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Crown of Infinity
An ancient short novel. Dated, but I still enjoy it on occasion.
- GenresScience Fiction
129 pages, paperback
First published January 1, 1968
62 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 17, 2009
A relatively obscure science fiction book written back in the '60's by a rather obscure author, the book probably would not receive much attention or praise by critics, but nevertheless I loved this book. I've read it about 3 times - which is a lot for me - back when I was a kid.
To me, this book shaped and formed my vision of the ultimate destiny of the human race. I see us spreading throughout the universe, advancing technologically until we become almost god-like. I see us as benevolent, battling other races who are oppressive, and helping other peaceful races to advance. That's essentially, in a nutshell, how Faucette portrays future humanity. His vision in this book is truly epic. It's amazing how he manages to fit such an epic story spanning thousands of years in such a short book.
In a nutshell, Humanity starts settling other star systems and runs into another race doing the same thing. Both races compete with each other which leads to a long war. The war is abruptly ended when a third race intervenes. They call themselves the "Masters of the Universe" and they are far, far more advanced than either the Humans or the other race they're fighting. The "Masters" are malevolent, a race that wants to occupy the galaxy alone and wipes out any intelligent races it finds. In short order the Masters attack all the human worlds and destroy them all, even the Earth. The Masters think that they have exterminated all the Humans, but a few human ships survive that happened to be in transit between worlds at the time of the attack. Realizing what happened, the ships disburse and go into hiding. Over the next few thousand years, occasionally the Masters will find a human ship here or there and destroy it, but they can never find them all, and the humans keep multiplying and spreading out. This experience forever changes the Human race. They become a nomadic race, always on the run, always ship-bound, never settling on a planet. This situation goes on for a long time, until one human invents a device called the "C.S. Headgear". It's a device that reads the wearer's mind, and essentially turns one's ideas into reality. HOW it does that isn't really fully explained. Anyway, with this device, great leaps in technology are made, and the Humans start developing really powerful warships that begin to challenge the superiority of the Master of the Universe. A very long nasty war ensues, but the Masters cannot be beaten until the Humans invent another device called the T.E.M.S., which is essentially a weapon that uses genetic engineering to create biological weapons on the fly. Finally the Masters' defenses are broken, and the Humans wipe them out.
The Humans are now undisputedly the most powerful race in the galaxy. They rename themselves the "Star Kings", and become a sort of intergalactic police force. With the Masters gone, other intelligent races start to rise up and colonize the galaxy. The Star Kings foster their development. A number of other threats to the galaxy are described in the remainder of the book, which the Star Kings combat.
My only complaint is that the book should have been longer. There is enough material here to form a SERIES of books, not just one short book. Still, I loved it. It blew me away. It helped shape how I view the future of the human race.
To me, this book shaped and formed my vision of the ultimate destiny of the human race. I see us spreading throughout the universe, advancing technologically until we become almost god-like. I see us as benevolent, battling other races who are oppressive, and helping other peaceful races to advance. That's essentially, in a nutshell, how Faucette portrays future humanity. His vision in this book is truly epic. It's amazing how he manages to fit such an epic story spanning thousands of years in such a short book.
In a nutshell, Humanity starts settling other star systems and runs into another race doing the same thing. Both races compete with each other which leads to a long war. The war is abruptly ended when a third race intervenes. They call themselves the "Masters of the Universe" and they are far, far more advanced than either the Humans or the other race they're fighting. The "Masters" are malevolent, a race that wants to occupy the galaxy alone and wipes out any intelligent races it finds. In short order the Masters attack all the human worlds and destroy them all, even the Earth. The Masters think that they have exterminated all the Humans, but a few human ships survive that happened to be in transit between worlds at the time of the attack. Realizing what happened, the ships disburse and go into hiding. Over the next few thousand years, occasionally the Masters will find a human ship here or there and destroy it, but they can never find them all, and the humans keep multiplying and spreading out. This experience forever changes the Human race. They become a nomadic race, always on the run, always ship-bound, never settling on a planet. This situation goes on for a long time, until one human invents a device called the "C.S. Headgear". It's a device that reads the wearer's mind, and essentially turns one's ideas into reality. HOW it does that isn't really fully explained. Anyway, with this device, great leaps in technology are made, and the Humans start developing really powerful warships that begin to challenge the superiority of the Master of the Universe. A very long nasty war ensues, but the Masters cannot be beaten until the Humans invent another device called the T.E.M.S., which is essentially a weapon that uses genetic engineering to create biological weapons on the fly. Finally the Masters' defenses are broken, and the Humans wipe them out.
The Humans are now undisputedly the most powerful race in the galaxy. They rename themselves the "Star Kings", and become a sort of intergalactic police force. With the Masters gone, other intelligent races start to rise up and colonize the galaxy. The Star Kings foster their development. A number of other threats to the galaxy are described in the remainder of the book, which the Star Kings combat.
My only complaint is that the book should have been longer. There is enough material here to form a SERIES of books, not just one short book. Still, I loved it. It blew me away. It helped shape how I view the future of the human race.
January 20, 2015
A grand, sweeping SF novel of the sort seldom seen. Yes, it is a short novel, but it dispenses with fluff and padding to give the reader an intense vision of a humanity as it rises from all-but-extinction. There is grand adventure, plus a dollop of thoughtfulness. One of the few novels that I re-read every few years.
August 16, 2013
A wonderfully creative and epic drama that sweeps across thousands of years. I read it first at age 16,while it isn't technically for young readers,it is nevertheless,an excellent story for a teenager,boy or girl. A great appetizer for a lifetime of reading.
July 12, 2023
Pues me ha parecido increíblemente malo en lo literario y mira que me trago bodrios y tengo grandes tragaderas pero es que no sé ni decir si es novela o conjunto de relatos o qué. La redacción/traducción deja mucho que desear así como el planteamiento de las historias por llamarlas de alguna manera. Ya ni entro en si está desfasado o no pues es una obra de los setenta, adaptada a la ideología de la época. Lo que si sorprende es que las ultra tecnologías descritas carezcan de inventos que ya tenemos nosotros. Si, si, ya sé, generalmente la realidad arrasa con las predicciones de la cf, pero en este caso se nota bastante el desfase.
April 18, 2022
Lo que pensaba que iba a ser una mera novela de ciencia ficción pulp se ha convertido en algo con un tono más oscuro y que deja a reflexión muchos aspectos del ser humano y sobre su papel en el universo (aunque bueno, también hay un poco de lameculismo a U.S.A, pero no impide el disfrutar de la novela)
August 9, 2021
This book was thought inspiring. I read it for the first time about 30 years ago and have thought about the answer to the question posed in the last chapter of the book. I think I finally have an answer. I would like to hear what others have decided the answer is.
October 12, 2008
An ancient short novel. Dated, but I still enjoy it on occasion.
June 14, 2015
It's not a bad book, just couldn't get into. I will return to it
May 19, 2024
A nivel general me ha gustado. Narra historias de guerras galácticas, venganzas y civilizaciones.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews