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Pallahaxi #1
Hello Summer, Goodbye
It was an alien planet - yet not too alien from Earth. It had its differences; its ice goblins, its curious furry lorrin, its thickening water, and its unearthly tides, but for a young man like Alika-Drove thinking of a vacation by the sea these oddities were the norm.But this vacation was different. Rax was coming into the ascendant and Rax, that cold second sun, was the equivalent of evil, of Satan and of Hell. And as its time drew near everything began to get warped and sinister...until for Alika-Drove it would be either the harsh brutal end of his innocence or the end of his world forever.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1975
5 people are currently reading
876 people want to read
About the author
Michael G. Coney
120 books27 followersMichael Greatrex Coney was born in Birmingham, England and educated at King Edward's School.
He started a career as a chartered accountant and went on to become a management Consultant. Then he went into the catering business, managing an inn in south Devon with his wife, Daphne for three years and a hotel in the West Indies for another three. He worked for Financial Services in the B.C. Forest Service for seventeen years before retiring .
He Passed away 4 November 2005. peacefully of Cancer (Mesothelioma). He was married with three children and lived on Vancouver Island.
He started a career as a chartered accountant and went on to become a management Consultant. Then he went into the catering business, managing an inn in south Devon with his wife, Daphne for three years and a hotel in the West Indies for another three. He worked for Financial Services in the B.C. Forest Service for seventeen years before retiring .
He Passed away 4 November 2005. peacefully of Cancer (Mesothelioma). He was married with three children and lived on Vancouver Island.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
May 26, 2016
and off the whole family goes to the seaside village of Pallahaxi! it's vacation time! or is it? the dead planet Rax looms in the sky, drawing nigh.
Coney plays with multiple tones in this elegiac coming of age tale: heartfelt and hopeful for the charming young lovers finding their way; angry and cynical for the increasing understanding that many adults are untrustworthy assholes and the world is full of broken governmental systems; fateful and eerie when hinting at what may come next for this steam age world. multiple tones but they're all mixed up together, just like life.
this is a classic novel of science fiction. the author has a brisk but careful style and his themes are timeless. the characters are real, imperfect and often quite moving. plus they're all aliens!
Coney plays with multiple tones in this elegiac coming of age tale: heartfelt and hopeful for the charming young lovers finding their way; angry and cynical for the increasing understanding that many adults are untrustworthy assholes and the world is full of broken governmental systems; fateful and eerie when hinting at what may come next for this steam age world. multiple tones but they're all mixed up together, just like life.
this is a classic novel of science fiction. the author has a brisk but careful style and his themes are timeless. the characters are real, imperfect and often quite moving. plus they're all aliens!
August 13, 2024
Check out my full, spoiler free, video review HERE. This is a coming of age, love story in a vivid alien world with war and political themes weaved in. The writing is beautiful, and all the aspects listed above are executed extremely well. But what I really enjoyed was the strangeness of the creatures and how the orbital dynamics of the star system both play into the overall story and plot. I don’t want to say any more than that, just do yourself a favor and read this book. The only con to me would be that it can feel a bit YA at times since the book is written in the first-person point of view of an adolescent boy. But stick with it and watch him mature. Now I’ve got to read the sequel “I Remember Pallahaxi”.
August 6, 2025
Rax (should've been a sequel called Arby's?) was also published under (the much better) title Hello Summer, Goodbye. (DAW should have given it a better cover, too... I usually like Josh Kirby's work, but this one didn't fit the novel.) It's an alien story about love and war, but it's mostly a coming-of-age tale, and one of very high quality. It can be seen as a YA but is very subtly thoughtful and moving. The alien race and society are very well designed, and it works as good science fiction, too. Altogether, my favorite of the Coney's I've read.
November 13, 2023
To be honest, I never heard of the author until I read about him in a Best-Ever-SF-List. 'Hello Summer, Goodbye' is considered to be his most succesfull work and after reading the novel, I cannot do otherwise but praise the book. The work is no classic SF and more soft than hard SF, describing a world which is quite similar to our earth, with a stage of development that makes the book - technically speaking - one of the first steampunk novels. The author was also clearly influenced by the cold war, as two nations are warring each other constantly. All this takes place on a world which is fluctuating between long summers and long winters. The plot starts as a summer holiday at the sea, describing a teenage boy who is struggling with his parents and falling in love with a local girl. More and more external factors are influencing the young folks and the inhabitants of the fishing town, and in the end, the summer goes, with bitter implications the reader couldn't think of at the start of the book.
What I liked especially ist the melancholic undertone of the novel. The author takes time to tell the story of summer days at the sea, with the protagonists doing boat trips and discovering the adventures of the coast. The main characters, especially Drove the teenage boy, are described very well and are evolving considerably through the 230 pages of the book. I think if I had read the book in my teenage days, I would habe been impressed even more than now. The only thing which seemed somehow undrealistic for me is that Drove is analyzing his surroundings in a very rational, sophisticated way - but maybe that fact makes him one of the first nerds and gives him the affection of the reader. 'Hello Summer, Goodbye' is a very compact but nevertheless very moving book about the end of youth on a distant but not so far planet, and if you aren't into Hard-SF only, you should definitely give it a try.
** UPDATE ** After re-reading the book, my opinion remains the same: a sad and beautiful coming-of-age novel in an unusual science fiction setting. No summer lasts forever. What struck me even more the second time as somehow incongrous was the adult voice of the first-person author, which doesn't really fit with the adolescent protagonist. I had also forgotten that the book has a rather explicit sex scene, which comes across rather embarrassing, as the choice of words and description sound like an older man and not a young adolescent. So the first-person perspective and the omniscient narrator sometimes get in each other's way. Despite these minor flaws, it's still one of my favorite books.
What I liked especially ist the melancholic undertone of the novel. The author takes time to tell the story of summer days at the sea, with the protagonists doing boat trips and discovering the adventures of the coast. The main characters, especially Drove the teenage boy, are described very well and are evolving considerably through the 230 pages of the book. I think if I had read the book in my teenage days, I would habe been impressed even more than now. The only thing which seemed somehow undrealistic for me is that Drove is analyzing his surroundings in a very rational, sophisticated way - but maybe that fact makes him one of the first nerds and gives him the affection of the reader. 'Hello Summer, Goodbye' is a very compact but nevertheless very moving book about the end of youth on a distant but not so far planet, and if you aren't into Hard-SF only, you should definitely give it a try.
** UPDATE ** After re-reading the book, my opinion remains the same: a sad and beautiful coming-of-age novel in an unusual science fiction setting. No summer lasts forever. What struck me even more the second time as somehow incongrous was the adult voice of the first-person author, which doesn't really fit with the adolescent protagonist. I had also forgotten that the book has a rather explicit sex scene, which comes across rather embarrassing, as the choice of words and description sound like an older man and not a young adolescent. So the first-person perspective and the omniscient narrator sometimes get in each other's way. Despite these minor flaws, it's still one of my favorite books.
June 4, 2020
This short sf/fantasy story is one of those rare treasures that, once read, engraves the memories of a stranger in a tender corner of your heart.
Coney, writing through the eyes and experiences - and within the limited knowledge of the world - of the youthful hero of the story, brings to life the strange world which Alika-Drove (who is not human) calls home. Simultaneously with discovering the world through Drove's observations, the reader is drawn sympathetically into his growing up as he begins to grasp the pressures which drive the decisions of the adults around him, as he falls in love, and as he learns to identify friends and enemies, and those who are somewhere in between. Not to give away too much, a global crisis results in a completely unexpected conclusion. Please don't miss this book!
Coney, writing through the eyes and experiences - and within the limited knowledge of the world - of the youthful hero of the story, brings to life the strange world which Alika-Drove (who is not human) calls home. Simultaneously with discovering the world through Drove's observations, the reader is drawn sympathetically into his growing up as he begins to grasp the pressures which drive the decisions of the adults around him, as he falls in love, and as he learns to identify friends and enemies, and those who are somewhere in between. Not to give away too much, a global crisis results in a completely unexpected conclusion. Please don't miss this book!
