events.
Females (somehow) shape their baby's attributes based on something glimpsed in a male's mind. As a result, one of the native women produces an egg which soon becomes a woman resembles a student the economist had fantasized about. She looks human on the outside, but has a mind closer to that of the natives. This mix affects her and the relationship between the two. The two of them eventually travel the world until the economist learns what caused this world to be so odd.
July 30, 2020
I admit I have a fondness for this sort of tale, a trope I call a Burroughs strip. It's essentially a dream sequence of tableaux, and you can imagine the whole bent back on themselves in a loop, with the end contained within the beginning, the beginning encompassed by the end.
Success at the form requires a vivid, original imagination, a deft prose style, and a commitment to the bit. Barrett is a master of it, and this story is a veritable tour de force.
Obviously, if you don't like this sort of thing, you should probably skip this one, though I feel the story possesses a certain heft that most stories of its ilk do not.
Success at the form requires a vivid, original imagination, a deft prose style, and a commitment to the bit. Barrett is a master of it, and this story is a veritable tour de force.
Obviously, if you don't like this sort of thing, you should probably skip this one, though I feel the story possesses a certain heft that most stories of its ilk do not.
July 24, 2019
The plot has been aptly summarized by others so I won't go over that again. I found it to be an intriguing little tale and quite original in its concept. Written forty-five years ago, it lacks many of the conventions now demanded of the sci-fi genre but I find it (and many other sci-fi novels from the '60s and '70s--think Ursula K. LeGuin and M. A. Foster) refreshing for just that reason. The idea underlying the story I won't give away, but it's an interesting think and worth the short and quirky journey to get there.
November 14, 2015
[review is for the audible version, although most comments will hold for any version]
I read the publisher's summary for this and it sounded bad but a friend promised me it was good and worth the read and I'm glad I took their advice. The summary is not wrong in what the book is about but it makes it sound... awful. And it isn't.
The book opens with Andrew as the only survivor of some sort of interstellar accident. He got to his life pod and his life pod got him to this planet. From there it covers his adventures on the planet as he discovers about the planet and its population, revealing more and more of the planet right up until a nice climax.
The book itself is a slow burn and a bit difficult to go through in the first half. It has no real narrative drive, in that Andrew just ambles about from one thing to the next without any real overarching reason. This to me was possibly the biggest problem with the book and if it wasn't so short I may have been inclined to give it up. but I'm glad I didn't. Andrew doesn't really have a "I want to leave this planet" drive, or have a mission, like John Carter in Princess of Mars does (another "thrown onto a strange world" book that actually does have a narrative drive). he has curiosity that keeps him going, and I guess that is what kept me going. Curious as what the world was like. And also the snarky humour, which I always enjoy.
The world itself is interesting. The aliens are humanoid, but not straight "earth like creatures" that you sometimes see. while reading through the aliens actually had an otherworldly feel to them. While different they reminded me in some ways of the Piggies from Speak For The Dead and in other ways of the alien in Solaris. As more and more is revealed (the first half is a bit of a slog to get through) about the world it gets more and more interesting.
The narration was really good. Each character has distinct voices and characteristics. The story was clear and carried well. The snarky humour was also conveyed well by the narrator.
Overall, thoroughly enjoyable.
I read the publisher's summary for this and it sounded bad but a friend promised me it was good and worth the read and I'm glad I took their advice. The summary is not wrong in what the book is about but it makes it sound... awful. And it isn't.
The book opens with Andrew as the only survivor of some sort of interstellar accident. He got to his life pod and his life pod got him to this planet. From there it covers his adventures on the planet as he discovers about the planet and its population, revealing more and more of the planet right up until a nice climax.
The book itself is a slow burn and a bit difficult to go through in the first half. It has no real narrative drive, in that Andrew just ambles about from one thing to the next without any real overarching reason. This to me was possibly the biggest problem with the book and if it wasn't so short I may have been inclined to give it up. but I'm glad I didn't. Andrew doesn't really have a "I want to leave this planet" drive, or have a mission, like John Carter in Princess of Mars does (another "thrown onto a strange world" book that actually does have a narrative drive). he has curiosity that keeps him going, and I guess that is what kept me going. Curious as what the world was like. And also the snarky humour, which I always enjoy.
The world itself is interesting. The aliens are humanoid, but not straight "earth like creatures" that you sometimes see. while reading through the aliens actually had an otherworldly feel to them. While different they reminded me in some ways of the Piggies from Speak For The Dead and in other ways of the alien in Solaris. As more and more is revealed (the first half is a bit of a slog to get through) about the world it gets more and more interesting.
The narration was really good. Each character has distinct voices and characteristics. The story was clear and carried well. The snarky humour was also conveyed well by the narrator.
Overall, thoroughly enjoyable.
December 31, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook.
As a fellow narrator I'm likely to hear things some audio listeners may not. So, there were a few clicks I picked up which initially made me hesitant. This is only because my ears have become trained for them, however, and I quickly forgot about them as I became more and more absorbed in the story.
Jeff Hay's voices were terrific! They absolutely lent more immersion to the experience and helped create the tapestry of this (seemingly) bland world our protagonist finds himself marooned on.
By the end, I was wanting there to be a sequel but I have learnt that, since the author died some time ago, it isn't likely. The book doesn't NEED a sequel, but I just wanted more of it.
Highly recommended.
As a fellow narrator I'm likely to hear things some audio listeners may not. So, there were a few clicks I picked up which initially made me hesitant. This is only because my ears have become trained for them, however, and I quickly forgot about them as I became more and more absorbed in the story.
Jeff Hay's voices were terrific! They absolutely lent more immersion to the experience and helped create the tapestry of this (seemingly) bland world our protagonist finds himself marooned on.
By the end, I was wanting there to be a sequel but I have learnt that, since the author died some time ago, it isn't likely. The book doesn't NEED a sequel, but I just wanted more of it.
Highly recommended.
December 17, 2021
I read this as a pre-teen a long time ago and remember the story being more interesting than this time around. In fact, reading it as an adult was a huge let down. Awful story. Don’t waste your time.
February 18, 2014
Great exercise in world-building and adventuresome storytelling. Unfortunately, it's heavily marred by a deus ex machina ending.
November 8, 2014
It was a decent read and relatively short. This book has a lot of negative reviews, but I didn't think it was that bad.
August 12, 2015
decent, quick Sci-fi read. well paced, very accessible language, good amount of existential alien trippiness. nothing mind blowing.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews