Galaxies Like Grains of Sand

by Brian W. Aldiss

This collection of nine stories from the Grand Master of Science Fiction charts the course of humanity from the near future onward through millennia. In Galaxies Like Grains of Sand, Brian W. Aldiss tells the tale of mankind’s future over the course of forty million years. Each of these nine connected short stories highlights a different millennia in which man has adapted to new environments and hardships.This ebook includes a new introduction from the author.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Collections, Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Anthologies

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Pseudonyms: Jael Cracken, Peter Pica, John Runciman, C.C. Shackleton, Arch Mendicant, & "Doc" Peristyle.

Brian Wilson Aldiss was one of the most important voices in science fiction writing today. He wrote his first novel while working as a bookseller in Oxford. Shortly afterwards he wrote his first work of science fiction and soon gained international recognition. Adored for his innovative literary techniques, evocative plots and irresistible characters, he became a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 1999.
Brian Aldiss died on August 19, 2017, just after celebrating his 92nd birthday with his family and closest friends.

Brian W. Aldiss Group on Good Reads

Reviews

[César Bustíos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aldiss propone, en una serie de relatos cortos, una historia de la humanidad que abarca millones de años, desde nuestras estúpidas guerras en la Tierra hasta la inevitable decadencia de nuestra querida galaxia. Cada relato toca un tema específico en la historia de la humanidad; algunos de estos relatos son bastante buenos mientras que otros se quedan un poco cortos pero sin llegar a ser malos. Para mí el mejor relato ha sido el último: Los milenios finales.

Tiene algunos de mis temas favoritos como, por ejemplo, robots, civilizaciones extraterrestres y colonización de planetas. Este libro tiene un poco de todo y lo que más me sorprendió fue su gigantesca línea de tiempo (comparada con otros libros que he leído este año como los de Scalzi o James S.A. Corey).

Me imagino a Aldiss escribiendo este libro con el ceño fruncido, víctima de la preocupación por nuestro futuro, por el futuro de la humanidad. A reflexionar.

[Elentarri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Galaxies Like Grains of Sand is an entertaining, but thought-provoking, science fiction collection of nine connected short stories that features man's evolution during different millennia (e.g. the War Millennia, the Sterile Millennia, the Robot Millennia, the Mutant Millenia etc) over the course of approximately forty million years. Aldiss has written several inventive and original futures for humanity and earth. Some of them particularly unusual. The ending was a bit of a surprise.

[Daniel Villines · Rating 3 out of 5]

Galaxies Like Grains of Sand is a solid work of science fiction. It accomplishes what so many books in the genre surprisingly fail to do, which is to raise questions about our collective future based upon our past and present conditions. For those that want to consider far reaching ideas about our long-term societal and human evolutionary paths, Galaxies Like Grains of Sand has no shortage of such ideas.

My issues with Galaxies stem from its structure. It attempts to be one complete text that presents fragments of Earth's history through countless millennia into the future. To accomplish this structure, the book is comprised of several short stories that are tied together with brief prefaces that focus on the book's historical theme.

Aldiss' approach fragments the characters and the setting of each story while the central them of Earth's history is carried through to the end. Consequently, the characters and settings of each story serve Aldiss' purpose, but they fail to elicit any lasting sympathy. The characters simply vanish as the next fragment begins.

The end result feels more like a recital of Aldiss' version of Revelation, and the human implications associated with Aldiss' visions are left to a sort of faith in him as the all-knowing writer. In the absence of sympathy, there is no way to feel a sense of truth in Aldiss' words.

I think science fiction is capable of a literary story; complete with characters that communicate the nature of their existence, a setting that extrapolates realistic speculations on science, and a plot that strikes close to a human understanding of life. But so far, such a book has been elusive.

[Carlo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of quite abstract SF short stories, forcefully tied together by the author’s interwoven voice. There’s no plot development, no character to be liked or despised, no real thread to tie together these, mostly unrelated, views of distant futures. It must be conceded that there’s an uncommon level of imagination at work here, so in the end it was ok, but it could be a tough book to swallow for the casual SF reader.
-------
Una raccolta di racconti di fantascienza piuttosto astratti, legati insieme a forza dalla voce narrante dell'autore. Non c’è sviluppo della trama, nessun personaggio da apprezzare o disprezzare, nessun vero filo conduttore che unisca queste visioni, per lo più non correlate, di futuri lontani. Bisogna però riconoscere che c’è un livello non comune di immaginazione al lavoro, quindi alla fine è un libro passabile, ma potrebbe essere difficile da digerire per il lettore occasionale di fantascienza.

[Laura L. Van Dam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curiosamente este libro, al igual que el que leí inmediatamente antes (334), consta de varios relatos entrelazados que forman una historia más compleja sobre el futuro de la humanidad.
En el caso del libro de Aldiss, la trama es lineal, desde un futuro cercano hasta el fin de nuestra galaxia. Está lleno de ideas originales que valdría la pena explorar en relatos más largos.
Las 3 estrellas son porque los relatos son de calidad e interés muy desparejos, aunque el libro es corto y las viñetas individualmente no son largas, algunos relatos me parecieron somníferos en comparación con otros. Mis favoritos: el de los robots, el del ser mutante, y el relato final.
Me queda la duda, al pensar en el futuro de nuestra especie, si ser o no optimista. Sin duda este libro plantea posibilidades en uno y otro sentido.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

My second read by Aldiss and just as enjoyable. This is from the golden age of scifi or thereabout, 9 thematically connected stories about the future of the Earth. Of course that is much too vague, since most if not all science fiction deals with that very subject, but this is specifically the projected future that spans millennia and then some. So it's a very lofty, very ambitious premise and the execution, while somewhat uneven, is quite good too. Not great, mind you, for me it never really exceeds the terrific first story, but very interesting still. Aldiss gives himself 40 million years to play with and each story visits pivotal moments in that timeline, the highs and lows and various oscillations in between. It's wildly inventive and often has a moral, but then again can just be read as an entertaining tale. Originally published in 1959 in UK under The Canopy of Time and 1960 in USA under author's preferred title seen above, it doesn't really reflect its age with the sort of dated references some genre books from that era tend to. This is pure imagination shaped by a good grasp of historical references, social psychology and politics. Despite all the serious implications such a collection might have found itself weighted down with, this is still pretty light reading, mostly entertaining, though might make you think now and again. Not sure if it was ever meant to be more, it's quite slender and unimposing for all that it is. Fun read. Recommended for science fiction fans.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Entre los precursores de lo que luego fue la New Wave, pero con identidad propia.-

Género. Ciencia ficción.

Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro Galaxias como granos de arena (publicación original: The Canopy of Time, 1959) nos ofrece un vistazo a distintos momentos del desarrollo de la humanidad dentro y fuera de las fronteras del planeta Tierra. Libro también conocido como La humanidad del futuro en ediciones más antiguas y, esta edición, traducción del volumen revisado de 1979, Galaxies Like Grains of Sand, con un relato más que el original.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ésta obra bien podría tratarse de la magna del autor, ya que el halo de sobriedad y cohesión narrativa (pese a lo etéreo de su personal imprenta y el toque Pulp, que aquí es más Steampunk en su generalidad; por dar una idea del grado bajo de extravagancia aportada, para variar, por el escritor) a la par que la ambición de construir una alegoría futura mediante relatos semi conectados a nivel temporal, que no necesariamente correlativos (algunos con saltos temporales y de concepción), y fragmentados por milenios (dándoles un peso y entidad más profético-religiosa que histórica en su tratamiento), consigue que sea, cuanto menos, digna y recomendable de leer para todos aquellos que no se han iniciado en la rama clásica del género, además que ser un referente destacado de la obra del Británico.
Si llegar a la genialidad de “Historias del futuro” de Robert A. Heinlein (ésa sí que toca de pies en el suelo completamente, tiene una conexión espacio-temporal premonitoria y profética como ninguna otra), y siendo un homenaje a la Heinleniana obra maestra (una de ellas) en forma, por lo menos es interesante de leer y logra encauzar (sin ser ninguna de ellas Neo) ciertas ideas a posteriores obras de Simak y solaparse con tan famosas como la de Pierre Boulle, dejando tras su lectura una huella , que quizá con los años se hubiese convertido en obra referente, si no hubiese existido la del Decano y el Maestro directamente (todas beben de él). Y es que cuando Aldiss se intenta sumergir en temáticas Genéticas no aporta nada nuevo, tan sólo cambia el concepto en desarrollo, cuando se encara con Política – Social mejora pero flojea por no abarcar completamente un aspecto tan complejo, y en el aspecto Filosófico, bajo su pluma, se torna más Fábula que Empírica. Así que, su mayor aportación es la mezcla de mundos futuros con elementos primitivos, con sus peculiaridades. En ésta ocasión bajo una trama plausible en su generalidad y sin llegar al grado de excentricidad al que solía recurrir el autor.

La obra se divide por Milenios, prologados a modo histórico- introductorio, para posteriormente concretarnos ésa etapa mediante un relato ejemplarizante en desarrollo futuro.
A continuación paso a resumiros todo ello, junto a mis impresiones acerca de cada uno:

Los milenios de guerra
El autor nos explica la destrucción de la Tierra, en pleno auge, por sus pugnas de poder y Nacionalismos desbordados. Lo que conlleva a la guerra nuclear. En ése milenio, la temerosa gente se refugia en “Sueñerías”: cápsulas de sueño, mientras que otros intentan huir a astros cercanos...

1/ Inalcanzable:
El relato que abre la línea temporal, nos habla sobre el director de la sueñería, que un día espía los letargos imaginarios de un huésped muy especial (fuera de los psicópatas e inadaptados que suelen poblar el recinto, además de los estériles de mente dentro de la guerra fría): Floyd Milton. Éste estuvo casado con una Solita (extra terrestres que vienen a la tierra por sus atractivos naturales, rescatándolos de la extinción para repoblarlos en su hábitat, lleno de dicha pero sin atractivo fértil). Así que el director desea conocer dónde se ubica el mundo Solite para saber sus secretos y viajar a él.

Historias de tinte Apocalíptico, y claro mensaje crítico hacía la condición humana, que pese a querer cambiar y salvarse a si misma, siempre hierra en el intento por su inherente condición suspicaz, racista e intolerante.
Muy bien llevada y ejecutada, más sobria y resoluta de lo normal para tratarse de Aldiss, si bien aporta ésos elementos característicos que fusionan Naturaleza con tecnología, dándole la guinda kirsch marca de la casa.
Me ha gustado mucho.

Los milenios estériles
En ésta etapa, y tras una larga guerra racial (como no podía ser de otro modo), en dónde la caucasiana presenta su batalla final, siendo prácticamente eliminada por la negra. Después vendría una etapa de aislamiento, donde las comunidades marginadas eran controladas en todos los aspectos y supervisadas por robots, que trabajaron durante éste milenio para recuperar las tierras y el planeta.

2/ todas las lágrimas del mundo:
La segunda historia nos narra un mundo bajo el total control de todas las criaturas, con una tierra prácticamente inerte. En un aparente y desdichado marco campestre vive Gunpat junto a su diezmada hija Ployploy. Un psicovitalizador visitará al padre, y será testigo de un amor prohibido por la actual sociedad.

Historia crítica- racial y social hacia la dominación del ser (Huxley, El tercer Reich) con referentes de Adán y Eva, que también caen en desdicha pero sin consecución. Su avance temporal, respecto a los primigenios, hace que el ciclo no se reinicie. Por lo tanto es claramente más pesimista, pero con mensaje de fondo en la rebeldía , coraje y libre albedrío que siempre puede imperar, pese a la estricta tiranía (Heinlein /Capra).
Me ha gustado mucho.

Los milenios de los robots
Tras el inevitable colapso humano, casi todos huyeron en búsqueda de las estrellas y con ello la esperanza. Unos pocos seguían con los cuidados de los Robots, encargados de las labores principales de reconstrucción en todos los ámbitos.

3/ ¿quién puede reemplazar a un hombre?:
El tercer relato nos habla sobre una jerarquía de Androides agrícolas que un buen día se revela y desea crear su propia andadura vital, viendo el panorama Terrestre.

Relato con mucha sorna y cinismo, de fondo super crítico hacia el inevitable conflicto de tiranía y poder que hay en todo ser (también en los androides por ser hechos a imagen y semejanza de los humanos), estructurado a base de agudos diálogos lógicos que crean una bucle revolucionario y pionero, para tropezar, cual hombre, en el servilismo absurdo por falta de suficiente ingenio o más bien, cohesión social.
Me ha encantado.

Los milenios mixtos
En la presente época, los Robots han adquirido un alto desarrollo evolutivo en todos los aspectos. Y el propio hombre era un parásito en sí, alimentado a o por otros. La galaxia se torna una unidad de central de otros astros superiores. Y como en toda época de cambio y transformación, existían dos bandos: los defensores del tradicionalismo y los de lo Neo (el hombre que se confluye con las máquinas en su diario).

4/ Perfil devastado:
Ésta historia retrata la devastación vital del nostálgico líder Chun Hwa, el más anciano de ésa época mixta (y rescatado de otro milenio). En su andadura diaria, hay un espía primitivo que le observa. Verá que el anciano desea que su hija, enfocada en el futuro y el renacimiento del poder del hombre, se percate que éste debe permanecer al dado de la naturaleza, no de la evolución tecnológica.

Relato de corte nostálgico, esencia tribal con toque costumbrista y algo conmovedor, que bajo la mirada crítica del viejo, sabe que la mayoría de veces la evolución es involución en sí misma, desconecta a los humanos entre ellos y crea guerras para acabar pugnando por el poder, aunque sea por un buen principio como el de los Soliste que intentan crear una nueva era de luz y unión en el universo.
Me ha gustado.

Los milenios oscuros
Los Solistas son eliminados una cultura Religiosa que domina toda la galaxia. Ésta nueva cultura, a diferencia de las demás, no se auto marchitó ni destruyó; desapareció fulminantemente...por causas desconocidas e imprevistas.
Así que la Tierra permaneció vacua, como inerte. Los continentes se modificaron, junto con su flora y fauna y otros seres, junto a los pocos humanos.

5/ Oh, Isrhrail:
Un ser extra terrestre está hospedado en un buque sanatorio por precaución social. El ganadero que lo acogió se entrevista con los especialistas de allí para que lo dejen salir, pretextando que es afable y bondadoso, que deben conocerlo. Pero la historia contada por el ser neo en el astro es demasiado rocambolesca e imaginativa para tenerla en cuenta, y más en un milenio de clara frustración generalizada.

Relato de corte crítico social hacía las muchedumbre de miras estrechas, que nunca creen en las profecías ni en dimensiones o advertencias superiores – futuras. Es algo así como un Jesuscristo exiliado en los milenios Oscuros para advertir a los demás. Lo que viene siendo un “Forastero en tierra extraña” pero simplista (aunque el de Aldiss se publicara previamente, bueno, sólo dos años antes). Para sumergirse en la filosofía mezclada con Teología hay que tener los arrestos del Decano o se queda en simple caricatura.
Está bien.

Los milenios de las estrellas
En el de las estrellas se ha iniciado un séquito de seguidores de Ishrail (véase Israel, los apóstoles..y “forastero en tierra extraña”...ya os lo decía yo).Es liberado y su historia se torna documento: Evangelio de la Esperanza (Biblia). Él resulta el descendiente de los que en otra época marcharon.
La Tierra y sus seres evolucionaron hasta límites insospechados, expandiéndose. Se descubren nuevos planetas. Es una época de Pioneros y colonos con destinos infinitos hacía lo oculto y nuevo; creándose nuevas órdenes biológicas. La Galaxia pretende crear una Federación. La Tierra vota para entrar en ésta o no.

6/ Incentivo:
Farro viaja al centro Gubernamental de Nueva Unión para exponer la moción para que la Tierra permanezca fuera de la Federación Multi planetária.

Relato claramente crítico- racista acerca de la desconfianza sobre las alianzas con otros que no son de nuestra especie, o ni siquiera extirpe, sobre las supremacías y los escepticismos; todo salpicado con las inevitables Alianzas Sociales fronterizas que acaban por aparecer en todo futuro desarrollado (Política pura y dura); llevando a los planetas a fusionarse de tal modo que renuncien a parte de su personalidad intrínseca y su herencia particular (la fatal Globalización).

Éste es uno de los temas predilectos de Heinlein, y es tratado tanto en “Historias del Futuro” cómo en muchas otras de sus obras de referencia: “La luna es una cruel amante”, entre otras (Y que para más rubrica cualitativa, también conecta en tiempo y espacio con “Historias del futuro”).
El tema es claramente atractivo, pero Aldiss se centra en la discusión temática, sin dar mucho de sí, a modo presente histórico y sin sub discursos entre líneas. No aporta nada que no se haya leído anteriormente.
Está bien.

Los milenios de los Mutantes
Los Terrícolas ingresan en la Federación y acaban controlando la nueva lengua universal: Galingua. Pero la civilización se estanca y la guerra sigue discurriendo a través de los Milenios. Los Seres extra Terrestres que solicitan que la Tierra tenga alianza con ellos, asciende jerárquicamente y conquistan parte del comercio. El hombre, así mismo, evoluciona y se ve con otra luz, muta...

7/ Colmena genética:
La protagonista de partida del relato es un médico que está para su recuperación en vacaciones, tras un periodo de arduo trabajo de curas. Su marido va a recogerla, cuando recibe un mensaje de Urgencia sobre un hombre pescador que ha sido electrocutado y se teme por su vida.
Relato que toca el tema del curanderismo como adquisición humana consolidada a un nivel superior, y especialmente sobre de la evolución Biológica a niveles globales e impensables por los humanos. Nos habla de los descubrimientos sin limitación (o de ésta, depende de cómo se vea) genéticos y sus patrones mutantes.
Historia con una temática que Heinlein ya relató en uno de los últimos de “Historias del futuro” (Las cien vidas de Lazarus Long); el de Aldiss contiene un halo invasor-evolutivo de fondo y el de Heinlein uno Místico. Gana Heinlein (y no sólo toca ése tema en el relato, por descontado).
Me ha gustado.

Los milenios de de Megalópolis
La humanidad se lanza a la lucha nuevamente, pese a su resignación interior sobre una vida Biológica superior que los arrasa y somete. Manda la teoría duelista de lo tangible e intangible en el universo poderoso de la nueva materia. Se convierte en primera religión galáctica. El hombre decrece en la escala pero niega a extinguirse, luchando por su poder nuevamente en el espacio. Es tiempo de pocas referencias y pasado.

8/ El secreto de la ciudad poderosa :
La historia relata cómo un ayudante de realizador documental intenta promocionar a sus jefes el sólido que rodó su Mentor en la mayor ciudad Estelar, con sus secretos, y del porqué del gran funcionamiento de ésta en el público.

Relato insufrible pesado e insulso, que no aporta nada a la generalidad de la obra. 100% Aldiss en retórica. A estas alturas de la película, ya nos explicó (por activa o pasiva) el panorama debido al nuevo orden genético fusionado. Podría haber pensado mejor historia o haberla eliminado directamente. Para tratar el tema de la difusión comercial y el Marketing de la nueva era con ironía y sorna, el mejor es....bueno, no repetiré el nombre del autor.
No me ha gustado.

Los milenios finales
En el último periodo, la Tierra se agota, llegando al Ocaso. La expansión humana se ha extendido por varios planetas, pero desaprovechando y malgastando todo. Las guerras y bandos ya no tienen sentido. Es tiempo de aislamiento para el ser más desarrollado de ésas Eras, y éste está contando en el Universo.

9/ Ameba visitante:
Un hombre roba la nave e un comerciante de Sólidos históricos. Se traslada posteriormente a una de las pocas ciudades aún en guerra para proponer el modo de ataque perfecto a la poderosa región de Yinnisfar. Lo que desconocen éstos rebeldes, es que el tipo en cuestión tiene otra poderosa razón para viajar allí.

Relato sublime y final perfecto para cerrar el círculo histórico – vital de ésta posible alegoría futura acerca de la condición humana y su desarrollo (en ésta ocasión no digo más). Otra de las mejores historias, por sobriedad y marco de fondo premonitorio. Si bien, un tema ya tratado por Heinlein, evidentemente. Aunque no deja de ser en sí muy buen relato y exposición la del señor Aldiss.
Me ha gustado mucho

[Javir11 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo ideal serían 3.5/5, pero como lo he leído en plan homenaje al autor, pues lo subo a las 4.

Al ser una recopilación de relatos, tampoco puedo hablaros demasiado de ellos sin marcarme un tochazo de esos que asustan. Así que sólo os diré que los 9 relatos en que se divide esta obra tienen un nexo común, la humanidad. En cada uno de ellos y con el paso de los milenios veremos como se desarrolla y evoluciona la raza humana, hasta llegado el desenlace ser conscientes de que en el fondo y a pesar de creernos lo contrario, dentro de universo no somos nada.

Como en cualquier compendio de relatos hay algunos mejores que otros, en este caso hay un par bastante flojos, por eso la perdida de alguna estrella, y alguno muy bueno como el último.

Os dejo el enlace a mi blog por si queréis darle un vistazo a la reseña más detalla que publiqué allí:

https://fantasiascifiymuchomas.blogsp...

[Rog Petersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
A young Aldiss strung together a series of short stories with new preambles to each, ostensibly charting moments in the coming millennia(s?) of man’s development (or in some cases evolution/devolution), which occasionally work as intended within this framework, or sometimes just as nifty stories.
Despite the thousands of years (millions?) between each tale mankind largely remains the same beast as he began, with few notable exceptions, and it had me pondering the changes in humanity in just the last few decades and centuries, let alone millennia.
Not entirely successful as a contiguous through-line of plotted future documentation, but quite good as a collection of stories.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nine interconnected stories that together tell the tale of mankind’s future over the course of forty million years, as humans adapt to new environments and new hardships.

“Aldiss seems to have always had a more oceanic sense of time than even most science fiction writers, an almost measured vision of what will transpire in the long run.” —Norman Spinrad

In memoriam, 1925-2017. I think this is my favorite of his books. Most highly recommended! I plan a reread shortly. My old mmpb was holding up pretty well, last I looked.

[Richard Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to go too far wrong with Brian Aldiss. Chapters/Stories were just the right size for me - I could read the book in short 30-page bursts.

[Gala · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gustaron algunas cosas sobre todo al principio, pero después se pone medio ópera espacial y me re aburre ese género.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a bunch of Brian Aldiss in college and it blew my mind. Decades later and a lot more reading behind me, it holds up. Some amazing ideas and about the best writing to be found in golden age SF. Like, good in an absolute sense, not just "good for SF."

Although, maybe a little sleep-inducing. Could've been my increasing age or a busy couple weeks but every time I picked this up I was drifting off.

He's mostly a short story guy and has produced various compilations like this one, where he introduces some framing narrative to link them all together. So you can pretty much pick up any of them. I've been sitting on his Helliconia trilogy for years and years, which have decidedly mixed reviews, and this was something of a litmus test to see if I was still interested enough in his writing to try them out. I think a qualified yes: his writing and sensibilities definitely sell it but if I'm falling asleep every ten pages I'll never get through it.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

A set of vignettes composed as a 'history of the future', I found Aldiss's writing to have a good rhythm and clarity. The sense that all of humanity's intentions can be captured in a bit of 10-20 pages stories is done with surprising skill. There's a very little bit of age, as the book was written in the early post-war period, but I think even the most imaginative of authors would have had problems with coming up with the effects of information technology. Overall, a good read.

[Joel B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Galaxies Like Grains of Sand was an excellent read made all the more impressive when considering that it was written in the 50's. It completely holds up in 2020 and is well worth your time if you enjoy expansive futuristic sf.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

The vignettes tied together well, but I wish some stories were longer and more developed. I liked the last few pages very much, though, which I appreciate since so many times the last chapter of a book is the most disappointing.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

probably one of the best science fiction books i"ve ever read - beautiful!!!

[kacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a collection of short stories Aldiss then assembled into a longer future history; it doesn't come off too successfully. nevertheless some of the vignettes are quite strong.

[Ezequiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very uneven stories but here and there you can found a lot of "food for thought". I'll probably be returning to this book in the future

RIP Brian Aldiss

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vinjetter av mänsklighetens framtid med vissa okej, andra prima berättelser. Läsvärt om konceptet intresserar, eller om en gillar body horror.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

#Binge Reviewing my previous Reads # Hard Sci Fi

To approach this anthology is to confront a universe that is at once vast, fragmented, intimate, and mercurial. Aldiss, a master of speculative fiction, takes the reader on a journey that resists linearity and refuses the comfort of conventional narrative scaffolding; the book is a collection, yet in its erratic juxtapositions and kaleidoscopic visions, it forms a mosaic of cosmic and human possibilities. Each story functions as a grain, each universe a particle, and the cumulative effect is a meditation on scale, fragility, and contingency, both in the cosmos and in consciousness. Aldiss’s literary style is immediately recognizable: economical yet precise prose, sudden emotional depth, uncanny leaps from the mundane to the metaphysical, a darkly humorous and ironic undercurrent that never fully permits sentimentality. This is a collection that asks you not simply to read but to inhabit its worlds, to adjust your sense of temporal and spatial norms, and to confront the philosophical weight embedded in even the smallest speculative conceit.

The first impression is Aldiss’s willingness to destabilize expectations. In story after story, the familiar collapses into the alien. Human experience is repeatedly displaced; domesticity intersects with the uncanny; technology both empowers and diminishes. One narrative may focus on a near-future sociopolitical dilemma, its protagonists caught in the banalities of bureaucracy or social inertia, only for the very ground of reality to shift beneath them in an instant. Another tale may be set on a distant planet where physical laws themselves are subtly altered, and the reader’s assumptions about causality and perception are challenged. Across the collection, Aldiss’s central obsession seems to be with the tension between scale and significance: the human is infinitesimal, yet consciousness persists; civilizations rise and fall like transient sparks, yet the experience of individual life retains an immutable poignancy. The title itself, *Galaxies Like Grains of Sand*, gestures toward this duality: the vastness of the universe juxtaposed with the finitude of the human observer, each observer a point of narrative gravity against the cosmic backdrop.

Aldiss’s treatment of temporality is particularly striking. Stories move fluidly between subjective time and cosmological time, often within a single paragraph. A character’s momentary lapse, a glance, a thought, is given weight equal to millennia, planetary cycles, or the collapse of entire civilizations. In some narratives, this juxtaposition is disorienting but deliberately so: the reader is forced to reconcile the human-scale perception of causality with the indifferent, almost alien rhythms of cosmic evolution. This is science fiction as epistemological challenge, a genre at its most cerebral, yet Aldiss tempers it with human insight. Characters may be subjected to incomprehensible technologies or societies, yet their inner lives—fear, curiosity, desire, moral hesitation—remain fully accessible. The contrast amplifies the tension between awe and empathy, between narrative abstraction and emotional resonance.

A recurring motif throughout the collection is the contingency of civilization and culture. Aldiss demonstrates a fascination with civilizations in collapse, transformation, or extreme isolation. In these tales, culture is fragile; artifacts, languages, and traditions are ephemeral, subject to erasure by time, entropy, or misaligned cosmic forces. Yet even in this ephemerality, he finds moments of profound beauty. A lost language may survive only in a single song; a civilization’s mathematics may persist solely in the speculations of a solitary observer. This treatment of cultural fragility is reminiscent of Aldiss’s earlier novels, yet here it is distilled into compact, narrative-poetic forms, each story functioning as an elegy or meditation. The reader is repeatedly confronted with impermanence, with the delicate threads by which memory, identity, and knowledge persist.

Aldiss also engages deeply with questions of identity and consciousness. Several stories probe the nature of the self under technological or environmental transformation: mind uploading, genetic modification, alien physiology, or extreme isolation all serve as laboratories for philosophical experimentation. What does it mean to retain human subjectivity when the body, memory, or even sensory apparatus is altered? How does empathy function across radically different embodiments? Aldiss often uses these speculative mechanisms to explore moral and existential dilemmas: the ethics of intervention, the limits of knowledge, the responsibilities of intelligence unmoored from traditional social constraints. The stories rarely offer definitive answers, but the questions themselves linger, expanded in scope and subtly unsettling. Reading them, I often found myself reconsidering the boundaries of selfhood, the arbitrariness of human-centered epistemologies, and the relative importance of memory versus continuity of identity.

Another striking dimension is Aldiss’s deft balance between cosmic scale and intimate detail. While galaxies, civilizations, and time scales are enormous, he never allows the human—or even quasi-human—experience to vanish entirely. A character’s fleeting thought, a personal memory, or a minute observation can anchor a story amidst vast speculative architectures. This technique creates a tension that is simultaneously intellectual and emotional: one is aware of the vastness of space-time, yet grounded in the texture of individual consciousness. It is this interplay that makes the collection so compelling; it is not merely an intellectual exercise in imagining alien physics or future societies, but a meditation on the fragility and tenacity of sentient experience.

The prose itself deserves attention. Aldiss’s style is deceptively simple yet meticulously calibrated. Sentences often start with precise, almost journalistic observation, before bending into metaphor or philosophical rumination. Dialogue is sparing, usually functional, yet frequently loaded with subtext; characters may reveal themselves through gesture, choice of words, or their relationship to technological artifacts. Even in stories with minimal human presence, the narrative voice conveys intelligence, curiosity, and a subtle irony. Humor appears sporadically, often dry, sometimes sardonic, and frequently juxtaposed with existential or cosmic horror. The effect is a texture that oscillates between narrative clarity and speculative abstraction, giving the reader both cognitive delight and emotional engagement.

Structurally, the collection is uneven yet intentional. Stories vary in length, focus, and tone. Some are close to traditional short fiction, with narrative arcs and resolution; others are fragmentary, almost essayistic, presenting snapshots, thought experiments, or microcosms of alternate reality. This unevenness can be challenging, particularly for readers accustomed to conventional plot-driven science fiction, but it also mirrors the thematic content: the universe is not uniform; cognition, perception, and cultural memory are discontinuous; understanding emerges in fragments. Aldiss’s curation of stories, therefore, is itself a meta-narrative on epistemology and scale, guiding the reader through a deliberately jagged yet intellectually coherent landscape.

Several stories probe the intersections of humanity and post-humanity, a theme Aldiss had explored throughout his career. Artificial intelligence, bioengineering, and contact with alien consciousness are all treated not as spectacle but as vehicles for existential inquiry. Characters may find themselves unable to communicate with entities that defy conventional logic, or forced to make decisions whose consequences unfold over centuries. The treatment of time in these contexts is particularly subtle; Aldiss avoids simplistic extrapolation, instead examining how consciousness perceives time when the ordinary rules of causality are stretched. Reading these sections, I was struck by the careful layering of scientific plausibility and imaginative speculation: the narratives feel grounded yet otherworldly, plausible yet disorienting, a hallmark of Aldiss’s mature style.

Aldiss is also attentive to the ecological and material dimensions of his imagined worlds. Planetary environments, ecosystems, and resources are rarely incidental; they shape societies, technologies, and cognitive strategies. In some stories, environmental collapse is central; in others, the alien topography dictates cultural form. This ecological awareness situates the human (or post-human) within a web of interdependent processes, reinforcing the collection’s overarching theme: that significance is always relative, fragile, and emergent from multiple scales of observation. The attention to detail in these landscapes is vivid, precise, and frequently awe-inspiring, creating a sense of inhabitable strangeness that complements the collection’s intellectual rigor.

What makes *Galaxies Like Grains of Sand* particularly resonant for a reader in 2025 is its prescience regarding technological and cultural contingency. Aldiss anticipates concerns now central to contemporary science fiction and speculative thought: the ethics of artificial intelligence, the long-term consequences of environmental degradation, the fracturing of human culture under global pressures, and the dislocation of identity in technologically mediated societies. Yet his treatment remains literary, never didactic; he invites reflection rather than prescribing solutions. The cumulative effect is meditative, encouraging the reader to consider not only what is possible in the universe but also how perception, memory, and values shape our understanding of that possibility.

The collection also rewards rereading. On a first pass, the striking feature is the imaginative diversity; on subsequent readings, one notices thematic resonances, recurring motifs, and subtle philosophical undercurrents. Concepts of temporality, entropy, civilization, and cognition recur in variations, creating a network of ideas that extends across stories. Characters may differ, settings may shift, but the ethical and existential questions persist, forming a conceptual lattice that binds the collection. In this sense, the work functions as both discrete narratives and a cumulative philosophical text.

Ultimately, *Galaxies Like Grains of Sand* exemplifies the strengths of hard speculative fiction: rigorous engagement with scientific and philosophical ideas, careful attention to detail, and an unwavering commitment to imaginative exploration. Yet it also transcends strict genre conventions through its literary sensibility: Aldiss’s prose, irony, and concern with consciousness elevate the work beyond mere extrapolation, rendering it a reflection on existence itself. As I closed the book,


the sensation was not only intellectual satisfaction but also a lingering emotional resonance: wonder at the scale of the cosmos, humility before the fragility of life, and a sense of gratitude for the capacity to imagine worlds beyond our own.

For readers approaching Aldiss for the first time, the collection may feel challenging, even disorienting; it demands patience, attention, and a willingness to inhabit uncertainty. Yet the rewards are profound: encounters with imaginative landscapes that are simultaneously scientifically grounded and poetically charged, insights into human and post-human cognition, and the reaffirmation that science fiction, when at its best, is a mode of thought as much as a mode of entertainment. In *Galaxies Like Grains of Sand*, Aldiss offers a compendium of cognitive and imaginative experiences that can transform the way one reads, thinks, and perceives scale, consciousness, and the interplay between the two.

Reading this collection after years of engaging with both classic and contemporary science fiction, I found it a reminder of the unique capacity of the genre to bridge intellectual rigor and imaginative freedom. Aldiss’s work demonstrates that hard science fiction need not sacrifice literary quality; indeed, literary sensibility can enhance the conceptual daring of speculative ideas. Each story is both a meditation and a narrative, both a thought experiment and a lived experience, reinforcing the sense that Aldiss is not merely telling tales but inviting participation in the act of imaginative inquiry itself.

[Mike Bright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of short sci-fi stories woven together as a history of the galaxy over tens of millions of years. This isn't hard science fiction like Larry Niven, but it isn't pure fantasy either. The connecting pieces are pretty philosophical and the arc of the stories traces out the evolution of humanity.

Mr. Aldiss is creative tells a good story. This was a reread, although my first time through was so far back that I really didn't remember any of the stories. However, I do remember enjoying the book immensely and that came through again.

[Patrick Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Visionary history of mankind as told in nine installments by its replacement. Tells the tale like a geologist would - using million, thousand, and hundred year increments - Aldiss shows how man is the perfect seedling for populating the universe as well as the ultimate vehicle for its self-destruction. Man ruins the Earth, leaves Earth for the stars, tackles the problems of time travel through an integrated form of speech-like alchemy, rediscovers a still populated Earth but does not believe it to be the Earth of myth, renames Earth as there are already hundreds of planets in the universe laying claim to that distinction, unifies the universe, institutes galactic warfare as a necessary economical device, and destroys the universe in a truly unique battle against man's successor. Time is the constant, and Aldiss makes us aware that we are just a silly soap opera for the infinite to enjoy for but a minute or two.

[Ericka Clou · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is from my Dad's collection. Before I get to the substance of the book, I think it's worth mentioning that my Dad's copy is from 1960 and it has a cigarette ad right in the middle of the book. Wow. Anyway, the novel is about the history of the Earth and our Galaxy in the very distant future. It reminds me a lot of Cloud Atlas, even though it was written so long before Cloud Atlas. I enjoyed it a great deal, and the story felt cohesive though I just noticed when examining the book that many of the chapters were published as short stories before being combined into novel form. Because of this short story format, and because the the story spans millions of years, there isn't a central character, but many small under-developed characters. The story is more central than the characters.

[Fred · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a weird book. The fixup is a little clunky but the stories are quite fine. The American paperback is actually the one to read rather than the UK Canopy of Time. Faber in England would not print Aldiss' extensive interludes between each story but Galaxies has them as Aldiss desired.
Finally, there was a book of Aldiss criticism called Apertures by David Wingrove; it focuses heavily on this collection and is more well written and insightful than I am at the moment. Recommended.

[Lorelei · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a mixed bag, a collection of stories that forms a 'future history' that spans the lifetime of the galaxy. The last story is brilliant, if somewhat torturously written. If you aren't starting with a large vocabulary and a willingness to improvise pronounciation I suggest read this with a thesaurus or dictionary at hand. I do consider it well worth the read if you've leisure time to spare.

[Daniel Brewster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the 'Faber Finds' edition. Beautiful, striking prose meets an epic collection of captivating stories spanning the history of our universe. What a pleasure to read.

[Dmk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally underated. One of the best collectin of sci-fi stories ever made.

[Yacoob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nonstop jsem četl už hodně dávno, takže jsem Aldissezase znovu objevil. A nelituju.