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Title: Last and First Men and Star Maker : Two Science Fiction Novels by Olaf Stapledon ISBN: 0-486-21962-3 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 June, 1968 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.69 (13 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Philosophy and Science Fiction dancing like binary stars.
Comment: I have never read a writer who was able to convey the
vastness of the universe and the infinitely complex
possibilities of sentient life forms over evolutionary
stretches of time. The first of the two novels in this
publication, Last and First Men, Olaf Stapledon describes
the spiritual, intellectual and biological evolution of the
human species from our modern era to its last residence on
Neptune. The slowly changing forces of our planets and the
sun force humans to adapt and change, and Olaf Stapledon
documents these adaptations and the adaptations humans
impose on their environments. Illustrating the
unimaginably long time required for this evolution is
Stapledon's unique talent. The theme of the story is
human's destiny - to achieve a collective conciousness.
It is a fitting introduction for the next novel in this
collection - Star Maker.
In his novel Star Maker Olaf Stapledon builds a pyramid
based on intricate descriptions of the galaxy's sentient
beings and illustrates the spiritual journey of all sentient
beings toward a unification into a galactic consciousness,
with the ultimate goal of meeting the creator of the
universe. He applies his clear knowledge of modern
biological and cultural evolution and their interactions
with their environments to illustrate this journey of
countless species, societies and individuals toward this
galactic destiny. Along the way are a few twists, which are
too exciting in their intricacy to give away here! The end
finds our universal being finally able to glimpse its
creator.
At the time of this writing I know little of Olaf Stapledon,
except that he was a philospher as well as a science fiction
writer. These two novels are the best science fiction
I have ever read. They deal with current issues and
ideas in sociology, anthropology, biological evolution, and
philosophy in a vivid storytelling style. Although I know
little of philosophy, his point of view is strongly
deterministic. Although Olaf Stapledon is a product of his
time, he was one of his time who was looking toward the
future with an imaginatino more focused than any other I
have read.
Rating: 1
Summary: worthless
Comment: Re: "On one hand there is his thick, turgid prose coupled with lack of characters - a boggy philosopher's novel if there ever was one."
Then there never was one. Sorry, Mr. Stapledon was NOT a professional philosopher and is not widely esteemed as an amateur philosopher. The novels of philosophers are no more likely to be devoid of characters than the novels of anyone else. Think of Jean-Paul Sartre: His "The Age of Reason", "The Reprieve", and "Troubled Sleep" are full of memorable characters, well-plotted, and very gripping. Think of Albert Camus's "The Stranger". I could go on.
Rating: 1
Summary: self-indulgent ranting
Comment: Re:
"The stength of the US empire is tied to fossil fuels, which are beginning to run out according to 'peak oil' researchers....If you want to explore the deepest ideas ever discussed in SF..."
Western economies have utterly depended on fossil fuels since the first industrial revolution in the early nineteenth century. This was hardly news in 1930 when "The First and Last Men" was published. As it happens, it has been predicted many times that they would shortly run out, and each time new sources have been discovered. Of course, there is only a finite amount on the planet, and they WILL eventually run out. You didn't have to be prescient in 1930 to foresee THAT. (In any case, the object of science-fiction, very much including science-fiction that takes place in the future, is not to predict, but to illuminate.) Are these among "the deepest ideas discussed in SF"? If you think so, I'll wager you've not read "Brave New World", a single work of Stanislaw Lem, or even "Planet of the Apes" (don't judge it by the awful movie).
Certainly, the author is more sophisticated and better educated than someone like Philip K. Dick and, for that matter, countless other science-fiction writers whose names are remembered only by hardcore devotees, but it seems to me we have two choices: Either we judge this work by how well it succeeds as 1) light entertainment or by how well it succeeds as 2) literature. Even its fiercest apologists admit it fails dismally as entertainment. If on the other hand, we're maintaining it succeeds as literature, then we need to compare it to literary works, not pulp science-fiction. Its proponents are unwilling to do that because it so obviously falls short.
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Title: Odd John and Sirius by William Olaf Stapledon, Olaf Stapledon ISBN: 0486211339 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 June, 1972 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Ubik by Philip K. Dick ISBN: 0679736646 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 03 December, 1991 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Futurological Congress: From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy by Stanislaw Lem, Michael Kandel ISBN: 0156340402 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: October, 1985 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. ISBN: 0553379267 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 02 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Sirius: A Fantasy of Love and Discord. by William Olaf, Stapledon ISBN: 0140019995 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: May, 1964 List Price(USD): $0.95 |
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