Clifford D. Simak (1904–1988)

I recently read an interesting article titled "what is it like to be a bat?" which works from the premise that there is something that it means to be me, which is different from what it means to be you (bats too, in case you're wondering). And that thing is not reducible to something physical and neither is is entirely subjective. A similar question is at the heart of this book, and as usual with questions about the nature of humanity, Simak gives readers something memorable.

Readers get show more reflections on memory, mind, experience, physiology, and even the teleology of the Human form. None of these fully explain what provides us with a subjective, defining experience. And I think this ultimately leads to the question of whether there is a distinct, inalienable human experience. This course of thought is often at the heart of Simak's explorations of robots, aliens, and dogs.

This one was published in the 60's and I think that the ideas are just as fresh and still as unanswered as they were when we was considering them. And the whole thing is written in Simak's delightful, folksy way. show less

As one of my wise GR friends said in the thread for a book that I have forgotten and in a review that I stopped receiving notifications about, good science fiction de-centers the importance of humankind and human intelligence. And in doing this, the best writers reflect humanity back to readers as an object of study. Simak excels at this kind of writing, and it is precisely what I like about him the most.

For my tastes, Simak is at his best when writing about robots, robot civilizations, show more robot philosophy, and robot religion. The books where he takes up these themes (e.g., A Choice of Gods, and Project Pope) are among my favorites not only of his work but of all the science fiction I have read. There are numerous stories in this collection that are similarly themed, including the best story of the bunch, “All The Traps Of Earth” which is kind of a like a robot version of The Remains of the Day, it’s a lovely story and truly worth seeking out even if you never read this volume. There is also a scene of mind/body transference which is terrific: thoughtful and sad. Stories like “Installment Plan” and the title story, “I Am Crying All Inside,” have some of these elements and are solidly good.

The other place where Simak really shines is in writing about alien intelligence. He is not far from doing this already in his work on robots. The best example of this kind of theme is Simak’s post war book, City which is my favorite of his works, an imagined world in which humankind is nearly extinct and is definitely past the point of no return. The dominant species on Earth are sentient dogs and robots that have developed a world around their values and worldviews. Simak has stories covering similar territory here, like “I Had No Head and My Eyes Were Floating Way Up In The Air,” in which a human consciousness is transferred to an alien body and sensory system, and “Ogre” which is a story with a really nifty concept (i.e., plant life is the dominant sentient species) even if I thought that the story was kind of flat.

There are then a couple of time travel stories, “Gleaners” and “Small Deer,” the latter of which had a disturbing conclusion to it, but these were kind of typical time travel yarns, messing with butterfly effects, relativity, and temporal paradoxes. Okay. Not great. Then there were two stories that were, for lack of a better way to put it … Lovecraft-type cosmic horror? I can appreciate what those stories (i.e., “The Call From Beyond” and “Madness From Mars”) were attempting to do, but they seemed further afield from the Simak that I was hoping for. I probably didn’t give these stories a fair chance. Likewise for “Gunsmoke Interlude” which just didn’t appeal. show less

Two reporters are looking for a story out in the wilds of space. They happen upon a derelict spaceship and revive its lone inhabitant from suspended animation. Her body had been frozen, but her mind had continued to expand and thus she's probably the smartest person ever. The group is called upon by a group called the Cosmic Engineers to 'save the universe' but one of our journalist heroes is skeptical and not sure whether they're to be trusted. Encounters with other alien species compound show more the issue as some of these others had attempted the whole universe saving thing before and were apparently unsuccessful.
I liked this one. Originally serialized in three 1939 issues of "Astounding", it was later expanded for publication as Simak's first novel. Having been a journalist himself, (for my hometown paper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune), the reporter character seems like an avatar, but not annoyingly so. Also, the inclusion of a female super-genius in a book from this era seems remarkably progressive.
I don't think I've ever had a bad time reading a Simak book, and this one just makes me eager to read more of his work. show less

When space flight proved impossible for humans, they discovered a new way to travel to the stars. By projecting their minds and teleporting their equipment the psychic explorers of Fishhook have been bring back alien ideas, technology and trade goods back from alien worlds and beings for a century. Fishhook headquarters in northern Mexico have become the center of interstellar trade. Shepherd Blaine was one of those explorers until the final seconds of his last voyage right up to the time he show more encountered a twelve foot high, twenty foot wide telepathic pink creature that greeted him, “Hi pal, I trade with you my mind.”

How do you deal with the being that doesn’t think like you is the theme of Simak’s 1961 tale. It’s not just the alien mind that Shep Blaine now shares, it’s the way the rest of the world deals with “parries,” humans with paranormal abilities. In northern Mexico they’re the elite, and Fishhook plans to keep it that way, but north of the border in the United States they’re a feared and persecuted minority. Preachers preach against them, and people stay at home after dark and cover their houses with hex signs out of fears of them. Shep Blaine narrowly escapes being lynched by a mob after he crosses the border. Ironically, it’s the alien part of his mind that both gives him away and saves him. Simak’s theme is the folly of narrow-minded bigotry told as a very enjoyable science fiction tale that speaks to the time of its composition and to the present day. show less