Seed of Light

by Edmund Cooper

"The Solarian was a hundred metres high and, at its broadest point, twenty metres in diameter. It was designed to carry an initial crew of ten people---five men and five women---with provisions for children. For the ship was a self-contained world, required to support human life independently for centuries.
This is the story of these men and women, and the incredible generations who followed them".

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Collections

158 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Excerpted from wikipedia:
Edmund Cooper was born in Marple, near Stockport in Cheshire on April 30, 1926. He served in the Merchant Navy towards the end of the Second World War. After World War II, he trained as a teacher and began to publish short stories. His first novel, Deadly Image (later republished as The Uncertain Midnight) was completed in 1957 and published in 1958. A 1956 short story, Brain Child, was adapted as the movie The Invisible Boy (1957).
In 1969 The Uncertain Midnight was adapted for Swiss television, in French. At the height of his popularity, in the 1970s, he began to review science fiction for the Sunday Times and continued to do so until his death in 1982.
Apart from the website mentioned above there was another Edmund Cooper website full of information about the author and his publications.

Known Pseudonyms:
Richard Avery
George Kinley
Martin Lester
Broderick Quain

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edmund Cooper is a bit of gamble as far as I am concerned. When I was first picking up books to read for myself I stumbled across a number of books by Mr Cooper - being not very knowledgeable or experienced I went by the cover (I know) and not by the content.

So begin my weird journey with Edmund Cooper. His work varies a lot from sheer drama (Cloud Walker) comic book action (As Richard Avery and the Expendables) to thinly veiled social criticism (Who needs men). He not only wrote but also reviewed.

Anyway the reason why I have such a strange relationship with him is that some of his books I love and read repeatedly others I dread to look at because it seems they are just vehicles for him to get across his own agenda. Now I am sure there are many reviewers and commentators who would love to step in and explain further - but lets just say he had issues my feminism and misogyny. None of which has been helped with the fact that many of his works (this included) have not aged very well.

Now this title - and I think I share the same copy as many others (signet edition from the 70s) came from the 50s and was very much a child of its time. It has assumed that Britannia still rules the waves and that man will still win out even though it was through man we screwed up in the first place.

So why the high rating when I have painted a rather poor image of at least the book if not the author. Well it was exactly those reason why that I have read his books and still do when I stumbled across them in my collection. Not only was he a stepping stone in my reading evolution but I can see how literature of the same sub-genre (the generation space ship) have improved over the years - take a look at Harry Harrison and Brain Aldiss for example.

Now this is no shining beacon of a book but if you want to experience where science fiction has come from and more importantly British Science fiction then I think you have to include this author if not this book in that list.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy cow ! What a book !! I am completely amazed by the progress of the story that takes place in it. Surprisingly, this was a wonderful read. This was the fourth title I read by Edmund Cooper, and I was a bit afraid at first because of its relatively less rating (3.38) at the time I picked it up. But now, I can openly say this book has certainly been one of those under-rated ones.

Seed of Light is a very short novel by pages. But the story spans nearly a millennium. Being written in the Cold War era, the book initiates with a situation as much as it was back then with the nuclear war threat. Only in this, a nuclear war does takes place, and a group of survivors leave in a starship. The next two-thirds of the book is nearly what takes place within this starship and with only the people on board and their future generations.

First, allow me to mention, that not everyone might be able to appreciate this book. It has no characterization. If the reader is looking for rationalizing on things like, for example, how is it that the starship works for so long? and how can people tend to live together without any problems? and how can this or that be possible? then they are apt to get disappointed. I would say the reader needs to focus on the other things of essence that the writer wants to put through, which he does almost throughout the whole book.

One of my favourite characters in the first-third of the book is a scientist who has realized what science has eventually done to him: tarnish him of being a human being.

"To specialize is to run the risk of losing one's humanity. In earlier centuries the danger was not too great, but nowadays it has multiplied itself tremendously until the odds are heavily against any specialist's remaining human. It is the price we have to pay for turning into a set of delicate calculating machines ..."

Not that I personally am against science, but I strongly believe there is much more to every perception and reception, than just what science can do. I see this scenario as rather realistic in today's society with the world gone obsessed with trying to rationalize every damn thing that is perceived.

"... any paradise that man was likely to achieve would be in spite of science and not because of it."

--------

"Pour me a large one while you're about it. During the last few days I have developed a new respect for alcohol. If you drink enough, it stops your being scientific and gives you time to be human."

Coming back to the themes that the writer has made exposition of in the book. Them being: human civilization and its self-annihilation; group survivalism of man as a species; potential of the human mind, its inception and evolution; E.S.P.; adaptation; positive social harmony as a part of social evolution; formation of new mythology, gods, Paradise, the Archetype, new symbols, etymologies (this entire part is allegorical); psychological effects of group isolationism; interstellar travel; sub-space travel; on hope of, and purpose in, existence; human potential of precognition; renaissance; Earth and its importance; prevention of terrible mistakes; overcoming fear; and the diffusion of compassion.

For mankind may survive and live without machines, and still be civilized. But without compassion, the human race can only elaborate upon the futile cunning and the barren intelligence of the great apes.

Overall, a great book to read, provided some unnecessary things are ignored. Full of contemplation for any thinking mind. Contains a great deal of topics to ponder over mankind's future. :) Well-written as always; Edmund Cooper has been an amazing writer as much as I have read. Sadly, he seems to have been forgotten. Truly recommended.

Destinations and origins, arrivals and departures, were arbitrary points, conceived merely to satisfy a desire for order and orientation in the mind of man. But, as always, there was the deeper desire for a sense of purpose. And purpose could be found not in arrival or departure, in the beginning or the end, but only in the manner of the journey; the spirit of the voyagers; the latent and manifest patterns of beauty locked in a single seed.

Fare well, then. :)

[Ray · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ho hum.

Written in the late 50s and certainly showing its age - the commonwealth as a world power anyone? Mankind destroys earth through nuclear war. A few lucky souls escape to find a new planet. After a thousand years odyssey and many false starts their descendants stumble upon earth again, having somehow gone back fifty thousand years.

A new Dawn for Mankind. Will they foul it up again.

Stilted, formulaic and misogynist. Don't bother.

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

"This book is dedicated to those church dignitaries, politicians and eminent men who advocate the retention of nuclear weapons"

Cooper pulls no punches: the first third is slathered with an overall contempt for human society as the Cold War (was it called that in 1959?) erupts in sporadic nuclear violence, leaving ever-larger swaths of the planet poisoned and desolate. And despite this, the world powers continue their militaristic designs. Until, of course, it is time to send small generation ships into the void, on desperate colonization missions.

Frankly? I'd skip part one entirely. Cooper bludgeons the point mercilessly, continuing the theme of "human society is inherently broken" up until the launch of the Solarian just ahead of the raving mob. (Which, in an astounding design flaw, puts the launch site actually inside the domed city instead of, you know...somewhere else.)

The remainder is more interesting but is still not what you'd call an action piece. The seed of humanity--and I'd dispute that ten people constitute a viable genetic base--goes through a harrowing spiritual journey over the generations based mostly on the long boredom of the sublight interstellar travel and the repeated disappointment of barren star systems. There's an aspect of this where the narration pulls back, Last and First Men-style, into generalities and summation, but even when it does focus on specific events, the characters are more archetypes and roles than anything else.

It is a long, joyless piece, preachy and kind of dull, overall.

[Cerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Seed of Light' was written in 1958 and is very much of its time. It sees the Commonwealth as a political entity acting independently of the US, and able to steal a march on the American and Soviet space programmes by launching a space station while the other two are recovering from an 'atomic war'. Unfortunately British efforts to use the station as a peacekeeping presence, precipitate a thermonuclear war.

Europe is reduced to three domed cities, each a building a multi-generation 'seed ship' to escape the ruined Earth. Only one is completed, and that destroys its city on launch - the apocalypse is much darker than Wyndham's, more in the vein of John Christopher's of the time.

Life isn't great for the 10 survivors of humanity - the women are prone to cancers, and children with birth defects are 'recycled'. There's madness and murder too before they discover that Alpha Centauri has no inhabitable planets after a sub-light speed journey of decades. As the search continues the narrative moves from individual characters to the development of the generations, more in the manner of Wells or Olaf Stapledon.

All quite different from his later stuff and interesting really as a commentary on British attitudes of that time - we had our own rocket programme then after all - though it's attempts at prophecy fall far wide of the mark.

[Andy Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Around the first third of the book is set in the present day (at the time of writing) as tensions gradually increase between three competing superpowers, ultimately leading to nuclear war. It's not explained how, but five cities in Europe survive within protective domes and begin to construct starships in an attempt to send a small group to start a colony on another planet. I felt that this part of the book isn't really the meat of the story and could have been dealt with a lot quicker to set the scene.

The remaining two thirds of the book deals with the journey of these ten people, and their descendants. As the journey to the nearest star is decades, and there is no guarantee of finding a habitable planet, it is expected that the crew may not reach their destination and that the human race will need to be re-established through their small 'life unit'. I won't spoil the details, but as the decades and generations pass, the crew experience changes in their outlook, physical characters and abilities. I had to overlook some of the details about exactly how the ship functioned, but if you don't worry too much about the details this is an interesting pure sci-fi story.

[Gareth Farrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was written in 1958 and is one along the apocalyptic line. The story is just as probable now as it was in the 50's which is somewhat sad because clearly humans don't change that much! Certain aspects of it are dated but then again I'd challenge anybody to predicate what the world will look like in 70 years time. Read the book for what it is and don't ignorantly judge as if it was written in the last couple of years.
The author was clearly well read as the whole story has an existential twist to it, something that was fairly new at the time of this book being written. He also skilfully uses words to craft the story, something that is often lacking in modern day authors. I'm only commenting on this story, I'm not holding it to the authors others works which vary in quality.
A wonderful story that has clearly been the inspiration for some modern movies. If you get the chance to read this sci/fantasy type book then go for it.

[Ian Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Seed of Light” by Edmund Cooper (1959) This Edition 1960

Overall Rating 9/10 – Cosmically Good

Plot
The future world has succumbed to nuclear war and there is precious little left of our lands. Small number of people remain with some small government officials left. Destined for total annihilation, the world sends up 10 people in a space ship to preserve the human race on a planet in a far-away system. The journey will take generations and is as likely to result in failure as much as it might succeed.

Writing Style
The writing is very advanced for 1959 and doesn’t show its age except for the excessive and irritating use of the word “for” in the context of “For it was too late” or “For there was no one to …” (You get the picture). Sentences are short and crisp, the words are easy to digest with very little repetition of adjectives and verbs.

Point of View
Written in the 3rd Person / Past Tense (standard convention)

Critique
Almost Genius. Very Almost Genius.

This is a superb look at a futuristic nuclear holocaust and how we (as the human race) might escape oblivion. The author focuses on “realism” far more than he does “fantasy” and suggests an almost practical route forward to preserve our race. It deals with how such a spaceflight would be viewed by a diminishing populous who are doomed. It deals with how ten “perfect” people might co-exist within a super-long space journey. It deals with generations and how they may view the past (and Earth) as well as how they may develop and how this would affect the forward journey.

In fact, a couple of obviously fantastic ideas aside, you could easily imagine that this would be precisely how such a future would pan out.

Aside from the Cylons, the story mimics Batllestar Gallactica (which was written and produced many years AFTER this book). Also of huge interest is the beginnings of Scientology that is also a near clone of this story with one notable exception (sorry, can’t tell you what, spoilers.)

If Cooper had kept his head while writing this novel and stayed away from the couple of small areas that were too unbelievable, this book would have been a work of pure genius and would no doubt have attracted a myriad of world accolades. (I know I have added a wrong “of” there but it flows better).

So nearly a straight 10/10.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was by far the least favorite book I've read by Edmund Cooper so far. A Far Sunset, Transit, All Fool's Day ... these I remember being rather good. But this volume, though interesting at times, suffers from a variety of flaws. I found the earlier sections to be too drily didactic, with rather heavy-handed social commentary coming out of the mouths of the characters in excessive volume. In fact, through most of the book, I thought the dialog was often stilted and not very enjoyable to read. I imagine if someone cut out the lines and mixed them up, it would be difficult to tell which line was spoken by which character. They all seemed too much the same.

There were some especially groan-inducing moments: for example, after the crew decided to euthanize a "Mongoloid" child, one character tries to console the mother, saying, "We would have all given him our love. But the star-flight would have been too much for him. He needed more than love. He needed oblivion." The weird ethos implied by this scene pervades the rest of the book, making it almost feel like a propaganda piece for a frosty brand of scientific humanism. Saying, "He needed oblivion," didn't to my ear add any sense of sympathy, but rather made the character speaking come off a little bit like a psychopath.

Despite these flaws, there were some good moments in the book. While Cooper fumbles with intimate scenes of the characters' personal relationships, he does better at describing large events: the development of cultures, the passing of generations, the fall of civilizations; and there were some passages I particularly enjoyed. "Presently the city realized that the final bogeyman had come to claim all the naughty children, had come to put the city quietly to sleep. For the unseen poison drifted through the gaps like an invisible wraith, probing with soft and deadly fingers into lungs that could feel no warning pain."

At around 150 pages it was an easy read, and not a bad way to pass an afternoon, although it left me feeling vaguely unsatisfied. The conclusion was rather pointless to me, though I imagine some would see it as clever. It gives a superficial "aha!", but in my opinion, on deeper consideration it nullifies any meaning in the star-colonists' struggles throughout the whole book.

[Bohemian Book Lover · Rating 5 out of 5]

*SF at its epic & concise sublimity!
*Edmund Cooper's 1959 novel of ideas (clearly influenced by Cold War rhetoric & the political reality of his day)
*Exceeded all my expectations!
*Dealing speculatively with post-nuclear-world-war international politics & post-apocalyptic tropes, with the ambitious addition of a riveting, generation starship/space

*Opera storyline beautifully & poignantly narrated in omniscient 3rd person (the human drama, experience & condition taking centre stage throughout it all), this fast-paced, 3-Part, 189-page book proves that you don't need to write a
*Fat, 500+ page tome to succeed in creating a tense, captivating, expansive, multi-generational SF novel. I absolutely

*Loved
*It! I'm
*Going out on a limb
*Here by declaring that it would be criminal not
*To consider SEED OF LIGHT a classic must-read of vintage SF literature.

[jm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I’m having a panic attack brought on by pure despair.
The first third of the book was honestly difficult to get through, but I read the last 2/3 over the last two days.

For so long in this book I felt so much hope and excitement only to now have my chest feel empty and yet feel my heart pounding, torn out and hucked on the floor in a memory of yesterday.

If you like being crushed with existential sadness this book is for you.

I have a first edition (1959) and I will be happily taking this book with me to my grave. Brilliant.

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edmund Cooper hey? A very hit or miss, love him or hate him author with books that have all dated poorly and with several less savoury, imperialistic, misogynistic and misanthropic attitudes.

This is definitely not my favourite of his but I did enjoy reading it. Not a fast read by any means and one is left with a lot of questions, a doubts, many of those.

It is a dystopian scenario where humanity has irradiated and polluted the planet so badly that we are on the verge on extinction. We get a brief preview of the plot when the English Prime Minister (I think) unveils a method to save humanity by building a spaceship to take humans to 'seed' other planets. This is old hat to modern readers, but it was still fresh and exciting in the 1950's when it was written and published. One needs to remember "1950's" while reading it a lot. If humanity can build this spaceship, they can build survival domes, but they don't. They send ten people, five breeding pains into space with 'room for children' as it will take many generations to reach a potentially habitable planet, any geneticist is screaming by now; inbreeding. The misogyny is a bit tough to handle on board that spaceship too.

Also, how cute is it that they believed, back in the 1950's, that the British Commonwealth of Nations would last that long and England would still be a dominant world power? Cute, as I said, though a couple of the other insights into the international balances pf power are quite insightful.

I enjoy Cooper's writing style, so I quite liked it but it is tough reading because this book is not terribly character driven. When Cooper writes characters, his books for me are effortlessly engaging even though the characters are never uncomplicated and rarely nice. In this book his five breeding pairs never really individuate for me, partly because they have given themselves new names as a symbol of leaving Earth behind, the women are all names for places, like Troy, the men for famous scientists ect, like Newton *grimace and move on. The Solarian travels through space and a the grandchildren generation we suddenly get a few characters come to life and engaged me thoroughly, but not for long and the last quarter of the book I must admit I was reading it more to finish it than anything else.

The ending was also a bit grimace. I won't go into it though

Another thing Cooper always does, as far as I can tell, is go on long philosophical journeys wherein he pontificates (sometimes at great length) his views/agenda about the way the world is, it feels like this book has more than most. It is weird that these come across as quite religious because my understanding is that he was an atheist.

With all the negatives that I have just gone on about, why does it still have three healthy stars? Well, reading this is like pure history, for the early days of sci-fi and it actually has quite a bit of science and mathematics involved, well researched. Cooper was part of the English, early sci-fi community and we tend to hear more about the American sci-fi. It seems to me interesting and important to classic sci-fi readers to understand where the genera comes from (Handy opinion to have, since I love reading this old stuff). This book is very much the start of dystopian writing, before that was even a word and when sci-fi was trying to become the voice of reason with regard to nuclear war environmental concerns. It might well be that books like this are part of the reason why we are NOT living in the landscape it portrays.

Also, I quite enjoyed it, in it's/my own way and that is the ultimate rating.

[Peter Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of those rare occasions when I bought a science fiction book for its great cover rather than its content (and it was at a car boot sale and very cheap). However as it had been languishing in my to be read piles for some years and the pages were quite yellowed (in fact more orange looking…). I thought I better read it and dispose of it before it completely disintegrated. So not a great reason to read a book but it wasn’t a bad read.

The first half is depressing (in a good way) and does in fact have an unexpected and even more depression ending which I enjoyed. This was somewhat of a surprise as the author’s own foreword suggested that he thought the first half of the story many not have dated well (it was written in the late 50s and his foreword was from 1976).

The second half by contrast started well, but by just over half way through it becomes apparent where (quite literally) the story is going to end up (though it does have a slight twist in terms of time if not in terms of location).

[Roger · Rating 2 out of 5]

At the end of civilisation, a small group of people are chosen to escape the coming destruction caused by man's foolish disregard for the earth. They blast off on a rocket ship designed to last for as long as it takes to find a new home. Nobody expected the journey to last as long as it did and during that time many generations are born and die before the shop reaches journey's end. Not EC's best book by a long shot. It's preachy, wordy and mind-numbingly slow, and too full of its own self-importance. Not a book I'll read again.

[Joachim Boaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...

"Edmund Cooper’s Seed of Light (1959) is less of a traditional narrative of the voyage of a generation ship as are its fellow generation ship novels of the 40s/50s. The best examples are Brian Aldiss’ Non-Stop (1958) and Robert Heinlein’s Orphans of the Sky (1941). Seed of Light is more like a piece of pseudo-history interlaced with fragments [..]"

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

" … La fine e l'inizio si confondono e l'uno senza l'altro sono senza significato. Così non porebbe mai esserci una fine assoluta, come non potrebbe mai esserci un assoluto inizio. Può esserci solo un continuo mutamento … "
Un racconto in bilico tra fantascienza e filosofia, tra speranza e assoluta certezza che la natura umana è quella che è con la sua meravigliosa bellezza ma anche così follemente distruttiva, peccato che il finale sia così scontato!

[Ptjerónimo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um romance de FC de tese, ideologicamente empenhado, com "mensagem", panfletário. Excessivamente, direi mesmo. Não estando propriamente mal escrito, o estilo é pomposo, pedante e as lucubrações filosóficas, místicas e, sobretudo, pseudo-científicas tornam o texto pesado e a leitura por vezes penosa. A tradução, não obstante algumas "fantasias" (como, por exemplo, utilizar o termo "astronau" em vez de "astronave") não me parece má.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seed of Light by Edmund Cooper.

Earth is dying, thanks to man's self-destructive nature. With an atomsphere radiation poisoned beyond repair, the last of humanity constructs generation starships to take a select few out into space as seeds for new civilisations.

An enjoyable read. The first half, dedicated to conflict between countries, seemed out of place and very different from the second half of future generations on the starship.

[Emmylou Kotzé · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have an ancient trade paperback of this and it's so good. Been through the wars but it still survives. Much like the themes of the story. I honestly love Mr Cooper's brand of sci-fi & this one is no exception.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 1959, my 1977 Coronet edition of Edmund Cooper’s second published novel is an enjoyable example of the once popular ‘generation-ship’ sub-genre. The characterisations are a little silly at times, and ‘generation-ship’ stories have been told with much more panache by Harry Harrison and Brian Aldiss, but in spite of this it is a good read.

[Alien · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the nuclear war means before another nuclear war. The 3 world powers USA, Commonwealth (haha) and Soviet Union are in a hurry to get new military satellites into space.

This book is very gloomy and pessimistic. Lightness or fun? Hell no!
A specialty is the fact that most of the book consists of dialog. blablabla.
I was no fun to read and I quit after about half.

[Karen]

I read this book so long ago that I can't remember what I thought of it, though at the time I adored Edmund Cooper books so I must've enjoyed it - definately one to re-read!

[SciFiOne · Rating 3 out of 5]

1980 grade C