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Worlds Without End and other stories
A link between yesterday and the tomorrow that was here already... Dreams constructed and maintained by society... A world-to-world search for an elusive secret...
The bizarre, weird strange creations of things and world only Clifford D. Simak could have written... and make believable.
Three stories three times as weird by one of the master writers of this, or any, world.
Contents:
- Worlds without end
- The Spaceman's Van Gogh
- Full cycle.
The bizarre, weird strange creations of things and world only Clifford D. Simak could have written... and make believable.
Three stories three times as weird by one of the master writers of this, or any, world.
Contents:
- Worlds without end
- The Spaceman's Van Gogh
- Full cycle.
140 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 1964
6 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Clifford D. Simak
967 books1,062 followers"He was honored by fans with three Hugo awards and by colleagues with one Nebula award and was named the third Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) in 1977." (Wikipedia)
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford...
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford...
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 20, 2024
For classic sci fi it's hard to do better than Simak and these three are great. All three are on the dystopian side; the last, "Full Cycle," is an interesting take on the "slowpocalaypse." I especially liked that one for its rather tongue-in-cheek ending which I wasn't sure how to take.
December 27, 2025
Antología de tres relatos de Clifford D. Simak. En la versión que he leído, de Editorial Vértice, se incluye un cuarto relato de Henry Kuttner y Catherine L. Moore.
Mundos sin fin (Worlds Without End, 1956), de Clifford D. Simak (***)
En una sociedad futura, el Departamento de Sueños ofrece a los ciudadanos la posibilidad de entrar en un estado de hibernación prolongada donde pueden vivir experiencias oníricas personalizadas y perfectas, diseñadas por computadoras avanzadas conocidas como Myrt. Norman Blaine, un alto cargo de la organización, descubre indicios de una conspiración interna tras la muerte repentina de su superior. La trama sigue la investigación de Blaine, quien se percata de que los sueños de los clientes están siendo alterados sistemáticamente. El relato plantea un dilema ético sobre el control de la realidad subjetiva y los sacrificios necesarios para preservar la integridad de una institución que sostiene las esperanzas de la humanidad.
El Van Gogh del espacio (The Van Gogh of Space, 1956), de Clifford D. Simak (***)
La historia se centra en un investigador llamado Lathrop, que viaja a un planeta remoto e insignificante siguiendo el rastro de un enigmático artista terrestre llamado Clay. Este pintor, que vivió y murió en la indigencia entre una raza de seres alienígenas similares a gnomos, dejó tras de sí una obra pictórica de una calidad espiritual sobrecogedora. A través del descubrimiento de los últimos cuadros de Clay, el relato reflexiona sobre la persistencia del sentimiento religioso y la fe en un universo dominado por la lógica y la tecnología, sugiriendo que el arte puede ser el único puente de comunicación entre especies radicalmente distintas.
Ciclo completo (Full Cycle, 1955), de Clifford D. Simak (**)
Ambientado en una Tierra donde la civilización urbana ha colapsado y los seres humanos han retornado a una existencia nómada organizada en clanes o campamentos móviles, el relato sigue al doctor Ambrose Wilson, un historiador que se resiste a aceptar el fin del conocimiento académico. Wilson recorre las carreteras buscando un propósito para su disciplina en un mundo que solo valora las habilidades prácticas y los nuevos poderes psíquicos (como la telepatía o la telequinesis) que han florecido en la población. La historia analiza la evolución social y la necesidad humana de comprender el pasado para poder proyectar un futuro, incluso en las circunstancias más precarias.
El hogar del que no se regresa (Home There's No Returning, 1955), de Catherine L. Moore y Henry Kuttner (**)
Este relato presenta un escenario bélico y tecnológico donde la figura de EGO, un robot avanzado, juega un papel central en la estrategia militar.
Mundos sin fin (Worlds Without End, 1956), de Clifford D. Simak (***)
En una sociedad futura, el Departamento de Sueños ofrece a los ciudadanos la posibilidad de entrar en un estado de hibernación prolongada donde pueden vivir experiencias oníricas personalizadas y perfectas, diseñadas por computadoras avanzadas conocidas como Myrt. Norman Blaine, un alto cargo de la organización, descubre indicios de una conspiración interna tras la muerte repentina de su superior. La trama sigue la investigación de Blaine, quien se percata de que los sueños de los clientes están siendo alterados sistemáticamente. El relato plantea un dilema ético sobre el control de la realidad subjetiva y los sacrificios necesarios para preservar la integridad de una institución que sostiene las esperanzas de la humanidad.
El Van Gogh del espacio (The Van Gogh of Space, 1956), de Clifford D. Simak (***)
La historia se centra en un investigador llamado Lathrop, que viaja a un planeta remoto e insignificante siguiendo el rastro de un enigmático artista terrestre llamado Clay. Este pintor, que vivió y murió en la indigencia entre una raza de seres alienígenas similares a gnomos, dejó tras de sí una obra pictórica de una calidad espiritual sobrecogedora. A través del descubrimiento de los últimos cuadros de Clay, el relato reflexiona sobre la persistencia del sentimiento religioso y la fe en un universo dominado por la lógica y la tecnología, sugiriendo que el arte puede ser el único puente de comunicación entre especies radicalmente distintas.
Ciclo completo (Full Cycle, 1955), de Clifford D. Simak (**)
Ambientado en una Tierra donde la civilización urbana ha colapsado y los seres humanos han retornado a una existencia nómada organizada en clanes o campamentos móviles, el relato sigue al doctor Ambrose Wilson, un historiador que se resiste a aceptar el fin del conocimiento académico. Wilson recorre las carreteras buscando un propósito para su disciplina en un mundo que solo valora las habilidades prácticas y los nuevos poderes psíquicos (como la telepatía o la telequinesis) que han florecido en la población. La historia analiza la evolución social y la necesidad humana de comprender el pasado para poder proyectar un futuro, incluso en las circunstancias más precarias.
El hogar del que no se regresa (Home There's No Returning, 1955), de Catherine L. Moore y Henry Kuttner (**)
Este relato presenta un escenario bélico y tecnológico donde la figura de EGO, un robot avanzado, juega un papel central en la estrategia militar.
April 27, 2020
Worlds Without End collects a trio of stories by Simak: a novella, a short story, and a novelette, going by the word-count definitions of that time. They didn't originally appear in the top-tier magazines of the day (Galaxy, F & SF, and Astounding), but in two lower-paying digest-sized ones published by Columbia Publications that were edited by Robert A.W. Lowndes, Future Fiction and the unimaginatively titled Science Fiction Stories magazines, so it can be assumed that the premiere markets passed on them. Lowndes, who is now primarily remembered for providing Stephen King with his first professional sales, was known for producing good magazines with a miniscule budget, and the three stories here aren't among Simak's best but they're not bad. Full Cycle is the best of the lot, a nice examination of adjustment to society and culture to civilization in transition. The Spaceman's Van Gogh is a surprisingly spiritual tale about art and religion and the problems in appreciation and understanding of them between alien races. The weakest of the lot is the titular novella, which is supposed to be set a thousand years in the future, but the characters and society don't seem to have changed any from 1950's Minneapolis. It's a world in which economic guilds have taken over most of government, but it doesn't hold together well and lacks conviction. One of my favorite things about the book is the exquisite Richard Powers cover on my 1964 Belmont edition. It's the greenest book I've ever owned; even the edges of the pages are dyed green. (Paperback publishers used to do that back in the day; there were blue and yellow and red and green books; white ones were an oddity.) The title is rendered in red outline and the author's name is bright yellow and they're both in curly-shivery type; it's one of the most striking sf covers ever. A spaceship is blasting off from an alien landscape with a floating city in the background and the stars and planets blazing overhead. It's a decent read, and even more fun to look at.
May 19, 2019
Clifford D. Simak
Worlds Without End
Well, what do you do when you find an old Simak paperback for less than the price of a cup of coffee? You buy it, of course, and you end up with those three pleasant short stories.
Simak is a man you might have enjoyed to have as a neighbour: he was married to the same woman all his life, whom he credits for his writings. He was also an avid fisherman, whose hobbies included playing chess, growing roses and collecting stamps. It is hard to imagine a more peaceful and gentle array of pastimes…
The first story, Worlds Without End is a novella set in the far future. Unions, regrouping people of the same occupation, structure society. Loyalty to one's unions has replaced patriotism. There are groups such as Transport, Education or Communication, as well as Dreams, since it is now possible for anybody to suspend their life for a period of time, by taking the dream. The protagonist work for Dream, where he interviews potential candidates and help them prepare the dreams they are going to have while they sleep. We meet him as he is about to get tangled in a chain of events that will lead him to question the exact purpose of his own union.
The Spaceman’s Van Gogh is a vehicle for a meditation on artistry, and on the interplay between faith and fact. We fought, Simak says, to keep faith from becoming fact, because once mysticism is banished, comfort is lost. Now we have made our choice, logic, explanation and fact won. But can we hope, one day, to find another layer that will allow us to keep the logic of the fact but bring back the comfort of the faith?
We do not understand ourselves; have no idea of the purpose of us. We have tried devices to explain ourselves, materialistic devices and spiritualistic devices, and the application of pure logic, which was far from pure. And we have fooled ourselves. This is mostly what we’ve done.
Nothing here is new, but I did find the story elegant and well articulated.
Full Cycle is the last story, dystopian (or maybe utopian?) in nature, it chronicle a slow economic collapse that is forcing people to abandon their home in order to live in trailers. Henceforth, the bulk of society forms nomadic groups moving from places to places to run factories or to farm. The protagonist is an old history professor who, after the closure of his university, must decide if he will stay behind in his house or join a caravan. He opts for the later and discovers in the process a world he knew little about. This is vintage Simak, nonviolent, cordial fiction told with a hushed voice, populated with amicable characters. The conclusion certainly implies that Simak has something to say about the place of history as a discipline, a message that should also be well taken in our STEM-crazed era.
I read City and a few other of Simak’s work in translation a while ago. Winner of three Hugos, a Nebula and third recipient of the SFWA’s grandmaster title, Simak is certainly not a trivial writer at least as far as sci-fi is concerned, but I do feel that he is somewhat under read. Seems worthy, to me, of being (re)discovered!
Worlds Without End
Well, what do you do when you find an old Simak paperback for less than the price of a cup of coffee? You buy it, of course, and you end up with those three pleasant short stories.
Simak is a man you might have enjoyed to have as a neighbour: he was married to the same woman all his life, whom he credits for his writings. He was also an avid fisherman, whose hobbies included playing chess, growing roses and collecting stamps. It is hard to imagine a more peaceful and gentle array of pastimes…
The first story, Worlds Without End is a novella set in the far future. Unions, regrouping people of the same occupation, structure society. Loyalty to one's unions has replaced patriotism. There are groups such as Transport, Education or Communication, as well as Dreams, since it is now possible for anybody to suspend their life for a period of time, by taking the dream. The protagonist work for Dream, where he interviews potential candidates and help them prepare the dreams they are going to have while they sleep. We meet him as he is about to get tangled in a chain of events that will lead him to question the exact purpose of his own union.
The Spaceman’s Van Gogh is a vehicle for a meditation on artistry, and on the interplay between faith and fact. We fought, Simak says, to keep faith from becoming fact, because once mysticism is banished, comfort is lost. Now we have made our choice, logic, explanation and fact won. But can we hope, one day, to find another layer that will allow us to keep the logic of the fact but bring back the comfort of the faith?
We do not understand ourselves; have no idea of the purpose of us. We have tried devices to explain ourselves, materialistic devices and spiritualistic devices, and the application of pure logic, which was far from pure. And we have fooled ourselves. This is mostly what we’ve done.
Nothing here is new, but I did find the story elegant and well articulated.
Full Cycle is the last story, dystopian (or maybe utopian?) in nature, it chronicle a slow economic collapse that is forcing people to abandon their home in order to live in trailers. Henceforth, the bulk of society forms nomadic groups moving from places to places to run factories or to farm. The protagonist is an old history professor who, after the closure of his university, must decide if he will stay behind in his house or join a caravan. He opts for the later and discovers in the process a world he knew little about. This is vintage Simak, nonviolent, cordial fiction told with a hushed voice, populated with amicable characters. The conclusion certainly implies that Simak has something to say about the place of history as a discipline, a message that should also be well taken in our STEM-crazed era.
I read City and a few other of Simak’s work in translation a while ago. Winner of three Hugos, a Nebula and third recipient of the SFWA’s grandmaster title, Simak is certainly not a trivial writer at least as far as sci-fi is concerned, but I do feel that he is somewhat under read. Seems worthy, to me, of being (re)discovered!
February 10, 2024
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
3.25/5
"I’m a compulsive list maker. In the past few years I’ve gathered and submitted older science fiction short stories that depict worker unions–from Robert Silverberg’s “Guardian Devil” (1959) to Mari Wolf’s “Robots of the World! Arise!” (1952)–to the Hugo Book Club’s fantastic index. It’s about time I finally get around to reviewing [...]"
3.25/5
"I’m a compulsive list maker. In the past few years I’ve gathered and submitted older science fiction short stories that depict worker unions–from Robert Silverberg’s “Guardian Devil” (1959) to Mari Wolf’s “Robots of the World! Arise!” (1952)–to the Hugo Book Club’s fantastic index. It’s about time I finally get around to reviewing [...]"
November 28, 2019
Quando estive no Fórum Fantástico comprei uma caixa surpresa da editora Imaginauta que tinha um livro secreto para descobrir. "Mundos Sem Fim" era esse livro e foi uma leitura surpreendentemente boa!
O livro tem três contos, todos eles muito originais e únicos. O primeiro fala sobre uma espécie de fábrica de sonhos, que as pessoas desse universo podem usar para viver durante centenas de anos sonhando o sonho que quiserem. É um conto de aventura e mistério, cheio de intensidade, em que elementos do mundo que conhecemos se misturam para criar um universo completamente original.
O segundo conto, talvez o meu preferido, fala sobre um homem que viaja para um planeta em busca de um pintor que se exilou. É um exercício sobre a partilha da linguagem e sobre a simplicidade intrínseca na arte. É um conto comovente e muito belo.
Finalmente, o terceiro fala-nos de um futuro em que todas as cidades terminaram e todos vivem em autocaravanas. Com muito humor, acompanhamos a viagem de um homem de conhecimento e ciência que se vê idoso num mundo completamente diferente. As imagens são melancólicas e muito bonitas, sendo quase uma roadtrip à Americana mas sem todas as aventuras.
Gostei imenso deste livro!
O livro tem três contos, todos eles muito originais e únicos. O primeiro fala sobre uma espécie de fábrica de sonhos, que as pessoas desse universo podem usar para viver durante centenas de anos sonhando o sonho que quiserem. É um conto de aventura e mistério, cheio de intensidade, em que elementos do mundo que conhecemos se misturam para criar um universo completamente original.
O segundo conto, talvez o meu preferido, fala sobre um homem que viaja para um planeta em busca de um pintor que se exilou. É um exercício sobre a partilha da linguagem e sobre a simplicidade intrínseca na arte. É um conto comovente e muito belo.
Finalmente, o terceiro fala-nos de um futuro em que todas as cidades terminaram e todos vivem em autocaravanas. Com muito humor, acompanhamos a viagem de um homem de conhecimento e ciência que se vê idoso num mundo completamente diferente. As imagens são melancólicas e muito bonitas, sendo quase uma roadtrip à Americana mas sem todas as aventuras.
Gostei imenso deste livro!
April 7, 2023
This is just about the title story.
I read this decades ago. I am 66. The story entranced me.
I have just reread it. Maybe I shouldn't have. It is still very good. About people who enter a long sleep, as long as 500 years, in order to dream. Dreams they have asked for, wished. And to wake up 500 years in the future. Because... Well, that part is a little obscure. To find out what the world would become?
I liked this, as a teenager.
But they have been cheated. The powers that be have not given the dream they asked for. And presumably paid for. Instead, they have been given problematic dreams. Because the said powers want them to solve humankind's problems. In, awful worlds they never wanted. Nightmares.
The powers that be somehow reckoned that these dreamers would wake up and be happy to solve the world's problems...
As a teenager, I did think that they had been cheated, but I didn't think further.
As a 66 years old woman, I am truly horrified. I certainly would Not! want to help!
I think Cliff could have developed this into a very good novel. But, unfourtunately, he didn't. Still very much worth reading, but those who are young today might have difficulties with the world not having changed in a thousand years from now.
I read this decades ago. I am 66. The story entranced me.
I have just reread it. Maybe I shouldn't have. It is still very good. About people who enter a long sleep, as long as 500 years, in order to dream. Dreams they have asked for, wished. And to wake up 500 years in the future. Because... Well, that part is a little obscure. To find out what the world would become?
I liked this, as a teenager.
But they have been cheated. The powers that be have not given the dream they asked for. And presumably paid for. Instead, they have been given problematic dreams. Because the said powers want them to solve humankind's problems. In, awful worlds they never wanted. Nightmares.
The powers that be somehow reckoned that these dreamers would wake up and be happy to solve the world's problems...
As a teenager, I did think that they had been cheated, but I didn't think further.
As a 66 years old woman, I am truly horrified. I certainly would Not! want to help!
I think Cliff could have developed this into a very good novel. But, unfourtunately, he didn't. Still very much worth reading, but those who are young today might have difficulties with the world not having changed in a thousand years from now.
June 20, 2024
I wish I could give half ratings bc this is a 3.5 on my scale.
I enjoyed the first story in the book, Worlds Without End. It was dystopian and sci-fi and riveting! I think it was well written.
The second story in the book, a spaceman’s Van Gogh, was also pretty good! It was short, and didn’t have too much action but it was thought provoking and had good theming.
The third one, full cycle, just had a slow start and I liked it the least. But when the twists hit it was enjoyable!
Overall, the book was good.
I enjoyed the first story in the book, Worlds Without End. It was dystopian and sci-fi and riveting! I think it was well written.
The second story in the book, a spaceman’s Van Gogh, was also pretty good! It was short, and didn’t have too much action but it was thought provoking and had good theming.
The third one, full cycle, just had a slow start and I liked it the least. But when the twists hit it was enjoyable!
Overall, the book was good.
October 14, 2023
The eponymous novella that kicks off this collection is good: a man working for a cryonics center discovers the dreams they program into their patients are not the ones the clients pay for. What's going on? The second story, though, is only okay and the third is surprisingly dull for Simak.
November 10, 2021
Three great stories from Simak.
June 18, 2024
I love me some Golden Age sci-fi and this one didn't disappoint. The 2nd story was a bit too literary for my taste but overall, it was a fun read and I'm glad I read it.
May 7, 2015
1984 grade B
short novel(s?)
short novel(s?)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews