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Heart Stars #1
The Star Dwellers: Heart Stars Book 1
The inhabitants of Terra nicknamed them "Angels".They were exquisitely beautiful, these shimmering, fiery creatures , highly intelligent and playful. Yet they were awesome, too, considering that the youngest were four million years old, and the oldest had probably participated in the First Cause, which had given birth to the whole universe. To young space cadet Jack Loftus fell the overwhelming responsibility of negotiating a treaty with them - a treaty which could mean the life or death of earth and mankind.
124 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1961
6 people are currently reading
136 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 30 reviews
December 11, 2016
I guess my ability to be surprised (or at least not spot the obviously) does not change. I knew of this book and Mission to heart stars but never made the connection till GoodReads pointed it out to me.
Anyway this was a fun short read (it was only 140 pages long) from the golden age of science fiction (it was first published in the early 60s but my copy is from the late 70s)
I have a number of James Blish's books to read including the most famous of all the cities in flight series but I always seem to get distracted and go off on a tangent (again).
However in my defence it does seem from those I remember (as well as the star dwellers i have just read) that a large proportion of the book it set to explain the situation, set the scene and generally provide back ground to the story to come. In fact in a book a 140 pages I felt it was around page 70 when things started to get interesting and the story properly took off.
That said once we were underway with the story it soon picked up pace to a suitable spectacular climax which now know there is another book does bode well for what is to come.
In short it was a fun read which to be honest you can pretty much guess the entire storyline from the back of the book. However you have to be patient and work your way through the padding to the story within and once there you will be rewarded so have patience its worth it.
Anyway this was a fun short read (it was only 140 pages long) from the golden age of science fiction (it was first published in the early 60s but my copy is from the late 70s)
I have a number of James Blish's books to read including the most famous of all the cities in flight series but I always seem to get distracted and go off on a tangent (again).
However in my defence it does seem from those I remember (as well as the star dwellers i have just read) that a large proportion of the book it set to explain the situation, set the scene and generally provide back ground to the story to come. In fact in a book a 140 pages I felt it was around page 70 when things started to get interesting and the story properly took off.
That said once we were underway with the story it soon picked up pace to a suitable spectacular climax which now know there is another book does bode well for what is to come.
In short it was a fun read which to be honest you can pretty much guess the entire storyline from the back of the book. However you have to be patient and work your way through the padding to the story within and once there you will be rewarded so have patience its worth it.
June 12, 2024
An abridged version of The Star Dwellers was serialized in Boys' Life (a Boy Scouts journal) in 1961 prior to its hardcover publication by Putnam; it's would now be termed a YA book, in the tradition of the Heinlein juveniles. It gets a bit too moralistic and preachy at times but is not a bad story of a young space cadet genius named Jack Loftus who aids in negotiating a treaty with the Angels, a race that's been around since the Big Bang. It was okay, but I wasn't impressed enough to ever read the sequel, Mission to the Heart Stars.
August 8, 2020
This novel starts out slow and bad. I came very close to discontinuing my reading of it. If I had, I would have missed a real treat. It gets good in the middle. In fact, if I divide this very uneven novel into thirds I would give the first third two stars, the second third five stars, and the last third three and a half.
It is ostensibly a young adult novel and has those trappings: a teen protagonist who saves the day in front of mostly unbelieving adults, save for that one indispensable adult ally found in all YA fiction. Like most YA science fiction of the 1940s and 1950s era, it is actually better read by an adult audience, one that has to ignore the YA trappings to appreciate the merit of the story.
The first third of the novel is truly awful, and amateurishly written. I still can't believe an author as accomplished as Blish is would make the info dump he does telling the reader background information he wants the reader to know by having his protagonist read a news article to another character. Even worse, the dump is of information already known by the characters. Blish also throws every single character in the novel at us by name in the first few pages in dense, almost unreadable prose one has to read and then reread to keep the characters straight.
The first third is rounded out by having a girl reporter try to prove herself to unimpressed boys and an adult, two forms of pointless oppression. Yay girl power. Then the story at last gets moving. I won't spoil any of the middle third because it's so exciting and unexpected, except to say this was one of the most memorable aliens and first contact scenes I've seen in any science fiction. Pure magic!
It couldn't be sustained to the end as the book lets back down into its YA roots with boy protagonist again trying to prove himself and save the opportunities for other boys of the future. Yet, so strong is the middle third that it carries through even this slush to bring about a satisfying ending. I am looking forward to reading this book's sequel, Mission to the Heart Stars, in order to learn more about these fascinating aliens and their interactions with the people of future Earth.
It is ostensibly a young adult novel and has those trappings: a teen protagonist who saves the day in front of mostly unbelieving adults, save for that one indispensable adult ally found in all YA fiction. Like most YA science fiction of the 1940s and 1950s era, it is actually better read by an adult audience, one that has to ignore the YA trappings to appreciate the merit of the story.
The first third of the novel is truly awful, and amateurishly written. I still can't believe an author as accomplished as Blish is would make the info dump he does telling the reader background information he wants the reader to know by having his protagonist read a news article to another character. Even worse, the dump is of information already known by the characters. Blish also throws every single character in the novel at us by name in the first few pages in dense, almost unreadable prose one has to read and then reread to keep the characters straight.
The first third is rounded out by having a girl reporter try to prove herself to unimpressed boys and an adult, two forms of pointless oppression. Yay girl power. Then the story at last gets moving. I won't spoil any of the middle third because it's so exciting and unexpected, except to say this was one of the most memorable aliens and first contact scenes I've seen in any science fiction. Pure magic!
It couldn't be sustained to the end as the book lets back down into its YA roots with boy protagonist again trying to prove himself and save the opportunities for other boys of the future. Yet, so strong is the middle third that it carries through even this slush to bring about a satisfying ending. I am looking forward to reading this book's sequel, Mission to the Heart Stars, in order to learn more about these fascinating aliens and their interactions with the people of future Earth.
February 20, 2023
Amusing good ol' boy "Golden Age" sci-fi - aka straight white Basic Geek guy sci-fi - that now reads a bit like wish fulfillment YA nonsense by, again, a very Basic Geek white guy indeed. Like, our hero - Jack Loftus (lofty indeed) - is a 17-year-old whiz kid from California who HOLDS THE FATE OF EARTH'S FUTURE IN HIS HANDS. Also, btw, that midcentury American rock music is some real claptrap, I mean am I right or amirite???
OK, basically, the plot: It's the near future US, and whiz kid Jack Loftus is a "foreign service cadet" with the Secretary of Space. AKA, he's an intern. In this near future, school goes as fast as they can cram knowledge into you - v good if you're a bookish nerdy school-loving geeky sort - and, oh yes, no sex is allowed for cadets until they have finished their apprenticeships (when they're like 30?). And none of that filthy rock music!!!
Sorry, I am getting distracted by the amusingly prim and conservative social/cultural hijinx. BACK TO THE HARD SCIENCE. THE PLOT. THE POINT! So, Jack is tasked with the ultimate intern project: he's been assigned to a crack team of three - a super-brain technocrat, his minion, and Jack - to go make Second Contact with an alien race nicknamed "Angels". The Angels are named Angels because they're super duper old (like, age of universe old), and are basically pure balls of energy. There is 1 female character (this book is like a super hard Bechdel Test fail, but like, it was never even trying there HA HAAA), she is a crack journalist cadet (or maybe she just graduated?) whose name is Sylvie? But I shall call her Sparky McNewsroom, because those were the vibes I got.
Anyway, Jack and Technocrat and Other Minion go to space in a super fast, super cool ship. We spend a lot of time salivating at the ship. They make a (literal) pit stop at an amusing planet called - and I am not joking here - "Aaa", where a race of - and, again, I am not joking here - sentient cat-people live. Then they get down to business and fly to the Coal Sock? Coal Sack? Horsehead Nebula? Some space place. And finally meet these Angels.
OK, so we have covered, I just want to go over this again, but this is Blish's vision:
- Spaceship is beautiful, so cool.
- Education should have no pacing; pacing is for losers and dumdums.
- The reason education takes so long (and you can't be a super cool space cadet negotiating treaties with Big Bang-born aliens by 17) is because of the commodification of teen sex drives into bad music (rock n roll).
- Trust the 17yo white guy.
This book suffers from that unfortunate thing that happens in fiction, where we are made to believe that a character is a Super Brain - but obviously his brain is a subset of the author's brain. And the author's brain is, well, just ok? Like, I mean not to harsh Blish, but it's just cringe when you're like:
Jack: [says something relatively banal and straightforward]
Other character: MY GOD MAN, this kid is a genius.
Sigh. I will say that - maybe I am mellowing in my old age - but I was more amused than irritated by this book, and I flew through it, reading it in maybe 2 sittings? I did sometimes get more than a little irked by the lack of any imagination on the social/cultural front. Like, why does Jack have to be - of all things - a white guy? Ah yes, because anything else was - for many of these Golden Age authors - apparently UNTHINKABLE. More unthinkable than energy beings and lots and lots of dressed up science baloney.
(I will also say - another thing that irks me about Golden Age sci-fi and the worshipping of "smarter than thou" Basic Geekdom (which has been gate-kept so hard, in general) is how fixed mindset it is. But that is for another review, perhaps.) Anyway, Blish eventually wrote for Star Trek - the ultimate, utopian, growth mindset, truly big brain show ever - and that redeems him quite a bit.
OK, basically, the plot: It's the near future US, and whiz kid Jack Loftus is a "foreign service cadet" with the Secretary of Space. AKA, he's an intern. In this near future, school goes as fast as they can cram knowledge into you - v good if you're a bookish nerdy school-loving geeky sort - and, oh yes, no sex is allowed for cadets until they have finished their apprenticeships (when they're like 30?). And none of that filthy rock music!!!
Sorry, I am getting distracted by the amusingly prim and conservative social/cultural hijinx. BACK TO THE HARD SCIENCE. THE PLOT. THE POINT! So, Jack is tasked with the ultimate intern project: he's been assigned to a crack team of three - a super-brain technocrat, his minion, and Jack - to go make Second Contact with an alien race nicknamed "Angels". The Angels are named Angels because they're super duper old (like, age of universe old), and are basically pure balls of energy. There is 1 female character (this book is like a super hard Bechdel Test fail, but like, it was never even trying there HA HAAA), she is a crack journalist cadet (or maybe she just graduated?) whose name is Sylvie? But I shall call her Sparky McNewsroom, because those were the vibes I got.
Anyway, Jack and Technocrat and Other Minion go to space in a super fast, super cool ship. We spend a lot of time salivating at the ship. They make a (literal) pit stop at an amusing planet called - and I am not joking here - "Aaa", where a race of - and, again, I am not joking here - sentient cat-people live. Then they get down to business and fly to the Coal Sock? Coal Sack? Horsehead Nebula? Some space place. And finally meet these Angels.
OK, so we have covered, I just want to go over this again, but this is Blish's vision:
- Spaceship is beautiful, so cool.
- Education should have no pacing; pacing is for losers and dumdums.
- The reason education takes so long (and you can't be a super cool space cadet negotiating treaties with Big Bang-born aliens by 17) is because of the commodification of teen sex drives into bad music (rock n roll).
- Trust the 17yo white guy.
This book suffers from that unfortunate thing that happens in fiction, where we are made to believe that a character is a Super Brain - but obviously his brain is a subset of the author's brain. And the author's brain is, well, just ok? Like, I mean not to harsh Blish, but it's just cringe when you're like:
Jack: [says something relatively banal and straightforward]
Other character: MY GOD MAN, this kid is a genius.
Sigh. I will say that - maybe I am mellowing in my old age - but I was more amused than irritated by this book, and I flew through it, reading it in maybe 2 sittings? I did sometimes get more than a little irked by the lack of any imagination on the social/cultural front. Like, why does Jack have to be - of all things - a white guy? Ah yes, because anything else was - for many of these Golden Age authors - apparently UNTHINKABLE. More unthinkable than energy beings and lots and lots of dressed up science baloney.
(I will also say - another thing that irks me about Golden Age sci-fi and the worshipping of "smarter than thou" Basic Geekdom (which has been gate-kept so hard, in general) is how fixed mindset it is. But that is for another review, perhaps.) Anyway, Blish eventually wrote for Star Trek - the ultimate, utopian, growth mindset, truly big brain show ever - and that redeems him quite a bit.
March 25, 2022
First, Blish was confused about entropy in his introduction. The Second Law of Thermodynamics applies only to closed systems, and life itself is never in a closed system, it is always taking energy in from environment and releasing energy in more disordered form. Life is not "negative entropy." That is pretty stupid and Blish should have known better.
And then there is this surprising ultra-conservative bullshit about music of the 1950s: "Of course music for dancing has to be different from concert music in kind. But in those days [1950s, I presume] it was vastly inferior in quality, too; in fact most of it was vile. And it was vile mainly because it was aimed at corrupting youngsters, and then after that job was done, the corrupted tastes were allowed to govern public taste in music as a whole. We're very lucky that we have ever got off that particular chute-the-chutes. it would have never have unwound itself if it hadn't been for the revolution of education, which among other things involved the realization that music--and poetry--are primarily arts for adults, and for exceptional adults at that. The stuff that was being peddled to young people was all aimed at exploiting their inexperience in man-woman relationships." pg. 42 in 1961 edition.
Also, he argues smart people shouldn't have sexual relations before they are 30?!? pg. 40-41
I can only hope one of the young people totally fucks an energy angel to turn this puritan Platonic shit show around.
And then there is this surprising ultra-conservative bullshit about music of the 1950s: "Of course music for dancing has to be different from concert music in kind. But in those days [1950s, I presume] it was vastly inferior in quality, too; in fact most of it was vile. And it was vile mainly because it was aimed at corrupting youngsters, and then after that job was done, the corrupted tastes were allowed to govern public taste in music as a whole. We're very lucky that we have ever got off that particular chute-the-chutes. it would have never have unwound itself if it hadn't been for the revolution of education, which among other things involved the realization that music--and poetry--are primarily arts for adults, and for exceptional adults at that. The stuff that was being peddled to young people was all aimed at exploiting their inexperience in man-woman relationships." pg. 42 in 1961 edition.
Also, he argues smart people shouldn't have sexual relations before they are 30?!? pg. 40-41
I can only hope one of the young people totally fucks an energy angel to turn this puritan Platonic shit show around.
August 8, 2011
In 2050 a load of square-jawed boy scouts trek off into the dark unknown to make contact with some weird aliens. There is a female character, but she's sent back to Earth, as this is no place for a lady.
September 1, 2022
In James Blish’s The Star Dwellers humankind has achieved interstellar travel through a novel concept called a Haertel field. This field dampens inertia, creating what is known as a Standing Wave that a vessel rides upon through space with no local velocity. It is a bubble in spacetime, a topological conform that “rejects” the entire universe so that you travel independent of it, without moving. In this way, faster than light travel is possible. There are a few other dazzling scientific concepts central to the book, like the Nernst generator, a fusion device that produces a ship’s energy, and a cosmic ray sail that about halfway through the story allows two astronauts to travel through space powered only by cosmic radiation.
Most impressive of all is the alien race motivating much of the story. Humans are now a space-faring race whose sophistication in organization and military and travel are noteworthy. They have discovered many alien races spanning the spectrum of intelligence and advancement. While relatively advanced themselves, humans are not at the top, and are currently being observed by more distant and far older races.
Whether humans will pass the hundred thousand year tests they are being subjected to and be welcomed into the galactic federation is a question that won’t be answered for some time. While more technologically capable than ever before, Blish uses colorful exposition and dialogue to show ways in which the race still has far to go, and much more to figure out about their place in the universe. Nothing profound is put forward, nothing of grand discovery is attempted, but we have a thoroughly memorable and imaginative story, full of thought and well-placed ideas, a real pleasure to read.
It is with this backdrop that three human ships travel deep into the Coal Sack, a dark region close to the galactic center, and encounter a previously unknown form of life: pure energy. The life forms reside in outer space, living in nebulae, where stars are born. The energy beings attempt to fuse with the ships. One ship is destroyed, another is disabled, and the third sees its fusion core invaded by the being, who otherwise seems harmless. This ship returns to Earth with the “Angel” onboard, and this entity’s power is soon understood. He is referred to as Lucifer, the fallen angel, and communication is made possible through a transceiver and the being’s unfathomable ancient intellect.
Lucifer is studied while he enjoys the enormous amounts of energy he is able to absorb from the fusion core, and in turn he grants an unprecedented level of free energy to humanity.
The disabled ship, however, drifts lost in the Coal Sack, and a small team of men are sent to find it and to hopefully open more diplomatic relations with the Angels.
So begins an imaginative yarn about two cadets and a seasoned scientist-hero who travel to the farthest reaches of humanity’s maps of space to explore the stellar nursery that is the birthplace of what we come to learn is the universe’s oldest race. Their primary mission is to recover their lost ship and possibly rescue survivors. The events of the team’s voyage through space and the level of thought Blish puts into the minutia of their travels lends it an air of believability and realism. He has a way with constructing a scientifically plausible context and explanation for many of the book’s concepts while grounding everything in a setting and plot that make these things matter beyond superficial flavor.
The Angels first came into existence 20 minutes after the Big Bang. They are pure energy and exist among the stars and dust and radiation of the cosmos. They are capable of instantaneous communication with one another across many parsecs. They are immortal and rational and possess their own religion and culture and civilized organization, which, as events play out, we see hints of but never the full picture. With the grandness of the events and pieces of this story it can be easy to lose track of the kinds of questions and problems Blish is digging into. These resonate long after the Cold War and will continue to as long as relations with other nations and people are wrought with tension and confusion and conflicting motives. In Blish’s universe, however, these problems are much more interesting.
Most impressive of all is the alien race motivating much of the story. Humans are now a space-faring race whose sophistication in organization and military and travel are noteworthy. They have discovered many alien races spanning the spectrum of intelligence and advancement. While relatively advanced themselves, humans are not at the top, and are currently being observed by more distant and far older races.
Whether humans will pass the hundred thousand year tests they are being subjected to and be welcomed into the galactic federation is a question that won’t be answered for some time. While more technologically capable than ever before, Blish uses colorful exposition and dialogue to show ways in which the race still has far to go, and much more to figure out about their place in the universe. Nothing profound is put forward, nothing of grand discovery is attempted, but we have a thoroughly memorable and imaginative story, full of thought and well-placed ideas, a real pleasure to read.
It is with this backdrop that three human ships travel deep into the Coal Sack, a dark region close to the galactic center, and encounter a previously unknown form of life: pure energy. The life forms reside in outer space, living in nebulae, where stars are born. The energy beings attempt to fuse with the ships. One ship is destroyed, another is disabled, and the third sees its fusion core invaded by the being, who otherwise seems harmless. This ship returns to Earth with the “Angel” onboard, and this entity’s power is soon understood. He is referred to as Lucifer, the fallen angel, and communication is made possible through a transceiver and the being’s unfathomable ancient intellect.
Lucifer is studied while he enjoys the enormous amounts of energy he is able to absorb from the fusion core, and in turn he grants an unprecedented level of free energy to humanity.
The disabled ship, however, drifts lost in the Coal Sack, and a small team of men are sent to find it and to hopefully open more diplomatic relations with the Angels.
So begins an imaginative yarn about two cadets and a seasoned scientist-hero who travel to the farthest reaches of humanity’s maps of space to explore the stellar nursery that is the birthplace of what we come to learn is the universe’s oldest race. Their primary mission is to recover their lost ship and possibly rescue survivors. The events of the team’s voyage through space and the level of thought Blish puts into the minutia of their travels lends it an air of believability and realism. He has a way with constructing a scientifically plausible context and explanation for many of the book’s concepts while grounding everything in a setting and plot that make these things matter beyond superficial flavor.
The Angels first came into existence 20 minutes after the Big Bang. They are pure energy and exist among the stars and dust and radiation of the cosmos. They are capable of instantaneous communication with one another across many parsecs. They are immortal and rational and possess their own religion and culture and civilized organization, which, as events play out, we see hints of but never the full picture. With the grandness of the events and pieces of this story it can be easy to lose track of the kinds of questions and problems Blish is digging into. These resonate long after the Cold War and will continue to as long as relations with other nations and people are wrought with tension and confusion and conflicting motives. In Blish’s universe, however, these problems are much more interesting.
September 2, 2008
This book shows James Blish on typical form, trying to discuss more ideas than there is adequate space for in a short novel. In this example he touches on some of his favourite themes - education vs. experience, biological influences on human thinking - whilst telling a story of "second contact". For when Jack Loftus is left to attempt to form a treaty between humanity and the Angels, beings of pure energy, there is already one of their race installed in a position of power on Earth and no other humans around to help him....
The very thing that makes Blish worth reading is that the majority of his stories are brimful of ideas worth thinking about. This is in stark contrast to many contemporary writers, in my experience; too many novels are published, two or three times longer than The Star Dwellers' 140 pages, lacking any worthwhile theme or idea, yet exuding pretensions to "literature".
Blish's usual weaknesses are also present; somewhat thin characters, extreme naivity of style, but the swift narrative pace tends to compensate - it is like reading a very short thriller with intellect substituted for violence.
I must comment on Blish's introduction to the novel, where he discusses the discovery of viruses and the consequent debate about the definition of life as his inspiration for creating a species made from pure energy. Blish trained as a zoo-ologist and much of his writing is informed by his background in biology. He offers a new definition of life - any system that "reverses entropy". Perhaps if he had asked some of his piers who trained as engineers or physicists he would not have made this glaring error - unless he truely believed that his fridge was alive.
Fridges input electricity (usually) and output heat. Meanwhile the entropy inside the fridge goes down. Cellular organisms input oxygen and output heat - meanwhile the entropy inside the cells remains approximately the same. Hence either the fridge is as alive as cellular organisms, or the definition is wrong.
The very thing that makes Blish worth reading is that the majority of his stories are brimful of ideas worth thinking about. This is in stark contrast to many contemporary writers, in my experience; too many novels are published, two or three times longer than The Star Dwellers' 140 pages, lacking any worthwhile theme or idea, yet exuding pretensions to "literature".
Blish's usual weaknesses are also present; somewhat thin characters, extreme naivity of style, but the swift narrative pace tends to compensate - it is like reading a very short thriller with intellect substituted for violence.
I must comment on Blish's introduction to the novel, where he discusses the discovery of viruses and the consequent debate about the definition of life as his inspiration for creating a species made from pure energy. Blish trained as a zoo-ologist and much of his writing is informed by his background in biology. He offers a new definition of life - any system that "reverses entropy". Perhaps if he had asked some of his piers who trained as engineers or physicists he would not have made this glaring error - unless he truely believed that his fridge was alive.
Fridges input electricity (usually) and output heat. Meanwhile the entropy inside the fridge goes down. Cellular organisms input oxygen and output heat - meanwhile the entropy inside the cells remains approximately the same. Hence either the fridge is as alive as cellular organisms, or the definition is wrong.
January 13, 2023
From what I've been told, James Blish is a pulp author who is known for including religion in his sci-fi. This is an area of sci-fi that I feel is very lacking. Not that I don't understand it, but the fact that it's rarely dealt with in these different worlds is a loss to storytelling.
I rarely do synopsis for books in reviews but these older pulp novels tend not to have the best descriptions. So very quickly, an alien race is discovered by humanity for the first time. These aliens are referred to as "Angels" and are one of the first being created after the Big Bang and they live forever. They exist as glowing cubes that have the capacity of blowing up Earth ships. They've done so in the past due to not knowing how to interact with humanity until one of them nicknamed "Lucifer" (a play on name for "Fallen one") who accidentally enters the engine area of one of the ships and they find out it can harness energy that can greatly enhance mankind's ability to travel the cosmos. It is now the job of three men assigned by the UN to make a treaty with the aliens. The three men are a worldwide respected ambassador, a hero soldier, and a young man from an elite cadet organization who's job it is to stay in the ship while the other two take an unobtrusive ship to make contact with the Angel leaders. The main character of the story, Jack Loftus, is the cadet which is already a great start.
Blish wrote the novelizations of some of the stories from the original Star Trek and his writing reads like sci-fi in the Star Trek universe. A major plus. While there is focus on the two other members of the crew and Jack isn't just "some cadet" but an elite cadet, he's still the odd man out which makes for a great hero main character. There isn't really that much focus on other characters and the two other crew members get out of the picture pretty quickly.
The story starts of well and slow enough to build up. There's an exposition dump at the start that's done within the confines of the logic of the story. There is no "as you all know" - proceed to explain what everyone knows for 30 pages. There is some good technology talk concerning the aliens and humanity's technology. It's advanced for star travel but not really that broad. Again for 1961 there's a decent amount of science that isn't handwaved away of "tachyon fields mumbojumbo". The way ships travel at almost the speed of light in a bubble-type field takes into account that the mass of the ship and occupants increase. Pretty neat science talk there.
The story does kind of stall for a bit before the main storyline but there is some interesting coverage of what the future was to 1961. There is the talk of two sexes which for modern-day "Star Trek" stories is heretical. They talk about how music corrupted the youth so the cadet organization instilled celibacy during the time in service so the focus on the job would be prioritized. Education was given to them to value high minded concepts and instill duty to carry them out. The background even brings up some flaws with this as they say that didn't want to use legislation to handle the corruption because the other side could deem you as the enemy and might use it again you and your "bad taste". 2001 would like to have a word in Guantanamo with that take. Lines like addiction being a disease until you legislate it then it turns addicts into criminals and legislation against "smut" creates black markets is very libertarian understanding for 1961 sci-fi. Talk of pacifism in the age of nuclear weapons is pretty neat to see in a book of that era.
We go on to find out that there are other alien species in kind of a Federation of planets that are looking at what humanity does with these Angels to see if they should be included. In this book, there isn't much that goes into that but it adds another good tension point that adds to the drama. The alien Angels themselves actually read as - alien. There is a fear or at least trepidation since they are so powerful and a danger to humanity. It would have been nice to build that up a little more within the unfolding of the plot but it's covered enough that it adds to the drama.
Attempts at communication are handled quickly saving for time but the way in which communication takes place is what makes the story interesting; especially since the "cabin boy" is in charge of the negotiations while the hero and the delegate from Earth are lost in space. Communication and acts based upon standards of importance are what's focused in the unfolding plot. The aliens are surprised at humanity being a young species and having a sense of justice. Humanity is able to teach them about deals and bargaining which leads to talks about treaties. The negotiations with the leader Angels happens very quickly and it's a thoughtful answer to what would benefit both sides in the negotiation. The final act of Jack needing to explain himself before the UN seems very odd and loses a lot of the momentum of drama and possible danger. There is an added discussion about whether something so alien could be trusted. There was a lot more that could have been unfolded here like is lying a universal concept as well and why should humanity be trusted? A funny point towards the end shows that the 24 news cycle is a modern-day invention and I don't really buy Blish's point on this - the aliens discovered wasn't ever kept secret but people heard about it on the news and didn't really care because it didn't affect them until they came to Earth for the negotiation. Ya, I doubt it, even before the days before CNN/FOX/etc.
Overall, I enjoyed this story even though it had a few sections where Blish slowed the story down a bit. There are some good turn of phrases and allusions to biblical imagery that add to the character of the story. The ending doesn't feel the need to complete all the components the plot opened up but it does offer hope and an eschaton while also being a genesis. Final Grade - B+
I rarely do synopsis for books in reviews but these older pulp novels tend not to have the best descriptions. So very quickly, an alien race is discovered by humanity for the first time. These aliens are referred to as "Angels" and are one of the first being created after the Big Bang and they live forever. They exist as glowing cubes that have the capacity of blowing up Earth ships. They've done so in the past due to not knowing how to interact with humanity until one of them nicknamed "Lucifer" (a play on name for "Fallen one") who accidentally enters the engine area of one of the ships and they find out it can harness energy that can greatly enhance mankind's ability to travel the cosmos. It is now the job of three men assigned by the UN to make a treaty with the aliens. The three men are a worldwide respected ambassador, a hero soldier, and a young man from an elite cadet organization who's job it is to stay in the ship while the other two take an unobtrusive ship to make contact with the Angel leaders. The main character of the story, Jack Loftus, is the cadet which is already a great start.
Blish wrote the novelizations of some of the stories from the original Star Trek and his writing reads like sci-fi in the Star Trek universe. A major plus. While there is focus on the two other members of the crew and Jack isn't just "some cadet" but an elite cadet, he's still the odd man out which makes for a great hero main character. There isn't really that much focus on other characters and the two other crew members get out of the picture pretty quickly.
The story starts of well and slow enough to build up. There's an exposition dump at the start that's done within the confines of the logic of the story. There is no "as you all know" - proceed to explain what everyone knows for 30 pages. There is some good technology talk concerning the aliens and humanity's technology. It's advanced for star travel but not really that broad. Again for 1961 there's a decent amount of science that isn't handwaved away of "tachyon fields mumbojumbo". The way ships travel at almost the speed of light in a bubble-type field takes into account that the mass of the ship and occupants increase. Pretty neat science talk there.
The story does kind of stall for a bit before the main storyline but there is some interesting coverage of what the future was to 1961. There is the talk of two sexes which for modern-day "Star Trek" stories is heretical. They talk about how music corrupted the youth so the cadet organization instilled celibacy during the time in service so the focus on the job would be prioritized. Education was given to them to value high minded concepts and instill duty to carry them out. The background even brings up some flaws with this as they say that didn't want to use legislation to handle the corruption because the other side could deem you as the enemy and might use it again you and your "bad taste". 2001 would like to have a word in Guantanamo with that take. Lines like addiction being a disease until you legislate it then it turns addicts into criminals and legislation against "smut" creates black markets is very libertarian understanding for 1961 sci-fi. Talk of pacifism in the age of nuclear weapons is pretty neat to see in a book of that era.
We go on to find out that there are other alien species in kind of a Federation of planets that are looking at what humanity does with these Angels to see if they should be included. In this book, there isn't much that goes into that but it adds another good tension point that adds to the drama. The alien Angels themselves actually read as - alien. There is a fear or at least trepidation since they are so powerful and a danger to humanity. It would have been nice to build that up a little more within the unfolding of the plot but it's covered enough that it adds to the drama.
Attempts at communication are handled quickly saving for time but the way in which communication takes place is what makes the story interesting; especially since the "cabin boy" is in charge of the negotiations while the hero and the delegate from Earth are lost in space. Communication and acts based upon standards of importance are what's focused in the unfolding plot. The aliens are surprised at humanity being a young species and having a sense of justice. Humanity is able to teach them about deals and bargaining which leads to talks about treaties. The negotiations with the leader Angels happens very quickly and it's a thoughtful answer to what would benefit both sides in the negotiation. The final act of Jack needing to explain himself before the UN seems very odd and loses a lot of the momentum of drama and possible danger. There is an added discussion about whether something so alien could be trusted. There was a lot more that could have been unfolded here like is lying a universal concept as well and why should humanity be trusted? A funny point towards the end shows that the 24 news cycle is a modern-day invention and I don't really buy Blish's point on this - the aliens discovered wasn't ever kept secret but people heard about it on the news and didn't really care because it didn't affect them until they came to Earth for the negotiation. Ya, I doubt it, even before the days before CNN/FOX/etc.
Overall, I enjoyed this story even though it had a few sections where Blish slowed the story down a bit. There are some good turn of phrases and allusions to biblical imagery that add to the character of the story. The ending doesn't feel the need to complete all the components the plot opened up but it does offer hope and an eschaton while also being a genesis. Final Grade - B+
August 8, 2019
I almost gave up on this novel in its first half. It was too preachy, too much an artefact of its time (as opposed to the timelessness that Asimov and Clarke are capable of producing), and too concerned with the "science" in sci-fi, and less in the "fiction". However, the second half of the novel -- the first contact with the Angels -- roars into life, and creates a lovely character out of something that is basically a ball of light. The schizophrenic nature of this novel's storytelling does it no favours, but it's worth swimming through the muck to reach the gem-like second half.
March 3, 2020
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
"James Blish’s The Star Dwellers (1961) is a quality sci-fi novel (for younger readers) easily comparable to some of Heinlein’s juveniles. The plot is straightforward/predictable yet still engaging. Of course, Jack, our seventeen year old hero, saves the day! Unlike the best “alien encounter” sci-fi novels which convey a certain sense [...]"
"James Blish’s The Star Dwellers (1961) is a quality sci-fi novel (for younger readers) easily comparable to some of Heinlein’s juveniles. The plot is straightforward/predictable yet still engaging. Of course, Jack, our seventeen year old hero, saves the day! Unlike the best “alien encounter” sci-fi novels which convey a certain sense [...]"
January 17, 2025
Now, here's a strange novella.
I went to read it expecting the classic Blish plot: "lots of hard science and wit will get us through it, people!".
Not that it's too far from that, but something felt off. Somehow, having a 17 year old character automatically turned this into a young adult novel. I have no idea if this was intentional, but that's what it feels like at the end. Kinda like a story he might have written for his teenage son.
I don't mean this is bad, mind me, but just that it should not be read or rated like the rest of his work. There's a lot more action, here, and I mean sort of hero action/drama scenes that would well fit a modern sci-fi flick. There's something that feels like barebone Nasa-core too and that reads just splendidly.
The big con here is that it leaves you wanting for more. Some developments will feel overly simple after having been overly inflated, and the pleasant aftertaste of epicness just cannot salvage that completely.
The premises of the alien race that is partly the focus of the narration is so juicy, that an adult reading this will be left wanting for more after it's over.
Still, easily recommended as a quick, light read from the golden age, especially as an approach to literature from then.
Bonus: a (cool!) character in this novel quotes Clark Ashton-Smith, quite early on!
I went to read it expecting the classic Blish plot: "lots of hard science and wit will get us through it, people!".
Not that it's too far from that, but something felt off. Somehow, having a 17 year old character automatically turned this into a young adult novel. I have no idea if this was intentional, but that's what it feels like at the end. Kinda like a story he might have written for his teenage son.
I don't mean this is bad, mind me, but just that it should not be read or rated like the rest of his work. There's a lot more action, here, and I mean sort of hero action/drama scenes that would well fit a modern sci-fi flick. There's something that feels like barebone Nasa-core too and that reads just splendidly.
The big con here is that it leaves you wanting for more. Some developments will feel overly simple after having been overly inflated, and the pleasant aftertaste of epicness just cannot salvage that completely.
The premises of the alien race that is partly the focus of the narration is so juicy, that an adult reading this will be left wanting for more after it's over.
Still, easily recommended as a quick, light read from the golden age, especially as an approach to literature from then.
Bonus: a (cool!) character in this novel quotes Clark Ashton-Smith, quite early on!
April 2, 2023
I liked it, but was not blown away by it. Blish is usually one of my more favoured early, classic, sci-fi/fantasy writers, but this (and the next book in the series) were just ok. Well written, well constructed but I didn't feel any passion for the subject or the people like I have for some of his other work. They are from the 60's have not ages especially well.
Our main character is a 'gosh, darn' style all American teenager in a future which Blish sees as fast tracking education so that teenagers can already be in high class professions as 'cadets' while still in their teens. This world building is well thought out and quite interesting but from the view point of today it is FAR from the case and comes across (to me at least) as rather naïve and laughable.
Jack Loftus is one of these privileged 'cadets' to the Secretary of Space and ends up going on a romp in a space ship to try and contact strange intelligent life forms of pure energy, some as old as the universe and named by mankind 'Angels'.
A fun romp of a classic sci-fi book. A teeny bit mysogistic, as was the fashion of the day, rather YA-ish in tone and inclined to get a bit preachy (much like Robert A. Heinlein can be) but still a good bit of fun. Well written, well edited well constructed!
Our main character is a 'gosh, darn' style all American teenager in a future which Blish sees as fast tracking education so that teenagers can already be in high class professions as 'cadets' while still in their teens. This world building is well thought out and quite interesting but from the view point of today it is FAR from the case and comes across (to me at least) as rather naïve and laughable.
Jack Loftus is one of these privileged 'cadets' to the Secretary of Space and ends up going on a romp in a space ship to try and contact strange intelligent life forms of pure energy, some as old as the universe and named by mankind 'Angels'.
A fun romp of a classic sci-fi book. A teeny bit mysogistic, as was the fashion of the day, rather YA-ish in tone and inclined to get a bit preachy (much like Robert A. Heinlein can be) but still a good bit of fun. Well written, well edited well constructed!
March 10, 2022
A juvenile novella, quickly read. Only three stars sorry and one of those is for old times' sake because I acquired it not too long after its first publication when I was just out of school.
It's pretty awkwardly written especially in the first half and the adult characters make some mind numbingly stupid decisions. Lucky they have a plucky 17 year old to rescue them! The pseudo science around the FTL drive doesn't make much sense either. It looks a bit sexist but really is pretty progressive for its time - there is a girl reporter who is dismissed by the boy scouts early on but at the end manages to drag the main characters together for a resolution.
The second half is significantly better, packed with novel ideas some wonderful thoughts on "international" relations, diplomacy and peace. Worth the few hours it takes to read it for this part alone.
It's pretty awkwardly written especially in the first half and the adult characters make some mind numbingly stupid decisions. Lucky they have a plucky 17 year old to rescue them! The pseudo science around the FTL drive doesn't make much sense either. It looks a bit sexist but really is pretty progressive for its time - there is a girl reporter who is dismissed by the boy scouts early on but at the end manages to drag the main characters together for a resolution.
The second half is significantly better, packed with novel ideas some wonderful thoughts on "international" relations, diplomacy and peace. Worth the few hours it takes to read it for this part alone.
January 9, 2024
A pretty short, but fun sci-fi from the golden age. Blish tells of Jack Loftus, a new space cadet, who makes contact with a sentient being made from the same stuff as stars that those on Earth are hoping can help with their star ships. He must act fast fast to save his other crew and get back to Earth to make sure the treaty goes through.
Overall a pretty entertaining read, but maybe not essential stuff.
Overall a pretty entertaining read, but maybe not essential stuff.
December 24, 2022
I read this when I was about 11 but only just realised, rereading the Paradiso, that Blish's angels must be modelled on Dante's. I think I have to reread The Star Dwellers too. Given similar occurrences in many of his other books, I suspect there were a few Easter eggs (as one might put it) that 11-year-old me didn't notice.
Clever guy, James Blish.
Clever guy, James Blish.
Read
October 25, 2020I believe this was published in 1961 in Boys' Life Magazine. The comments about it being young adult are right on!
July 13, 2022
When the list price of your sci-fi paperback is 40 cents, you know you have scored.
June 9, 2025
a bit basic and immature (not in a bad way) but was surprised at the kindness on display for a 1961 white man sci-fi pulp
March 7, 2025
3.5 to 4
Star dwellers is a first contact novel (except its actually a follow-up contact novel) with an Alien lifeforms comprising a discrete electromagnetic field, which makes them both practically undistuctable and immortal with mankind.
Human society is post civilisation global democracy with little to no privation or resource issues where a highly educated elite run the world. The society is actually better explained in the follow up book (Mission to the Heart Stars).
Blish clearly put a lot of thought into his future Human society and into the Star Dwellers society and how we might interact and come to a mutual understanding. Blish is more interested in his ideas than, at least in this case, the Story itself, although as its a short novel, this may be a side effect of his intention when writing the book. Essentially to discuss the concept and not to tell a well rounded narrative.
It was written in the early 60s and reflects that in a rather poor way interns of who the characters are and what they represent.
Its good short book to read as it has some interesting ideas, which are handled well. Don't expect a narrative which makes a lot of sense and fleshed out characters.
Star dwellers is a first contact novel (except its actually a follow-up contact novel) with an Alien lifeforms comprising a discrete electromagnetic field, which makes them both practically undistuctable and immortal with mankind.
Human society is post civilisation global democracy with little to no privation or resource issues where a highly educated elite run the world. The society is actually better explained in the follow up book (Mission to the Heart Stars).
Blish clearly put a lot of thought into his future Human society and into the Star Dwellers society and how we might interact and come to a mutual understanding. Blish is more interested in his ideas than, at least in this case, the Story itself, although as its a short novel, this may be a side effect of his intention when writing the book. Essentially to discuss the concept and not to tell a well rounded narrative.
It was written in the early 60s and reflects that in a rather poor way interns of who the characters are and what they represent.
Its good short book to read as it has some interesting ideas, which are handled well. Don't expect a narrative which makes a lot of sense and fleshed out characters.
February 25, 2019
I bought this book from my library's resell shop and used it for my less than 100 reviews on Goodreads 2019 Read Harder challenge. It felt very much like a novella version of a story out of Astounding Stories. Very typical 1960s scifi. That isn't to say it is bad. A good space drama.
The book is set in the future when education has been streamlined so that 17 year olds are now given jobs only older people used to do. One job turns out to be going on a diplomatic mission to the Angels, a group of very old energy based life form that feeds off fusion power, such as stars or spaceship engines.
There were some interesting ideas but it all wrapped up pretty quickly and despite the concerns of the various characters, I didn't really see how contacting the Angels was as dangerous as everyone thought.
The book is set in the future when education has been streamlined so that 17 year olds are now given jobs only older people used to do. One job turns out to be going on a diplomatic mission to the Angels, a group of very old energy based life form that feeds off fusion power, such as stars or spaceship engines.
There were some interesting ideas but it all wrapped up pretty quickly and despite the concerns of the various characters, I didn't really see how contacting the Angels was as dangerous as everyone thought.
March 14, 2023
Felt a little YA for my taste (and likely is intentionally so), but overall a fun story. I thought the aliens ("Angels") were a little silly at first, but they grew on me as the story progressed. The final chapter was cheesy, but made me smile nonetheless.
March 23, 2016
This is good old-fashion science fiction. Beings are found to inhabit interstellar space and feed off the energy of stars. Their appearance is not far from that of stars either. They are vaguely tear drop shaped beings of energy themselves. They seem to be friendly enough and they have the absolute answer to Earth's energy problems. They think so differently, though, that it is difficult to communicate with them. Oh, they learn human language quickly enough, but their outlook on virtually everything is so different. Nevertheless, a young man manages to negotiate a treaty with them.
June 20, 2012
Classic, pedantic SF about the first major treaty between humans and an alien race of wholly different origin and nature. Short, fast-paced, laden with "teaching moments" and discursive passages. The sort of work that rarely gets done anymore, ideal for actual 12 to 16 year olds, though a bit dated.
September 8, 2013
details of plot here: http://sciencefictionruminations.word...
Good start, drags in the middle, last third is the best with more details of the star dwellers and how they live.
Good start, drags in the middle, last third is the best with more details of the star dwellers and how they live.
October 16, 2009
After getting throught the first convoluted chapter, this is a great book. Inventive classic SciFi. From Jim's early SciFi collection.
Read
August 25, 2010EX-LIB. THE ISBN IS ACTUALLY THE SBN - PRE ISBN.
March 11, 2011
Grade B+. Book A1.
May 8, 2023
A little dated, but if you make allowances for cultural change, still a decent, quick read. Forward looking with interesting aliens.
March 3, 2011
Pretty good.
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