What do you think?
Rate this book
The Golden Space
The theme of immortality is one that has fascinated science fiction writers, and readers, throughout the history of the genre. In The Golden Space, Pamela Sargent has tackled the subject in a unique and daring way and has produced a fascinating speculation on what humanity would undergo if universal immortality became available. Episodic examinations of the evolution of humanity and society provide a stirring intellectual and emotional experience. Years pass like days as the panorama of the future is spread before us.
Advances in genetic engineering and biological science have developed treatments that guarantee immortality for all mankind. Society has changed remarkably and we see these changes reflected, after the fact, through the eyes of Merripen and Josepha, two characters who survived the transition and remember what life was like before immortality. They become involved in a project to breed a race of “perfect” children—without genetic flaws or emotional imbalances—children of reason. The children of the experiment arouse anger and resentment, as many people come to believe they are not human.
One of these children, when grown, becomes involved with the new Death Cults, which are trying to promote an outlook that questions the reasons for immortality. Ultimately, he attempts their transcendental techniques and further calls into question the reality of their experiences and the possibility of his, and his siblings’, nonhumanity.
Other episodes illustrate the vast changes in the geography of human society brought about by immortality: We follow an idyllic journey across an America unrecognizably improved from our own with fewer population centers and more pleasant surroundings for the remaining humans. Finally, Merripen, who has become bored with his life and surroundings, sets out in search of his lost “children” and travels the world seeing anew the changes that have been wrought. Humanity is shrinking back into a strange blend of preindustrial social institutions and extreme technological progress. Genetic manipulation has created creatures in the form of trolls and goblins, who serve man as semi-intelligent slaves. The Death Cults are becoming stronger, and may triumph, enforcing death on all. Eventually, Merripen finds the children, along with Josepha, and discovers that they have made plans for their own transcendence by heading off into the stars, leaving humanity to seek its destiny undisturbed by outside influence.
Advances in genetic engineering and biological science have developed treatments that guarantee immortality for all mankind. Society has changed remarkably and we see these changes reflected, after the fact, through the eyes of Merripen and Josepha, two characters who survived the transition and remember what life was like before immortality. They become involved in a project to breed a race of “perfect” children—without genetic flaws or emotional imbalances—children of reason. The children of the experiment arouse anger and resentment, as many people come to believe they are not human.
One of these children, when grown, becomes involved with the new Death Cults, which are trying to promote an outlook that questions the reasons for immortality. Ultimately, he attempts their transcendental techniques and further calls into question the reality of their experiences and the possibility of his, and his siblings’, nonhumanity.
Other episodes illustrate the vast changes in the geography of human society brought about by immortality: We follow an idyllic journey across an America unrecognizably improved from our own with fewer population centers and more pleasant surroundings for the remaining humans. Finally, Merripen, who has become bored with his life and surroundings, sets out in search of his lost “children” and travels the world seeing anew the changes that have been wrought. Humanity is shrinking back into a strange blend of preindustrial social institutions and extreme technological progress. Genetic manipulation has created creatures in the form of trolls and goblins, who serve man as semi-intelligent slaves. The Death Cults are becoming stronger, and may triumph, enforcing death on all. Eventually, Merripen finds the children, along with Josepha, and discovers that they have made plans for their own transcendence by heading off into the stars, leaving humanity to seek its destiny undisturbed by outside influence.
271 pages, Hardcover
First published January 26, 1982
15 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Pamela Sargent
161 books208 followersPamela Sargent has won the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, and has been a finalist for the Hugo Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the Sidewise Award for alternate history. In 2012, she was honored with the Pilgrim Award by the Science Fiction Research Association for lifetime achievement in science fiction scholarship. She is the author of the novels Cloned Lives, The Sudden Star, Watchstar, The Golden Space, The Alien Upstairs, Eye of the Comet, Homesmind, Alien Child, The Shore of Women, Venus of Dreams, Venus of Shadows, Child of Venus, Climb the Wind, and Ruler of the Sky. Her most recent short story collection is Thumbprints, published by Golden Gryphon Press, with an introduction by James Morrow. The Washington Post Book World has called her “one of the genre's best writers.”
In the 1970s, she edited the Women of Wonder series, the first collections of science fiction by women; her other anthologies include Bio-Futures and, with British writer Ian Watson as co-editor, Afterlives. Two anthologies, Women of Wonder, The Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s and Women of Wonder, The Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s, were published by Harcourt Brace in 1995; Publishers Weekly called these two books “essential reading for any serious sf fan.” Her most recent anthology is Conqueror Fantastic, out from DAW Books in 2004. Tor Books reissued her 1983 young adult novel Earthseed, selected as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and a sequel, Farseed, in early 2007. A third volume, Seed Seeker, was published in November of 2010 by Tor. Earthseed has been optioned by Paramount Pictures, with Melissa Rosenberg, scriptwriter for all of the Twilight films, writing the script and producing through her Tall Girls Productions.
A collection, Puss in D.C. and Other Stories, is out; her novel Season of the Cats is out in hardcover and will be available in paperback from Wildside Press. The Shore of Women has been optioned for development as a TV series by Super Deluxe Films, part of Turner Broadcasting.
Pamela Sargent lives in Albany, New York.
In the 1970s, she edited the Women of Wonder series, the first collections of science fiction by women; her other anthologies include Bio-Futures and, with British writer Ian Watson as co-editor, Afterlives. Two anthologies, Women of Wonder, The Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s and Women of Wonder, The Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s, were published by Harcourt Brace in 1995; Publishers Weekly called these two books “essential reading for any serious sf fan.” Her most recent anthology is Conqueror Fantastic, out from DAW Books in 2004. Tor Books reissued her 1983 young adult novel Earthseed, selected as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and a sequel, Farseed, in early 2007. A third volume, Seed Seeker, was published in November of 2010 by Tor. Earthseed has been optioned by Paramount Pictures, with Melissa Rosenberg, scriptwriter for all of the Twilight films, writing the script and producing through her Tall Girls Productions.
A collection, Puss in D.C. and Other Stories, is out; her novel Season of the Cats is out in hardcover and will be available in paperback from Wildside Press. The Shore of Women has been optioned for development as a TV series by Super Deluxe Films, part of Turner Broadcasting.
Pamela Sargent lives in Albany, New York.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 4, 2021
I first got this book as an old used paperback many years ago—and only read one of the long chapters from the middle of the book. It was intriguing but I never felt committed to reading the entire thing. I decided to try again a few months ago and was glad that I did.
It was almost hypnotic and slow-moving, much like the unending lives of the characters, yet I became fascinated and drawn in. Quite a lot happens over a period of many centuries and it’s unique because the same characters are still living.
I gave it four stars because like someone else mentioned—I felt that the ending was too rushed and left questions unanswered. I mean, come on! I’d “lived” with these characters for about a thousand years and I kind of wanted at least a couple of decent hints as to their whereabouts and status. I say “decent” because there were a couple of hints but still too vague.
Other than that I liked it very much.
It was almost hypnotic and slow-moving, much like the unending lives of the characters, yet I became fascinated and drawn in. Quite a lot happens over a period of many centuries and it’s unique because the same characters are still living.
I gave it four stars because like someone else mentioned—I felt that the ending was too rushed and left questions unanswered. I mean, come on! I’d “lived” with these characters for about a thousand years and I kind of wanted at least a couple of decent hints as to their whereabouts and status. I say “decent” because there were a couple of hints but still too vague.
Other than that I liked it very much.
September 28, 2017
This book showed up on a discount e-book list a couple of days ago. Since I have enjoyed Pam Sargent's books in the past and didn't remember reading this one, I decided to try it. (Turned out I already owned it). The book is surprisingly undated (copyright 1982). Its theme of the consequences of human immortality is even more relevant today with current research into longevity and cyber-augmentation. It has an episodic structure with the individual episodes spread out over several hundred years. There are echoes of Childhood's End (Clarke) in the genetically modified children and of The Naked Sun (Asimov) in the social isolation of the immortals. Well written, the only disappointment was the ending which I felt was too abrupt and incomplete.
December 11, 2019
This is the second book by Sargent that I've read and both her characters have this strange sort of distanced affect. Both times they can be explained by the society they are raised in but I'm starting to wonder if that's just. . . how she writes.
In any case, this book was a nice collection of interconnected stories that create a history of the end and beginning of the world. Things do go out with a whisper. It is thoughtful and engaging but not. . . action packed.
In any case, this book was a nice collection of interconnected stories that create a history of the end and beginning of the world. Things do go out with a whisper. It is thoughtful and engaging but not. . . action packed.
xx-dnf-skim-reference
August 10, 2021Sorry, just not feeling it. All these pages, and no characters that I am getting to know. Dnf well past p. 50 (my default benchmark), August 2021.
September 14, 2025
I read this novel hoping it was a forgotten gem of feminist sci-fi. It is no gem and not particularly feminist. It is clean, well-written, and the characters are slightly unconventional, but the whole thing is a bit stale. In the end, the most interesting aspect to me was the ennui the novel distills. Everybody seems to be sleepwalking, so low-key, so low energy. Once immortality becomes a fact of life, what's left to do? And if there is, why doing it today? There is always tomorrow.
October 31, 2024
Sargent não escreve mal mas o resultado fica muito aquém das expectativas que pretende suscitar. Recorre à ambiguidade para tornar o texto mais interessante e ao suspense para tentar agarrar o leitor, mas só consegue ser confusa e tornar a leitura menos agradável.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews