What do you think?
Rate this book
Project Barrier
The first starship to Centauri could only carry 120lb. of human being, yet required three specialist crewmen to handle it. The solution was radical but relatively simple. Take a twelve-year-old girl weighing 100lb., and impress the personalities of three ideal crew members on her mind.
These 'shadow' crewmen then took the ship—with the girl—to the stars. Quite naturally the four became close friends—which would make for a decidedly complex problem when they returned.
From the psychiatrists point of view he's merely restoring the girl's sanity. But from the crew's point of view it's murder!
Here is a unique collection from a distinctive author whose works include such classic titles as Dark Universe and Similacron-3. Project Barrier showcases five loosely-connected stories, never before published in the U.S.
In 'Rub-a-Dub' Galouye helps us explore what it is that makes us human, in a future were advanced technologies can copy a person’s mental imprint—or is it their soul?—into someone else’s body. And in 'Shuffle Board', we leap forward into a potential future that explores the damage the human race has caused to Earth, and to our very own genome itself. For what is it that makes us who we are? Our mind, or what it is housed in?
Galouye takes this concept one step further when he places humanity on new planets in 'Recovery Area',' and 'Reign of the Telepuppets', to show us how Man can (re)discover himself, when experiencing a first contact scenario. Do we rise to the occasion, as a race, or show our uglier side as a result of miscommunication and ignorance?
How better to answer that question, then to read what happens in the collection’s title piece, 'Project Barrier', where Galouye dazzles the reader with the most tantalizing “What if?” in the entire book. The novelette is a fascinating study of a possible evolutionary decision we could make, as we expand our spiritual and galactic horizons.
Galouye is going to mess with your mind, and make you think, as you consider the moral implications this collection offers forth…. Enjoy the journey. It’s going to be one hell of a bumpy ride!
These 'shadow' crewmen then took the ship—with the girl—to the stars. Quite naturally the four became close friends—which would make for a decidedly complex problem when they returned.
From the psychiatrists point of view he's merely restoring the girl's sanity. But from the crew's point of view it's murder!
Here is a unique collection from a distinctive author whose works include such classic titles as Dark Universe and Similacron-3. Project Barrier showcases five loosely-connected stories, never before published in the U.S.
In 'Rub-a-Dub' Galouye helps us explore what it is that makes us human, in a future were advanced technologies can copy a person’s mental imprint—or is it their soul?—into someone else’s body. And in 'Shuffle Board', we leap forward into a potential future that explores the damage the human race has caused to Earth, and to our very own genome itself. For what is it that makes us who we are? Our mind, or what it is housed in?
Galouye takes this concept one step further when he places humanity on new planets in 'Recovery Area',' and 'Reign of the Telepuppets', to show us how Man can (re)discover himself, when experiencing a first contact scenario. Do we rise to the occasion, as a race, or show our uglier side as a result of miscommunication and ignorance?
How better to answer that question, then to read what happens in the collection’s title piece, 'Project Barrier', where Galouye dazzles the reader with the most tantalizing “What if?” in the entire book. The novelette is a fascinating study of a possible evolutionary decision we could make, as we expand our spiritual and galactic horizons.
Galouye is going to mess with your mind, and make you think, as you consider the moral implications this collection offers forth…. Enjoy the journey. It’s going to be one hell of a bumpy ride!
- GenresScience FictionFiction
238 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
5 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Daniel F. Galouye
119 books77 followersDaniel Francis Galouye (11 February 1920 – 7 September 1976) was an American science fiction writer. During the 1950s and 1960s, he contributed novelettes and short stories to various digest-size science fiction magazines, sometimes writing under the pseudonym Louis G. Daniels.
After Galouye (pronounced Gah-lou-ey) graduated from Louisiana State University (B.A.), he worked as a reporter for several newspapers. During World War II, he served in the US Navy as an instructor and test pilot, receiving injuries that led to later health problems. On December 26, 1945, he married Carmel Barbara Jordan. From the 1940s until his retirement in 1967, he was on the staff of The States Item. He lived in New Orleans but also had a summer home across Lake Pontchartrain at St. Tammany Parish in Covington, Louisiana.
In 1952, he sold his first novelette, Rebirth, to Imagination and then branched out to other digests, including Galaxy Science Fiction and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Between 1961 and 1973, Galoyue wrote five novels, notably Simulacron Three, basis of the movie The Thirteenth Floor and the 1973 German TV miniseries, Welt am Draht (directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder). His first novel, Dark Universe (1961) was nominated for a Hugo.
In 2007, Galouye was named as the recipient of the Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award, which is co-sponsored by the heirs of Paul M.A. Linebarger (who wrote as Cordwainer Smith) and Readercon. The jury for this award recognizes a deceased genre writer whose work should be "rediscovered" by the readers of today, and that newly rediscovered writer is a deceased guest of honor at the following year's Readercon. Galouye was named 6 July 2007 by Barry N. Malzberg and Gordon Van Gelder, speaking on behalf of themselves and the other two judges, Martin H. Greenberg and Mike Resnick.
After Galouye (pronounced Gah-lou-ey) graduated from Louisiana State University (B.A.), he worked as a reporter for several newspapers. During World War II, he served in the US Navy as an instructor and test pilot, receiving injuries that led to later health problems. On December 26, 1945, he married Carmel Barbara Jordan. From the 1940s until his retirement in 1967, he was on the staff of The States Item. He lived in New Orleans but also had a summer home across Lake Pontchartrain at St. Tammany Parish in Covington, Louisiana.
In 1952, he sold his first novelette, Rebirth, to Imagination and then branched out to other digests, including Galaxy Science Fiction and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Between 1961 and 1973, Galoyue wrote five novels, notably Simulacron Three, basis of the movie The Thirteenth Floor and the 1973 German TV miniseries, Welt am Draht (directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder). His first novel, Dark Universe (1961) was nominated for a Hugo.
In 2007, Galouye was named as the recipient of the Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award, which is co-sponsored by the heirs of Paul M.A. Linebarger (who wrote as Cordwainer Smith) and Readercon. The jury for this award recognizes a deceased genre writer whose work should be "rediscovered" by the readers of today, and that newly rediscovered writer is a deceased guest of honor at the following year's Readercon. Galouye was named 6 July 2007 by Barry N. Malzberg and Gordon Van Gelder, speaking on behalf of themselves and the other two judges, Martin H. Greenberg and Mike Resnick.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 2, 2018
Danile F. Galouye was an American writer hailing from New Orleans and a graduate of LSU. Lingering effects of war wounds suffered as a naval aviator during WW II led to a somewhat early death in 1976. In 2007 he was awarded the "Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award". Most of his fiction was in the form of short stories or novelettes. This small collection draws from some of his pulp fiction publications from the late 1950s and early 1960s. Oddly this book was only published in the UK until just recently.
Five short stories and a novella comprise its contents:
Project Barrier (1968)
"Shuffle Board" in IF (Jun 1957)
"Project Barrier" in Fantastic Universe (Jan 1958)
"Recovery Area" in Amazing (Feb 1963)
Reign of the Telepuppets (novella) in Amazing (Aug 1963)
"Rub-a-Dub" in Fantastic (Apr 1961) as "Descent into the Maelstrom"
Ranging in topics from environmental disasters to alien encounters and ESP misadventures, the stories in this book are well written and captivating. Due to its age, cutting edge technology is not a part of its contents, but it doesn't seem hopelessly outdated like so many of his contemporaries' works. I had to wonder if Terry Bisson ("Bears Discover Fire") was familiar with Galouye's fiction when I got to the title story. Too close for coincidence.
Five short stories and a novella comprise its contents:
Project Barrier (1968)
"Shuffle Board" in IF (Jun 1957)
"Project Barrier" in Fantastic Universe (Jan 1958)
"Recovery Area" in Amazing (Feb 1963)
Reign of the Telepuppets (novella) in Amazing (Aug 1963)
"Rub-a-Dub" in Fantastic (Apr 1961) as "Descent into the Maelstrom"
Ranging in topics from environmental disasters to alien encounters and ESP misadventures, the stories in this book are well written and captivating. Due to its age, cutting edge technology is not a part of its contents, but it doesn't seem hopelessly outdated like so many of his contemporaries' works. I had to wonder if Terry Bisson ("Bears Discover Fire") was familiar with Galouye's fiction when I got to the title story. Too close for coincidence.
February 15, 2023
A selection of science fiction short stories and novelettes from overlooked golden-age/new-wave author Daniel F. Galouye. Galouye is best known for Simulacron-3, which was way ahead of its time and more or less The Matrix 35 years early. The book was adapted into a German mini-series called World on a Wire in the 1970s and a film called The Thirteenth Floor in 1999, the same year as The Matrix. Galouye isn't overly stylistic. His prose functions and rarely calls attention to itself, though I would not call it clinical. I have only brushed the surface of Galouye's work, but what I have read tells me that the appeal is in his ideas, which are suitably delivered and usually without the kind of campiness that often comes with the sci-fi of this period. This collection is a mixed bag, but I enjoyed reading most of the stories in spite of some flaws.
Shuffle Board - 3.9
A future setting in which the earth is plagued by an unmanageable build-up of radioactive waste all over the globe. "Shuffle crews" are constantly required to expose themselves and move the materials around to less lethal locations, only for them to negatively impact other areas and cause more problems later down the line; the cycle repeats itself from generation to generation. The coordinator for the "shuffle board", short-staffed and overwhelmed with tasks, finds himself secretly faking his public radiation levels in order to lead necessary operations - but what will the consequences be for his pregnant wife?
This was an interesting concept, functionally delivered. Easy to read and an interesting ending. Worthwhile.
Recovery Area - 2.9
An interesting tale of space colonisation, switching perspectives between the home race and the invader. Starts off in a very intriguing fashion with good worldbuilding but ultimately becomes a bit of a slog. Characters are hard to keep track of here, either because their double-barrelled alien names are plucked from 'how to write fantasy' guides or simply because they are so thinly drawn. Ultimately, it became less compelling for me as it went on.
Rub-a-dub - 3.9
An at times confusing but very inventive and cerebral exploration of identity and nature of the soul. A woman is undergoing a psychological procedure in order to remove three personalities that were previously imprinted on her, done for the sake of a mission that required a light load but several skillsets. The difficulty is these personalities have a sense of individuality; they feel they have a right to live and are being killed off. The story is engaging throughout and features some fun, wacky sequences as the impressions dance about the Id, dodging attacks on their existence and sense of reality. It gets a little weird with a romantic angle that has some odd implications, and I wasn't entirely convinced by the conclusion.
Reign of the Telepuppets - 2.75
A collection of machines sent out to a planet gain a sense of self, forgetting their origins, with one concluding that it must be God. The story concerns an unwitting team sent to investigate the situation and a mysterious third party who observe them from afar. There are a lot of neat ideas, but the story is very muddled and it is not well paced. By the end I was admittedly a bit confused as to what was going on. Not one of the strongest in the collection.
Project Barrier - 2.5
Readable and mildly interesting, but I couldn't quite bring myself to seriously invest in bears with human characteristics. A little too reliant on the big reveal, which I saw coming a mile away. The less you know going in the better, though I would consider it skippable.
The 1st and 3rd stories in the collection are easily the strongest. Simulacron 3 is a much stronger work than both. I'm looking forward to reading Dark Universe.
Shuffle Board - 3.9
A future setting in which the earth is plagued by an unmanageable build-up of radioactive waste all over the globe. "Shuffle crews" are constantly required to expose themselves and move the materials around to less lethal locations, only for them to negatively impact other areas and cause more problems later down the line; the cycle repeats itself from generation to generation. The coordinator for the "shuffle board", short-staffed and overwhelmed with tasks, finds himself secretly faking his public radiation levels in order to lead necessary operations - but what will the consequences be for his pregnant wife?
This was an interesting concept, functionally delivered. Easy to read and an interesting ending. Worthwhile.
Recovery Area - 2.9
An interesting tale of space colonisation, switching perspectives between the home race and the invader. Starts off in a very intriguing fashion with good worldbuilding but ultimately becomes a bit of a slog. Characters are hard to keep track of here, either because their double-barrelled alien names are plucked from 'how to write fantasy' guides or simply because they are so thinly drawn. Ultimately, it became less compelling for me as it went on.
Rub-a-dub - 3.9
An at times confusing but very inventive and cerebral exploration of identity and nature of the soul. A woman is undergoing a psychological procedure in order to remove three personalities that were previously imprinted on her, done for the sake of a mission that required a light load but several skillsets. The difficulty is these personalities have a sense of individuality; they feel they have a right to live and are being killed off. The story is engaging throughout and features some fun, wacky sequences as the impressions dance about the Id, dodging attacks on their existence and sense of reality. It gets a little weird with a romantic angle that has some odd implications, and I wasn't entirely convinced by the conclusion.
Reign of the Telepuppets - 2.75
A collection of machines sent out to a planet gain a sense of self, forgetting their origins, with one concluding that it must be God. The story concerns an unwitting team sent to investigate the situation and a mysterious third party who observe them from afar. There are a lot of neat ideas, but the story is very muddled and it is not well paced. By the end I was admittedly a bit confused as to what was going on. Not one of the strongest in the collection.
Project Barrier - 2.5
Readable and mildly interesting, but I couldn't quite bring myself to seriously invest in bears with human characteristics. A little too reliant on the big reveal, which I saw coming a mile away. The less you know going in the better, though I would consider it skippable.
The 1st and 3rd stories in the collection are easily the strongest. Simulacron 3 is a much stronger work than both. I'm looking forward to reading Dark Universe.
April 7, 2021
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
"In the early days of my site, I reviewed Daniel F. Galouye’s best-known novel Dark Universe (1961) and A Scourge of Screamers (1966). Since then I’ve attempted to read Simulacron-3 (1964), adapted into a fantastic German mini-series World on a Wire (1973) and The Thirteenth Floor (1999), three times without success. What can I say, I’m a reader of whim and in each instance I wasn’t in the mood. Maybe it was Bill Botton’s compelling/bizarre psychedelic cover for Project Barrier (1968) or perhaps Rich Horton’s comments on twitter about the title story but I decided to give Galouye’s short fiction a go.
Project Barrier (1968) contains four uneven tales with one notable standout–“Rub-a-Dub” (variant title: “Descent Into the Maestrom”) (1961)–which I highly recommend if disturbing psychological SF is up your alley. The others in the collection exude a more run-of-the-mill feel. I found it refreshing that Galouye [...]"
"In the early days of my site, I reviewed Daniel F. Galouye’s best-known novel Dark Universe (1961) and A Scourge of Screamers (1966). Since then I’ve attempted to read Simulacron-3 (1964), adapted into a fantastic German mini-series World on a Wire (1973) and The Thirteenth Floor (1999), three times without success. What can I say, I’m a reader of whim and in each instance I wasn’t in the mood. Maybe it was Bill Botton’s compelling/bizarre psychedelic cover for Project Barrier (1968) or perhaps Rich Horton’s comments on twitter about the title story but I decided to give Galouye’s short fiction a go.
Project Barrier (1968) contains four uneven tales with one notable standout–“Rub-a-Dub” (variant title: “Descent Into the Maestrom”) (1961)–which I highly recommend if disturbing psychological SF is up your alley. The others in the collection exude a more run-of-the-mill feel. I found it refreshing that Galouye [...]"
July 14, 2024
Project Barrier is a collection of science fiction short stories. None were particularly amazing, they seemed to be in ascending order with the last, about the future intelligent ancestors of bears, being the best. I was most disappointed with 'Rub-a-Dub', a story that the blurb proclaimed to be about a "spacegirl with the minds of three men grafted to her brain". That does sound like a good story but it does not deal with the space mission and the interactions of the girl with the mental hitch hikers. Instead it is post space mission (which is never made clear) and the plot revolves around a psychiatrist brutally disolving the grafted personalities and pulling a deus ex machina to 'save' the narrator.
Want to read
October 18, 2021En español viene como el reino de los telemuñecos y contiene otros cuentos como:
Zona de recuperación
Proyecto barrera
Operación traslado
Tres personalidades en una
Zona de recuperación
Proyecto barrera
Operación traslado
Tres personalidades en una
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews