Olaf Stapledon
Paperback | Pages: 272 pages Rating: 3.93 | 6211 Users | 502 Reviews
Be Specific About Books Concering Star Maker
| Original Title: | Star Maker |
| ISBN: | 1857988078 (ISBN13: 9781857988079) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Narrative In Favor Of Books Star Maker
Star Maker is a science fiction novel by Olaf Stapledon, published in 1937. The book describes a history of life in the universe, dwarfing in scale Stapledon's previous book, Last and First Men (1930), a history of the human species over two billion years. Star Maker tackles philosophical themes such as the essence of life, of birth, decay and death, and the relationship between creation and creator. A pervading theme is that of progressive unity within and between different civilizations. Some of the elements and themes briefly discussed prefigure later fiction concerning genetic engineering and alien life forms. Arthur C. Clarke considered Star Maker to be one of the finest works of science fiction ever written.Describe About Books Star Maker
| Title | : | Star Maker |
| Author | : | Olaf Stapledon |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | SF Masterworks |
| Pages | : | Pages: 272 pages |
| Published | : | November 11th 1999 by Millennium Paperbacks (first published 1937) |
| Categories | : | Science Fiction. Fiction. Philosophy. Classics |
Rating About Books Star Maker
Ratings: 3.93 From 6211 Users | 502 ReviewsPiece About Books Star Maker
The forward to this book promises "more than science fiction" but, alas, the book delivers something rather less. Part of the problem is, the book is old, written in 1937, before some scientific discoveries were widely accepted/known, and before others were even made. Also, the author isn't very science literate. Just enough to be dangerous.Basically, the narrator goes on a magical journey through time and space, sees lots of aliens, and meets god "the star maker". The whole story is narrated,"...to discover what part life and mind were actually playing among the stars." I absolutely loved this. Plant people, composite minds, intelligent stars - and an exploration into some of life's biggest questions. This book is a history of the universe, told by an Englishman who mysteriously floats into the sky one night while contemplating its immensity. It does not contain many of the traditional elements of a novel. For example, there are not many "characters" in the traditional sense. But
This book nearly blew my head off so I can only imagine what readers felt when they first encountered it in 1937. Enthralled? Ecstatic? Spellbound? If I were Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes and I found a copy of this book underneath the fallen Statue of Liberty, I'd create a religion around it. It is, after all, a beautiful example of how science fiction can touch theology and make the reader believe momentarily that there is meaning to life.On a silent, starry night, the narrator of the
As a work of the imagination, I have never read anything that surpasses this. As a 'science fiction' novel this is definitely in my top ten although it is important to remember that Stapledon was not aware that he was writing anything resembling a work in this genre and indeed had never heard of the genre at all.This is such a profound book that it seems like a terrible shame that it has only attracted a relatively small reading audience: it deserves much more than the Happy Few who currently
This is not an easy read, but incredibly important one. The author takes us on a journey of ideas and concepts and in process completely alters our sense of scale, both spacial and temporal. Stapeldon was truly a pioneer of SF for bringing us truly big ideas.
Star Maker: The grandest vision of the universe(Posted at Fantasy Literature)Star Maker is perhaps the grandest and most awe-inspiring vision of the universe ever penned by a SF author, before the term even existed, in 1937 by the pioneering English writer Olaf Stapledon. Although some readers might think that this book was only outstanding for its time, I would say it remains an amazing tour-de-force today, and has clearly inspired many of the genres most famous practitioners, including Arthur
It might be best for me to try and write a review as I go along. This is the first of 25 books in a list I've drawn up for myself of works of science fiction to read in 2016.The basic idea of Star Maker is quite simple, but extremely ambitious: If a human consciousness could detach from the body in order to explore the universe, what would it discover? Reading it, I began to wonder why no one else seems to have attempted such an idea, as well as wondering why I had not heard of Stapledon. The
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