November 24, 2023
What started off as a boring coming of age tale grew into a powerful heartrending tale.
It’s hard to review this story without spoilers, but the twist at the last fourth of the book completely changes the entire theme and narrative. The main character, Drove, sees his world rapidly change as the planet’s civil war reaches a fever pitch. That’s all I’ll say there, but it is entirely worth the ride.
Perhaps most striking is the way the world is written. A sense of melancholy follows beautiful nostalgic imagery and atmosphere Coney builds. The world feels fantastic, yet realistically grounded. And the ending hit me like a freight train.
The worst thing is the title and cover DAW gave it. It’s definitely false advertising and doesn’t capture the essence of the novel.
It’s hard to review this story without spoilers, but the twist at the last fourth of the book completely changes the entire theme and narrative. The main character, Drove, sees his world rapidly change as the planet’s civil war reaches a fever pitch. That’s all I’ll say there, but it is entirely worth the ride.
Perhaps most striking is the way the world is written. A sense of melancholy follows beautiful nostalgic imagery and atmosphere Coney builds. The world feels fantastic, yet realistically grounded. And the ending hit me like a freight train.
The worst thing is the title and cover DAW gave it. It’s definitely false advertising and doesn’t capture the essence of the novel.
December 29, 2024
“A story is told for a purpose, and the way it’s told has a purpose too. The truth or otherwise of the story is immaterial. Remember that.”
The above quote arrives early in Hello Summer, Goodbye, also titled Rax in the U.S. Coney is deliberately self-aware here, establishing an expectation not only for us as readers but for himself as a writer. Coney delivers.
This is an exceptional coming-of-age tale tenderly glittered with first romance, slow seaside summers, and all those long afternoons belonging only to the young. Coney’s characters are readily believed and experienced, as they are deliberately relatable to most walks of life.
The story follows an intelligent and thoughtful teenager named Drove. Every summer, Drove and his parents vacation at their ocean cabin in the coastal town of Pallahaxi. Drove’s relationship with his parents will not be unfamiliar to many, as his career-driven father and superficial mother appear to be a constant source of frustration.
“Adults infuriate me, the way they always ramble on about hard times.”
At the forefront of Drove’s thoughts is the memory of a girl named Browneyes. She is the daughter of innkeepers (to the disapproval of his government-employed father), and Drove hopes she will remember him from their brief rendezvous last summer.
Here, you must pick up the novel to experience what befalls Drove and the town of Pallahaxi as the vicissitudes of war threaten to destroy an age of innocence. Coney has such a great sense of humor, a talent for landscape, a loving depiction of women, and a skillfully crafted peripeteia in his storytelling.
I shall not soon forget the gentle, lumbering Lorin, those furry creatures of care coming to bring warmth to the shivering inhabitants of a world growing colder.
Coney leaves the reader not only with a beautiful tale but with a reminder that one’s reality, perceptions, and relationships toward others can be positively reinforced and invigorated by reminding them of their special qualities. Nothing strengthens the soul of another like telling them how beautiful they are.
The above quote arrives early in Hello Summer, Goodbye, also titled Rax in the U.S. Coney is deliberately self-aware here, establishing an expectation not only for us as readers but for himself as a writer. Coney delivers.
This is an exceptional coming-of-age tale tenderly glittered with first romance, slow seaside summers, and all those long afternoons belonging only to the young. Coney’s characters are readily believed and experienced, as they are deliberately relatable to most walks of life.
The story follows an intelligent and thoughtful teenager named Drove. Every summer, Drove and his parents vacation at their ocean cabin in the coastal town of Pallahaxi. Drove’s relationship with his parents will not be unfamiliar to many, as his career-driven father and superficial mother appear to be a constant source of frustration.
“Adults infuriate me, the way they always ramble on about hard times.”
At the forefront of Drove’s thoughts is the memory of a girl named Browneyes. She is the daughter of innkeepers (to the disapproval of his government-employed father), and Drove hopes she will remember him from their brief rendezvous last summer.
Here, you must pick up the novel to experience what befalls Drove and the town of Pallahaxi as the vicissitudes of war threaten to destroy an age of innocence. Coney has such a great sense of humor, a talent for landscape, a loving depiction of women, and a skillfully crafted peripeteia in his storytelling.
I shall not soon forget the gentle, lumbering Lorin, those furry creatures of care coming to bring warmth to the shivering inhabitants of a world growing colder.
Coney leaves the reader not only with a beautiful tale but with a reminder that one’s reality, perceptions, and relationships toward others can be positively reinforced and invigorated by reminding them of their special qualities. Nothing strengthens the soul of another like telling them how beautiful they are.
January 27, 2025
Wow, not what I was expecting. It was really great, had some serious Ray Bradbury, coming of age, darkness on the edge of town vibes. But on another planet. The characters were well written, the kids and their adventures mixed with the ambiguous adult world they’re learning not to trust.
The most interesting aspect of it is that it seems like a late 19th century town where the people are not human but look close enough and share our emotions and motivations, but the story only works as science fiction, the setting isn’t superfluous.
It’s a really great story that deserves more attention.
May 30, 2013
I read this when I was around 17. Made my heart ache then, and it still does just thinking about it. What a story.
December 4, 2025
Lovely. A charmingly haunting book.
December 12, 2023
Auf einem Kolonialplaneten: Drove fährt mit den Eltern in den Sommerurlaub in eine Stadt am Meer. Dass sie sich das leisten können und sogar einen alkoholbetriebenen Wagen haben, liegt dran, dass der Vater ein mittelhoher Beamter in der Regierung ist. Drove freut sich vor allem darauf, das Mädchen Braunauge wiederzusehen. Sie ist die Tochter des Schankwirts, was seinen dünkelhaften Eltern unannehmbar erscheint. Sein Vater muss im Urlaub in der Konservenfabrik arbeiten. Sie ist kriegswichtig.
Eine bittersüße Liebesgeschichte mit überraschenden Wendungen. Athmosphärisch geschildert.
Eine bittersüße Liebesgeschichte mit überraschenden Wendungen. Athmosphärisch geschildert.
January 5, 2010
A lovely fairytale - for those who dream.
June 13, 2025
Absolutely gorgeous. I’ll remember this one for a while.
July 8, 2024
Der Sommer geht
„Der Sommer geht“ ist ein ganz spezieller Entwicklungsroman, … Coming of Age gepaart mit Science-Fiction.
Wobei hier die Elemente der „Science“-Fiction stark im Hintergrund liegen, denn es geht letztlich „nur“ um Menschen, die einen fremden Planeten besiedelt haben, die technisch allerdings nicht so weit entwickelt sind, wie wir heute. Deren Maschinen, Fahrzeuge und Schiffe sind Dampfmaschinen, ebenso deren Waffen.
Im Mittelpunkt steht unser junger Held, der Ich-Erzähler Drove, ein Junge aus der Oberschicht, der mit seinen Eltern seinen Sommer wieder in Pallahaxi verbringen wird. In diesem beschaulichen Städtchen an der Küste wird er sich verlieben, wird in jenem Sommer erwachsener und steht plötzlich im Mittelpunkt eines drohenden Krieges, der für ihn und den Leser einige überraschende Wendungen bringen wird. Das Buch ist für mich wirklich eine Überraschung gewesen und dürfte zu den besten Entwicklungsroman gehören, die ich je gelesen habe.
Der Roman ist schlicht, wunderschön und fast etwas märchenhaft, es steht tatsächlich die Betrachtung des Menschen und die Entwicklung eines Jungen in dieser sonderbaren Welt im Fokus, … es ist ein Buch für das Herz, welches gleichzeitig die Abgründe des Menschen betrachtet. Ich selbst habe die Ausgabe von 1979 vom Heyne Verlag gelesen.
(Eine neuere Übersetzung findet man im jüngeren Heyne-Sammelband „Träume von Pallahaxi“, darin ist dann noch eine Fortsetzung (die wohl ca. 30 Jahre später geschrieben wurde) zu finden, die allerdings deutlich schlechter abschneiden soll und inhaltlich auch nicht wirklich viel mit dem ersten Roman zu tun haben soll.)
Ich bin ernsthaft am überlegen, ob ich diesen tollen Roman in einigen Jahren nochmal lesen möchte. Ein Geheimtipp.
Meine Bewertung des Textes (Minimum 1 Punkt / Maximum 5 Punkte):
➡️ Schreibstil/Sprache: 4 ➡️ Charaktere: 4 ➡️ Geschichte: 5 ➡️ Überraschungen/Wendungen: 4 ➡️ Spannung/Atmosphäre/Lebendigkeit: 5
➡️ Faszination/Magnetische Wirkung: 5
➡️ Gewichtung/Ausgewogenheit: 5
➡️ Anspruch/Tiefe/Botschaft: 4,5
Gesamtbewertung: 4,5 ⭐⭐⭐️⭐️✨
Das gewisse Etwas (+ oder -): +
„Der Sommer geht“ ist ein ganz spezieller Entwicklungsroman, … Coming of Age gepaart mit Science-Fiction.
Wobei hier die Elemente der „Science“-Fiction stark im Hintergrund liegen, denn es geht letztlich „nur“ um Menschen, die einen fremden Planeten besiedelt haben, die technisch allerdings nicht so weit entwickelt sind, wie wir heute. Deren Maschinen, Fahrzeuge und Schiffe sind Dampfmaschinen, ebenso deren Waffen.
Im Mittelpunkt steht unser junger Held, der Ich-Erzähler Drove, ein Junge aus der Oberschicht, der mit seinen Eltern seinen Sommer wieder in Pallahaxi verbringen wird. In diesem beschaulichen Städtchen an der Küste wird er sich verlieben, wird in jenem Sommer erwachsener und steht plötzlich im Mittelpunkt eines drohenden Krieges, der für ihn und den Leser einige überraschende Wendungen bringen wird. Das Buch ist für mich wirklich eine Überraschung gewesen und dürfte zu den besten Entwicklungsroman gehören, die ich je gelesen habe.
Der Roman ist schlicht, wunderschön und fast etwas märchenhaft, es steht tatsächlich die Betrachtung des Menschen und die Entwicklung eines Jungen in dieser sonderbaren Welt im Fokus, … es ist ein Buch für das Herz, welches gleichzeitig die Abgründe des Menschen betrachtet. Ich selbst habe die Ausgabe von 1979 vom Heyne Verlag gelesen.
(Eine neuere Übersetzung findet man im jüngeren Heyne-Sammelband „Träume von Pallahaxi“, darin ist dann noch eine Fortsetzung (die wohl ca. 30 Jahre später geschrieben wurde) zu finden, die allerdings deutlich schlechter abschneiden soll und inhaltlich auch nicht wirklich viel mit dem ersten Roman zu tun haben soll.)
Ich bin ernsthaft am überlegen, ob ich diesen tollen Roman in einigen Jahren nochmal lesen möchte. Ein Geheimtipp.
Meine Bewertung des Textes (Minimum 1 Punkt / Maximum 5 Punkte):
➡️ Schreibstil/Sprache: 4 ➡️ Charaktere: 4 ➡️ Geschichte: 5 ➡️ Überraschungen/Wendungen: 4 ➡️ Spannung/Atmosphäre/Lebendigkeit: 5
➡️ Faszination/Magnetische Wirkung: 5
➡️ Gewichtung/Ausgewogenheit: 5
➡️ Anspruch/Tiefe/Botschaft: 4,5
Gesamtbewertung: 4,5 ⭐⭐⭐️⭐️✨
Das gewisse Etwas (+ oder -): +
May 17, 2016
Despite the author's assertion that this is a war story it seems that war plays very little part in it. It is a teenage boy growing up story, set over a summer holiday. His growing awareness of social class and sexual attractiveness plus conflict with parents, other children and adults form the dynamics of the story. The protagonist is realistically self obsessed, egotistical and socially inept.
The science fiction aspect of the book is a slightly exotic background to the story until near the end when most of it is explained in a couple of bits of exposition, with the remaining piece being left to the readers imagination. Despite there being no humans in the story, the aliens look and behave very much like humans, using familiar technology and having a familiar society. While rationally this seems unrealistic, it make the jobs of writer and reader easier, so that they can both concentrate on the story and the important differences rather than getting bogged down on creating and absorbing a whole alien world.
I thought that the final section seemed rushed and clumsy, as if the author had to bring a story that had been drifting aimlessly along to a sudden and somewhat irrational conclusion.
It is an easy read, with a distinct misogynistic tone -- which I hope represents the teenage protagonist rather than the author.
The science fiction aspect of the book is a slightly exotic background to the story until near the end when most of it is explained in a couple of bits of exposition, with the remaining piece being left to the readers imagination. Despite there being no humans in the story, the aliens look and behave very much like humans, using familiar technology and having a familiar society. While rationally this seems unrealistic, it make the jobs of writer and reader easier, so that they can both concentrate on the story and the important differences rather than getting bogged down on creating and absorbing a whole alien world.
I thought that the final section seemed rushed and clumsy, as if the author had to bring a story that had been drifting aimlessly along to a sudden and somewhat irrational conclusion.
It is an easy read, with a distinct misogynistic tone -- which I hope represents the teenage protagonist rather than the author.
September 5, 2024
3.5 stars I think
The worldbuilding in this is really fascinating, sometimes beautiful, and the plot is compelling adventure stuff. I had trouble with the main character's voice, it took me over 100 pages to find him at all sympathetic. He was very well crafted and plausible! Just tiresome to spend time with. Also this book is weird about teenage girls in a way books written at that time (1990) often are. Overall the stuff I loved was more meaningful than the stuff that irritates me though. Glad I read it.
CN: abusive parenting
The worldbuilding in this is really fascinating, sometimes beautiful, and the plot is compelling adventure stuff. I had trouble with the main character's voice, it took me over 100 pages to find him at all sympathetic. He was very well crafted and plausible! Just tiresome to spend time with. Also this book is weird about teenage girls in a way books written at that time (1990) often are. Overall the stuff I loved was more meaningful than the stuff that irritates me though. Glad I read it.
CN: abusive parenting
January 7, 2021
YA, reading for the most part like an extended teenager's "what I did in my summer holiday" essay with a bit of adventure/romance thrown in. Some actual sci-fi/plot broke out towards the end but too late to significantly boost its rating. If I'd read this when I was 13 in the 1970's I might have given it more than 2 stars.
June 30, 2015
Jedna od onih koji koja me je obeležila.
November 8, 2019
To Rax with all those freezers!
June 4, 2021
I really liked this slightly obscure gem. It creates a vivid world and populates it with some charming characters. The plot is interesting and surprising. Recommend.
April 16, 2022
Alika-Drove, a ruling class teenager, steps into adulthood and blossoming romance in a town that's had enough of the greedy government, while a vague and distant war grows ever closer.
I plucked this one off my shelf randomly, expecting a bit of throwaway pulp, and found it delivering on something I've been looking for: an SF book with no humans. The story takes place on an alien planet populated with an unnamed sentient species. Culturally, they're basically humans. They have ploughs pulled by animals and newspapers and parliaments. They wear jeans and dresses and drink beer and sail ships. The little snatches of description imply a very human appearance, though there's little to go on. They're even referred to as "men." They use steam-based technology and the whole feel of the world gave me vibes similar to older adult animated films like Fantastic Planet.
The big difference is in their physiology; these people go mad if exposed to cold temperatures for too long, giving them an easily employable weakness. The planet also has its own oddities. The ecology is full of water monsters and man-eating plants, and at a certain time of the year the ocean in the seaside town of Pallahaxi, where the story takes place, has heavily evaporated, making it thick and viscous. There's also a lovely, semi-sentient species of empaths called the Lorin that make occasional but important appearances.
I had some initial trouble with how much these people were like humans, but I got over it. I also found the lead to be a bit of a spoiled turd at first, but when you realize his parents are just as unbearable as he thinks they were, he becomes likable. It became a really great story of childhood adventure turning into adult horrors. It grows slowly, quietly, until things start collapsing in the pleasant seaside town, leading to an ending I never could have guessed, with a lot to say about classism, survival, greed, and human nature. It was fantastic and I highly recommend it.
I plucked this one off my shelf randomly, expecting a bit of throwaway pulp, and found it delivering on something I've been looking for: an SF book with no humans. The story takes place on an alien planet populated with an unnamed sentient species. Culturally, they're basically humans. They have ploughs pulled by animals and newspapers and parliaments. They wear jeans and dresses and drink beer and sail ships. The little snatches of description imply a very human appearance, though there's little to go on. They're even referred to as "men." They use steam-based technology and the whole feel of the world gave me vibes similar to older adult animated films like Fantastic Planet.
The big difference is in their physiology; these people go mad if exposed to cold temperatures for too long, giving them an easily employable weakness. The planet also has its own oddities. The ecology is full of water monsters and man-eating plants, and at a certain time of the year the ocean in the seaside town of Pallahaxi, where the story takes place, has heavily evaporated, making it thick and viscous. There's also a lovely, semi-sentient species of empaths called the Lorin that make occasional but important appearances.
I had some initial trouble with how much these people were like humans, but I got over it. I also found the lead to be a bit of a spoiled turd at first, but when you realize his parents are just as unbearable as he thinks they were, he becomes likable. It became a really great story of childhood adventure turning into adult horrors. It grows slowly, quietly, until things start collapsing in the pleasant seaside town, leading to an ending I never could have guessed, with a lot to say about classism, survival, greed, and human nature. It was fantastic and I highly recommend it.
October 10, 2021
Read this book when I was fifteen, forty-five years ago. Loved it, a wonderful story and who could forget Browneyes, Still have a crush on Browneyes, to be honest.
May 14, 2017
I wish I had read this book when I was 16. This is the best young adult book I have ever seen and I do not say this in a derigatory way. It is beyond a young adult book (with a brilliantly thought-out underlying plot, great planet specific peculiarities and wonderful characters) but the honesty and sense of wonder related to a very eventful summer holiday is the ,unexpected, high point of the book.
Coney writes with great pace and even though his descriptions are, maybe intentionally, ambigious they are joyful to read. The only hard part for me in the book is the high number of sailing terms which I'm not very familiar with. The idea of grume, lorins, Rax... I mean I don't like much antropomorphic alien world-building generally but this is an amazing example.
The story drones, escalates, decelerates in a perfect composition and then leave you with one final punch. I will surely read other Coney books.
Coney writes with great pace and even though his descriptions are, maybe intentionally, ambigious they are joyful to read. The only hard part for me in the book is the high number of sailing terms which I'm not very familiar with. The idea of grume, lorins, Rax... I mean I don't like much antropomorphic alien world-building generally but this is an amazing example.
The story drones, escalates, decelerates in a perfect composition and then leave you with one final punch. I will surely read other Coney books.
June 3, 2020
Michael Coney creates a far away planet spinning round a sun with its own alien geography, wildlife and ecological systems. Through the eyes of the young narrator, Drove, you learn about the inhabitants of this planet, their culture and politics.
This is why I like sci-fi as it engages my imagination as I visualise this alien planet. The wealth of detail meant that I could really imagine being there.
‘Hello Summer, Goodbye’ is also a coming of age story where Drove seeks to establish his own identity, rebelling against his parents and falling in love with a girl called Browneyes. Drove is a flawed character, irritating at times and it makes him more real.
This book was published in 1975 and the politics of this alien planet reflect the Cold War that was happening on our planet.
At times I felt the story dragged, but it was worth pushing on as it planted a massive Glasgow kiss on me at the end!
This is why I like sci-fi as it engages my imagination as I visualise this alien planet. The wealth of detail meant that I could really imagine being there.
‘Hello Summer, Goodbye’ is also a coming of age story where Drove seeks to establish his own identity, rebelling against his parents and falling in love with a girl called Browneyes. Drove is a flawed character, irritating at times and it makes him more real.
This book was published in 1975 and the politics of this alien planet reflect the Cold War that was happening on our planet.
At times I felt the story dragged, but it was worth pushing on as it planted a massive Glasgow kiss on me at the end!
August 5, 2016
What a lovely, lovely novel. Hello Summer, Goodbye is a little gem of a book that deserves more recognition - it should be a major classic in the SF field.
As a coming-of-age tale, Hello Summer, Goodbye works remarkably well. Drove's transition from child to adult - figuring out things from the subtext, thinking for himself, falling in love with Browneyes and standing up to his parents - were very engaging. Coney showed some real worldbuilding skills here. Apart from the memorable setting (Who could forget the unusual seaside scenery of Pallahaxi?), Coney built his world and subsequently crafted his story in such a way that the culmination leaves one breathless, but is the only logical one.
The title Hello Summer, Goodbye is so apt and symbolic, tying in beautifully with the overall theme (and ending!) of the novel.
As a coming-of-age tale, Hello Summer, Goodbye works remarkably well. Drove's transition from child to adult - figuring out things from the subtext, thinking for himself, falling in love with Browneyes and standing up to his parents - were very engaging. Coney showed some real worldbuilding skills here. Apart from the memorable setting (Who could forget the unusual seaside scenery of Pallahaxi?), Coney built his world and subsequently crafted his story in such a way that the culmination leaves one breathless, but is the only logical one.
The title Hello Summer, Goodbye is so apt and symbolic, tying in beautifully with the overall theme (and ending!) of the novel.
May 21, 2017
I'd give this book a 100 stars if I could! It is one of my all time favourite books, and I re-read it 3 times already. Despite that, it still is able to transform me into an emotional wreck every single time. It starts off as some kind of science fiction for kids and young adults. Plot is interesting and engaging, characters are awesomely reletable, scenery is breath-taking, etc. But it is so innocent story almost all the way up until the end. But the ending is so unexpected, vile, horrifying, sad, and gut wrenching that it usually makes me feel physically sick for days after finishing it. An awesome, awesome, and yet unknown book. Be sure to read this one, it is amazing piece of art, with unparalleled emotons, loveable characters and piercing social commentary wrapped in an disguise of science fiction novel.
July 6, 2023
My first Coney novel and will not be my last. His prose is incredible, the story was engaging, an apocalyptic tale disguised as a coming of age romance. This book goes by a different title in the UK and is apparently out of print, so I read a vintage DAW copy. The ending was perfectly delivered and the characters were extremely vivid. Cannot recommend this book highly enough. Thankfully I’ve discovered a new author, I’m pretty sure this is only my second 5-star read of the year.
February 19, 2015
Knjiga je počela, pomalo nevino, avanturama nalik onim o kojima čitate u delima Žila Verna. Ali nikako nisam očekivao ovakav kraj. Možda su četiri zvezdice i previše ipak ne mogu da poreknem da me je priča dotakla. Voleo bih da sam je pročitao u tinejdžerskom periodu ali mislim da bih je onda doživeo drugačije.
Want to read
April 6, 2014the title/cover/genre trio make this look SO interesting. but the description is a.w.f.u.l on first glance. I would be willing to read: a battered old used copy that costs less than $1.50.
March 5, 2016
I wanna read SF and love story. this is perfect novel in that mood.
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