Caravan

by Stephen Goldin

Eagle Warrior by Jenna Kernan released on Jan 17, 2017 is available now for purchase.

Genres: Science Fiction, Apocalyptic, Post Apocalyptic

190 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Born in Philadelphia in 1947, Stephen Goldin has lived in California since 1960. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Astronomy from UCLA and worked as a civilian space scientist for the U.S. Navy for a few years after leaving college, but has made his living as a writer/editor most of his life.

His first wife was fellow author Kathleen Sky, with whom he co-wrote the first edition of the highly acclaimed nonfiction book The Business of Being a Writer . His current wife is fellow author Mary Mason. So far they have co-authored two books in the Rehumanization of Jade Darcy series.

He served the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America as editor of the SFWA Bulletin and as the organization’s Western Regional Director.

He has lived with cats all his adult life. Artistically, he enjoys Broadway musicals and surrealist art. Philosophically, he is an atheist.

Learn more about him at his Web site. . Many of his books can be bought through his online bookstore, Parsina Press.

Reviews

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Update:
Well, after writing the review below earlier today--which was based on my recollections from reading this 1975 SF novel as a teen--I read it again. Holy crap: some books just don't age well at all. Superficial writing that tells instead of shows; stereotypical characters that are cut out of cardboard; social attitudes that were dated even in the 70's. The author is trying to give an anti-bigotry message, but it's pretty difficult when you've got an African-American character who thinks it's funny to say "Yassa, Boss" in a (and I quote) "parody of the old-time subservient blacks." It was painful reading; I persevered only for old times' sake.

Even the author only rates this book 3 stars, which is telling. In my opinion it doesn't even rate a two, and I thought seriously about giving it one star. It should have been left to die in obscurity in the 70's.

1.5 stars (down from an initial 3 stars)

Initial Review:
This is one of those mass-market scifi books I stole from my dad when I was a teenager. It's very 70's SF, a short and adventurous tale of what happens when the world falls apart, this time because of overpopulation and a massive global economic collapse. The main character, Peter Stone, is an author whose bestselling book predicted the collapse just before it happened, so naturally a lot of people blame the messenger. Peter meets a group of people who are caravanning to a mysterious destination that they won't talk about, but they offer more hope--and food--than any other options he's found, so he falls in with them.

It was a decent read, and I have fond memories, but it's not particularly deep or meaningful. However, my dad was cleaning out his bookshelves at his 80th birthday party a few weeks ago, and this one was in his giveaway pile. I grabbed it because of memories, so maybe I'll give it another read.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caravan was Goldin's second published novel, and it appeared from the Harlequin imprint Laser Books edited by Roger Elwood in 1975. It's set in an alternate near-future 1980s in an America which has collapsed due to economic problems, population explosion, racial tensions, and the other many such collapse-causers that were hip in the '70s. It's a pretty good cross-country-quest-to-the-starship-for-escape adventure with a kind of Mad Max flair, though some of the racial-awareness tropes seem kind of creaky now, no matter how well-intended they were at the time.

[Marco Beneventi · Rating 5 out of 5]

In una terra al collasso, popolata ormai solo da piccole “tribu” di sopravvissuti e infestata da tanti predoni, Peter Stone, scrittore che aveva previsto tutto, si trova a vagare con la sua bicicletta in queste lande desolate ed è proprio durante uno di questi suoi peregrinaggi che incontra lo scaltro Kudjo Wilson, vedetta di una carovana guidata Istael “Honon” Baunberg, uomo che pare avere in serbo un ultimo asso nella manica per far sopravvivere la razza umana.

“La carovana”, pubblicato nel 1975 da Stephen Goldin, si offre al lettore come un romanzo di fantascienza apocalittica diverso dagli altri, se in questi ultimi infatti la fine dell’umanità è causata da eventi violenti ed improvvisi, in questo lavoro, invece, il tutto avviene per il fisiologico crollo sociale ed economico dovuto ad errori umani, quegli stessi errori che tutt’oggi si possono vedere, sempre più spesso, nel nostro mondo.
I personaggi, tratteggiati ottimamente, risultano accattivanti, credibili e ben sviluppati e riescono, anche grazie ad ottime interazioni ben congeniate, a sviluppare una storia piacevole da leggere sin dalle prime pagine.
Un romanzo che fa sicuramente del ritmo il suo punto forte, ritmo peró inframezzato da parti più descrittive e altre in cui i protagonisti dissertano, anche se non in maniera approfondita, di situazioni problematiche legate alla società (affascinante è notare quanto siano aderenti a situazioni odierne), riuscendo, con questa commistione di cose, a tenere il lettore incollato alle pagine.
Un romanzo meritevole di essere letto e che si conclude con un finale aperto particolarmente riuscito.

[Nicola Strangis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non è un capolavoro ma neanche un’opera da buttare: è un racconto metaforico, che usa il tema del viaggio per toccare diversi argomenti (la religione, i diritti delle minoranze, il rispetto di madre natura). L’autore non rispetta la regola “show don’t tell”, ma questo è vero solo fino ad un certo punto e francamente non capisco le critiche. Per me è un racconto leggero e dignitoso.

Divertente anche il racconto aggiuntivo di Shinichi Hoshi, anche questo in tema ambientale.

[Oscar Maquito · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5/5