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Clifford Simak SF Gateway Omnibus
From the vaults of The SF Gateway, the most comprehensive digital library of classic SFF titles ever assembled, comes an ideal introduction to the work of one of the giants of the Golden Age, Clifford D. Simak.
A regular contributor to ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION throughout the influential John W. Campbell era, Simak produced a body of highly regarded work, winning the NEBULA and multiple HUGO AWARDs, and is best known for his story suite of future histories, City. This omnibus collects three novels that explore his favoured theme of a depopulated TIME IS THE SIMPLEST THING, A CHOICE OF GODS and the HUGO AWARD-winning WAY STATION.
A regular contributor to ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION throughout the influential John W. Campbell era, Simak produced a body of highly regarded work, winning the NEBULA and multiple HUGO AWARDs, and is best known for his story suite of future histories, City. This omnibus collects three novels that explore his favoured theme of a depopulated TIME IS THE SIMPLEST THING, A CHOICE OF GODS and the HUGO AWARD-winning WAY STATION.
- GenresScience Fiction
496 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 12, 2013
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28 people want to read
About the author
Clifford D. Simak
967 books1,058 followers"He was honored by fans with three Hugo awards and by colleagues with one Nebula award and was named the third Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) in 1977." (Wikipedia)
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford...
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 9, 2016
What struck me most about these three books was their very populist and liberal ponts of view (particularly in light of the current political climate). Simak deals with the issue of how society treats people that are different and how we fear "other" points of view. He does this in the context of a fantastic storyline, but at heart he is really discussing what makes people xenophobic. In the end he does believe in the overall goodness of mankind, but is very worried by our greed and pettiness.
June 10, 2022
Having never read Simak before, this was a fascinating collection of some of his work. Although nominally science fiction, his interest lies less with the science (which is hand-waving at best) and more with people's motivations and reactions. All three tales are essentially "What Ifs...", with a heavy dose of metaphysics.
Of the three stories, the last (A Choice Of Gods) was both the most satisfying and the least dated. Oddly, Way Station, which appears to be the most generally well-regarded story, felt the most dated and least consequential.
If nothing else, it revived my faith in mid-20th Century science fiction, which has seldom lived up to my expectations or the recollections of my youth.
Of the three stories, the last (A Choice Of Gods) was both the most satisfying and the least dated. Oddly, Way Station, which appears to be the most generally well-regarded story, felt the most dated and least consequential.
If nothing else, it revived my faith in mid-20th Century science fiction, which has seldom lived up to my expectations or the recollections of my youth.
February 1, 2017
Of 3 things it was Waystation which I liked most.
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February 21, 2017Revivifying the master of ‘pastoral SF’
ORION Publishing Group’s Gateway imprint has been trawling science fiction (SF) vaults to bring back old, forgotten works.
In doing so, it sometimes dredges up some stories that perhaps deserve to be forgotten, appealing only to the more serious SF collector who is interested in how the genre has evolved.
However, it has also brought back some classics that should never have been cast out, even if some of their concepts are outdated.
This Clifford D. Simak (1904-1988) omnibus three-book edition falls under the latter category, especially with the last two novels: Way Station and A Choice of Gods. Indeed, it’s tragic that Way Station has fallen by the, ahem, wayside, given that it won the 1964 Hugo Award – one of three that Simak picked up – for best novel.
I am a bit less enthusiastic about Time is the Simplest Thing, but still have to admit it has value as a curio.
Simak, who spent most of his working career as a newspaperman, published his first story in 1931, and while prolific throughout most of his life, had his best years under the stewardship of John W. Campbell Jr, who as editor of Astounding Science-Fiction magazine, nurtured more thoughtful SF, as opposed to the pulp SF that was so popular with most magazines.
As with other Campbell “protégés” such as Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein, Simak too was conferred the “Grandmaster” title by the Science Fiction Writers of America (SWFA).
Unlike the “hard SF” favoured by most Campbellian writers however, Simak was more of a “soft SF” writer. Rather than focusing on the scientific or technological implications of an alien visiting the Earth, a typical Simak tale might involve said alien wandering up to a farmhouse, chatting with the farmer over a cup of coffee, and then leaving – with the two of them having learnt something of each other, and of each other’s civilisation.
And more often than not, all this would have taken place in Simak’s beloved rural Wisconsin, or some analogue thereof, which has led some to describe him as the “master of pastoral SF.”
Part of this “pastoral” preference comes from the fact that he seemed very uncomfortable with technology and how it was affecting his world. Indeed, Time is the Simplest Thing is a strong argument that he had a certain antipathy towards technology.
In that tale, humanity scuttled its space programme and is now bound to the solar system by the speed of light – but discovers it can travel to other stars telepathically or via psychokinetics (PK).
Shep Blaine is one such psychic traveller, but on one visit, finds his mind melded with that of a distinctly alien being. The extra-judiciary agency-cum-megacorporation in charge of such travel, Fishhook, is not too happy with this, and he finds himself a fugitive – from both Fishhook, as well as society at large.
PK-wielding people are the bogeymen of this not-too-distant future, and a witchhunt ensues. But along the way, Blaine learns to integrate the alien’s formidable PK powers with his own, and learns how to manipulate time.
Nothing wrong with the story itself, except that Simak views science as something built on faith, rather than fact.
Depending on how the story affects you, Time is the Simplest Thing is about humanity losing “faith” in science and finding the answer somewhere else – not the kind of message you want going out in today’s world of climate-change-deniers, where “alternative fact” has entered the lexicon.
I found myself not just having to plod through it, but having to consciously stop myself from slapping my forehead every once in a while.
I still prefer British SF writer Ian Watson’s much more mind-blowing Alien Embassy, in which humans also travel to the stars telepathically, but in this case they are fuelled by the energies of tantric sex.
It gets much better with the second novel, Way Station, which is one of my favourites. In it, the long-lived Enoch Wallace, who fought in the US Civil War, becomes the keeper of a way station, a transit point for not-quite matter-transference interstellar travel.
Wallace is the only person on Earth who knows that there is a greater civilisation “out there,” one which humanity is not mature enough to become part of. This civilisation is portrayed via Wallace’s ponderings and conversations with the aliens who pass through.
The narrative tension comes from the fact that Earth is on the brink of a third world war that might see the planet destroyed – and even if it survives, this would delay any hope of humanity becoming part of the galactic civilisation, or even worse, make it impossible.
This one’s a much more typical Simak tale, full of pastoral goodness and philosophical musings – not quite science fiction, but more of an SF fable.
Star Wars fans might be especially tickled by references to an all-encompassing cosmic energy that flows through us, and binds us. And yes, in case you’re wondering who borrowed from whom, Way Station was written in 1963.
Finally, A Choice of Gods has thematic similarities with both Time is the Simplest Thing and Way Station. Years after most of humanity has mysteriously disappeared, those who were left behind have “returned to the land,” eschewing technology and honing their PK powers enough that they can travel to other star systems via psychic means.
Those humans who disappeared ended up on three planets thousands of lightyears away. They’ve rebuilt their technology-based society, and now want to return to their homeworld.
The “left-behinds” may have a more solid claim to the planet, but can they deny their kin? And if they don’t, are they in danger of being assimilated by this technologically-superior society?
Simak is at his best when he ponders questions like these, and when he tells tales that are actually fantasy, but with some of the tropes and trappings of SF.
He spins a good yarn, and it’s easy to be absorbed into the narrative as long as you don’t pay too much attention to the science, or lack thereof. This particular Gateway Omnibus is the best proof of that.
ORION Publishing Group’s Gateway imprint has been trawling science fiction (SF) vaults to bring back old, forgotten works.
In doing so, it sometimes dredges up some stories that perhaps deserve to be forgotten, appealing only to the more serious SF collector who is interested in how the genre has evolved.
However, it has also brought back some classics that should never have been cast out, even if some of their concepts are outdated.
This Clifford D. Simak (1904-1988) omnibus three-book edition falls under the latter category, especially with the last two novels: Way Station and A Choice of Gods. Indeed, it’s tragic that Way Station has fallen by the, ahem, wayside, given that it won the 1964 Hugo Award – one of three that Simak picked up – for best novel.
I am a bit less enthusiastic about Time is the Simplest Thing, but still have to admit it has value as a curio.
Simak, who spent most of his working career as a newspaperman, published his first story in 1931, and while prolific throughout most of his life, had his best years under the stewardship of John W. Campbell Jr, who as editor of Astounding Science-Fiction magazine, nurtured more thoughtful SF, as opposed to the pulp SF that was so popular with most magazines.
As with other Campbell “protégés” such as Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein, Simak too was conferred the “Grandmaster” title by the Science Fiction Writers of America (SWFA).
Unlike the “hard SF” favoured by most Campbellian writers however, Simak was more of a “soft SF” writer. Rather than focusing on the scientific or technological implications of an alien visiting the Earth, a typical Simak tale might involve said alien wandering up to a farmhouse, chatting with the farmer over a cup of coffee, and then leaving – with the two of them having learnt something of each other, and of each other’s civilisation.
And more often than not, all this would have taken place in Simak’s beloved rural Wisconsin, or some analogue thereof, which has led some to describe him as the “master of pastoral SF.”
Part of this “pastoral” preference comes from the fact that he seemed very uncomfortable with technology and how it was affecting his world. Indeed, Time is the Simplest Thing is a strong argument that he had a certain antipathy towards technology.
In that tale, humanity scuttled its space programme and is now bound to the solar system by the speed of light – but discovers it can travel to other stars telepathically or via psychokinetics (PK).
Shep Blaine is one such psychic traveller, but on one visit, finds his mind melded with that of a distinctly alien being. The extra-judiciary agency-cum-megacorporation in charge of such travel, Fishhook, is not too happy with this, and he finds himself a fugitive – from both Fishhook, as well as society at large.
PK-wielding people are the bogeymen of this not-too-distant future, and a witchhunt ensues. But along the way, Blaine learns to integrate the alien’s formidable PK powers with his own, and learns how to manipulate time.
Nothing wrong with the story itself, except that Simak views science as something built on faith, rather than fact.
Depending on how the story affects you, Time is the Simplest Thing is about humanity losing “faith” in science and finding the answer somewhere else – not the kind of message you want going out in today’s world of climate-change-deniers, where “alternative fact” has entered the lexicon.
I found myself not just having to plod through it, but having to consciously stop myself from slapping my forehead every once in a while.
I still prefer British SF writer Ian Watson’s much more mind-blowing Alien Embassy, in which humans also travel to the stars telepathically, but in this case they are fuelled by the energies of tantric sex.
It gets much better with the second novel, Way Station, which is one of my favourites. In it, the long-lived Enoch Wallace, who fought in the US Civil War, becomes the keeper of a way station, a transit point for not-quite matter-transference interstellar travel.
Wallace is the only person on Earth who knows that there is a greater civilisation “out there,” one which humanity is not mature enough to become part of. This civilisation is portrayed via Wallace’s ponderings and conversations with the aliens who pass through.
The narrative tension comes from the fact that Earth is on the brink of a third world war that might see the planet destroyed – and even if it survives, this would delay any hope of humanity becoming part of the galactic civilisation, or even worse, make it impossible.
This one’s a much more typical Simak tale, full of pastoral goodness and philosophical musings – not quite science fiction, but more of an SF fable.
Star Wars fans might be especially tickled by references to an all-encompassing cosmic energy that flows through us, and binds us. And yes, in case you’re wondering who borrowed from whom, Way Station was written in 1963.
Finally, A Choice of Gods has thematic similarities with both Time is the Simplest Thing and Way Station. Years after most of humanity has mysteriously disappeared, those who were left behind have “returned to the land,” eschewing technology and honing their PK powers enough that they can travel to other star systems via psychic means.
Those humans who disappeared ended up on three planets thousands of lightyears away. They’ve rebuilt their technology-based society, and now want to return to their homeworld.
The “left-behinds” may have a more solid claim to the planet, but can they deny their kin? And if they don’t, are they in danger of being assimilated by this technologically-superior society?
Simak is at his best when he ponders questions like these, and when he tells tales that are actually fantasy, but with some of the tropes and trappings of SF.
He spins a good yarn, and it’s easy to be absorbed into the narrative as long as you don’t pay too much attention to the science, or lack thereof. This particular Gateway Omnibus is the best proof of that.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews