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Transit
He was the subject of an experiment seventy light years away from Earth.
It lay in the grass, tiny and white and burning. He stooped, put out his fingers. And then, in an instant, there was nothing. Nothing but darness andoblivion. A split second demolition of the world of Richard Avery.
From a damp February afternoon in Kensington Gardens, Avery is precipitated into a world of apparent unreason. A world in which his intelligence is tested by computer, and in which he is finally left on a strange tropical isloand with three companions, and a strong juman desire to survive.
But then the mystery deepens; for there are two moons in the sky, and the rabbits have six legs, and there is a phusically satisying reason for the entire situations.
It lay in the grass, tiny and white and burning. He stooped, put out his fingers. And then, in an instant, there was nothing. Nothing but darness andoblivion. A split second demolition of the world of Richard Avery.
From a damp February afternoon in Kensington Gardens, Avery is precipitated into a world of apparent unreason. A world in which his intelligence is tested by computer, and in which he is finally left on a strange tropical isloand with three companions, and a strong juman desire to survive.
But then the mystery deepens; for there are two moons in the sky, and the rabbits have six legs, and there is a phusically satisying reason for the entire situations.
159 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
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211 people want to read
About the author
Edmund Cooper
100 books45 followersExcerpted from wikipedia:
Edmund Cooper was born in Marple, near Stockport in Cheshire on April 30, 1926. He served in the Merchant Navy towards the end of the Second World War. After World War II, he trained as a teacher and began to publish short stories. His first novel, Deadly Image
(later republished as The Uncertain Midnight) was completed in 1957 and published in 1958. A 1956 short story, Brain Child, was adapted as the movie The Invisible Boy (1957).
In 1969 The Uncertain Midnight was adapted for Swiss television, in French. At the height of his popularity, in the 1970s, he began to review science fiction for the Sunday Times and continued to do so until his death in 1982.
Apart from the website mentioned above there was another Edmund Cooper website full of information about the author and his publications.
Known Pseudonyms:
Richard Avery
George Kinley
Martin Lester
Broderick Quain
Edmund Cooper was born in Marple, near Stockport in Cheshire on April 30, 1926. He served in the Merchant Navy towards the end of the Second World War. After World War II, he trained as a teacher and began to publish short stories. His first novel, Deadly Image
(later republished as The Uncertain Midnight) was completed in 1957 and published in 1958. A 1956 short story, Brain Child, was adapted as the movie The Invisible Boy (1957).In 1969 The Uncertain Midnight was adapted for Swiss television, in French. At the height of his popularity, in the 1970s, he began to review science fiction for the Sunday Times and continued to do so until his death in 1982.
Apart from the website mentioned above there was another Edmund Cooper website full of information about the author and his publications.
Known Pseudonyms:
Richard Avery
George Kinley
Martin Lester
Broderick Quain
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
February 2, 2017
3.5 Stars
Good book. Reminded me of the television series Lost in some ways. This one's about a social experiment involving humans on a planet seventy light years away. Good usage of survivalism, and also makes good use of the stuff of humanness like compassion, togetherness and creativity.
The entire book is nearly filled with mystery and adventure. There are lots of sexual overtones within the story though, just like as seen in Edmund Cooper's other book Kronk. Somehow, after reading two of his books, as the way I see it, it seems the author loves integrating and keeping (human) sexuality as one of the primary part of the themes of his books.
I would give most part of the book a 3-star; it was only the final chapter which made me raise the overall rating of the book. A good read, although the story might be called a bit clichéd now, after fifty years of its publication.
UPDATE: 26/1/2017: Upon reflecting upon the book in retrospect, I would raise the rating to 4.
Good book. Reminded me of the television series Lost in some ways. This one's about a social experiment involving humans on a planet seventy light years away. Good usage of survivalism, and also makes good use of the stuff of humanness like compassion, togetherness and creativity.
The entire book is nearly filled with mystery and adventure. There are lots of sexual overtones within the story though, just like as seen in Edmund Cooper's other book Kronk. Somehow, after reading two of his books, as the way I see it, it seems the author loves integrating and keeping (human) sexuality as one of the primary part of the themes of his books.
I would give most part of the book a 3-star; it was only the final chapter which made me raise the overall rating of the book. A good read, although the story might be called a bit clichéd now, after fifty years of its publication.
UPDATE: 26/1/2017: Upon reflecting upon the book in retrospect, I would raise the rating to 4.
February 8, 2014
Edmund Cooper was one of my favourite authors in my younger days when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, and he still is today. To me he embodied the kind of science fiction that got me interested in the genre in the first place. His books are always about the people, not the just the technology. And not just in the personal sense as in "I wonder if I can patch that micro-meteorite hole in my space ship with this condom" but in "I say chaps, this doesn't look like London anymore. In fact it doesn't even look like ... . Oh ... (insert appropriate profanity). What do we do now?"
In "Transit", our group of heroes are lifted from home and unceremoniously placed in a building? spaceship? alternate dimension?, and is made to interact with the other humans. Then they are dumped on what looks like an island. No threats, no demands.
It is how the MC and the others react to this apparently insane situation that forms the basis of the story. First they have to learn to deal with each other, and then they find out that there are other threats.
Once again, it is how they respond to the threats that makes up the story, not just the action and combat, although there is that, enough to prevent the story from being boring.
And behind it all, is the question of why they are there, and what consequences their actions have, if any.
A good, very human, book.
In "Transit", our group of heroes are lifted from home and unceremoniously placed in a building? spaceship? alternate dimension?, and is made to interact with the other humans. Then they are dumped on what looks like an island. No threats, no demands.
It is how the MC and the others react to this apparently insane situation that forms the basis of the story. First they have to learn to deal with each other, and then they find out that there are other threats.
Once again, it is how they respond to the threats that makes up the story, not just the action and combat, although there is that, enough to prevent the story from being boring.
And behind it all, is the question of why they are there, and what consequences their actions have, if any.
A good, very human, book.
October 9, 2019
First off, this book is incredibly misogynistic. It is only on the second page we get a description of the protagonist's dead wife's breasts and it just starts off a run of horrendous treatment of women that horrific even for the period (I have been reading a lot of scifi books from the early 60s and this is not the norm). The main point of the book is also very imperialistic and makes use of lots of fascist motifs.
But even putting aside these problematic elements, the actual book wasn't that interesting for me. Random middle class white people from West London look at a crystal and get kidnapped so they can be shipwrecked on a planet and made to fight with people of another planet, whilst aliens watch and keep score and determine the rule of the region. It not only feels ridiculous the idea was done shorter and much better in Frederic Brown's Arena (even then it wasn't that original an idea).
Well worth avoiding.
But even putting aside these problematic elements, the actual book wasn't that interesting for me. Random middle class white people from West London look at a crystal and get kidnapped so they can be shipwrecked on a planet and made to fight with people of another planet, whilst aliens watch and keep score and determine the rule of the region. It not only feels ridiculous the idea was done shorter and much better in Frederic Brown's Arena (even then it wasn't that original an idea).
Well worth avoiding.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 11, 2021
I was pleasantly surprised by Transit by Edmund Cooper. This is the 2nd book by Cooper that I've read, the first being a collection of enjoyable SciFi short storie, News From Elsewhere. Transit was his 5th book written under that name, originally published in 1964.
Richard Avery is a lonely man living in London, basically going through the motions of his life. A few years previously the love of his life had died and he has never really recovered. Walking through Kensington Gardens he sees a glowing gem. Bending to pick it up, he passes out and wakes in a cubicle somewhere. He has some of his possessions and there is a kind of typewriter with some nameless, faceless person asking questions of him. Avery gradually is made aware that he is not alone, that there are three other people with him in other cubicles; Barbara, Tom and Mary.
After being questioned for a few 'days'?, they are once again rendered unconscious and wake up on an island. They come to realize that this island must be on another planet. As they set about trying to survive, they also come to discover that they also aren't the only people on the island. Thus begins a battle for survival, even as they try to discover why, oh why, they have been placed on the island.
On the surface, it's a relatively simple premise, except on another planet, a group of individuals placed in a situation where they must use their wits to try and survive. But it's also an interesting story of discovery, self-discovery, as they learn about themselves, about the others, about their ability to care for others and even to care for themselves. The story reads easily, flows nicely and holds your interest, a most enjoyable SciFi tale. (4 stars)
Richard Avery is a lonely man living in London, basically going through the motions of his life. A few years previously the love of his life had died and he has never really recovered. Walking through Kensington Gardens he sees a glowing gem. Bending to pick it up, he passes out and wakes in a cubicle somewhere. He has some of his possessions and there is a kind of typewriter with some nameless, faceless person asking questions of him. Avery gradually is made aware that he is not alone, that there are three other people with him in other cubicles; Barbara, Tom and Mary.
After being questioned for a few 'days'?, they are once again rendered unconscious and wake up on an island. They come to realize that this island must be on another planet. As they set about trying to survive, they also come to discover that they also aren't the only people on the island. Thus begins a battle for survival, even as they try to discover why, oh why, they have been placed on the island.
On the surface, it's a relatively simple premise, except on another planet, a group of individuals placed in a situation where they must use their wits to try and survive. But it's also an interesting story of discovery, self-discovery, as they learn about themselves, about the others, about their ability to care for others and even to care for themselves. The story reads easily, flows nicely and holds your interest, a most enjoyable SciFi tale. (4 stars)
January 10, 2021
This is a fabulously well-written and fascinating story of survival and self exploration, with sci-fi trappings.
My only complaint (which cost the rating one star) is that women are portrayed in a misogynistic way, which sadly peaked with an ill-advised and painfully uninformed stab at answering the question of "what women want." The result was predictably tarred by masculine bias, inaccurate and slightly horrifying! However, if you can ignore that, you're in for a real treat!
I wouldn't categorize this as something to read purely for entertainment, although the dialogue is humorous and the plot is gripping, which keeps you entertained. Cooper really digs into the human (especially male) psyche and uses the protagonist's inner dialogue to lay out a feast for thoughtful consideration about what it means to live and be human. Well worth reading.
My only complaint (which cost the rating one star) is that women are portrayed in a misogynistic way, which sadly peaked with an ill-advised and painfully uninformed stab at answering the question of "what women want." The result was predictably tarred by masculine bias, inaccurate and slightly horrifying! However, if you can ignore that, you're in for a real treat!
I wouldn't categorize this as something to read purely for entertainment, although the dialogue is humorous and the plot is gripping, which keeps you entertained. Cooper really digs into the human (especially male) psyche and uses the protagonist's inner dialogue to lay out a feast for thoughtful consideration about what it means to live and be human. Well worth reading.
December 20, 2023
4 Durschnittsbürger bücken sich im Park nach schwarzen Kristallen und finden sich erst in einem Raumschiff und dann auf einem fremden Planeten wieder. Ihre Umgebung ähnelt der Südsee. Sie müssen sich durchschlagen. Sie werden von überlegenen Wesen offenbar irgendwie getestet.
Ein recht menschliches und menschenfreundliches Buch. Und darum durchaus sympathisch. Die Handlung überzeugt nicht auf der ganzen Länge.
Ein recht menschliches und menschenfreundliches Buch. Und darum durchaus sympathisch. Die Handlung überzeugt nicht auf der ganzen Länge.
April 8, 2012
Richard Avery is transported to another world. I first read this book as a teenager and I can recommend it.
January 18, 2021
“Transit” by Edmund Cooper (1964) This Edition 1981
Overall Rating 8/10 – Moving on right up there
Plot
Richard Avery is wandering along the street minding his own business when he suddenly finds himself in a sealed room with no doors or windows. He quickly determines that he is being “tested” by something or someone that is probably beyond human. Then, other people start to appear and an escalation of the tests ensues catapulting the small group onto what appears to be an alien planet ….
Writing Style
The writing is excellent for 1964 and it almost doesn’t show its age (just a few areas where you would suspect you are not reading a modern novel). Sentences are short and crisp, the words are easy to digest with very little repetition of adjectives and verbs. On the negative side, there were a small number of areas where there was an irritating extraneous use of the word “for” (Example, “FOR he was too old ….”). Generally though, it was t’riffic.
Point of View
Written in the 3rd Person / Past Tense (standard convention)
Critique
This is an adventure into both the unknown and the known. Imagine the Starship Enterprise encountering a new world with everything about it unknown … now imagine how Captain Kirk would deal with that scenario – also imagine how Captain Picard would approach it … well, in this adventure you would be Captain Kirk. Certainly there is a brash tendency to the assumption anyone else kicking around is your enemy (and not your friend) and the characters here all behave that way.
The story is very good though; it is easy to imagine yourself as the protagonist and I found myself answering the “tests” in his place. I enjoyed the transition from one area to another and I enjoyed the depth that the characters were enveloped in. The psychology both within each person as well as the group was brilliantly drawn out, especially when the author dealt with each character’s vices.
The manner in which the author combines science-fiction with normal, everyday life was almost seamless and it was very pleasant to drop out of “this” everyday life and into a “Lost” fiction (you’ve seen the TV series, right?).
Spattered throughout with some interesting problems that develop with the human prudishness of sex and personal privacy, the climax of this adventure was well worth waiting for (see what I did there?)
A great, tense, somewhat taut, science-fiction adventure written long before many other, more modern, versions of the same thing.
November 28, 2021
Soms plakt er al decennia lang een beeld in je hoofd waarvan je niet weet wat de oorsprong was. En dan lees je een oud SF romannetje en daar is het plots weer in de oorspronkelijke context en in volle glorie. Wat dat beeld was laat ik aan de lezer van deze roman over, maar wees gerust dat het mijn overactieve puberbrein danig stimuleerde.
Afgezien van dat beeld was er zo weinig in mijn herinnering gebleven van dit verhaal, dat het aha-moment des te navranter was. De plot is een redelijk standaard alien ontvoering, die bedoeld is als een test waarmee de mensheid zich kan kwalificeren als de opvolgers van de huidige heersers van de melkweg. Waarom deze roman zich onderscheid is het realistische gehalte van de personages die Cooper ten tonele voert. Ze hebben allemaal een trauma te verwerken en in plaats van elkaar tegen te werken en af te breken, zoals zo vaak gebeurt in SF verhalen, helpen ze elkaar zowel om te genezen en weer (geestelijk) gezond te worden als in de strijd tegen hun rivalen die ook ontvoerd zijn voor dezelfde test.
Het is niet volledig feelgood en de vrouwen komen er wederom enigszins bekaaid af in de actie, maar er moet wel gezegd worden dat ze deze keer overkomen als zelfstandig denkende en acterende wezens en dat is al meer dan we normaal mogen verwachten in verhalen uit de 60-er jaren. De protagonist is een mislukte schilder annex middelbare schoolleraar die al jaren rouwt om zijn te vroeg gestorven vrouw en het verhaal wordt vanuit zijn gezichtspunt geschreven. Het gaat dan ook om zijn pad naar genezing.
Deze roman bevat naast een vakkundig verteld, zij het wat voorspelbaar, verhaal ook nog wat inzichten die pas jaren later gemeengoed werden. Zoals wat de bron van eenzaamheid is en hoe dit geneest als mensen weer van elkaar afhankelijk durven te zijn. Ik kan deze roman van Edmund Cooper van harte aanbevelen, hij steekt in schrijfstijl en inzicht met kop en schouders uit tussen het gros van de romans die in dat tijdsgewricht geproduceerd werden.
Afgezien van dat beeld was er zo weinig in mijn herinnering gebleven van dit verhaal, dat het aha-moment des te navranter was. De plot is een redelijk standaard alien ontvoering, die bedoeld is als een test waarmee de mensheid zich kan kwalificeren als de opvolgers van de huidige heersers van de melkweg. Waarom deze roman zich onderscheid is het realistische gehalte van de personages die Cooper ten tonele voert. Ze hebben allemaal een trauma te verwerken en in plaats van elkaar tegen te werken en af te breken, zoals zo vaak gebeurt in SF verhalen, helpen ze elkaar zowel om te genezen en weer (geestelijk) gezond te worden als in de strijd tegen hun rivalen die ook ontvoerd zijn voor dezelfde test.
Het is niet volledig feelgood en de vrouwen komen er wederom enigszins bekaaid af in de actie, maar er moet wel gezegd worden dat ze deze keer overkomen als zelfstandig denkende en acterende wezens en dat is al meer dan we normaal mogen verwachten in verhalen uit de 60-er jaren. De protagonist is een mislukte schilder annex middelbare schoolleraar die al jaren rouwt om zijn te vroeg gestorven vrouw en het verhaal wordt vanuit zijn gezichtspunt geschreven. Het gaat dan ook om zijn pad naar genezing.
Deze roman bevat naast een vakkundig verteld, zij het wat voorspelbaar, verhaal ook nog wat inzichten die pas jaren later gemeengoed werden. Zoals wat de bron van eenzaamheid is en hoe dit geneest als mensen weer van elkaar afhankelijk durven te zijn. Ik kan deze roman van Edmund Cooper van harte aanbevelen, hij steekt in schrijfstijl en inzicht met kop en schouders uit tussen het gros van de romans die in dat tijdsgewricht geproduceerd werden.
September 17, 2017
I read this book in less than 24 hours. That means it qualifies as a page-turner for me, even though it's not the kind of book I usually enjoy. There was a little bit of SF, but most of the book felt more like Robinson Crusoe. There are only so many directions the plot can take from that point: finding water, finding food, finding a place to stay, fighting the natives and building a boat. Ok, so they hadn't built a boat yet and the natives were man-shaped aliens. It was still pretty predictable.
What impressed me in this book was the blissful lack of infighting. These days most writers use every bit of potential drama they can get their hands on, so I figured there would be endless fighting and feuding and yelling and pouting between the four humans. But I was wrong. After some initial fighting, they started cooperating, which was a nice surprise.
The ending was pretty good, until the writer made the mistake of revealing too much about the alien masterminds. Get this: their species was over a million years old. They were immortal. Also, they were dying. WHAT??? That doesn't make any sense! They were dying because they accidentally made themselves infertile. A million years old and they can't even fix that? Sheesh!
What impressed me in this book was the blissful lack of infighting. These days most writers use every bit of potential drama they can get their hands on, so I figured there would be endless fighting and feuding and yelling and pouting between the four humans. But I was wrong. After some initial fighting, they started cooperating, which was a nice surprise.
The ending was pretty good, until the writer made the mistake of revealing too much about the alien masterminds. Get this: their species was over a million years old. They were immortal. Also, they were dying. WHAT??? That doesn't make any sense! They were dying because they accidentally made themselves infertile. A million years old and they can't even fix that? Sheesh!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2023
[Coronet Books] (1973). SB. 220 Pages. Purchased from mrsofteliminator.
Alien abduction and celestial Survivalism in a controlled experiment. Oddly entertaining - initially - but the plot’s rather shallow and it all fizzles out soon enough. Many unexplored avenues.
Cooper’s attitude towards women - as implied by narrative tone, character conduct etc. - is often deemed to be mysogynistic. These days, many such charges are frivolously leveled, but “Transit” hardly flies in the face of it. The novel’s weird and unpleasant, in this respect.
“‘I got so neurotic and bored that I took all my clothes off and lay down in the classical position for rape.’ She giggled.”
“Then, with typical female para-logic, Mary became vague.”
“‘What she wants next is for you to use her… Use her body, man. Forget she has a soul. Treat her like a paid prostitute.’”
The denoument’s predictable and somewhat cheesy. I wonder whether the closing chapters were rushed, they’re clumsier:
“He could so easily have killed her. Intent upon her task, she did not even hear him coming. He could so easily have killed her.”
Alien abduction and celestial Survivalism in a controlled experiment. Oddly entertaining - initially - but the plot’s rather shallow and it all fizzles out soon enough. Many unexplored avenues.
Cooper’s attitude towards women - as implied by narrative tone, character conduct etc. - is often deemed to be mysogynistic. These days, many such charges are frivolously leveled, but “Transit” hardly flies in the face of it. The novel’s weird and unpleasant, in this respect.
“‘I got so neurotic and bored that I took all my clothes off and lay down in the classical position for rape.’ She giggled.”
“Then, with typical female para-logic, Mary became vague.”
“‘What she wants next is for you to use her… Use her body, man. Forget she has a soul. Treat her like a paid prostitute.’”
The denoument’s predictable and somewhat cheesy. I wonder whether the closing chapters were rushed, they’re clumsier:
“He could so easily have killed her. Intent upon her task, she did not even hear him coming. He could so easily have killed her.”
May 14, 2019
I bought the Kindle version of Transit after Best Sci Fi listed it as an underappreciated classic.
I like science fiction that creates a situation where important ideas can be sensibly investigated. Transit gave me that. There is more to the plot, but the part that interested me involved the four Londoners awakening on an isolated tropical island. Through the trials of survival, they slough off their civilized trimmings and search for their own answers to the meaning of life as well as their place in it.
Cooper's characters come to theological and naturalistic insights, but the important thing to me was he brought the role and origin of civilization into a clear relief.
I like science fiction that creates a situation where important ideas can be sensibly investigated. Transit gave me that. There is more to the plot, but the part that interested me involved the four Londoners awakening on an isolated tropical island. Through the trials of survival, they slough off their civilized trimmings and search for their own answers to the meaning of life as well as their place in it.
Cooper's characters come to theological and naturalistic insights, but the important thing to me was he brought the role and origin of civilization into a clear relief.
February 7, 2017
Edmund Cooper (1926-1982) was an English author who wrote some adventure science fiction stories, such as this one published in 1964. It's the story of Richard Avery who finds himself somehow transported to a distant planet. He also finds he is not alone, but that there are three other humans marooned with him there. Together they have to learn how to survive and discover if there was any reason for what happened to them. And they also discover they have enemies who challenge their existence on the planet....
August 15, 2022
This 1964 version of ‘I’m a Human Being…Get Me Out of Here!’ combines Lost and Love Island, with two males and two females attempting to survive on a tropical island. However, this is not Australia but the two-mooned planet of Achernar, seventy light years from Earth. Although the dénouement is not totally unexpected, the book itself is an intriguing study of the prevailing attitudes of pre-Swinging Sixties London, both affecting and exasperating at the same time. An accessible no-nonsense novel examining what it is to be human. Loved it.
October 2, 2019
This was my second novel from Mr. Cooper and I have to say it was a fun and enjoyable read. Four people are abducted and placed to live together on a strange island on some other planet. It appears to be an experiment. They have to live together and fend for themselves by hunting, fishing, exploring, and keeping a lookout for the "Golden Ones", another human-like species they encounter on the island. It's kind of a Robinson Crusoe kinda thing, but sci-fi. It's a good one.
August 8, 2022
what a sick fucking book. interesting n goofy at times bc it really shows exactly what era / time this was written but such a cool read and i really enjoyed the story!! for once i also wasn’t annoyed at the fact that there just HAD to be love involved in a sci fi story but this made sense to actually include it in this one. anybody who enjoys the show lost / stories regarding visiting other planets should def read this
December 3, 2023
This was interesting and a page-turner with some lovely turns of phrase, but it is definitely of its time. Ultimately I couldn’t get past the outdated discriminatory ideas and language that permeated the text. I deducted a star for this reason.
I would recommend this book if you are a sci-fi fan and are interested in finding out more about what sci-fi pulp novels were like in the mid-20th century AND if you feel you can tolerate the narrative voice of a classic mediocre white man.
I would recommend this book if you are a sci-fi fan and are interested in finding out more about what sci-fi pulp novels were like in the mid-20th century AND if you feel you can tolerate the narrative voice of a classic mediocre white man.
March 18, 2021
I read this book about 40 years ago and then read all the rest of Edmund Cooper's books.
Of course I had forgotten the storyline so it was all new again.
An intriguing sci-fi tale of being zapped to another planet to battle with aliens who were also zapped there. All plays out sensibly and the humans win.
Of course I had forgotten the storyline so it was all new again.
An intriguing sci-fi tale of being zapped to another planet to battle with aliens who were also zapped there. All plays out sensibly and the humans win.
October 1, 2018
Interesting read and experiment, though each element (cooperation, struggles, personal issues, ethics, explanation) could have been elaborated more upon.
May 30, 2024
Love it. Just my kind of SF.
August 24, 2024
So sexist it detracts from the plot.
October 8, 2024
Fair to middling classic Sci-fi, only read if you into this genre though.
November 21, 2025
4.5 stars. Mildly surprised and pleased with a sci-fi book that did not end in a cliffhanger. Completely enjoyed the ending and the build up seemed a bit sluggish, was quite entertaining.
Read
December 16, 2025The eternal problem of "superfluous people".
I disagree with the author on some issues, but the book is worth reading.
I disagree with the author on some issues, but the book is worth reading.
January 2, 2017
Another great story by Edmund Cooper!
And this one has a good ending too.
And this one has a good ending too.
June 2, 2015
This 50 year old novel dates to 1964. I picked this up because I remembered liking some of Edmund Cooper's books when I was young but probably hadn't read a story by him in at least 35 years. He died in 1982. I got a slight laugh because the main character introduced in the first sentence, Richard Avery, is the pen-name that Cooper used later on several novels in the mid 70's.
So, was this worth the read? It was, mostly for the positive message, although the writing gets a bit overwrought now and then. Kind of typical for older fiction of any genre. We get some angst with a capital A. Everyone sits down and has a cigarette. Beyond that, it actually holds up well after 50 years and was better than I expected. Four humans (two men, two women) are abducted by aliens it seems or perhaps mad scientists they wonder (what else is new) and subject to a "survivor" type test by a computer and communicating via something that sounds exactly like a Teletype Model 33 teleprinter straight out of the cutting edge of the mid 60's. It is more or less a social experiment similar to what the TV shows such as LOST or even "The Prisoner" or the "reality" types do to see who and how one will survive. The story begins with and focuses on Richard Avery who is having a somewhat early mid-life crisis.
I was slightly surprised at the bit of sex in here. Science fiction was becoming more modern that way, even back in 1964. I think readers who like philosophical science fiction and searching for the meaning of life might enjoy this more than other readers. It is also one of those "resilience of the human spirit" types where we can see someone find strength that they didn't know they had, develop skills and perhaps even thrive as they rise to a challenge. That's the positive message part that I liked. In the end all is revealed.
So, was this worth the read? It was, mostly for the positive message, although the writing gets a bit overwrought now and then. Kind of typical for older fiction of any genre. We get some angst with a capital A. Everyone sits down and has a cigarette. Beyond that, it actually holds up well after 50 years and was better than I expected. Four humans (two men, two women) are abducted by aliens it seems or perhaps mad scientists they wonder (what else is new) and subject to a "survivor" type test by a computer and communicating via something that sounds exactly like a Teletype Model 33 teleprinter straight out of the cutting edge of the mid 60's. It is more or less a social experiment similar to what the TV shows such as LOST or even "The Prisoner" or the "reality" types do to see who and how one will survive. The story begins with and focuses on Richard Avery who is having a somewhat early mid-life crisis.
I was slightly surprised at the bit of sex in here. Science fiction was becoming more modern that way, even back in 1964. I think readers who like philosophical science fiction and searching for the meaning of life might enjoy this more than other readers. It is also one of those "resilience of the human spirit" types where we can see someone find strength that they didn't know they had, develop skills and perhaps even thrive as they rise to a challenge. That's the positive message part that I liked. In the end all is revealed.
August 25, 2015
Plot: Richard Avery is on auto-pilot after his one true love dies young of cancer. He gets whisked off by a mysterious someone, and plopped on a planet with three other people. We get, that start a 'Robinson Crusoe in space', but it turns out that there are 'golden ones' who have a similar colony of four on the same island, and they're not friendly.
Cooper is apparently one of those guys who spouted off about women being inferior during his time, but there's not too much sign of that here... while the four people couple up quickly, and the women do fall a bit into 60s stereotypes, it's not very prominent, especially for a sci fi novel written in 1964. The resolution is kinda fun, as are the people who cause the whole thing. Nothing too groundbreaking here, but a fun read.
Cooper is apparently one of those guys who spouted off about women being inferior during his time, but there's not too much sign of that here... while the four people couple up quickly, and the women do fall a bit into 60s stereotypes, it's not very prominent, especially for a sci fi novel written in 1964. The resolution is kinda fun, as are the people who cause the whole thing. Nothing too groundbreaking here, but a fun read.
August 12, 2025
Four people from Earth are kidnapped by an alien species and transported to a planet many light years from Earth. They encounter a new, alien, but habitable environment on a small island, and also another alien species who prove to be their enemy. After many challenges and a battle almost to the death, in which two of the aliens die, they meet the aliens controlling the experiment, a test to determine the future control of the galaxy. Richard, Barbara, Tom and Mary, along with other groups plucked from other Earth cultures, have won the argument in Earth's favour. They choose to stay on the new planet and make it their permanent home, rather than return to Earth. Their new lives have begun. A great little novel, dated in its attitudes and values, but still great fun.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2015
Man merkt dieser Geschichte, die zwischenzeitlich etwas an "Der Herr der Fliegen" erinnert, das Alter an. Seit den 60er Jahren hat sich doch noch einiges getan, so dass einige der futuristischen Technologien heute eher antiquarisch wirken. Aber von diesen Kleinigkeiten abgesehen, funktioniert das Buch - oder heutzutage vielleicht eher Novela - noch sehr gut.
Manchmal versäumt es der Autor mitzuteilen, wieviel Zeit vergangen ist, und man wundert sich kurz über die Fortschritte der Umgebung und der Charaktere, aber das ist sicherlich auch der Kürze der Erzählung zuzuschreiben.
Insgesamt hat mir das Buch Spaß gemacht und ich habe es auch sehr zügig durch gelesen.
Manchmal versäumt es der Autor mitzuteilen, wieviel Zeit vergangen ist, und man wundert sich kurz über die Fortschritte der Umgebung und der Charaktere, aber das ist sicherlich auch der Kürze der Erzählung zuzuschreiben.
Insgesamt hat mir das Buch Spaß gemacht und ich habe es auch sehr zügig durch gelesen.
March 2, 2017
My favourite author when I was younger. I read most of his novels during the 1970's and am currently in the process of re-reading them, but this one somehow escaped me (along with a couple of others which are fortunately now available for Kindle). I read it for the first time recently and wasn't disappointed. Some of the attitudes that come across in the writing, however, seem to be very dated now, particularly with regard to the behaviour and assigned roles of the sexes. In some respects the concept reminded me of Lost, being about a group of strangers being marooned on an island, though of course it pre-dated the TV series by nearly 40 years.
Despite being dated, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Despite being dated, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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