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Year 2018!
In The Year
2018...
Man undertook the most amazing project in human history--
A BRIDGE ON JUPITER!
In that frozen, raging, gaseous Hell, the Spacemen built a colossal, monstrous bridge out od sheer ice IV--30 miles high, 8 miles wide, and ever growing in its incredible length.
What was the purpose of this fantastic project?
What was the secret that lurked behind the stars?
Only one man knew--SENATOR WAGONER of Alaska, who controlled the U.S. Space Flight Corps--and possesses the most tormenting knowledge in the Universe!
2018...
Man undertook the most amazing project in human history--
A BRIDGE ON JUPITER!
In that frozen, raging, gaseous Hell, the Spacemen built a colossal, monstrous bridge out od sheer ice IV--30 miles high, 8 miles wide, and ever growing in its incredible length.
What was the purpose of this fantastic project?
What was the secret that lurked behind the stars?
Only one man knew--SENATOR WAGONER of Alaska, who controlled the U.S. Space Flight Corps--and possesses the most tormenting knowledge in the Universe!
- GenresScience Fiction
159 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published September 1, 1957
About the author
James Blish
513 books330 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 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 10, 2016
This little-known dystopian novel, first published in 1956, is, as the title suggests, set in the US of 2018. Under severe external threat, the country has descended into paranoia and become a Stalinist dictatorship which in practice is run by Francis X. MacHinery, the head of the FBI. The majority of American's citizens seek refuge from an unbearable reality in bizarre fundamentalist religions.
How do science-fiction writers come up with these weird ideas?
How do science-fiction writers come up with these weird ideas?
November 11, 2014
I just couldn't get into it. I wonder if it's because 2018 is only four years away, so I couldn't match my experience of 2014 with such vast technological advances. I don't think that's the case, though, since I can forgive a lot of breaks with verisimilitude. There were some funny, everyman moments, but for the most part, I just couldn't feel interested in any of the characters or the situation. Also, the title sucks. It was originally published as THEY SHALL HAVE STARS, which is a much better title. I think some jerk at the publishing house felt the need to tinker with it for HOLY GOD YOU'VE GOT TO READ THIS BECAUSE IT'S GOT AN AWESOME TITLE reasons. I don't blame that on Blish. I generally like his work, but I just couldn't bring myself to like this one. (PS: I did kind of enjoy the timeline at the end. Not only does it cover the events of the book, but it also extrapolates into the distant future, 2,000 years later. Although it's still hard to swallow, it is pretty interesting.)
January 14, 2018
An interesting, yet talky, science fiction novel. There are no nail-biting, edge of your seat action sequences in "Year 2018!", a k a "They Shall Have Stars". The focus author James Blish gives the book is squarely on the science. Yes, there are mysteries in the tale to keep you turning the pages (what's the point of the "Bridge" on Jupiter? What is the pharmaceutical company, Pfitzner really up to?), but there is nothing at stake to make you turn the pages faster to learn the secrets.
Despite this, "Year 2018!" is a good smart read. Even if it's hard to tell what part of the book and how much of it actually takes place in 2018. Much less why that particular year is the more important than 2016 or 2020, for instance. Still, it was good to read a science fiction that emphasizes the science.
Despite this, "Year 2018!" is a good smart read. Even if it's hard to tell what part of the book and how much of it actually takes place in 2018. Much less why that particular year is the more important than 2016 or 2020, for instance. Still, it was good to read a science fiction that emphasizes the science.
January 7, 2018
In the introduction to my old 1957 paperback, Blish notes that this is really just an expanded prologue. The characters are sketches, the ideas seem half baked, and the there is way too much political and medical crap to make this terribly interesting. Apparently, the rest of Ciities in Flight is better an contains none of these characters. I will say that the end was kind of cool, and would have worked with better characters. I read this as kind of a joke, so I won’t be continuing with the series, at least not for awhile. Indeed, this year has started with a bang!
October 5, 2015
Character based study of men and women on the edge with a liberal dose of hard science mixed in. Ending feels a bit rushed.
Did Not Finish
March 13, 2018Ugh, Blish. Remind me not to read him again.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews