There are classic Sci-Fi writers that everyone with a relevant interest knows. If I do a Google search for “pantheon of classic sci-fi writers,” you’ll see many of them including Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven, Ann McCaffrey, and Kurt Vonnegut. I agree with all of those, but there are a few that are missing in my humble opinion. Among those few is Clifford D. Simak. He hasn’t had movies or shows made of his work like most of those on this list (Niven and McCaffrey haven’t had any splashes on screens big or small yet, but their most popular works have been conversation for shows in the last decade or two). You will likely not find Simak on too many bookstore shelves. Whether you are a Sci-Fi writer (aspiring or otherwise) or just a Sci-Fi fan, I’d at least take a look at Simak.
If you are unfamiliar with Simak, I don’t blame you. His name is not as synonymous with Sci-Fi as many of those previously mentioned, and knowledge of his works and impact may be limited even for those that are avid sci-fi readers. There was no shortage of Sci-Fi books in Simak’s era and it was even harder for a Sci-Fi writer to break through and become a hit. It was a world where fame and popularity mostly happened by word of mouth, and I do mean literal word of mouth. If you need an intro then you should read Way Station and City by Simak. These books are fantastic, filled with possibilities, explore interesting plots, and are never short on ideas.
Let me talk about my most recent read from Simak, Shakespeare’s Planet. This book didn’t see a lot of fanfare around it, and though many of Simak’s works you can find still in print, Shakespeare’s Planet is only available on Kindle and Audible unless you go to the used market. I got lucky and found a first-edition hardcover somewhere. The dust jacket is beat up, and the pages are aged, but it’s otherwise a solid copy. I took my time with this book. Mostly because I often don’t have much time for physical books unless I really push aside other things in my life.
If you do want to read this book, I suggest skipping the rest of this blog. I am going to spoil concepts in the book and it will be in service of a point, but I will not spoil how the plot unfolds with those concepts or even how those concepts fit together into a story. Last warning for those spoilers.
In Shakespeare’s Planet, you will find the following concepts: wormhole travel to different worlds using a dialing device built by an ancient race of unknown aliens (Stargate anyone?), an exploration of near speed of light travel and how its similarities to time-travel, a sentient puddle that maintains a continuous consciousness across vast interstellar distances, a ship that is controlled by three downloaded human minds that have been living together for centuries, time dilation fields that can freeze time for a section of space (again, Stargate?), telepathy, and exploring the origin of myths and legends for the human race centuries in the future.
Did I mention that the book is a cool 178 pages?
That’s the genius and even the audacity of Simak. He routinely takes a dozen ideas and concepts that could each be the basis for a novel, and crowds them together in one tight space to see what happens. Does it always work perfectly? No, I’ll admit that, but reading one of his books is often like mainlining creativity from its source.
Though Simak found a place in his time living off his writing, I have to wonder, would he have found a foothold now, or would he have been washed away like so many other writers. I tend to believe that good writing always rises to the top, but what’s good today may not be perceived as good tomorrow. Maybe a topic for another blog entirely.
Quote of the Moment
“He took a step forward for a closer look and was stopped—stopped by nothing. There was nothing there to stop him; it was as if he had run into a wall he could neither see nor feel. No, not a wall, he thought. His mind scurried frantically for some sort of simile that would express what had happened. But there seemed to be no simile, for the thing that stopped him was a nothingness. He lifted his free hand and felt in front of him. The hand found nothing, but the hand was stopped. No physical sensation, nothing he could feel or sense. It was, he thought, as if he had encountered the end of reality, as if he’d reached a place where there was nowhere to go. As if someone had drawn a line and said the world ends here, there is nothing that extends beyond this line. No matter what you see, or think you see, there is nothing there. But if that were true, he thought, there was something very wrong, for he could see beyond reality.”
– Clifford D. Simak, Shakespeare’s Planet
Current Reads:
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson