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Котешко лице
Задният двор на Аса Стийл винаги е бил съвсем обикновено, неотличаващо се с нищо място — докато кучето му Боузър не започва да носи отнякъде пресни кости от динозаври.
А в овощната градина те намират някакви странни, непознати дотогава на Земята метали.
С помощта на Боузър и Хайръм, местния идиот, Аса осъществява контакт със загадъчен извънземен с котешко лице, който живее в овощната му градина и държи ключа към тайнството на разкъсването на тъканта на самото време и прави възможно връщането в праисторическите начала на Земята…
А в овощната градина те намират някакви странни, непознати дотогава на Земята метали.
С помощта на Боузър и Хайръм, местния идиот, Аса осъществява контакт със загадъчен извънземен с котешко лице, който живее в овощната му градина и държи ключа към тайнството на разкъсването на тъканта на самото време и прави възможно връщането в праисторическите начала на Земята…
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
363 people are currently reading
744 people want to read
About the author
Clifford D. Simak
969 books1,059 followers"He was honored by fans with three Hugo awards and by colleagues with one Nebula award and was named the third Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) in 1977." (Wikipedia)
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford...
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
March 8, 2018
This is definitely not a bad SF and Simak is still one of my favorite go-to classic SF authors. Even the basic tale of a time machine to colonize the past or otherwise get rich off of stupid hunters who think they're the match for dinosaurs is well done if an old tale.
Of course, later novels such as Jurassic Park blows modest SF like this away, but then... maybe not. :) Time travel tales usually get a bad rap. I don't know why. I enjoyed this one for what it was: popcorn fiction. :)
Even the tax evasion schemes by setting up your own country in the deep past were funny and still feels timely. It's not like they were huge corporations. More like they were a small business trying to make it work despite all the static. :)
Simak remains a charming writer that I cannot find any fault with at all. He was never all that spectacular or ground-breaking, but he was always thoughtful, exploratory, and he always developed characters who never left a bad taste in the mouth. :) Oh, and he never went the corny route, either, for which I love him dearly. :)
Of course, later novels such as Jurassic Park blows modest SF like this away, but then... maybe not. :) Time travel tales usually get a bad rap. I don't know why. I enjoyed this one for what it was: popcorn fiction. :)
Even the tax evasion schemes by setting up your own country in the deep past were funny and still feels timely. It's not like they were huge corporations. More like they were a small business trying to make it work despite all the static. :)
Simak remains a charming writer that I cannot find any fault with at all. He was never all that spectacular or ground-breaking, but he was always thoughtful, exploratory, and he always developed characters who never left a bad taste in the mouth. :) Oh, and he never went the corny route, either, for which I love him dearly. :)
November 2, 2025
„Много хора биха се съгласили с теб — казах аз, — но не и безликата тълпа, публиката. Поотделно можем да сме интелигентни и сравнително уравновесени, но събрани заедно сме твърдоглави по най-различни начини.“
„Котешко лице“ (или „Мастодонтия“) е страхотна и проникновена социална фантастика! Големият Клифърд Саймък майсторски е представил в нея както значими обществени проблеми, така и глупостта на тълпите. Книгата започва като любопитно четиво за начина на живот в малко градче, но неусетно преминава към важни общочовешки теми.
Аса открива, че странно същество (наричано Котешкото лице), което често се появява в близост до къщата му, всъщност е извънземен, който има способността да прокарва пътища във времето. Заедно с приятелката си Райла, решават да използват възможността да направят бизнес с пътешествията във времето и спечелят много пари от пращане в далечното минало на ловни експедиции за динозаври. Впоследствие намират в миналото красивото място Мастодонтия, а пък междувременно проблемите им с корпорации, държава и религия стават все по-големи...
„Държат се приятелски, естествено, но приказват за мен зад гърба ми. Не харесват никого, който не е затънал в блатото на собствената им посредственост. Предполагам, че това е защитна реакция.“
„— Целият проблем беше, че не можех да им разкажа за някаква машина… за машина на времето — поясни тя. — Ако можех да им кажа, че сме създали машина, щяха да ми повярват повече. Толкова много се доверяваме на машините, че ги смятаме едва ли не за вълшебни.“
„Мастодонтия наистина ми харесваше. Но идеята за самотата, за личната независимост, знаех това, бе нещо, с което трябваше да се свикне. Нещо, за което човек трябваше да узрее.“
„Умът ми все още кипеше от почуда и трябва да съм загубил представа за времето.
— А Хайръм? — попитах аз. — Показвал ли си на Хайръм…
— Не — отвърна Котешкото лице. — Хайръм не би могъл да го разбере.
И това бе вярно, естествено. Хайръм не би могъл да го разбере. Беше ми се оплакал, че Котешкото лице му казал много неща, които не разбирал.
— Не съм го показвал на никой друг — рече той. — На никой друг, освен на теб.
— Но аз съм объркан — отвърнах аз. — Не разбирам много неща.
— Разумът ти — рече той, — е много по-обхватен, отколкото предполагаш.“
„Котешко лице“ (или „Мастодонтия“) е страхотна и проникновена социална фантастика! Големият Клифърд Саймък майсторски е представил в нея както значими обществени проблеми, така и глупостта на тълпите. Книгата започва като любопитно четиво за начина на живот в малко градче, но неусетно преминава към важни общочовешки теми.
Аса открива, че странно същество (наричано Котешкото лице), което често се появява в близост до къщата му, всъщност е извънземен, който има способността да прокарва пътища във времето. Заедно с приятелката си Райла, решават да използват възможността да направят бизнес с пътешествията във времето и спечелят много пари от пращане в далечното минало на ловни експедиции за динозаври. Впоследствие намират в миналото красивото място Мастодонтия, а пък междувременно проблемите им с корпорации, държава и религия стават все по-големи...
„Държат се приятелски, естествено, но приказват за мен зад гърба ми. Не харесват никого, който не е затънал в блатото на собствената им посредственост. Предполагам, че това е защитна реакция.“
„— Целият проблем беше, че не можех да им разкажа за някаква машина… за машина на времето — поясни тя. — Ако можех да им кажа, че сме създали машина, щяха да ми повярват повече. Толкова много се доверяваме на машините, че ги смятаме едва ли не за вълшебни.“
„Мастодонтия наистина ми харесваше. Но идеята за самотата, за личната независимост, знаех това, бе нещо, с което трябваше да се свикне. Нещо, за което човек трябваше да узрее.“
„Умът ми все още кипеше от почуда и трябва да съм загубил представа за времето.
— А Хайръм? — попитах аз. — Показвал ли си на Хайръм…
— Не — отвърна Котешкото лице. — Хайръм не би могъл да го разбере.
И това бе вярно, естествено. Хайръм не би могъл да го разбере. Беше ми се оплакал, че Котешкото лице му казал много неща, които не разбирал.
— Не съм го показвал на никой друг — рече той. — На никой друг, освен на теб.
— Но аз съм объркан — отвърнах аз. — Не разбирам много неща.
— Разумът ти — рече той, — е много по-обхватен, отколкото предполагаш.“
March 29, 2025
I read this one before, by Clifford Simak (1904-1988). I remember finishing this story and being left with a warm and positive feeling. It's one of those books that you wish could be true (how many books do you read that you would rather not have come true!) and even wish that you could meet some of those characters in the story, such as Asa, his dog Bowser, their good friend Hiram--and the alien "Cat-face." And also the old friendly mastodon "Stiffy." Asa Steele, while living in rural Wisconsin, discovers a "time tunnel" into the past (Bowser kept bringing him fresh dinosaur bones!). He also discovers a mysterious cat-faced alien who is able to create more time tunnels. I think what I liked best about the story is Asa's forming of a new state- "Mastodonia"--100,000 years in the past. He does this in part to escape the IRS-and the CIA as well as a fundamentalist Christian leader. This book was based on a short story written in the Fifties. I think today we realize it would not be quite so easy to evade the government--or religious nuts!
July 13, 2017
A charming Simak novel. Light reading. Though published in 1978, it felt as if it was written in the fifties. This is likely because it is based on a previous shorter work he published in 1955 entitled "Project Mastodon" (which can be read at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22216). The story is changed significantly but the style and spirit is intact.
It is, for the most part, a story that explores all the commercial and social possibilities that come with the discovery of time travel. The time travel method in this book, unlike that of the H.G. Wells' story or those like it, is one that it is not mechanical or by a specific device, but rather, via an immortal alien known as "Catface" who had been the survivor of a spaceship crash which occurred 50 000 years before. This Catface character specialized in the fabrication of time roads. Most important, is that the method was not created, but rather simply discovered, therefore, it does not actually belong to those who benefit from it; no one actually has commercial rights to it. It is simply an exploited technology - if it can even be considered that, as Catface is gladly willing to create time-roads for them simply because he enjoys making them.
Simak's writing style is generally very similar to that of Ray Bradbury though not quite as artistic or sophisticated, however, he style is clear, tight thus his stories are easily read. This must be due to having spent most of his professional career as a newspaper editor during the time when the newspapers were still the most accessible and important medium for informing the public.
It is, for the most part, a story that explores all the commercial and social possibilities that come with the discovery of time travel. The time travel method in this book, unlike that of the H.G. Wells' story or those like it, is one that it is not mechanical or by a specific device, but rather, via an immortal alien known as "Catface" who had been the survivor of a spaceship crash which occurred 50 000 years before. This Catface character specialized in the fabrication of time roads. Most important, is that the method was not created, but rather simply discovered, therefore, it does not actually belong to those who benefit from it; no one actually has commercial rights to it. It is simply an exploited technology - if it can even be considered that, as Catface is gladly willing to create time-roads for them simply because he enjoys making them.
Simak's writing style is generally very similar to that of Ray Bradbury though not quite as artistic or sophisticated, however, he style is clear, tight thus his stories are easily read. This must be due to having spent most of his professional career as a newspaper editor during the time when the newspapers were still the most accessible and important medium for informing the public.
July 28, 2024
Mastodonia
By Clifford D. Simak
I am sure I read this ages ago but couldn't remember what it was about, I just remember that I enjoyed it. Now, after reading it again, I certainly found it wonderful! It has an archaeologist ( something I wish I could have been), time travel, and aliens all in one book! It really has a feel good ending, too. I really enjoyed this book so much in this book, but I don't want to spoil it for others. Recommend!
By Clifford D. Simak
I am sure I read this ages ago but couldn't remember what it was about, I just remember that I enjoyed it. Now, after reading it again, I certainly found it wonderful! It has an archaeologist ( something I wish I could have been), time travel, and aliens all in one book! It really has a feel good ending, too. I really enjoyed this book so much in this book, but I don't want to spoil it for others. Recommend!
June 12, 2021
A later work by the master. Not quite as good as his short stories as, tbh, he does tend to go on a bit. (In relative terms of course; this is still much shorter than most SF today.) Lots of interesting political and social ideas. Loaded with What If and Sense of Wonder.
Nothing to do with the short story 'Project Mastodon' ... it's almost like he assumed that his fans wouldn't notice the reuse of the location name.
---
Reread for group discussion here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/.... I liked it even more, in some ways, this time. It's worth reading to the end because it starts out mostly as a discovery of what's going on, but later on the characters and ideas are developed much more.
Nothing to do with the short story 'Project Mastodon' ... it's almost like he assumed that his fans wouldn't notice the reuse of the location name.
---
Reread for group discussion here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/.... I liked it even more, in some ways, this time. It's worth reading to the end because it starts out mostly as a discovery of what's going on, but later on the characters and ideas are developed much more.
December 27, 2024
Mastodonia is one of my favorite Simak novels. It's a good science fiction story that explores the financial potential of time travel in detail, as well as looking at political and religious ramifications, but more than that it's a grand pastoral look at idealized small town and rural life and the beauty of nature. (I'll always be convinced that saber-toothed felines had tassels on their ears.) It's a feel-good story about Asa Steele, his girlfriend Rila, and his swell dog Bowser, who likes to munch on dinosaur bones. They live in the lovely little town of Willow Bend, Wisconsin, where they have to face many trials of space and time, not to mention the IRS. Sometimes you just need a book where the good guys win.
April 10, 2018
I'm a dyed in the wool Simak fan. I even love the little parts in his adventure stories when the characters stop to cook bacon and pancakes over an open fire. But this one could simply be described as time travel versus corporate America. The players in this cautionary tale are one dimensional and not even all that likeable. The alien, Catface, is contrived and serves simply as a means to delivering a message about the folly of trying to commercially exploit a fantastic discovery. Not absolutely terrible, but certainly not his best.
May 4, 2025
(ελληνική κριτική αμέσως μετά την αγγλική)
Mastodonia (also released as Catface, particularly in the British market) by Clifford D. Simak is one of those rare works of science fiction that succeeds in blending philosophical reflection with the simplicity of a well-told fairy tale. Written in Simak’s characteristic, unhurried rhythm, the novel offers a poignant glimpse into humanity’s persistent yearning to withdraw from civilisation. Yet, unlike the classic motif of escape through space, here the detachment—and indeed the flight—unfolds through time itself.
The protagonist, a palaeontologist (let us not forget that Simak also authored Trilobite, Dinosaur and Man: The Earth's Story), retires to a quiet town in Minnesota (a favourite haunt of “Ole Cliff”) and finds himself entangled in a seemingly absurd scenario: an alien entity, having taken up residence nearby, possesses the ability to open gateways into the past. These portals offer the possibility of exploration—or even commercial exploitation—of Earth’s lost epochs. The premise is simple, almost childlike, yet the manner in which Simak develops it is imbued with depth and profound humanism.
Among other peculiarities, the alien—referred to as “catface” owing to its feline visage—can communicate directly only with the village idiot, the guileless Hiram, who converses quite earnestly (and effectively) with the protagonist’s dog. Hiram’s speech is charmingly limited: he cannot process trisyllabic words by birthright, and catface must inhale to think and exhale three times to reach a decision. Despite these initial barriers, communication is eventually achieved, and a madcap scheme begins to take shape: the expansion of humanity not into space, but through time—since space, it seems, is already becoming overcrowded.
One of the novel’s greatest strengths lies in its pervasive sense of solitude and gentle melancholy. The characters are not the archetypal, daring explorers of genre convention, but rather ordinary individuals in search of a second chance—a return to a world of innocence, a terrestrial Eden untainted by modern cynicism, and perhaps even a second chance at a long-faded love (which ended bitterly two decades prior at a dig site in Turkey).
Mastodonia is not a novel brimming with action (hardly a surprise, considering it’s penned by our dear, gentle Cliff). Instead, it proceeds slowly and contemplatively, almost like a daydream upon the grass in a tranquil countryside. This, however, is no shortcoming; it is an intrinsic part of its charm. Simak, ever faithful to his values, eschews violence, explosions, fisticuffs, and shattered fingers (with the sole exception of dispatching the occasional tyrannosaur if it happens to attack), preferring instead to explore the human relationship with time, nature, and the self.
Technology is not presented as a form of salvation, but rather as a tool for renewal. There are no panaceas; tools require care and maturity. A knife may slice bread—but it may also kill. The protagonists do not seek to conquer the past—they wish to inhabit it, to rebuild it. It is an almost romantic vision, yet one that lends the work a quiet, uncommon strength.
In an era where science fiction is often inundated with dystopias and intergalactic strife, Mastodonia stands apart as a bittersweet, Epicurean allegory on what it means to be human—and on our ceaseless search for a place where we might finally belong.
Το Mastodonia (κυκλοφόρησε και ως Catface κυρίως στη βρετανική αγορά) του Clifford D. Simak είναι ένα από εκείνα τα έργα επιστημονικής φαντασίας που καταφέρνουν να συνδυάζουν τη φιλοσοφική ενατένιση με την απλότητα ενός καλού παραμυθιού. Γραμμένο με τον χαρακτηριστικό, ήρεμο ρυθμό του Simak, το μυθιστόρημα προσφέρει μια συγκινητική ματιά στην ανθρώπινη ανάγκη για φυγή από τον πολιτισμό. Ωστόσο σε αντίθεση με το κλασικό μοτίβο φυγής μέσα από το διάστημα, εδώ η αποστασιοποίηση και η διαφυγή γίνονται αλλά μέσα στον ίδιο τον χρόνο.
Ο ήρωας της ιστορίας, ένας παλαιοντολόγος (μην ξεχνάτε ότι ο Simak έχει γράψει και το Trilobite, Dinosaur and Man: The Earth's Story) που αποσύρεται σε μια ήσυχη πόλη της Μινεσότα (αγαπημένη του Ole Cliff), βρίσκεται μπλεγμένος σε ένα φαινομενικά παράλογο σενάριο: μια εξωγήινη οντότητα, που έχει εγκατασταθεί εκεί, μπορεί να δημιουργήσει πύλες προς το παρελθόν. Μέσα από αυτές, ανοίγει η δυνατότητα για εξερεύνηση (ή ακόμη και εμπορική εκμετάλλευση) χαμένων εποχών της Γης. Η πρόταση είναι απλή, σχεδόν παιδική, όμως ο τρόπος με τον οποίο ο Simak την αναπτύσσει είναι γεμάτος βάθος και ανθρωπισμό.
Μέσα σε όλα τ’ άλλα, η εξωγήινη οντότητα, ο “catface” (επειδή έχει φάτσα που θυμίζει γάτα) μπορεί να επικοινωνήσει άμεσα μόνο με τον «village idiot», τον αφελή Χάιραμ που μιλάει με το σκύλο του ήρωα (και όντως συνεννοείται), αλλά πρέπει να εισπνεύσει για να σκεφτεί και να εκπνεύσει τρεις φορές για να αποφασίσει. Επίσης στο λεξιλόγιο του Χάιραμ, οι τρισύλλαβες λέξεις είναι banned εκ γενετής. Ωστόσο, παρά τις αρχικές δυσκολίες, η επικοινωνία επιτυγχάνεται και ένα τρελό σχέδιο αρχίζει να παίρνει σάρκα και οστά: Η επέκταση της ανθρωπότητας στο χρόνο, δεδομένου ότι ο χώρος έχει αρχίζει να κορέννυται.
Ένα από τα μεγαλύτερα ατού του βιβλίου είναι η αίσθηση της μοναξιάς και της ήπιας μελαγχολίας που διαπερνά τις σελίδες του. Οι ήρωες δεν είναι οι τυπικοί, ριψοκίνδυνοι εξερευνητές, αλλά απλοί άνθρωποι που αναζητούν μια δεύτερη ευκαιρία — μια επιστροφή σε έναν "αθώο" κόσμο, έναν επίγειο παράδεισο απαλλαγμένο από τον σύγχρονο κυνισμό, ακόμα και μια δεύτερη ευκαιρία σε έναν έρωτα (που έληξε άδοξα δυο δεκαετίες πριν σε μια ανασκαφή στην Τουρκία).
Το Mastodonia δεν είναι ένα μυθιστόρημα γεμάτο δράση (κάτι που κανονικά δεν θα έπρεπε καν να αναφέρω δεδομένου ότι γράφει ο γλυκούλης μας ο Cliff). Αντίθετα, κυλά αργά, στοχαστικά, σχεδόν σαν μια ρέμβη πάνω στο γρασίδι μιας ήσυχης εξοχής. Αυτό όμως δεν είναι μειονέκτημα· είναι αναπόσπαστο μέρος της γοητείας του. Ο Simak, πιστός στις αξίες του, αποφεύγει τη βία, τις εκρήξεις, τα μπουνίδια και τα σπασμένα δάχτυλα (επιτρέπεται μόνο να σκοτώσεις κανέναν τυραννόσαυρο αν σου επιτεθεί), επιλέγοντας να εστιάσει στη σχέση του ανθρώπου με τον χρόνο, τη φύση και τον ίδιο του τον εαυτό.
Η τεχνολογία παρουσιάζεται όχι ως λύτρωση, αλλά ως εργαλείο επανεκκίνησης. Δεν υπάρχουν πανάκειες, τα εργαλεία θέλουν προσεκτικό χειρισμό και ωριμότητα. Ένα μαχαίρι μπορεί να κόψει ψωμί αλλά και να σκοτώσει… Οι πρωταγωνιστές δεν θέλουν να κατακτήσουν το παρελθόν — θέλουν να το ζήσουν, να το ξαναχτίσουν. Πρόκειται για μια σχεδόν ρομαντική αντίληψη, που όμως δίνει στο έργο μια ασυνήθιστη δύναμη.
Σε μια εποχή όπου η επιστημονική φαντασία συχνά κατακλύζεται από δυστοπίες και διαγαλαξιακές συγκρούσεις, το Mastodonia ξεχωρίζει ως μια γλυκόπικρη επικούρεια αλληγορία για το τι σημαίνει να είσαι άνθρωπος — και για τη διαρκή αναζήτησή μας για έναν τόπο όπου επιτέλους "ανήκουμε".
Mastodonia (also released as Catface, particularly in the British market) by Clifford D. Simak is one of those rare works of science fiction that succeeds in blending philosophical reflection with the simplicity of a well-told fairy tale. Written in Simak’s characteristic, unhurried rhythm, the novel offers a poignant glimpse into humanity’s persistent yearning to withdraw from civilisation. Yet, unlike the classic motif of escape through space, here the detachment—and indeed the flight—unfolds through time itself.
The protagonist, a palaeontologist (let us not forget that Simak also authored Trilobite, Dinosaur and Man: The Earth's Story), retires to a quiet town in Minnesota (a favourite haunt of “Ole Cliff”) and finds himself entangled in a seemingly absurd scenario: an alien entity, having taken up residence nearby, possesses the ability to open gateways into the past. These portals offer the possibility of exploration—or even commercial exploitation—of Earth’s lost epochs. The premise is simple, almost childlike, yet the manner in which Simak develops it is imbued with depth and profound humanism.
Among other peculiarities, the alien—referred to as “catface” owing to its feline visage—can communicate directly only with the village idiot, the guileless Hiram, who converses quite earnestly (and effectively) with the protagonist’s dog. Hiram’s speech is charmingly limited: he cannot process trisyllabic words by birthright, and catface must inhale to think and exhale three times to reach a decision. Despite these initial barriers, communication is eventually achieved, and a madcap scheme begins to take shape: the expansion of humanity not into space, but through time—since space, it seems, is already becoming overcrowded.
One of the novel’s greatest strengths lies in its pervasive sense of solitude and gentle melancholy. The characters are not the archetypal, daring explorers of genre convention, but rather ordinary individuals in search of a second chance—a return to a world of innocence, a terrestrial Eden untainted by modern cynicism, and perhaps even a second chance at a long-faded love (which ended bitterly two decades prior at a dig site in Turkey).
Mastodonia is not a novel brimming with action (hardly a surprise, considering it’s penned by our dear, gentle Cliff). Instead, it proceeds slowly and contemplatively, almost like a daydream upon the grass in a tranquil countryside. This, however, is no shortcoming; it is an intrinsic part of its charm. Simak, ever faithful to his values, eschews violence, explosions, fisticuffs, and shattered fingers (with the sole exception of dispatching the occasional tyrannosaur if it happens to attack), preferring instead to explore the human relationship with time, nature, and the self.
Technology is not presented as a form of salvation, but rather as a tool for renewal. There are no panaceas; tools require care and maturity. A knife may slice bread—but it may also kill. The protagonists do not seek to conquer the past—they wish to inhabit it, to rebuild it. It is an almost romantic vision, yet one that lends the work a quiet, uncommon strength.
In an era where science fiction is often inundated with dystopias and intergalactic strife, Mastodonia stands apart as a bittersweet, Epicurean allegory on what it means to be human—and on our ceaseless search for a place where we might finally belong.
Το Mastodonia (κυκλοφόρησε και ως Catface κυρίως στη βρετανική αγορά) του Clifford D. Simak είναι ένα από εκείνα τα έργα επιστημονικής φαντασίας που καταφέρνουν να συνδυάζουν τη φιλοσοφική ενατένιση με την απλότητα ενός καλού παραμυθιού. Γραμμένο με τον χαρακτηριστικό, ήρεμο ρυθμό του Simak, το μυθιστόρημα προσφέρει μια συγκινητική ματιά στην ανθρώπινη ανάγκη για φυγή από τον πολιτισμό. Ωστόσο σε αντίθεση με το κλασικό μοτίβο φυγής μέσα από το διάστημα, εδώ η αποστασιοποίηση και η διαφυγή γίνονται αλλά μέσα στον ίδιο τον χρόνο.
Ο ήρωας της ιστορίας, ένας παλαιοντολόγος (μην ξεχνάτε ότι ο Simak έχει γράψει και το Trilobite, Dinosaur and Man: The Earth's Story) που αποσύρεται σε μια ήσυχη πόλη της Μινεσότα (αγαπημένη του Ole Cliff), βρίσκεται μπλεγμένος σε ένα φαινομενικά παράλογο σενάριο: μια εξωγήινη οντότητα, που έχει εγκατασταθεί εκεί, μπορεί να δημιουργήσει πύλες προς το παρελθόν. Μέσα από αυτές, ανοίγει η δυνατότητα για εξερεύνηση (ή ακόμη και εμπορική εκμετάλλευση) χαμένων εποχών της Γης. Η πρόταση είναι απλή, σχεδόν παιδική, όμως ο τρόπος με τον οποίο ο Simak την αναπτύσσει είναι γεμάτος βάθος και ανθρωπισμό.
Μέσα σε όλα τ’ άλλα, η εξωγήινη οντότητα, ο “catface” (επειδή έχει φάτσα που θυμίζει γάτα) μπορεί να επικοινωνήσει άμεσα μόνο με τον «village idiot», τον αφελή Χάιραμ που μιλάει με το σκύλο του ήρωα (και όντως συνεννοείται), αλλά πρέπει να εισπνεύσει για να σκεφτεί και να εκπνεύσει τρεις φορές για να αποφασίσει. Επίσης στο λεξιλόγιο του Χάιραμ, οι τρισύλλαβες λέξεις είναι banned εκ γενετής. Ωστόσο, παρά τις αρχικές δυσκολίες, η επικοινωνία επιτυγχάνεται και ένα τρελό σχέδιο αρχίζει να παίρνει σάρκα και οστά: Η επέκταση της ανθρωπότητας στο χρόνο, δεδομένου ότι ο χώρος έχει αρχίζει να κορέννυται.
Ένα από τα μεγαλύτερα ατού του βιβλίου είναι η αίσθηση της μοναξιάς και της ήπιας μελαγχολίας που διαπερνά τις σελίδες του. Οι ήρωες δεν είναι οι τυπικοί, ριψοκίνδυνοι εξερευνητές, αλλά απλοί άνθρωποι που αναζητούν μια δεύτερη ευκαιρία — μια επιστροφή σε έναν "αθώο" κόσμο, έναν επίγειο παράδεισο απαλλαγμένο από τον σύγχρονο κυνισμό, ακόμα και μια δεύτερη ευκαιρία σε έναν έρωτα (που έληξε άδοξα δυο δεκαετίες πριν σε μια ανασκαφή στην Τουρκία).
Το Mastodonia δεν είναι ένα μυθιστόρημα γεμάτο δράση (κάτι που κανονικά δεν θα έπρεπε καν να αναφέρω δεδομένου ότι γράφει ο γλυκούλης μας ο Cliff). Αντίθετα, κυλά αργά, στοχαστικά, σχεδόν σαν μια ρέμβη πάνω στο γρασίδι μιας ήσυχης εξοχής. Αυτό όμως δεν είναι μειονέκτημα· είναι αναπόσπαστο μέρος της γοητείας του. Ο Simak, πιστός στις αξίες του, αποφεύγει τη βία, τις εκρήξεις, τα μπουνίδια και τα σπασμένα δάχτυλα (επιτρέπεται μόνο να σκοτώσεις κανέναν τυραννόσαυρο αν σου επιτεθεί), επιλέγοντας να εστιάσει στη σχέση του ανθρώπου με τον χρόνο, τη φύση και τον ίδιο του τον εαυτό.
Η τεχνολογία παρουσιάζεται όχι ως λύτρωση, αλλά ως εργαλείο επανεκκίνησης. Δεν υπάρχουν πανάκειες, τα εργαλεία θέλουν προσεκτικό χειρισμό και ωριμότητα. Ένα μαχαίρι μπορεί να κόψει ψωμί αλλά και να σκοτώσει… Οι πρωταγωνιστές δεν θέλουν να κατακτήσουν το παρελθόν — θέλουν να το ζήσουν, να το ξαναχτίσουν. Πρόκειται για μια σχεδόν ρομαντική αντίληψη, που όμως δίνει στο έργο μια ασυνήθιστη δύναμη.
Σε μια εποχή όπου η επιστημονική φαντασία συχνά κατακλύζεται από δυστοπίες και διαγαλαξιακές συγκρούσεις, το Mastodonia ξεχωρίζει ως μια γλυκόπικρη επικούρεια αλληγορία για το τι σημαίνει να είσαι άνθρωπος — και για τη διαρκή αναζήτησή μας για έναν τόπο όπου επιτέλους "ανήκουμε".
February 28, 2020
A SIMPLE MAN'S REVIEW:
Well, that didn't age well. As with many sci-fi from that period, we have the protagonist man, the helpless woman, and a "simple" man to take orders. At least there was a dog.
The idea could have been good - time "roads" that lead to various moments in time put to use for the highest bidder. There could be all sorts of implications and paradoxes, but this story sidesteps almost all of them. There were a few, interesting complications (the sovereignty of Mastodonia and the religious zealots) but overall, the story was very simple-minded ("How do we make money and build our dream house?").
Then there's the whole concept of how the time "roads" get made - an alien did it! Meh. We do, at least, learn a bit about the alien and its backstory, but it isn't enough to make the rest of the dull storytelling worth it. And if the ending doesn't make you roll your eyes, you are much less jaded than I.
Skip it!
Well, that didn't age well. As with many sci-fi from that period, we have the protagonist man, the helpless woman, and a "simple" man to take orders. At least there was a dog.
The idea could have been good - time "roads" that lead to various moments in time put to use for the highest bidder. There could be all sorts of implications and paradoxes, but this story sidesteps almost all of them. There were a few, interesting complications (the sovereignty of Mastodonia and the religious zealots) but overall, the story was very simple-minded ("How do we make money and build our dream house?").
Then there's the whole concept of how the time "roads" get made - an alien did it! Meh. We do, at least, learn a bit about the alien and its backstory, but it isn't enough to make the rest of the dull storytelling worth it. And if the ending doesn't make you roll your eyes, you are much less jaded than I.
Skip it!
June 28, 2020
Това е втората ми книга на този автор. Закупил съм си и "Всичко живо е трева", а и смятам да се сдобия с още 2-3.
В книгата се разказва за един археолог на име Аса, който заедно с кучето си Боузър се мести в родното си градче. Купува си ферма човека, отглежда си кокошки, но един ден кучето му донася кокал от динозавър. Но по него все още има пресно месо! Оттам нататък следните 50 стр. стават като на криминален роман. Търсят се извънземни и космически кораби. Така и така...
Извънземно има и то може да пътува във времето. С помощта му Аса и неговата приятелка Райла, те започват да водят експедиции в миналото. Разраства се в бизнес...
Общо взето, в книгата има всичко. Динозаври, извънземни, пътуване във времето.
Нестандартен роман в жанр научна фантастика. Четете!
В книгата се разказва за един археолог на име Аса, който заедно с кучето си Боузър се мести в родното си градче. Купува си ферма човека, отглежда си кокошки, но един ден кучето му донася кокал от динозавър. Но по него все още има пресно месо! Оттам нататък следните 50 стр. стават като на криминален роман. Търсят се извънземни и космически кораби. Така и така...
Извънземно има и то може да пътува във времето. С помощта му Аса и неговата приятелка Райла, те започват да водят експедиции в миналото. Разраства се в бизнес...
Общо взето, в книгата има всичко. Динозаври, извънземни, пътуване във времето.
Нестандартен роман в жанр научна фантастика. Четете!
November 15, 2012
A charming wonderful tale of time travel. Simak's characters are always so engaging and full of life, it makes the simplest of them lovable and almost tangible -- even the strange entity that is Catface. The atmosphere of the storytelling is a bit simple yet is still one of wonder and of surprise. Despite the slight hint of greed, the bureacratic stubbornness of government, and the nonsense of religion, the issue of social responsibility that arises doesn't detract from the adventure. In all it's nice simple read that wont stretch your disbelief too much.
July 6, 2019
This is a strange little book that links an ancient alien spacecraft, portals in time, and a quiet man who has figured out the existence of both things. Asa is interested primarily in research, but his girlfriend convinces him that if they don’t monetize his discovery they will lose control of it. So they create the concept of Mastodonia—essentially an independent country situated in the past when humans were still hunting mastodons—from which they can operate various time travel services. Those services begin with hunting trips but everything becomes complicated when the government begins considering moving their “excess” population off of welfare and into the past while religious fanatics become concerned that people might prove (or disprove) elementals of the New Testament.
Despite the big issues inherent in the plot, Mastodonia is a slow-moving exploration of the time travel scene. Dinosaurs and mastodons provide some big adventure and human problems introduce a lot of tension. I was surprised that Simak raised issues like the possibility of introducing new diseases to the present and then dropped them without exploring the possibility. That being said, it was still an enjoyable piece of fiction.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
Despite the big issues inherent in the plot, Mastodonia is a slow-moving exploration of the time travel scene. Dinosaurs and mastodons provide some big adventure and human problems introduce a lot of tension. I was surprised that Simak raised issues like the possibility of introducing new diseases to the present and then dropped them without exploring the possibility. That being said, it was still an enjoyable piece of fiction.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
July 30, 2011
A lovely, gentle journey, well told and as with all of his books, with a love for his characters. Clifford Simak has a very easy writing style, which makes all of his works simply fly along as you read them, and he brings a real warmth to sci fi.
July 1, 2022
Clifford D Simak, late on in his writing career, still had it. This one from 1978 sees him on top form, in a first contact / time travel tale. The main protagonist, in common with a number of the author's lead characters over the decades, is living a simple life back in rural Wisconsin, by choice. Up pops an old female friend from his paleontology days. Throw in a simple local yokel (another common theme in Simak's work) to the recipe, along with dinosaurs, and you have a warm science fiction tale.
September 27, 2025
Well, I think this is the seventh Simak novel I're read recently. Unfortunately, this one was a bust for me. The idea had a lot of promise - an alien craft crashed in the area near a small WI town providing a way to travel back in time. A professor and his former colleague start stumbling into the distant past.
Ok, an intriguing start! But, then more than half the book goes down the path of the colleague and town members trying to turn this into a money-making business to go back in time for safaris, research, discoveries...what a waste. Simak could have kept this a true time exploration SF book and completely skipped the business dealings (snore). 2.5 stars rounded down - don't bother.
Ok, an intriguing start! But, then more than half the book goes down the path of the colleague and town members trying to turn this into a money-making business to go back in time for safaris, research, discoveries...what a waste. Simak could have kept this a true time exploration SF book and completely skipped the business dealings (snore). 2.5 stars rounded down - don't bother.
February 17, 2025
Its really more about the ideas in this than the story. Hunting, protecting areas of history like the life of Christ (even though nothing happens at all as a plot point), relocating the poor to the Miocene era.
Oh well , its fun and is good speculation fodder, but not the best from Simack.
Oh well , its fun and is good speculation fodder, but not the best from Simack.
June 17, 2025
Another relaxing story from a science fiction master. I read Simak to relax in the woods with aliens and traditional science fiction tropes. This book did not disappoint!
Note: Please beware, some elements did not age well.
Note: Please beware, some elements did not age well.
March 28, 2020
This was strange to read at 1st because it has been so long so I read a "light" Sci-Fi story - much less one about time travel. Many Time travel stories make it overly complicated with too many attempted plot twists and turns. Mastodonia is simple, what if you had the ability to travel anywhere in the past and tried to make it into a business.
September 28, 2020
Cette édition est pleine de fautes (de frappes, de grammaire, etc), ce qui a rendu la lecture un peu pénible.
L'histoire est intéressante mais j'ai trouvé certains passages bâclés, puis le voyage dans le temps et les questions qu'il soulève auraient ou être beaucoup plus exploitées...
L'histoire est intéressante mais j'ai trouvé certains passages bâclés, puis le voyage dans le temps et les questions qu'il soulève auraient ou être beaucoup plus exploitées...
August 7, 2019
Un romanzo semplice ma piacevole, un po' troppo fantasioso forse, direi 3 stelle e mezzo.
June 12, 2022
Here’s an interesting story told by a master storyteller. Unfortunately the story falls down upon a bunch of unlikeable characters.
November 17, 2021
Asa Steele, having returned to his childhood rural town, finds an immortal, cat-like alien living on his farmland, having crashed there in prehistoric times. The alien can open tunnels through time and Asa, along with an old flame, utilize this to set up a time travelling business.
At the time of writing this, own 39 Clifford Simak books and this is the fifth I've read. I expected some clunkers in the lot but wow, do I have some feelings about this one.
I found most of this book infuriating. The characters can't appreciate the untouched majesty of the past for one page without musing on how they can exploit it. They find a group of giant prehistoric beavers and immediately think of making coats. They see dinosaurs and judge them on how good of trophies their heads will make. If this book was about the evils of capitalism, the casual cruelty of humans, and our desire to exploit everything we see, then it could have been brilliant.
Simak pulls out a lot of his favorite things for this one: rural simpleton with special powers, mutants, communication with dogs, time-travel-as-business, pastoral locations, and dinosaur hunters. It seems like Simak is actually nostalgic for the time of rich white people stomping around Africa and killing everything.
The characters are weirdly unconcerned with things like paradoxes or what effects their actions may cause on the future. They also never think to ask the alien, who is distant and unknown for much of the book, how all this should be handled. They also don't give his motivation much thought, and it just ends up being that he's bored and lonely and making time tunnels is fun.
There came a point when I realized what I wanted this to be was written 15 years later and is called Jurassic Park because that's exactly what JP is about—arrogant, greedy humans thinking they can exploit and control something alien and learning the hard way that nature wins in the end. I'd be shocked if this didn't inspire Crichton's work.
Early on, a small character gives a long rant about how he regrets being a fur trapper. Another character can telepathically talk to animals and befriends them constantly. It feels like there's going to be morality and it just never comes. I waited this whole book for these schemes to come crashing down. I wanted these characters to fail miserably. I wanted their hubris to destroy them. I wanted the safaris to roll in and come back a pile of mangled corpses. I wanted it to turn out that humans travelling back in time and killing all the animals was why they'd gone extinct.
It isn't until the last 50 pages that things finally start to collapse (but not enough, and not for long). This is also when you finally get to know the alien, who is, by far, the best part of the book. He's endearing and really the only character I wanted to succeed and be happy. He bumps the book up from an abysmal 2 stars to a 2.5ish.
At the time of writing this, own 39 Clifford Simak books and this is the fifth I've read. I expected some clunkers in the lot but wow, do I have some feelings about this one.
I found most of this book infuriating. The characters can't appreciate the untouched majesty of the past for one page without musing on how they can exploit it. They find a group of giant prehistoric beavers and immediately think of making coats. They see dinosaurs and judge them on how good of trophies their heads will make. If this book was about the evils of capitalism, the casual cruelty of humans, and our desire to exploit everything we see, then it could have been brilliant.
Simak pulls out a lot of his favorite things for this one: rural simpleton with special powers, mutants, communication with dogs, time-travel-as-business, pastoral locations, and dinosaur hunters. It seems like Simak is actually nostalgic for the time of rich white people stomping around Africa and killing everything.
The characters are weirdly unconcerned with things like paradoxes or what effects their actions may cause on the future. They also never think to ask the alien, who is distant and unknown for much of the book, how all this should be handled. They also don't give his motivation much thought, and it just ends up being that he's bored and lonely and making time tunnels is fun.
There came a point when I realized what I wanted this to be was written 15 years later and is called Jurassic Park because that's exactly what JP is about—arrogant, greedy humans thinking they can exploit and control something alien and learning the hard way that nature wins in the end. I'd be shocked if this didn't inspire Crichton's work.
Early on, a small character gives a long rant about how he regrets being a fur trapper. Another character can telepathically talk to animals and befriends them constantly. It feels like there's going to be morality and it just never comes. I waited this whole book for these schemes to come crashing down. I wanted these characters to fail miserably. I wanted their hubris to destroy them. I wanted the safaris to roll in and come back a pile of mangled corpses. I wanted it to turn out that humans travelling back in time and killing all the animals was why they'd gone extinct.
It isn't until the last 50 pages that things finally start to collapse (but not enough, and not for long). This is also when you finally get to know the alien, who is, by far, the best part of the book. He's endearing and really the only character I wanted to succeed and be happy. He bumps the book up from an abysmal 2 stars to a 2.5ish.
April 17, 2018
I guess this is my first experience with fiction written specifically for a genre as opposed to fiction that is written and is listed as a genre for marketing purposes. I'm sure I've read such material previously, this is the first time where the genre specific cliches leapt out at me with a hammer.
Is it well written? Yeah, well enough. It's not literature and it wasn't intended to be.
Is it a good read? I suppose, if you're reading specifically in this genre and are use to all the genre tropes.
I didn't find it a good read because it relied too much (my opinion) on those tropes. Aliens on earth? Why of course, duh, explain such away in a paragraph. Time travel? Foo, nothing new there. Dinosaurs as big game adventure? Seen it before. I can accept all these things, even when they're slung together in the space of a few pages. My challenge was that Mastodonia felt like someone said, "Cliff, write me a story about time-traveling aliens who send people back in time and do it all on a farm. Throw in a simpleton and talking dog for good luck. And put a love interest in there." It doesn't feel like a real story to me. I never fully connected with the characters. Many were two-dimensional, some were three-dimensional and even the 3D characters were stereotypes. The tropes had no reason for the existence other than genre convention. Dang, I wanted a good evening read, too.
Is it well written? Yeah, well enough. It's not literature and it wasn't intended to be.
Is it a good read? I suppose, if you're reading specifically in this genre and are use to all the genre tropes.
I didn't find it a good read because it relied too much (my opinion) on those tropes. Aliens on earth? Why of course, duh, explain such away in a paragraph. Time travel? Foo, nothing new there. Dinosaurs as big game adventure? Seen it before. I can accept all these things, even when they're slung together in the space of a few pages. My challenge was that Mastodonia felt like someone said, "Cliff, write me a story about time-traveling aliens who send people back in time and do it all on a farm. Throw in a simpleton and talking dog for good luck. And put a love interest in there." It doesn't feel like a real story to me. I never fully connected with the characters. Many were two-dimensional, some were three-dimensional and even the 3D characters were stereotypes. The tropes had no reason for the existence other than genre convention. Dang, I wanted a good evening read, too.
November 19, 2014
I like this book because it opened my mind (well it was already opened before that) to the idea of what the earth was like before us. These days there are plenty of books and videos discussing Life After Man, but how many to before? And in this book there is one paragraph that is my favorite, the opening paragraph in chapter 21:
"It was spring in Mastodonia and everything was beautiful. The mobile home stood on top of a little ridge no more than a half mile or so from where the time road brought us through. Just down the slope from the home, a grove of wild crab-apple trees was ablaze with pink blossoms, and the long valley that lay below the ridge was dotted with clumps and groves of crab apples and other flowering trees. The open places were a sea of spring flowers, and the entire area swarming with songbirds."
Folks, writing doesn't get much better than this. This one paragraph stuck with me as I wrote my own novel, Opalescence, (but I expanded that beautiful description to over 3/4 of the book). Just think, before modern life there were looong stretches of time where utter beauty was an everyday thing. It's a world that is sadly disappearing at a rapid pace.
Why only four stars? One paragraph was simply not enough!
"It was spring in Mastodonia and everything was beautiful. The mobile home stood on top of a little ridge no more than a half mile or so from where the time road brought us through. Just down the slope from the home, a grove of wild crab-apple trees was ablaze with pink blossoms, and the long valley that lay below the ridge was dotted with clumps and groves of crab apples and other flowering trees. The open places were a sea of spring flowers, and the entire area swarming with songbirds."
Folks, writing doesn't get much better than this. This one paragraph stuck with me as I wrote my own novel, Opalescence, (but I expanded that beautiful description to over 3/4 of the book). Just think, before modern life there were looong stretches of time where utter beauty was an everyday thing. It's a world that is sadly disappearing at a rapid pace.
Why only four stars? One paragraph was simply not enough!
June 30, 2014
Uma ideia interessante, do Cheshire Cat alienígena q só de onda organiza uns wormholes temporais pro casal de quase arqueólogos.
June 4, 2024
1979 Grade B+
2005 Grade A-
2024 Grade B
Simak's characters and locales are laid back and midwestern. He is often called a pastoralist, which is a good description. The end was a little weak in my opinion. I did skip some long paragraphs as needed but not very much.
The story is about an attempted commercialization of an odd alien time travel source. Yes there are a lot of holes in the story but not enough to cause problems, and it is a lot of fun. The story is also predictable with the interference by the government, news, religious, legal, and other groups.
As I said, it is quite a lot of fun to read. It also did not take long to read, and was easy restart after a break
Recommended.
2005 Grade A-
2024 Grade B
Simak's characters and locales are laid back and midwestern. He is often called a pastoralist, which is a good description. The end was a little weak in my opinion. I did skip some long paragraphs as needed but not very much.
The story is about an attempted commercialization of an odd alien time travel source. Yes there are a lot of holes in the story but not enough to cause problems, and it is a lot of fun. The story is also predictable with the interference by the government, news, religious, legal, and other groups.
As I said, it is quite a lot of fun to read. It also did not take long to read, and was easy restart after a break
Recommended.
December 30, 2009
A distant ancestor to Jurassic Park. Interesting, though dated, sci fi. Gets a half-hearted recommendation from me--you could do worse. It'll kill a plane trip without killing brain cells. No, this isn't the most cogent review, but I just can't bring myself to spend a ton of time on it. That should tell you everything you need to know.
February 23, 2012
This is a comic science fiction novel which I didn't find very funny.
May 4, 2013
Една прекрасна книга повдигаща много въпроси ... и една от първите не книги игри, които прочетох преди много много време.
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