The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion

I don't know if any of you guys have heard of Clifford D. Simak? I haven't yet seen him mentioned within these forums, but he was quite popular during the Golden Age of science fiction and seems to have since drifted into obscurity, with no one these days really knowing who he is.

I've recently read Time And Again and Ring Around The Sun which I found very good, though they're considered to be lesser works of his. He's mainly known for Wayside Station and City.

If we haven't had one of his books yet then can I suggest we read a couple when we reach the appropriate decade?

I've certainly heard of him & read several of his books & short stories. Been a long time, though.

I've read Wayside Station and City. Both pretty good.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've read Wayside Station and Project Pope. I liked Project Pope more. I've been meaning to read City and A Choice of Gods for some time now.

I've read City, Way Station and a few others, I think one was All Flesh Is Grass. I own most of his novels and, though I enjoyed the ones I read, I seem not to pick them up to read them often. He definitely had a style of writing you recognize immediately. For some reason, most of the titles of his books leave me cold.

I just finished Project Pope, giving it four stars and a relatively (for me) long review. I have proselytized in other groups but it seems difficult for ppl who aren't already into classic SF to get interested in Simak.

I also read Over the River and Through the Woods recently, and even though I don't believe that the stories collected there are necessarily his very best, I think maybe his shorter works are easier to enjoy than his novels (assuming the reader isn't prejudiced against short stories in the first place).

I just read this as "Over the Flow and Through the Words" which would make some type of nice title about writing.

I haven't read him for years, but really enjoyed A Choice of Gods. In it the World is suddenly depopulated. The remaining humans destress, become immortal and gain telekenetic powers. Robots evolve their own society, and Native Americans go back to their tribal ways. Then a spaceship with the missing humans arrives...

I started this thread 8 years ago as a newcomer to Simak... flash forward to now and I've become a strange sort of fan of his work. Very much aware of his flaws as an author, and not really considering any of his works to be perfect, but generally enjoying most of what I've read and relishing in his ideas and wherever his prose shines (typically pastoral passages and surrealistic, almost Lovecraftian sequences). I have now read all but 6 of his novellas/novels and a reasonable portion of his short fiction, and it's become a kind of quest for me to read every piece of fiction he's written. I also completed a masters in music recently, where I composed two data-driven sets of music inspired by his story "The Autumn Land" as part of my final project.

A couple of lesser read highlights for me have been Why Call Them Back From Heaven? and Destiny Doll. The former didn't click with me until the second read, probably because real-life circumstances caused the themes to resonate more. The latter is not one that people typically hold in high esteem, but I've found it to be the best example I've so far read of Simak's "group-quest" novels, with a more effective exploration of philosophical themes and a unique and surreal science-fantasy world.

I'm a big fan of Simak. I was born in 1947 and as well as I can remember i think it was "Way Station" that I read in the early '70's that got me started. I have re-read it several times over the years and it still remains one of my favorites. I read "Why Call Them Back From Heaven?" about 5 years ago and I wasn't completely satisfied with it. It had some nice PDK and Kafka touches but didn't seem to explore all the issues it brought up very well.

I read "Destiny Doll" about 4 years ago and gave it a weak 3 stars. this was from my review. "I felt this book meandered a bit and even had a couple of dead ends, especially the initial banishment to the desert planet. The hobbies were interesting but what was their intended purpose in moving the story along? I didn't get a feeling of cohesion from the various plot elements such as the hobbies, the alien city, the centaurs and other alien creatures, the mile high trees that stored 'knowledge' and many more. If the characters were supposed to give a "Canterbury Tales" feel I don't think it worked that well."

I think I like his short stories better with "Desertion", "The Big Front Yard" and "The Thing in the Stone" my favorites.

But there is a strange novel I back in 2017 and it was very different and funny for Simak. It is "They Walked Like Men" and the following is from my review. "I'm sure Simak had his tongue at least slightly in his cheek when he wrote this and the results are terrific. When is the last time you read an alien invasion story where the villains are realtors shaped like bowling balls with a talking dog for a competitor. I'm not sure there are many writers who could have written an acceptable story based on those plot elements instead of a great story the way Simak has. I almost forgot the part about the skunks saving the world. It's part comedy, part serious SF alien invasion story with a few remarks about how bizarre the aliens find our capitalist business structure along with other human cultural activities."

Jim wrote: "I'm a big fan of Simak. I was born in 1947 and as well as I can remember i think it was "Way Station" that I read in the early '70's that got me started. I have re-read it several times over the ye..."

"Desertion" and "The Thing in the Stone" are standout stories for me as well. I have not yet read The Big Front Yard... I'm aware it's quite the gap.

I very much dig surrealism and atmosphere, and that's probably why I liked Destiny Doll as much as I did. Lots of elements fed my imagination, even if they weren't necessarily valuable plot-wise. I had mixed feelings on They Walk Like Men but I enjoyed it overall. I did think the ending was a bit of a mess, but I loved the pulpy, noir-like vibe of it and the portrayal of the alien threat was great.

This passage was a highlight for me:

I backed away across the room from the terror that writhed behind the door, with horror welling in me - the bubbling, effervescent horror that can only come when a man's own home develops fangs against him.
And even as the horror chilled me, I argued with myself - for this was the sort of thing that simply could not happen. A man's chair may develop fangs and snap him up as he bends to sit in it; his scatter rugs may glide treacherously from beneath his feet; his refrigerator may lie in ambush to topple over on him; but the closet is the place where nothing of the sort can happen. For the closet is a part of the man himself. It is the place where he hangs up his artificial pelts, and as such it is closer to him, more intimate with him than any room within his dwelling place.
But even as I told myself that it could not happen, even as I charged it all against an upset imagination, I could hear the rustling and the sliding and the frantic stealth that was going on behind the closet door.

Great example. The man knew how to write. I still have a bunch of his stories and novels on my Kindle to read or in many cases re-read.

I’ve read most of Simak’s works: Way Station; Cemetery World; City. I’ve read one, “Trouble In Tycho.” Think it was called that. That one’s about being on our moon. There’s a dog-like creature that lived in one of the crater. I don’t think it’s exactly his best work. It felt outdated because of what I’ve learned from the Apollo flights from Earth to Moon back in the ‘60s. This story was written before we put man on the moon.

Thanks for the Simak reminders, guys. I also started reading him many years ago, and particularly recall enjoying "Way Station." Was "The Big Front Yard" one of his, too? Great story.

Haven't read any Simak in years.

"The Big Front Yard" was a 1958 novellette by Simak and a very good story. It has the great Simak touch of a local tinkerer and "horsetrader" on Earth who discovers that the back of his house has become a portal to connections with other worlds. The portals are for trading but for ideas, not for goods and Hiram shows a great talent for dickering in those trades. For me it was a fun story that incidentally won a Hugo.

Another good novel by Simak is The Goblin Reservation. I used to have a copy of this edition:



Great cover, entertaining story, as I recall (it’s been a long time since I read it.) It was a Hugo nominee.

Stephen wrote: "Another good novel by Simak is The Goblin Reservation. I used to have a copy of this edition:



Great cover, entertaining story, as I rec..."

I'm usually a big fan of Simak's SF but I couldn't finish this. Too much fantasy and not enough SF.

I agree with Jim. Goblin Reservation didn't resonate with me at all. Not so much for the inclusion of fantasy, but I seem to recall it being a bit all over the place. That being said, it does seem to be a popular one. I often hear it listed alongside City and Way Station.

For me, Time and Again is still my absolute favourite. Also known as "First, He Died" and "Time Quarry" (with a different ending).

Jim wrote: ""The Big Front Yard" was a 1958 novellette by Simak and a very good story. It has the great Simak touch of a local tinkerer and "horsetrader" on Earth who discovers that the back of his house has b..."

Thanks, Jim. IB I have this in one of the Hugo Award stories compilations. I know I've read it a number of times, each time with pleasure. Likely my favorite Simak!

The Scribbling Man wrote: "I agree with Jim. Goblin Reservation didn't resonate with me at all. Not so much for the inclusion of fantasy, but I seem to recall it being a bit all over the place. That being said, it does seem ..."

Time and Again fell flat for me. It seemed like it was padded and needed a good editor to trim about 20% of it. I thought the idea of destiny being an actual living entity that was attached to all living things was an interesting concept but not well handled.The time travel aspect of the story didn't help move the plot along very well either. Simak writes thoughtful stories about concepts and how they effect everyday people. But the idea of "Destiny" and the various factions trying to control it or kill it never really jelled for me. The use of time travel in these endeavors made things a little more interesting but the ending, for me, was not very satisfying.

That's fair enough. It's far from perfect but it was my first Simak and the sheer mass of ideas was really appealing. I'm more aware of its flaws on rereads but continue to like it more and more. I'm also a sucker for time travel.

I have read All Flesh Is Grass in the past year. I have enjoyed al that I have read by him so far.

I'm currently working my way through "Creations" by Isaac Asimov, which is a collection of stories and essays that chronologically explore the theme of origins and creation. It also includes passages from religious texts. I'm currently at the introduction to "The Creator" by Simak and I'm looking forward to it. Admittedly, I pretty much hunted down the collection because it seemed to be the cheapest way to own a copy of the story, but I am enjoying it as a whole. The previous story was Lem's "Project Genesis" which was also quite good.

After recently purchasing a copy of "A Choice of Gods", I think I now have at least one copy of every Simak novel (3 of some). I have several short collections as well, but definitely not the whole lot.

I didn't really like ACoG when I first read it, but my main memory is finding the audiobook narrator incredibly grating. I'm hoping that revisiting it in written form (preferred) will be a more enjoyable experience.

I enjoyed Way Station by Simak and several others. I'd like to see some group reads of his book here at some point...

I know a couple other members enjoy Simak as well. Feel free to nominate a book for the appropriate time period!

I discovered Simao when reading I,Asimov autobiography. I have read 4 books by Simak, all extremely enjoyable. Especially City and Way Station. He is not talked enough these days despite being a s.f. Grand Master.

I read a few books by Simak back in the day, He was one of the better SF authors of the 70's ish.
/Neil

I am just about done reading A Choice of Gods. It has the same melancholy tone as City.

I finished Simak's A Choice of Gods (1972). My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

All Flesh is Grass is excelllent.