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And All The Stars A Stage
When the sun explodes all life will end. No one will survive the blow-up; except the men and women who crowd into a few starships and fly away into space while there is still time, to look for a new home in the infinite void, a new planet on which to settle.
Jorn, unskilled, unemployed, seemingly a reject from society, finds that he has what it takes to become one of the brave survivors, blasting off in hastily built ships that have never flown before. Jorn and his companions begin a long search, threatened by repeated disasters and despair, but ultimately leading through to an unexpected climax for which no one is prepared.
Jorn, unskilled, unemployed, seemingly a reject from society, finds that he has what it takes to become one of the brave survivors, blasting off in hastily built ships that have never flown before. Jorn and his companions begin a long search, threatened by repeated disasters and despair, but ultimately leading through to an unexpected climax for which no one is prepared.
191 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
1 person is currently reading
213 people want to read
About the author
James Blish
454 books327 followersJames Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling Jr.
In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.
Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.
He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appeared in the anthology Beyond Human Ken, edited by Judith Merril. (The story was originally published in 1941, but that version did not contain the term; Blish apparently added it in a rewrite done for the anthology, which was first published in 1952.)
Blish was married to the literary agent Virginia Kidd from 1947 to 1963.
From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute.
Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish became the first author to write short story collections based upon the classic TV series Star Trek. In total, Blish wrote 11 volumes of short stories adapted from episodes of the 1960s TV series, as well as an original novel, Spock Must Die! in 1970 — the first original novel for adult readers based upon the series (since then hundreds more have been published). He died midway through writing Star Trek 12; his wife, J.A. Lawrence, completed the book, and later completed the adaptations in the volume Mudd's Angels.
Blish lived in Milford, Pennsylvania at Arrowhead until the mid-1960s. In 1968, Blish emigrated to England, and lived in Oxford until his death in 1975. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford, near the grave of Kenneth Grahame.
His name in Greek is Τζέημς Μπλις"
In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.
Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.
He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appeared in the anthology Beyond Human Ken, edited by Judith Merril. (The story was originally published in 1941, but that version did not contain the term; Blish apparently added it in a rewrite done for the anthology, which was first published in 1952.)
Blish was married to the literary agent Virginia Kidd from 1947 to 1963.
From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute.
Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish became the first author to write short story collections based upon the classic TV series Star Trek. In total, Blish wrote 11 volumes of short stories adapted from episodes of the 1960s TV series, as well as an original novel, Spock Must Die! in 1970 — the first original novel for adult readers based upon the series (since then hundreds more have been published). He died midway through writing Star Trek 12; his wife, J.A. Lawrence, completed the book, and later completed the adaptations in the volume Mudd's Angels.
Blish lived in Milford, Pennsylvania at Arrowhead until the mid-1960s. In 1968, Blish emigrated to England, and lived in Oxford until his death in 1975. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford, near the grave of Kenneth Grahame.
His name in Greek is Τζέημς Μπλις"
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
June 17, 2024
This novel was originally published as a serial in the June and July issues of Amazing Stories magazine (which was edited by the always under-appreciated Cele Goldsmith) in 1960. Blish gave it a minor revision and it appeared as a book for the first time in 1971. Some of the traits of the novel, especially a flavor of misogyny, seem much more suited to 1960 than to the '70s, and I suspect it's heightened by comparison with some of the updates or changes Blish did in the revision process. Parts of it seem like a '40s era space opera. It's very much a big-idea novel, with cosmic quests and consequences, and spends little time with character development. It's a well-plotted story, and has a very nifty ending, but the narration has a few fits and starts in getting there. Cool title, though!
July 23, 2022
Una distopia futura, con emigrazione di massa dalla Terra condannata a diventare una super nova alla ricerca di un nuovo mondo in cui vivere. Onestamente l'ho trovato un poco scarso come narrazione e come sviluppo della storia. Ho trovato i personaggi non approfonditi come si dovrebbe, a parte un poco il protagonista all'inizio. Si lascia leggere, per carità, ed ha un finale poetico anche se non è chiaro perché avrebbe dovuto verificarsi un loop temporale.
Non soddisfa appieno anche se alcune delle idee sono buone.
2 stelle.
Non soddisfa appieno anche se alcune delle idee sono buone.
2 stelle.
May 7, 2008
Like so many male sf authors, Blish has skanky women issues, and they're pretty apparent in this book; I spent a lot of it gritting my teeth. The worldbuilding is decent, though, and it says some interesting things in the midst of all the "wait, *what*?" of the plot.
July 22, 2018
191 pages, spanning hundreds of years across thousands of light years of space, with a few characters speaking mostly in exposition. In short, everything you’d want from a pulp sci-fi tale published in 1971, in a paperback edition falling apart as you read it, which you’ve read mostly under a tree at the height of summer
December 1, 2008
As is so often the case with Blish, poor novel with a great ending. As one reviewer said: "I loved the final sentence, and I don't mean that ironically".
March 2, 2018
As some one else said that summed it up perfectly for me
"This book is very much of the "old time" science fiction school that was more concerned with ideas than with story or characters. "
"This book is very much of the "old time" science fiction school that was more concerned with ideas than with story or characters. "
June 25, 2025
2.5⭐ the kind of particularly baffling gender politics only found in science fiction of this era. overall a short & entertaining read. shoutout Jorn Birn for being called that.
February 8, 2018
I did not first read this book in my youth, years ago, so there is no nostalgia to color my reactions now, and I feel mild contempt for this book. It's not just that it's slapdash and unsatisfying, either; there are many things wrong here. Though published in 1971, this book reads as if written in 1951: it was written during the Apollo Moon landings, after the film and book "2001: A Space Odyssey," and 6 years following the publication of "Dune," yet there is no hint that Blish noticed any of these.
The pacing is uneven; tangential digressions give way to leaps of years in the main story line. The author seems to know (or care) little about ships, space, planetary ecology, evolution, or unmanned probes. Characters are barely two-dimensional, yet manage to be annoying nonetheless. The gender relations are fraught, as though Blish was angry at the Women's Rights movement around him and wanted to say so, but not fraught in a way to serve the story. Blish tosses around techno-babble as if to delight a 13 year old nerd, but in terrible dialogue it becomes onerous. A sample for you: "'...there is no accompanying mass effect, and having found that out from theory in advance, you must have assumed that the contraction equation was meaningless under the conditions of your drive-field. I made that assumption too, but with the evidence now in hand, I can see where the error lies.' (p. 86)" People on a ship's bridge during a crisis, saying that? Nah.
As a matter of fact, it seems Blish just didn't care. Either this really was a 20 year old manuscript he sent off to satisfy a contractual obligation, or he just didn't care what he fed the market at that point. I don't see any reason I should either; to paraphrase Pangborn's Davy, just call it 'spinach' and to hell with it.
The pacing is uneven; tangential digressions give way to leaps of years in the main story line. The author seems to know (or care) little about ships, space, planetary ecology, evolution, or unmanned probes. Characters are barely two-dimensional, yet manage to be annoying nonetheless. The gender relations are fraught, as though Blish was angry at the Women's Rights movement around him and wanted to say so, but not fraught in a way to serve the story. Blish tosses around techno-babble as if to delight a 13 year old nerd, but in terrible dialogue it becomes onerous. A sample for you: "'...there is no accompanying mass effect, and having found that out from theory in advance, you must have assumed that the contraction equation was meaningless under the conditions of your drive-field. I made that assumption too, but with the evidence now in hand, I can see where the error lies.' (p. 86)" People on a ship's bridge during a crisis, saying that? Nah.
As a matter of fact, it seems Blish just didn't care. Either this really was a 20 year old manuscript he sent off to satisfy a contractual obligation, or he just didn't care what he fed the market at that point. I don't see any reason I should either; to paraphrase Pangborn's Davy, just call it 'spinach' and to hell with it.
March 23, 2025
More careful readers (as I evidently wasn't enough) might have seen where this was going, but I didn't.
The novel was a rollercoaster of emotions and almost of genres, with social dystopia being entwined with soft space fantasy in unexpected ways.
And "unexpected" well describes this story. The blizarre adventures of Jorn (pun intended) become a sort of coming of age tale for a decadent human culture in its own sake, with long passages full of a glorious, off-scale sense of dread which at times made the book unputdownable.
The tinges of emotion that colour the events in the eye of the protagonist are just that, and they gently tweak a story which has its forte in the almost cosmic developments.
All in all, a better than it might seem stand alone work of the SF master.
Note on the social commentary/satyre in the first chapters of the book: I still don't understand where James Blish stood with regards to the emancipation of women. A matriarchal society where men are unjustly (but "necessarily") disadvantaged seems like a perfect analogy to what was happening in the 20th century but the other way around; and yet, it seems to me that he thought there was a sort of hierarchy of the sexes that should occur naturally, although never in terms of skills or intelligence (there are many cleverer-than-men women characters in Blish' stories). So who knows.
The novel was a rollercoaster of emotions and almost of genres, with social dystopia being entwined with soft space fantasy in unexpected ways.
And "unexpected" well describes this story. The blizarre adventures of Jorn (pun intended) become a sort of coming of age tale for a decadent human culture in its own sake, with long passages full of a glorious, off-scale sense of dread which at times made the book unputdownable.
The tinges of emotion that colour the events in the eye of the protagonist are just that, and they gently tweak a story which has its forte in the almost cosmic developments.
All in all, a better than it might seem stand alone work of the SF master.
Note on the social commentary/satyre in the first chapters of the book: I still don't understand where James Blish stood with regards to the emancipation of women. A matriarchal society where men are unjustly (but "necessarily") disadvantaged seems like a perfect analogy to what was happening in the 20th century but the other way around; and yet, it seems to me that he thought there was a sort of hierarchy of the sexes that should occur naturally, although never in terms of skills or intelligence (there are many cleverer-than-men women characters in Blish' stories). So who knows.
October 14, 2017
A SF story of futuristic earth that has become overpopulated with males and the sun is about to explode, so mankind has to take to the stars in a hurry to find a new planet to colonize. The premise sounds interesting, with added in gender issues a SF creatures called familiars you would think this book would be good. Unfortunately the writing is poor and nothing really seems to pan out. It is more like the author had a great idea but didn't give it time to really come together. The writing is more on a "tell" instead of "show" style. The gender issue and familiars don't really pan out to anything, with one female character's personality and decisions not making sense. The ending wasn't much either.
December 29, 2014
I loved the worldbuilding and all the ideas! Sadly it kept jumping ahead in time without really explaining what had happened. People who were enemies were suddenly married, people who were alive were dead without explanation - it was frustrating, like giant chunks were taken out and hastily transitioned for publishing or something. But despite that, I really enjoyed the set up and the story arc. The characters were blah, but the adventure and universe was A+. I'd love to see something like this adapted for film or TV, there's lots of room to interpret and play with this story and the universe.
May 5, 2009
This is a better-than-average science fiction novel with a poignant twist. Blish is usually better-than-average.
October 10, 2009
I had forgotten how much I loved James Blish. Damn.
February 20, 2025
2/5
A fix-up of previously published stories from the sixties, published together in 1970 with some additional material added. A confused and scattered narrative follows Jorn, a man who belongs to a matriarchal society stumbling into a role in space experimentation following advances in technology and theory following the observation of a nearby supernova. These experiments in long distance space travel prove fortuitous, as the sun shows the signs of going supernova itself in a short numbers of years. Following a section of action as a fleet of generation ships launch into space, the rest of the novel essentially functions as a series of vignettes, where Jorn's ship finds and explores a series of planets for colonization.
Blish is in full exposition mode in And All The Stars A Stage. I'm convinced that when Blish was writing these serials in 1960 that he was paid by the word, because there are so many long-winded, unnecessary, and repetitive explanations. A side effect of this writing is that the characters are so transparent and wispy that they might as well not even exist. Blish is much more concerned with telling you why certain decisions are made mathematically than expanding on either the worlds that the humans encounter, the familiars that the humans have, or making the narrative not so scattershot.
Another main point of contention I have is Blish's conservative exploration of gender politics. After the generation ships reach space, it's found that men just do better (somehow) at all manner of technical work, which moves them back into a position of power, with even the most strident women happily taking a submissive role. Genetic disposition aside, it's crazy that Blish thought that women would just lay the fuck down like that. Really speaks to his conservative, chauvinistic, incel side. It's also just a bland way to wrap up that thread.
I will say that Blish, especially when compared to his peers in genre fiction, could write an ending. This ending is not nearly as good as A Case of Conscience, but does recontextualize the rest of the novel is a satisfying way. I also enjoyed the bits of exposition on how to keep a work force happy that starts to realize it's own impending mortality, and the social dynamics on a generation ship as the culture changes.
This is a minor work from an author that is capable of doing so much better.
A fix-up of previously published stories from the sixties, published together in 1970 with some additional material added. A confused and scattered narrative follows Jorn, a man who belongs to a matriarchal society stumbling into a role in space experimentation following advances in technology and theory following the observation of a nearby supernova. These experiments in long distance space travel prove fortuitous, as the sun shows the signs of going supernova itself in a short numbers of years. Following a section of action as a fleet of generation ships launch into space, the rest of the novel essentially functions as a series of vignettes, where Jorn's ship finds and explores a series of planets for colonization.
Blish is in full exposition mode in And All The Stars A Stage. I'm convinced that when Blish was writing these serials in 1960 that he was paid by the word, because there are so many long-winded, unnecessary, and repetitive explanations. A side effect of this writing is that the characters are so transparent and wispy that they might as well not even exist. Blish is much more concerned with telling you why certain decisions are made mathematically than expanding on either the worlds that the humans encounter, the familiars that the humans have, or making the narrative not so scattershot.
Another main point of contention I have is Blish's conservative exploration of gender politics. After the generation ships reach space, it's found that men just do better (somehow) at all manner of technical work, which moves them back into a position of power, with even the most strident women happily taking a submissive role. Genetic disposition aside, it's crazy that Blish thought that women would just lay the fuck down like that. Really speaks to his conservative, chauvinistic, incel side. It's also just a bland way to wrap up that thread.
I will say that Blish, especially when compared to his peers in genre fiction, could write an ending. This ending is not nearly as good as A Case of Conscience, but does recontextualize the rest of the novel is a satisfying way. I also enjoyed the bits of exposition on how to keep a work force happy that starts to realize it's own impending mortality, and the social dynamics on a generation ship as the culture changes.
This is a minor work from an author that is capable of doing so much better.
January 13, 2024
I sort of half-remembered enjoying reading this novel when I was a teen.
This reread though gave me a different perspective.
As others have noted, it was published in 1971, yet it somehow manages to read like it's a 1950s-written sci-fi effort. If you read other works by James Blish they come over as being quite progressive in writing terms, A Case of Conscience being a good example, but so too Black Easter. The Okie stories have got a bit dated, but this one, ...And All The Stars A Stage really has aged, and aged badly.
The streak of misogyny that you can detect early-on isn't sustained throughout (thank god) but where did that come from. Blish's marriage to editor/writer Virginia Kidd ended in 1963, so perhaps that was a source.
The core story; an armada of interstellar spaceships escaping a doomed Earth isn't that original. When World's Collide might be an early inspiration, and there's some tribute paid to that with the inevitable battle near take-off. The recently-read The Songs of Distant Earth (Clarke) sees a far more gentler destruction and a friendlier galaxy in which to escape-to.
By 1971 though, the technology of The Moon Race and that displayed by Kubrick/Clarkes 2001 should really have filtered-through. Yet Blish seemed wedded to the 'blasters' and E.E. Smith-style 'maximum acceleration' of pulp sci-fi. There's little characterisation and some lengthy sections of uninterrupted dialogue that just don't read right.
There was a good novel hiding in all the gumpf though. There's a single brilliant, cinematic section involving a flamethrower, but the rest of the novel is memorable only for it reading like some tribute to a bygone age.
Like Vonda McIntyre, Blish could be (when he was inclined) a fabulous writer. Like Vonda though, we lost him to Star Trek adaptations, and the output and writing quality suffered.
Unlikely I'll reread this one.
This reread though gave me a different perspective.
As others have noted, it was published in 1971, yet it somehow manages to read like it's a 1950s-written sci-fi effort. If you read other works by James Blish they come over as being quite progressive in writing terms, A Case of Conscience being a good example, but so too Black Easter. The Okie stories have got a bit dated, but this one, ...And All The Stars A Stage really has aged, and aged badly.
The streak of misogyny that you can detect early-on isn't sustained throughout (thank god) but where did that come from. Blish's marriage to editor/writer Virginia Kidd ended in 1963, so perhaps that was a source.
The core story; an armada of interstellar spaceships escaping a doomed Earth isn't that original. When World's Collide might be an early inspiration, and there's some tribute paid to that with the inevitable battle near take-off. The recently-read The Songs of Distant Earth (Clarke) sees a far more gentler destruction and a friendlier galaxy in which to escape-to.
By 1971 though, the technology of The Moon Race and that displayed by Kubrick/Clarkes 2001 should really have filtered-through. Yet Blish seemed wedded to the 'blasters' and E.E. Smith-style 'maximum acceleration' of pulp sci-fi. There's little characterisation and some lengthy sections of uninterrupted dialogue that just don't read right.
There was a good novel hiding in all the gumpf though. There's a single brilliant, cinematic section involving a flamethrower, but the rest of the novel is memorable only for it reading like some tribute to a bygone age.
Like Vonda McIntyre, Blish could be (when he was inclined) a fabulous writer. Like Vonda though, we lost him to Star Trek adaptations, and the output and writing quality suffered.
Unlikely I'll reread this one.
February 6, 2025
I've come late in the day to this SF author and in this book you can see the seeds of what eventually became the television series "Battlestar Galactica". I note that Blish ended up writing novelizations of various "Star Trek" storylines. This book poses an interpretation of various standard themes that frequently crop up in science fiction - a dying Earth; a need to save some of humanity by sending them to the stars to find a new home before our Sun blows the solar system to smithereens; a human race where there are more women than men, yet men are the underclass; the use of "familiars" that Philip Pullman developed more fully in his book "Northern Lights"; humanity's encounters with alien lifeforms that are not always friendly - to me Blish has adopted a "scattergun" approach and is throwing out ideas to test the waters of SF public reaction. Consequently there are major time lapses in the narrative so the reader meets major characters who have undergone emotional changes that do not develop logically. Fortunately it is a quick, undemanding read. It has received accusations of misogyny which seems strange given that Blish has created a society run by a matriarchy that only begins to fall apart when it is realised that men are needed to propagate a starship's crew as such a search for a new planetary home will take generations. Given that he wrote this in 1971 there is something definitely "old school" about it. But then this is where the cinema is streets ahead of the written word to visualise the future. You only need to look at the films of Ridley Scott, Denis Villeneuve, Christopher Nolan, Steve Spielberg, George Lucas and Stanley Kubrick to see that cinema offers hefty competition to SF literature.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 20, 2019
It was well written and certainly had a brilliant ending, but there were a number of inclusions in the book that were completely unnecessary, such as the weird anti-feminine thing. There are much better pocket sci fis out there.
May 12, 2018
I enjoyed the story, and it has some interesting ideas. Overall I rate it a 3,5.
June 17, 2018
This is pulp SF; not better than that. I give it a bare 3 because I was in the mood for it.
November 27, 2022
Very dated, the science seemed a bit unbelievable at times. I could see the end coming for most of the book.
April 23, 2023
Picked up in a charity shop because I loved the title, but it's not only got all of the expected sexism and racism of old-school SF, it's also very badly written. The title is great though.
November 1, 2024
Nothing mind blowing; a quick, pleasant read. I could imagine reading it as a magazine series back in the day.
July 31, 2025
Distopico. Bizzarro. Ironico.
March 20, 2023
Unfortunately, reading vintage sci-fi is often an exercise in how many “women issues” it’s possible for an author to have. This book is no exception. The attempt at a backwards-sexist society is an interesting premise, but in this case poorly executed, and comes off as an exploration of all the ways the author is generally insecure, hateful, and fearful about women. Now obviously, most of the book is not really about this dynamic. But every time it crops up, it’s blatant and distracting, and can definitely punt a modern reader out of the narrative.
If you can read through those distractions, the actual story is perfectly fine. At times it is clumsy, and elements of it don’t seem paced out correctly or described to an extent that would best make sense. But, especially towards the end, it comes together to evoke an engrossing and emotional conclusion. This is ultimately a sad story. The grief and hopelessness that gradually permeates more and more of the narrative creates an atmosphere and attachment that I think most readers will find compelling.
So, in the end, this is a flawed book that manages to reach a quiet, satisfying conclusion. Some readers may find the “women issues” too sour to read through, but most will probably be able to absorb the story and find some enjoyment regardless.
If you can read through those distractions, the actual story is perfectly fine. At times it is clumsy, and elements of it don’t seem paced out correctly or described to an extent that would best make sense. But, especially towards the end, it comes together to evoke an engrossing and emotional conclusion. This is ultimately a sad story. The grief and hopelessness that gradually permeates more and more of the narrative creates an atmosphere and attachment that I think most readers will find compelling.
So, in the end, this is a flawed book that manages to reach a quiet, satisfying conclusion. Some readers may find the “women issues” too sour to read through, but most will probably be able to absorb the story and find some enjoyment regardless.
June 8, 2018
Decent old-style sci-fi. It jumped around a bit, and I think the author wasted a lot of potential when it came to the 'familiars'. I enjoyed the various Possible Habitable Planet scenarios that the exploring ships went through, though the various failures were heartbreaking.
June 8, 2013
The story of "And All the Stars a Stage" follows the life of Jorn Birn, who starts out as a young bachelor on a dying planet. Jorn is recruited to join a secret project to develop long-range spacecraft that will attempt to rescue a portion of his planet's population when their star dies. The story then follows Jorn, and the refugees, until the end of Jorn's life, just after he and his companions finally find a new, habitable world.
This book is very much of the "old time" science fiction school that was more concerned with ideas than with story or characters. I used to enjoy this sort of thing when I was younger -- I guess I had few ideas of my own, so I soaked them up from the writers I enjoyed.
Today, as I am writing my first science fiction novel and revisiting writers who once fascinated me, I've started reading some of the great science fiction writers of the 1950s and '60s, and I realize how much tastes have changed -- my own as well as those of contemporary readers generally. In this novel, none of the characters is explored or developed in any depth, and this slender volume (fewer than 200 pages) covers more than 50 years and the extinction of an entire civilization, obviously only in overview, not in detail. The tone of the book becomes more melancholy as it goes on (and as the central character ages).
None of this is mentioned necessarily as a criticism, but just to warn prospective readers that this novel was written to meet very different expectations than those that most 21st century readers will bring to it.
This book is very much of the "old time" science fiction school that was more concerned with ideas than with story or characters. I used to enjoy this sort of thing when I was younger -- I guess I had few ideas of my own, so I soaked them up from the writers I enjoyed.
Today, as I am writing my first science fiction novel and revisiting writers who once fascinated me, I've started reading some of the great science fiction writers of the 1950s and '60s, and I realize how much tastes have changed -- my own as well as those of contemporary readers generally. In this novel, none of the characters is explored or developed in any depth, and this slender volume (fewer than 200 pages) covers more than 50 years and the extinction of an entire civilization, obviously only in overview, not in detail. The tone of the book becomes more melancholy as it goes on (and as the central character ages).
None of this is mentioned necessarily as a criticism, but just to warn prospective readers that this novel was written to meet very different expectations than those that most 21st century readers will bring to it.
January 13, 2014
Fascinating novel by the writer of the Star Trek adaptations for the original series. This is the story of a planet where an interstellar drive is developed. Close on the heels of that discovery comes the realization the planet is doomed because their sun is going super-nova in a few decades. What follows is an epic tale of a migration away from the doomed world by a comparative handful of the population and their attempts to re-settle somewhere in their galaxy. An epic done in less that two hundred pages. I enjoyed this story very much and found the scaling down of the story of such a colossal undertaking to be interesting. I do recommend it to fans of older science fiction or of the more hard science fiction genre.
October 19, 2022
I bought this book when I was a kid. I had read Blish's Star Trek novelizations and ended up buying this but didn't read it until now.
There is a good book in here somewhere. It's not what was put in this novel but there is a pretty good "mankind travels to the stars in search of a new home" story that could be written from this.
Instead, Blish decided to put too much emphasis on things that aren't really relevant to the main story and not much emphasis on character development, exploration, and interaction between characters.
As a result this feels like it should have been a story in a sci-fi periodical of the 70s rather than an novel, albeit rather short.
There is a good book in here somewhere. It's not what was put in this novel but there is a pretty good "mankind travels to the stars in search of a new home" story that could be written from this.
Instead, Blish decided to put too much emphasis on things that aren't really relevant to the main story and not much emphasis on character development, exploration, and interaction between characters.
As a result this feels like it should have been a story in a sci-fi periodical of the 70s rather than an novel, albeit rather short.
December 19, 2013
The beginning is bleak, if your a male at least. In this Matriarchal society there are not many options for men. It would appear the sex war had been fought and men came out lacking. Soon enough though, this really wouldn't matter...
James Blish has written a very charming story of apocalypse and survival. It, also, as the story progresses, brings to the front the themes of maturation, leadership and finally the passing on the torch to the younger generation. Juxtaposed to its thematic content is a story that is entertaining and easy to read.
James Blish has written a very charming story of apocalypse and survival. It, also, as the story progresses, brings to the front the themes of maturation, leadership and finally the passing on the torch to the younger generation. Juxtaposed to its thematic content is a story that is entertaining and easy to read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews