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De Lange Thuisreis
Een interstellair onderzoekschip keert op aarde terug na een reis van enkele duizenden jaren in de toekomst en brengt een intelligente levensvorm mee, hetgeen een desastreuze oorlog lijkt te ontketenen.
216 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1955
9 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
About the author
Poul Anderson
1,621 books1,106 followersPseudonym A. A. Craig, Michael Karageorge, Winston P. Sanders, P. A. Kingsley.
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.
Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]
Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.
Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.
Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]
Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.
Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 27, 2019
Leído en 2004.
6/10. Media de los 14 libros leídos del autor: 6/10.
Otro autor clásico bastante prolífico y cuyas novelas, en general, entretienen.
En este escrito en el 63 tenemos fantasía con nave espacial que se tiene que traer un ser vivo de otro mundo. Malamente entretiene, flojito.
6/10. Media de los 14 libros leídos del autor: 6/10.
Otro autor clásico bastante prolífico y cuyas novelas, en general, entretienen.
En este escrito en el 63 tenemos fantasía con nave espacial que se tiene que traer un ser vivo de otro mundo. Malamente entretiene, flojito.
August 20, 2015
3.5 stars
A socio- politico- adventure science fiction story.
An okay story, but otherwise a good description of a possible social structure five thousand years in the future.
It was a pleasant, certainly not boring a read, by trying Poul Anderson's book. I would like to read more of his works for sure. :)
A socio- politico- adventure science fiction story.
An okay story, but otherwise a good description of a possible social structure five thousand years in the future.
It was a pleasant, certainly not boring a read, by trying Poul Anderson's book. I would like to read more of his works for sure. :)
January 21, 2016
Terrible book by Poul Anderson
After being impressed by a small anthology of short stories by Poul Anderson, I find this book to be extremely disappointing. The protoganist, Captain Edward Langley, comes off as mentally unstable and unsure and the representatives of the competing factions had absolutely no common sense in what was going on.
After being impressed by a small anthology of short stories by Poul Anderson, I find this book to be extremely disappointing. The protoganist, Captain Edward Langley, comes off as mentally unstable and unsure and the representatives of the competing factions had absolutely no common sense in what was going on.
December 29, 2018
Tja, weet niet zo goed wat over dit boek te schrijven. Het is dan ook een wat ouder SF verhaal.
Een ruimteschip verlaat de Aarde, om na een tocht zo'n 5.000 jaar later weer terug te keren. Een reiziger die onderweg opgepikt is, blijkt over bijzondere krachten te beschikken. Diverse groepen willen hem hebben.
De karakters zijn heel erg vlak; geen groei in ze te bekennen. De protagonist, kapitein Edward Langley, komt mentaal onstabiel en onzeker over en de vertegenwoordigers van de concurrerende facties hadden absoluut geen idee wat er gaande was.
Het plot was, in mijn ogen, erg dun, en voorspelbaar.
Een ruimteschip verlaat de Aarde, om na een tocht zo'n 5.000 jaar later weer terug te keren. Een reiziger die onderweg opgepikt is, blijkt over bijzondere krachten te beschikken. Diverse groepen willen hem hebben.
De karakters zijn heel erg vlak; geen groei in ze te bekennen. De protagonist, kapitein Edward Langley, komt mentaal onstabiel en onzeker over en de vertegenwoordigers van de concurrerende facties hadden absoluut geen idee wat er gaande was.
Het plot was, in mijn ogen, erg dun, en voorspelbaar.
February 19, 2011
Finished reading The Long Way Home (1955) by Poul Anderson tonight. It’s a classic science fiction novel from one of science fiction’s great writers (SFWA Grand Master Award (1997), Gandalf Grand Master award (1978) and Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement (2001)). Anderson may be my favorite science fiction author.
The Long Way Home is over fifty years old and it shows its age. But it’s still an entertaining read. The basic premise of the novel is pure 1950s: Three spacemen take off in 2047 in spaceship powered by a mostly untested faster than light drive. They explore the galaxy for a year, testing the engine & repairing it on the way. Finally they head back to Earth. When they get there they discover some 5,000 years have passed at home. It turns out that their faster than light drive is only faster for them; since they traveled 5,000 light years it took 5,000 years. We’ve now finished chapter one (and part of one page in chapter three.)
Although Anderson’s 2047 science is on the 1950s side (does anyone still know how to use a slide rule today), he’s firmly in his element in the world of the future. Civilizations have fallen and risen and fallen again. Current society is recognizable as a society, but not one we know. People, however, are still people. And Anderson’s people like to talk and muse philosophically about their world.
The Long Way Home isn’t a book I’d planned to read; I’m pretty sure I’ve read it before. But I found a copy (a British paperback probably from the 70s) in a box of odds and ends in the basement. I read the blurb on the back and couldn’t resist; not that I tried very hard.
Anderson’s been dead now for almost a decade, so I’m not expecting any more novels (a few new post-humus novels have already been published) and most of his older works are no longer in print. This saddens me; I can remember not too long ago when almost all science fiction book sections had at least a full shelf of his work. But some of his work is available Bean Books has been issuing the ‘Technic Civilization Saga’ (reprinting the Flandry series, the Falkayn & Van Rijn series, and others that take place in the same universe); there’ve been five volumes so far and there are at least two more to come. And NESFA has released three volumes of “The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson” so far and they plan on releasing more. IIRC the forward in volume three said they hope to eventually release about half of all of Anderson’s short stories; and since Anderson was writing pretty steadily for almost 50 years, there are a lot of stories. The NESFA books are hard to find; locally the University Book Store is the only place I’ve seen them.
The Long Way Home is over fifty years old and it shows its age. But it’s still an entertaining read. The basic premise of the novel is pure 1950s: Three spacemen take off in 2047 in spaceship powered by a mostly untested faster than light drive. They explore the galaxy for a year, testing the engine & repairing it on the way. Finally they head back to Earth. When they get there they discover some 5,000 years have passed at home. It turns out that their faster than light drive is only faster for them; since they traveled 5,000 light years it took 5,000 years. We’ve now finished chapter one (and part of one page in chapter three.)
Although Anderson’s 2047 science is on the 1950s side (does anyone still know how to use a slide rule today), he’s firmly in his element in the world of the future. Civilizations have fallen and risen and fallen again. Current society is recognizable as a society, but not one we know. People, however, are still people. And Anderson’s people like to talk and muse philosophically about their world.
The Long Way Home isn’t a book I’d planned to read; I’m pretty sure I’ve read it before. But I found a copy (a British paperback probably from the 70s) in a box of odds and ends in the basement. I read the blurb on the back and couldn’t resist; not that I tried very hard.
Anderson’s been dead now for almost a decade, so I’m not expecting any more novels (a few new post-humus novels have already been published) and most of his older works are no longer in print. This saddens me; I can remember not too long ago when almost all science fiction book sections had at least a full shelf of his work. But some of his work is available Bean Books has been issuing the ‘Technic Civilization Saga’ (reprinting the Flandry series, the Falkayn & Van Rijn series, and others that take place in the same universe); there’ve been five volumes so far and there are at least two more to come. And NESFA has released three volumes of “The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson” so far and they plan on releasing more. IIRC the forward in volume three said they hope to eventually release about half of all of Anderson’s short stories; and since Anderson was writing pretty steadily for almost 50 years, there are a lot of stories. The NESFA books are hard to find; locally the University Book Store is the only place I’ve seen them.
July 29, 2018
This is a great story! Just remember the world was a different place when it was written and enjoy the read.
May 3, 2021
Probably worth 2.5 stars, but I just couldn't bring myself to round the score up as I usually do.
Starts with an interesting premise that could have limitless potential, then doesn't really go anywhere with it. The main point of view character is pretty boring and I found myself not really caring about him. The alien character, Saris, the hunt for whom is a central part of the plot, is far more interesting yet receives barely any "screen time". We get one short chapter about him evading capture but otherwise our story is told from the perspective of the human space captain Langley. I believe there was a missed opportunity here with both characters. Saris culture shock and exploration of earth could have been more covered in much more depth and would have been more interesting than Langley's journey. His journey is s fairly standard "temporal fish out of water" story. While he does have some angst about never being able to go home again and knowing his wife, friends and family are gone forever, the character is so two dimensional and boring it's hard to care of sympathize with his plight. Earth civilisation 5000 years in the future is a fairly generic dystopia you've seen in a hundred other stories. It's the off world civilisations which are more interesting, yet once again these are sidelined. There is some sexism in the story, but one has to consider when it was written. It isn't too jarring as it isn't exactly out of place In a dystopian future where slavery is common.
Overall, interesting premise squandered. Not one of Anderson's better works.
Starts with an interesting premise that could have limitless potential, then doesn't really go anywhere with it. The main point of view character is pretty boring and I found myself not really caring about him. The alien character, Saris, the hunt for whom is a central part of the plot, is far more interesting yet receives barely any "screen time". We get one short chapter about him evading capture but otherwise our story is told from the perspective of the human space captain Langley. I believe there was a missed opportunity here with both characters. Saris culture shock and exploration of earth could have been more covered in much more depth and would have been more interesting than Langley's journey. His journey is s fairly standard "temporal fish out of water" story. While he does have some angst about never being able to go home again and knowing his wife, friends and family are gone forever, the character is so two dimensional and boring it's hard to care of sympathize with his plight. Earth civilisation 5000 years in the future is a fairly generic dystopia you've seen in a hundred other stories. It's the off world civilisations which are more interesting, yet once again these are sidelined. There is some sexism in the story, but one has to consider when it was written. It isn't too jarring as it isn't exactly out of place In a dystopian future where slavery is common.
Overall, interesting premise squandered. Not one of Anderson's better works.
April 13, 2023
Gekocht in Harlingen op 18.02.1977, maar nooit gelezen, tot nu. Een ruimteschip met experimentele aandrijving keert na een lange interstellaire reis terug naar de Aarde. Aan boord 3 bemanningsleden, 1 is tijdens de reis gestorven. In de loop van het verhaal sterven er nog twee bemanningsleden. Over blijft de kapitein, Edward Langley. Aan bord is ook een gast, Saris Hronna van Holatan, een alien dus die mee gaat naar de Aarde om als ambassadeur te fungeren. Eenmaal in het zonnestelsel ziet alles er wat vreemd uit en blijkt dat ze niet alleen door de ruimte hebben gereisd, maar ook door de tijd. 6000 lichtjaren werden dus 6000 jaren. De Aarde wordt nu geregeerd door een reusachtige computer, er heerst een technocratie. De slavernij is weer ingevoerd. Verschillende planeten zijn met elkaar in competitie, oorlog dreigt. DE bemanning wordt opgepakt, twee astronauten sterven daarbij. Men is zeer geinteresseerd in Saris Hronna, hij nl ook telepatisch. De rivaliserende machthebbers zetten alles op alles om Saris te vangen, dat lukt niet.
Na heel veel gedoe blijkt de Computer (Technon) de macht in handen te hebben, echter, een vreemd buitenaards ras is bezig Technon te infiltreren en over te nemen.
Het is een boek uit de 60-jaren. Het is opvallend dat er in de verre toekomst nog steeds gerookt wordt. Ook de vrouwen emancipatie is niet erg opgeschoten.
Leuk om te lezen, maar zeker niet in mijn top-10.
Na heel veel gedoe blijkt de Computer (Technon) de macht in handen te hebben, echter, een vreemd buitenaards ras is bezig Technon te infiltreren en over te nemen.
Het is een boek uit de 60-jaren. Het is opvallend dat er in de verre toekomst nog steeds gerookt wordt. Ook de vrouwen emancipatie is niet erg opgeschoten.
Leuk om te lezen, maar zeker niet in mijn top-10.
December 8, 2025
Interesting premise is nullified by bad character work and convoluted plotting. It’s nice to speculate what our world would look like 5,000 years from now, and the author does a good job at building a bunch of interstellar societies that are realistic enough. The MC finds himself stranded in a far-flung future after his space traveling methods caused some serious time-dilution. Back on Earth he’s pulled at by the warring factions that have emerged, and especially the powerful alien he befriended along the way is making folks excited. He gets snagged by all of them, then somehow unravels a major conspiracy by visiting a library, and instigates war. Meanwhile he’s been given a girl-slave who he treats like crap every time his own stupidity leaves him flailing. I guess space travelers don’t learn about Trojan Horses. Overall, it was ok, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
May 18, 2018
Excelente Poul Anderson. Eso sí, no vuelvo a leer un libro traducido en mi vida. Hasta laismos me he encontrado, y traducciones literales que no tienen sentido en castellano... en fin.
La novela genial, ciencia ficción de manual, culturas alienígenas, viajeros del espacio, heroes y villanos. Light science fiction pero muy agradable.
La novela genial, ciencia ficción de manual, culturas alienígenas, viajeros del espacio, heroes y villanos. Light science fiction pero muy agradable.
March 21, 2019
Fun,fast adventure.
February 24, 2022
I like the writing style and the world building but the plot seemed not to fit it somehow. Still it was engaging enough to merit 3 stars.
April 7, 2023
Another meh. I keep giving Poul Anderson books a chance, and I keep getting let down. They're not bad, but they're not approaching my list of favorites, either.
April 11, 2015
A spaceship leaves Earth on the first interstellar expedition. When they return, they discover that 5000 years have passed. The crew have picked up an alien they met along the way, who turns out to have some ... psychic powers, you might call them ... that have military potential. The alien and the crew become involved in an interstellar power struggle.
The story was written in 1955, but I don't think it's at all dated. I often read old science fiction stories and get a chuckle at how badly the writer guessed future technology. I recall a story by Asimov set hundreds of years in the future where an important plot point centered on people using film cameras -- no mention of digital photography. Or one by Clark that says that the awesome computer on the star ship had "over 10,000 vacuum tubes". Etc. Not saying I'd do better. :-) But this story, despite being over 50 years old, has no such obvious gaffes.
Anyway, like a lot of good science fiction, this story mixes an action yarn with social commentary. The preface to the edition I have says that the author specifically set out to write a story that would be a counterpoint to all the SF stories about oppressive dictatorships where the people are just waiting for some outsider to come along and lead them in a rebellion. So he wanted to create a society that was authoritarian, but discuss why the people did not rise up in rebellion. Namely, lots of problems and little freedom, but where lots of people nevertheless have a stake in maintaining the status quo. For example, at one point a slave is given a chance at freedom. She replies, Where would she go? What would she do? As a slave she has no rights, but she lives in a rich man's house, she always has food to eat and clothes to wear, she's not abused, and her life is comfortable. If freed, she would likely end up working at some menial job or becoming a beggar or a prostitute. Would it really be a step up?
On the minus side, some of the "surprise revelations" in the book weren't very surprising. I'm not going to put in any spoilers, but for example: There's an organization of interstellar merchants. Fairly early in the story one of them says that their leaders all remain hidden and anonymous to protect themselves from assassination, etc, and so the rank and file don't know who their real leaders are. Well, I thought it was pretty obvious that that was not just a random fact thrown in, that later it would become very important just who their leaders are. And I thought it was pretty obvious who it would turn out to be, it wasn't much of a surprise when it was revealed. Similarly, there's a scene where a character has mysterious headaches and feels like "someone else is in her mind", and the other characters brush it off as fear and nervousness. Well, you have to realize that that's going somewhere.
The story was written in 1955, but I don't think it's at all dated. I often read old science fiction stories and get a chuckle at how badly the writer guessed future technology. I recall a story by Asimov set hundreds of years in the future where an important plot point centered on people using film cameras -- no mention of digital photography. Or one by Clark that says that the awesome computer on the star ship had "over 10,000 vacuum tubes". Etc. Not saying I'd do better. :-) But this story, despite being over 50 years old, has no such obvious gaffes.
Anyway, like a lot of good science fiction, this story mixes an action yarn with social commentary. The preface to the edition I have says that the author specifically set out to write a story that would be a counterpoint to all the SF stories about oppressive dictatorships where the people are just waiting for some outsider to come along and lead them in a rebellion. So he wanted to create a society that was authoritarian, but discuss why the people did not rise up in rebellion. Namely, lots of problems and little freedom, but where lots of people nevertheless have a stake in maintaining the status quo. For example, at one point a slave is given a chance at freedom. She replies, Where would she go? What would she do? As a slave she has no rights, but she lives in a rich man's house, she always has food to eat and clothes to wear, she's not abused, and her life is comfortable. If freed, she would likely end up working at some menial job or becoming a beggar or a prostitute. Would it really be a step up?
On the minus side, some of the "surprise revelations" in the book weren't very surprising. I'm not going to put in any spoilers, but for example: There's an organization of interstellar merchants. Fairly early in the story one of them says that their leaders all remain hidden and anonymous to protect themselves from assassination, etc, and so the rank and file don't know who their real leaders are. Well, I thought it was pretty obvious that that was not just a random fact thrown in, that later it would become very important just who their leaders are. And I thought it was pretty obvious who it would turn out to be, it wasn't much of a surprise when it was revealed. Similarly, there's a scene where a character has mysterious headaches and feels like "someone else is in her mind", and the other characters brush it off as fear and nervousness. Well, you have to realize that that's going somewhere.
February 11, 2009
This was a surprise; I read it--great adventure, good hard SF extrapolation. I knew it wasn't new because Anderson died about eight years ago, but it was only after I got done that I realized it was more than fifty years old. There's nothing dated about the book, the characters, or the social problems the book looks at.
Anderson was one of those "sociological" science fiction writers, whose book has some solid "futuristic" elements but who also took seriously such questions as what will happen to personal liberty as technological advances enable the state to further control its people.
Good book.
Anderson was one of those "sociological" science fiction writers, whose book has some solid "futuristic" elements but who also took seriously such questions as what will happen to personal liberty as technological advances enable the state to further control its people.
Good book.
May 16, 2014
Contains the political/sociological concepts that Anderson is known for. However, he is a blunt and, at least in this novel, unimaginative writer. The science fiction sometimes disappears for the sake of the sociology. This is a solid novel, particularly if the reader is interested in the future structure of civilization - generally speaking. Still, it can get boring and tedious because the characters are one-dimensional. For: fans of vintage sci-fi, Dune, and philosophers.
October 31, 2009
An average, golden age SF romp.
When a space crew testing hyperdrive technology return to earth, they realise that not only is the device not quite so accurate as they hoped it would be but far more time has passed (objectively) than they would ever have guessed.
An enjoyable enough read but not particularly thought provoking or exciting.
When a space crew testing hyperdrive technology return to earth, they realise that not only is the device not quite so accurate as they hoped it would be but far more time has passed (objectively) than they would ever have guessed.
An enjoyable enough read but not particularly thought provoking or exciting.
November 24, 2013
Read 1/13/82 and again 11/23/2013 just as good 31 years later. The technology guesses were off a little, he could not envision the www. Fun to read and introduces ideas about civilization that cause you to think.
Read
July 24, 2016A stilted translation, but an entertaining read with the world 5000 years into the future used as a backdrop for intrigue and action. Interesting ideas: a world ruled by computer/AI, and the problems presented by speed of light limitation for interstellar conflicts between civilisations.
April 14, 2008
Science Fiction
January 22, 2011
Grade B
May 12, 2012
Ok read..
May 9, 2018
Loved it. Very readable, with lots of twists and turns... I wanted to get to the end quickly to see how it finished.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews