The Stars, My Brothers

by Edmond Hamilton

He was afraid--not of the present or the future, but of the past. He was afraid of the thing tagged Reed Kieran, that stiff blind voiceless thing wheeling its slow orbit around the Moon, companion to dead worlds and silent space.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Pulp, Audiobook, 20th Century

52 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Edmond Moore Hamilton was a popular author of science fiction stories and novels throughout the mid-twentieth century. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he was raised there and in nearby New Castle, Pennsylvania. Something of a child prodigy, he graduated high school and started college (Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania) at the age of 14--but washed out at 17. He was the Golden Age writer who worked on Batman, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and many sci-fi books.

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hamilton takes on some weighty themes like sexism and prejudice against the backdrop of an interesting sci-fi mini adventure involving a man reanimated 100 years after being frozen in a space accident. What is perhaps most interesting is the introduction of a world where advanced reptilian like aliens dominate a primitive human culture. The thawed out man is expected to perceive this as injustice pure and simple, yet he proves that man's power of reason may be more powerful than his innate fears and biases. This idea of aliens dominating a primitive humanity is more than a bit like Planet of the Apes, which was published only a year later. Coincidence?

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of interesting ideas here. Hamilton looks at feminism, racism, politics, & speciesism, but they weren't as fully formed as I could have hoped, so more of a 3.5. Our space faring future is in 1981 & then he uses the lens of a century jump to take us to the stars where our man of the future is now a relic from the past. If this had been a little longer & the ideas fleshed out a bit more, it could have really been something.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short story that will make you think. Reed Kieran has the misfortune to be frozen to death on a space station orbiting the earth in the twenty-first century. He then suffers the greater misfortune of being revived by a cabal who wishes to use him to win a political debate in the twenty-second century. On the surface this is a fairly straightforward adventure story, but the climax depends completely on your understanding of such heady concepts as the meaning of humanity, civilization, intelligence and nature.

In the future humans have spread to the stars and discovered other humans on many planets—humans who are not so technologically advanced as those originating on earth. On one world they find a race of very primitive humans (think caveman) living on the same planet as a technologically sophisticated reptilian race. What should be done with the humans? Are they effectively animals or should they be educated and helped to reach their potential as expressed by humans from earth? And what to do about the reptilian species who does not want earth’s humans meddling with their planet.

Hamilton makes this exploration into these very serious issues eminently entertaining. If you like a good adventure story with a little bit of deep thinking, you should give this tale a try.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent short and vintage scifi novel. Vintage scifi was so hopeful about the social and technological evolution of man, but always faithfully recognized our innate faults. Loyalty to the species, or subgroup of species, greed, etc. I really enjoyed this short story about a man who was frozen during a ship malfunction, and place in a graveyard of frozen bodies that orbit the moon until such a time that the can be revived by science. That alone is an excellent premise for a story, I would love to see it expanded. The audiobook is only an hour, so if your looking for something quick and intersting enough to listen to, this is it.

Kieran thought of himself, lying frozen and dead in a graveyard that was space, bodies drifting in orbit, circling slowly around each other as the years passed, in a macabre sarabande— A deep shiver shook him

He was afraid, not of the present, nor of the future, but of the past. He was afraid of the thing tagged Reed Kieran, the stiff blind voiceless thing wheeling its slow orbit around the Moon, companion to dead worlds and dead space, brother to the cold and the dark.

[Chris Townsend · Rating 4 out of 5]

At issue here is loyalty to your own species or loyalty to a higher life form. The answer will make you think, but you might not like the main character's take on it.

Great line: Back in your day, women were still taking advantage of the dual standard--demanding complete equality with men but clinging to their special status. We've got beyond that.

[Ian Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good science fiction novella that covers issues around xenophobia and the difference between humans and animals in around 50 pages. It packs quite a lot of ideas into a story of this size.

"Time travel" by suspended animation, where someone awakes or is revived after a long period frozen, asleep or dead goes back to at least Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle, but H. G. Wells gave it the science fiction treatment in The Sleeper Awakes. Here someone who is frozen in an accident in the late 20th century is revived much later and meets aliens and finds his preconceptions around species loyalty and the paternalism of more developed people towards less developed people challenged.

(10 years later Edmund Cooper used the same revival-after-being-frozen-in-an-accident idea in The Tenth Planet: A Novel and Andra by Louise Lawrence takes a different approach with a brain graft merging part of a brain from 1987 into a brain 2000 years from now).

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining space listening 🎶🔰

Another will written fantasy space Sci-Fi adventure thriller short story by Edmond Hamilton about a man 🚹 who dies, is frozen, and a century later is brought back to life and the fun begins. He is sent to a planet where humans are not the ruling class. I would recommend this novella to readers of fantasy Sci-Fi space adventures. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to Alexa as I do. 🏡🔰👒⏰ 2022

[John McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wisdom in his story

It is a wonderful little book. He wrote it with color and brightness. I read the Star Of Life when
I was eleven and I loved it. I hope young readers and mature readers will keep reading Hamilton.

[Joe Rodeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

A frozen astronaut is left to orbit the moon until medical science can restore him to fitness. Short, fun 1962 science fiction novella that asks a question: Does being on top of the food chain confer special privilege?

[Forked Radish · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Enthusiasts always believe what they want to believe.” What one feels isn’t necessarily what one thinks?! A radical sentiment in this age of egoists (enthusiasts).
Amazing! Should be made into a film. Wild herding hippies vs. reasoning conservative reptiles. The allegory is obvious.

[Donna Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good novella or what have you. I was interested, and it was short and sweet with a very sharp point. Ok then.

[Mark Zellner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting short story, with a lot of promising content and classic sci-fi material, but the story ends rather abruptly just as I felt it was going somewhere.

[AG Fishman · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is a man? Maybe more to the point, what is humane?

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the classics

[Eugene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quality pulp SciFi.

[Manifest Stefany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpected pleasure with a great message. The joy of reading this genre of books is the thoughts and questions you are left to wrestle with in your daily life.

[Wesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar to planet of the apes, but a short detail version.

[susan haris · Rating 4 out of 5]

so pulpy!!