Doorways in the Sand
by Roger Zelazny
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Can You Hear Me Fred? Fred Cassidy leads an idyllic life. As long as he remains a full-time college student without a degree, he is provided a very generous stipend from his uncle's estate. But after thirteen years of happy undergrad existence everything is about to change. Cassidy's home is broken into and ransacked. When he enters, he is assaulted by a former professor wanting to know where the alien artifact known as the star stone is. Cassidy manages to escape, only to discover that he show more is also being pursued by hired criminals, Anglophile zealots, government agents, and aliens. Cassidy has no idea where the star stone is but he realizes that unless he finds it, one of these factions will eventually catch up to him and most likely kill him. "Doorways in the Sand" is fast paced, humorous, and has the most lyrical prose of any of Zelazny's novels. show lessTags
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I read Doorways in the Sand when I was a thirteen-year-old boy and I thought it was amazing. I was correct--upon reading it now, I agree it is amazing. And also frustrating. At the time of its publication, Roger Zelazny should have known that if you write an adventure story where every character is male, except for a nagging wife, a frisky-college-student-who-I-have-sex-with, and a nurse, you might just possibly be profoundly myopic, missing out on huge elements of the human experience while also alienating an audience that might think of men and women as human beings of equivalent value. Doorways in the Sand is not so much sexist as it is blind, a clever and thoughtful science fiction novel written by a child of the 1940s who just show more can't manage to imagine the story any other way. Zelazny is so brilliant in so many stories and novels! He is considerate and thoughtful, he is clearly willing to reach behind the veil of every-day perspective taking, reach beyond himself and into the unknown. So why do only male characters take actions, have ideas, interact, fight, explore, and think? Why do the female characters exist only for rescuing, having sex with, or serving as the assistant to a doctor? During this adventure, the main character meets members of three or four different alien species--detectives, spies, doctors, including a goddamn awesome sentient plant creature...and all of them just happen to be "he/him" as well. There's one possible interpretation: Zelazny is playing with form in this novel. For example, he mucks about with the beginning of each chapter using a flashback technique. And the tone of the novel is sort of "gumshoe", Raymond Chandler, etc. So, if that's the tone he's playing with, maybe you NEED to have a kidnapped wife tied to a chair at the first climax, and have a gun go off, right? Maybe the myopic sexism is just another part of the experiment? Eh. So: Doorways in the Sand is a clever, fun, fast-moving enjoyable science fiction novel that is chock-full of ideas and even some successful humor. Good read, as long as you can pretend it takes place in a parallel universe where having two X chromosomes means you don't really exist. show less
"I'm going to go down there first thing in the morning and punch him in the eye!"
"Will that solve anything?"
"No, but revenge fits in with the classic life-style."
2015 is going to go down in my personal history as the year of awesome books. I am like a kid in a candy store here, running down the aisles with armfuls of treasure. I could tell you that I am giving this five stars (thinking about six) because I review things for what they are and this little beauty transcends all its genres to become something that is, while small, also quite amazing. True enough. I could tell you that I will probably five star anything that sucks me in and refuses to let me go until I have heard the whole story. Also true. Also that I will five star show more anything that allows a character I instantly love to follow his own tale to the end with no author tricks or lies anywhere. I do. But more than that, I am five starring this because I finished it an hour ago and I am still grinning ear to ear, still filled with the hope and beauty and humor of the thing.
The book is dedicated to Isaac Asimov, but if you are not a sci-fi fan, don't let that scare you off. I am not much a lover of sci-fi, but I loved this. It has great people sense, a tightly written story, fantastic literary references (hello again, Lewis Carroll), and truly funny humor. If it telegraphs a punch here and there, keep in mind that it was published back in 1976. (Won the Hugo back then, too.) If everybody wrote books this well, we in the postmodern world would all be kids running down the aisles with armfuls of treasure all the time. Not everybody writes this well. Not even close. Go enjoy this.
(What the heck. Six stars.)
Reviewed 7/10/15. show less
"Will that solve anything?"
"No, but revenge fits in with the classic life-style."
2015 is going to go down in my personal history as the year of awesome books. I am like a kid in a candy store here, running down the aisles with armfuls of treasure. I could tell you that I am giving this five stars (thinking about six) because I review things for what they are and this little beauty transcends all its genres to become something that is, while small, also quite amazing. True enough. I could tell you that I will probably five star anything that sucks me in and refuses to let me go until I have heard the whole story. Also true. Also that I will five star show more anything that allows a character I instantly love to follow his own tale to the end with no author tricks or lies anywhere. I do. But more than that, I am five starring this because I finished it an hour ago and I am still grinning ear to ear, still filled with the hope and beauty and humor of the thing.
The book is dedicated to Isaac Asimov, but if you are not a sci-fi fan, don't let that scare you off. I am not much a lover of sci-fi, but I loved this. It has great people sense, a tightly written story, fantastic literary references (hello again, Lewis Carroll), and truly funny humor. If it telegraphs a punch here and there, keep in mind that it was published back in 1976. (Won the Hugo back then, too.) If everybody wrote books this well, we in the postmodern world would all be kids running down the aisles with armfuls of treasure all the time. Not everybody writes this well. Not even close. Go enjoy this.
(What the heck. Six stars.)
Reviewed 7/10/15. show less
I had forgotten this gem until a question on a Zelazny recommendation sent me to my shelves to rediscover this blend of Alice in Wonderland and crime caper. Set in an Earth very similar to our own, aliens have made contact and invited us to join the galactic federation. As a token of sincerity, we're participating in an artifact exchange, lending them culturally significant objects such as the Crown Jewels and the Mona Lisa, and receiving ambiguous alien artifacts in return. Meanwhile, Fred, a perpetual university student with an affinity for heights, is unwittingly pursued by various groups looking for a missing alien artifact. Thankfully, he remains calm, even when he's under duress staked out in the desert to contemplate a future as show more a raisin, he is rescued by a pair of intergalactic policemen. They've chosen to blend into the Australian scenery dressed as a wombat and a kangaroo.
"So I shshed while he worked on the strap. It was the most interesting hallucination I had had in a long while." (Like Ford Prefect, the aliens seem to have mistaken the dominant life form).
Although it perhaps sounds a little silly, and occasionally even a little absurd (there's a professor who reoccurs "despite his departure from the university long ago under the cloud of a scandal involving a girl, a dwarf and a donkey"), it never goes so far afield that it can't be reeled in with real life dangers and consequences. Zelazny's writing is truly inspired. Clever wordplay based on both real life observations (the quality of coffee in the student commons), absurdity (aforementioned alien disguises), and crazy levels of creativity (stereoisotropic brandy, anyone?) and deadpan delivery combine to alternatively cause giggles and awe.
Then he challenges any absurdity with poetic imagery:
"I was taken by a glorious sensation doubtless compiled of recovery from my earlier discomforts, a near-metaphysical satisfaction of my acrophiliac tendencies and a general overlay of fatigue that spread slowly, lightly across me, like a delicious fall of big-flaked snow."
Narrative style is somewhat unusual, but Zelazny is kind enough to provide variety of well-written transitions. And in these modern times of multiple viewpoints and post-deconstructed novels, a simple scrambled timeline should be readable.
Our lead, Fred, happens to be one of my favorite types of narrators, the knowledgeable eccentric. Of course, it's a lot easier to be knowledgeable when you've spent thirteen years in university classes while avoiding a degree, much to various advisers' chagrin:
"Clocking his expression, I noted disbelief, rage and puzzlement within the first five seconds. I was hoping for despair, but you can't have everything all at once."
Fred's lengthy and varied university education gives Zelazny a chance to play with a wide range of intellectual references and ideas. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them, except perhaps the mathematical poem. References are woven in seamlessly, almost throwaway at times. There's the time Fred says at the end of a drinking binge:
"'Let there be an end to thought. Thus do I refute Descartes.'
I sprawled, not a cogito or a sum to my name."
Then there's Zelazny's brilliant creation of the Rhennius machine inversion program--first run through inverts the object left to right (a key chemistry concept made amazing) and the inspired scenes that followFred's inversion are madcap genius. There are anthropological references to toilet cave paintings and bead exchanges, analysis of government bureaucracy, naming of the stars of the Big Dipper, stereoisomers from organic chemistry and musings on philosophy. While I know I enjoyed reading this book in high school, more years of education and experience have given me even greater appreciation for the casual and wide-ranging references--surely that is a book that stands the test of time.
In the tradition of the caper, Fred's methods are occasionally questionable (although his ethics are solid):
"Time means a lot to me, paperwork wastes it, and I have always been a firm believer in my right to do anything I cannot be stopped from doing. Which sometimes entails not getting caught at it."
Altogether and enjoyable fun read. As I waver between a 4 and 5 star rating, I realize it's rather irrelevant. I happen to enjoy it's timeless references, sophistication and breezy tone. Definitely hardbound library-worthy. Crud. Now I'm going to have to search out a better copy than my worn, cheap 1977 paperback. Note: Hugo, Locus AND Nebula nominee.
****************
Re-read April 2016 with the flash group at https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/185207
Thanks, everyone for reading along! Jason, Andreas, Melora, Naomi, Karl, Athena, Amy (Other Amy), Andrew, Mitticus, Evgeny and Brad (for yet another pun skirmish)
No additional thoughts necessary, although I'll say, wow, does that man stuff a lot of knowledge into one story, and he remains one of my favorite authors because of what he can do with words.
Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/doorways-in-the-sand-by-roger-zelazny-... show less
Although it perhaps sounds a little silly, and occasionally even a little absurd (there's a professor who reoccurs "despite his departure from the university long ago under the cloud of a scandal involving a girl, a dwarf and a donkey"), it never goes so far afield that it can't be reeled in with real life dangers and consequences. Zelazny's writing is truly inspired. Clever wordplay based on both real life observations (the quality of coffee in the student commons), absurdity (aforementioned alien disguises), and crazy levels of creativity (stereoisotropic brandy, anyone?) and deadpan delivery combine to alternatively cause giggles and awe.
Then he challenges any absurdity with poetic imagery:
"I was taken by a glorious sensation doubtless compiled of recovery from my earlier discomforts, a near-metaphysical satisfaction of my acrophiliac tendencies and a general overlay of fatigue that spread slowly, lightly across me, like a delicious fall of big-flaked snow."
Narrative style is somewhat unusual, but Zelazny is kind enough to provide variety of well-written transitions. And in these modern times of multiple viewpoints and post-deconstructed novels, a simple scrambled timeline should be readable.
Our lead, Fred, happens to be one of my favorite types of narrators, the knowledgeable eccentric. Of course, it's a lot easier to be knowledgeable when you've spent thirteen years in university classes while avoiding a degree, much to various advisers' chagrin:
"Clocking his expression, I noted disbelief, rage and puzzlement within the first five seconds. I was hoping for despair, but you can't have everything all at once."
Fred's lengthy and varied university education gives Zelazny a chance to play with a wide range of intellectual references and ideas. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them, except perhaps the mathematical poem. References are woven in seamlessly, almost throwaway at times. There's the time Fred says at the end of a drinking binge:
"'Let there be an end to thought. Thus do I refute Descartes.'
I sprawled, not a cogito or a sum to my name."
Then there's Zelazny's brilliant creation of the Rhennius machine inversion program--first run through inverts the object left to right (a key chemistry concept made amazing) and the inspired scenes that follow
In the tradition of the caper, Fred's methods are occasionally questionable (although his ethics are solid):
"Time means a lot to me, paperwork wastes it, and I have always been a firm believer in my right to do anything I cannot be stopped from doing. Which sometimes entails not getting caught at it."
Altogether and enjoyable fun read. As I waver between a 4 and 5 star rating, I realize it's rather irrelevant. I happen to enjoy it's timeless references, sophistication and breezy tone. Definitely hardbound library-worthy. Crud. Now I'm going to have to search out a better copy than my worn, cheap 1977 paperback. Note: Hugo, Locus AND Nebula nominee.
****************
Re-read April 2016 with the flash group at https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/185207
Thanks, everyone for reading along! Jason, Andreas, Melora, Naomi, Karl, Athena, Amy (Other Amy), Andrew, Mitticus, Evgeny and Brad (for yet another pun skirmish)
No additional thoughts necessary, although I'll say, wow, does that man stuff a lot of knowledge into one story, and he remains one of my favorite authors because of what he can do with words.
Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/doorways-in-the-sand-by-roger-zelazny-... show less
What the heck! I'm not an acrophiliac perpetual-student with a penchant for pilfering sentient stones, but after re-reading this book, I kinda want to be. :)
If managing to avoid getting a degree in 13 years while still maintaining a full course load can be considered a special kind of genius, then our MC has it, but wait! This is just the beginning.
Zelazny writes beautifully, with curious and curiouser language, puns, poetry, and slight perfidy, if the last line in the novel is anything to judge the rest by. Just what am I supposed to make of that, eh?Just who is the *I* through the tale, pray tell?
This is a re-read, and probably one of the most enjoyable re-reads I've had in a very long time, with a few very notable exceptions. For show more one, I never actually intended to re-read this one, and it's only thanks to a few bookish friends here that I ever felt the need.
And I am very thankful. :)
The one thing that strikes me the most about this novel is the perfect knife-balance of absurdity. The knife might be a fool's knife masquerading as a knight's, but the knife cuts a fine story. Don't let the telepathic donkeys and overgrown houseplants fool you. We live in a wild, wild universe, and humanity is about crawl out of our own muck to take part in a tale as old as Time.
That's right. The hunt for lost jewelry. And yet, here's the funny part: no women characters are taking part in said hunt. Absurd! Right?
During the first half of the novel, I kept saying to myself that this novel would be a fantastic humor-laden modern SF, including major building-climbing stunts, kangaroos with wire-rimmed glasses, wombats, and raisins, the most nutritious whiskey drinks ever devised, and looking through a mirrored universe. (I decline to subscribe to the MC's point of view that it is merely *he* that has been flipped. After all, I started seeing things reversed, too, so perhaps the machine is leaking a bit, eh?)
The plot wrap-up wasn't entirely to my liking, for the most part, but it grew into a more subtle and thoughtful end that had lots of consequences for the rest of us, so I was eventually quite satisfied.
I can't believe that goofball actually got a job. Perhaps, with a little luck, he'll eventually climb that tallest building, but I'm not going to hold my breath. The jury's still out on us. :)
This is classic SF at its best. There's nothing out-of-date about it. I think it has held up extremely well and despite its clever cliffhangers with every chapter and Mirror's Edge kind of action escapades, this is a novel that is intelligent right down to it's sentence-core. Entertaining as hell AND it makes you think and scratch your head and go Aha! with it's mini-puzzles.
I totally recommend it for anyone. I always loved the author and it is just dawning on me that perhaps I really out to rediscover the man. Fantastic read! show less
If managing to avoid getting a degree in 13 years while still maintaining a full course load can be considered a special kind of genius, then our MC has it, but wait! This is just the beginning.
Zelazny writes beautifully, with curious and curiouser language, puns, poetry, and slight perfidy, if the last line in the novel is anything to judge the rest by. Just what am I supposed to make of that, eh?
This is a re-read, and probably one of the most enjoyable re-reads I've had in a very long time, with a few very notable exceptions. For show more one, I never actually intended to re-read this one, and it's only thanks to a few bookish friends here that I ever felt the need.
And I am very thankful. :)
The one thing that strikes me the most about this novel is the perfect knife-balance of absurdity. The knife might be a fool's knife masquerading as a knight's, but the knife cuts a fine story. Don't let the telepathic donkeys and overgrown houseplants fool you. We live in a wild, wild universe, and humanity is about crawl out of our own muck to take part in a tale as old as Time.
That's right. The hunt for lost jewelry. And yet, here's the funny part: no women characters are taking part in said hunt. Absurd! Right?
During the first half of the novel, I kept saying to myself that this novel would be a fantastic humor-laden modern SF, including major building-climbing stunts, kangaroos with wire-rimmed glasses, wombats, and raisins, the most nutritious whiskey drinks ever devised, and looking through a mirrored universe. (I decline to subscribe to the MC's point of view that it is merely *he* that has been flipped. After all, I started seeing things reversed, too, so perhaps the machine is leaking a bit, eh?)
The plot wrap-up wasn't entirely to my liking, for the most part, but it grew into a more subtle and thoughtful end that had lots of consequences for the rest of us, so I was eventually quite satisfied.
I can't believe that goofball actually got a job. Perhaps, with a little luck, he'll eventually climb that tallest building, but I'm not going to hold my breath. The jury's still out on us. :)
This is classic SF at its best. There's nothing out-of-date about it. I think it has held up extremely well and despite its clever cliffhangers with every chapter and Mirror's Edge kind of action escapades, this is a novel that is intelligent right down to it's sentence-core. Entertaining as hell AND it makes you think and scratch your head and go Aha! with it's mini-puzzles.
I totally recommend it for anyone. I always loved the author and it is just dawning on me that perhaps I really out to rediscover the man. Fantastic read! show less
Some elements of Roger Zelazny’s Doorways in the Sand haven’t aged well in the 40 years since it was first published. Protagonist Fred Cassidy lives in a world that has, on the one hand, made contact with alien life forms, but, on the other, contains lots of chain-smoking; no 24/7 news channels, fax machines or Internet; and nothing but landline telephones — jarring to 21st century readers. But Zelazny more than makes up for those near-anachronisms by sending readers on a roller coaster of a ride.
Equal parts hard science-fiction novel and suspense thriller, Doorways in the Sand follows the cynical, aimless but very clever Cassidy, who has spent the last 13 years as a full-time university student, due to the peculiarities of show more Cassidy’s uncle’s will. The wise-cracking though philosophical Cassidy finds himself besieged by State Department agents, hard-core criminals and a wombat and kangaroo (the latter are aliens in disguise) — all of them in search of a star-stone, a relic entrusted by the alien federation to the United Nations that has disappeared. The many twists and cliffhangers will have readers glued to this novel until the last page. This is the sci-fi novel that even those who aren’t fans of the genre will love, high praise, indeed.
In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Farrago in exchange for an honest review. show less
Equal parts hard science-fiction novel and suspense thriller, Doorways in the Sand follows the cynical, aimless but very clever Cassidy, who has spent the last 13 years as a full-time university student, due to the peculiarities of show more Cassidy’s uncle’s will. The wise-cracking though philosophical Cassidy finds himself besieged by State Department agents, hard-core criminals and a wombat and kangaroo (the latter are aliens in disguise) — all of them in search of a star-stone, a relic entrusted by the alien federation to the United Nations that has disappeared. The many twists and cliffhangers will have readers glued to this novel until the last page. This is the sci-fi novel that even those who aren’t fans of the genre will love, high praise, indeed.
In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Farrago in exchange for an honest review. show less
One of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors. It's an action packed mystery SF. Our hero, Fred, is as average as any Zelazny character - that is to say while he has no extraordinary powers, his sanity, habits & life philosophy aren't strictly normal. He's tossed from his pedestrian existence into an extraordinary, multi-planet robbery & rides the situation into the sunset, kind of. The story itself is very interesting, but the style is wild. Almost every chapter (maybe all) start in the middle, look back to the beginning & then conclude on a cliff hanger. We then start the next chapter without the cliff hanger being resolved - it must be, but we don't know how. We get caught up in the new situation, only to be brought back to show more resolving the original situation & then work ourselves back into the next cliff hanger & start it all over again. It's very effective for keeping the suspense up & not as confusing as you might think to read. The story isn't that complex, so it is easily followed. It's just a really fun ride. Told in a standard fashion, the story would be above average, but not one of his better works. Told this way, it adds so much more character & dimension that it's a charm. show less
4.5 stars
This is my first Roger Zelazny, and I wasn't sure what to expect, but boy was it fun. The main character, Fred Cassidy, had a charming, clever voice, and I laughed out loud a lot while reading this.
As much as I loved Fred, the aliens are what delighted me the most about this book--their sometimes wobbly grasp of English and the telepathic doctor who practiced "assault therapy."
There was a mystery too, and the solution was unpredictable and perfect.
Zelazny lost me a couple of times with some of the more sciency/mathy explanations of what was going on. There's a reason I read more fantasy than scifi. But being periodically confused in no way spoiled the story for me.
He had an interesting style of ordering the events of the show more story too, and the back and forth along the timeline took some getting used to. I enjoyed it once I got the hang of it.
I don't know if his other books are as funny as this one was, but I liked Zelazny's writing in general and would probably take another of his books for a spin. show less
This is my first Roger Zelazny, and I wasn't sure what to expect, but boy was it fun. The main character, Fred Cassidy, had a charming, clever voice, and I laughed out loud a lot while reading this.
As much as I loved Fred, the aliens are what delighted me the most about this book--their sometimes wobbly grasp of English and the telepathic doctor who practiced "assault therapy."
There was a mystery too, and the solution was unpredictable and perfect.
Zelazny lost me a couple of times with some of the more sciency/mathy explanations of what was going on. There's a reason I read more fantasy than scifi. But being periodically confused in no way spoiled the story for me.
He had an interesting style of ordering the events of the show more story too, and the back and forth along the timeline took some getting used to. I enjoyed it once I got the hang of it.
I don't know if his other books are as funny as this one was, but I liked Zelazny's writing in general and would probably take another of his books for a spin. show less
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Roger Zelazny was born in Euclid, Ohio on May 13, 1937. After receiving a B.A. from Case Western Reserve University and a M.A. from Columbia University, he began publishing science fiction stories in 1962. He received six Hugo awards, three Nebula awards including one in 1966 for And Call Me Conrad and 2 Locus awards. He died of kidney failure show more secondary to colorectal cancer on June 14, 1995. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Awards and Honors
Awards
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Belongs to Publisher Series
Moewig Science Fiction (3525)
Orpheuse Raamatukogu (58)
Présence du futur (243)
Science Fiction Book Club (2869)
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Tore in der Wüste
- Original title
- Doorways in the Sand
- Alternate titles
- La pierre des étoiles (French) (French)
- Original publication date
- 1975 (serialized) (serialized); 1976
- People/Characters
- Fred Cassidy; Paul Byler; Charv; Ragma
- Dedication
- Für Isaac Asimov mit höchster Zuneigung, tiefstem Respekt und voller Verrücktheit.
To Isaac Asimov
with high regard, deep respect and full fondness - First words
- So daliegend, die linke Hand auf einem Kissen, auf der schindelgedeckten Dachschräge, im Schatten des Giebels, hinaufstarrend zu wolkigen, blauen Meer des Nachmittagshimmels, schien ich, blinzelnd, über dem Campus und mir s... (show all)elbst, einen Schriftzug zu sehen.
Lying, left hand for a pillow, on the shingled slant of the roof, there in the shade of the gable, staring at the cloud-curdles in afternoon's blue pool, I seemed to see, between blinks, above the campus and myself, an instan... (show all)t piece of sky-writing. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Ich bin eine Aufzeichnung ...
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I am a recording... - Blurbers*
- Sturgeon, Theodore
- Original language
- English
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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