Class Six Climb

by William E. Cochrane

A tree 4,200 meters high! That's a bit more than two and a half miles, for those who don't use the communist system of weights and measures. It stands unique in the galaxy. It has never been climbed, not by native, human, or alien.

The climb will be tough for three human misfits. Straight up, gripping the bark, and occasionally coming to a branch upon which to rest. But this tree is so dissociated from the ground that the branches have developed their own separate ecosystems!

Genres: Science Fiction

273 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1980

Reviews

[David Bedno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take a tree. No, wait, take a tree that's 4200 meters tall. Obviously it's on an alien planet, so set it in the future. Now set some political intrigue set around said tree, plant some protagonists, a villain, and some natives, who would, of course, worship a tree that tall. And, finally, because what else would you do with a tree that tall, have them climb it.

This isn't a deep novel. Nor is it ground-breaking (although I'm not sure how many other SF climbing novels there are). But it's a fun little book with climbing as a background, and a reasonably self-consistent world built around it. It's firmly entrenched in my library on the "comfort reading" shelf.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

While cleaning a closet I found some old issues of Analog from the 60's and 70's. My attention of course was diverted from cleaning to checking out these forgotten issues I had in the bottom of a box. There were plenty of big name writers in the group, but there were also plenty of lesser knowns and now unknowns. I was drawn in by the cover art for this serialization, starting with the June 1979 issue, showing three climbers making their way up an enormous tree, with a menacing tree creature of some sort lurking in the branches above. I was reminded of what I thought when I first received this issue in the mail back when I was an young teenager "Wow, a giant tree, that's awesome!" I didn't get around to reading it back then, I think I was working on Dune, or some Jack Williamson at the time. This issue also has a short story by Alfred Bester and a novellette by Larry Niven, so this one had a lot of competition at the time.

So I'll check it out now. I'm not sure why William Cochrane has been forgotten so completely in so short a time. I'm guessing it's because he wasn't as prolific as Simak, Pohl, or any of the other top authors. He doesn't even have a wikipedia entry. I had to check my old copy of the Sci-Fi encyclopedia to find out more info on him. Apparently he wrote a number of stories for Analog, but just two novels, and I can't seem to find any info on if he's been included in any anthologies at all. Guess it's just the problem with sci-fi, as the science advances much of the fiction becomes very much out of date.

So I don't have the actual book version of this novel, just the serialization in Analog. I've never seen the paperback version, and it looks like there was only one edition. When I come across a book that's now out of print I'm always reminded of that Bradbury story where the authors spirits actually disappear when their last copy is destroyed.

Update - Finally got around to finishing this. Not bad, but not good. It takes about two thirds of the story to get to the actual giant tree. Up to then, it's just one long detailed description after another. How is the expedition being aid for, who is going, why climb this tree, what are the manners and regulations of the "Mountain Marines". Blah blah blah, lets see some action. A few good scenes of climbing combined with wooden characters and bad dialog. Meeh...

[Dan Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this when it was serialized in Analog magazine back in the late '70s. I didn't remember most of the plot, but there were scenes and images that have stuck with me for 40 years. And the plot fit well with my current tree obsession, so I was thrilled to find a used copy available. I was a little less thrilled with the actual writing, though. My tastes and understanding of literature have definitely expanded since I was a teenager. Now I noticed how roughly the characters are rendered; how inconsistently they behave; how burdened the story is by the layers of climbing detail. So it satisfied a sense of nostalgia, but little else.

[Brian Kwong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I was at a loss at the motivation of one of the characters as the plot took off. the ending also made the whole story pretty moot and anticlimactic. of you love Sci fi and climbing this is a great book.