Last and First Men and Star Maker : Two Science Fiction Novels

Last and First Men and Star Maker : Two Science Fiction Novels
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Free SF Reader

Imperfect Humans and Angelic Beasts

communist diatribes, not novels

This is my 5th copy!

Don rubber underpants before reading ...

Last and First Men and Star Maker : Two Science Fiction Novels
Olaf Stapledon
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

The greatest future histories in science fiction. In Last and First Men the protagonist is "mankind" in an ultimate definition — intelligence. Star Maker, in a sense its sequel, is concerned with the history of intelligence in the entire cosmos.

Customer Reviews:

Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Stapledon's epic ages of man tour-de-force. This is by no means a detailed character study, but a study of a theme - the evolution of humanity, and its spread. You are not quite sure how one man could get his head around this at the time, but he managed, in a masterful way. Very influential and exciting, this book.

Imperfect Humans and Angelic Beasts.......2007-08-03

Olaf Stapledon was an immensely deep-thinking philosopher who utilized science fiction for his expansive ruminations on the place of humanity in the universe. The two books combined here are an excessively heavy read and are considerably more dense than his two well-known character-driven novels - the also weighty Odd John and Sirius (the volume combining those two classics is highly recommended). Last and First Men and Star Maker could be faulted for reading less like novels and more like philosophical tracts, but this is not a sign of weakness because Stapledon's philosophy is robust enough to make the method work. Meanwhile, reviewers who harshly criticize Stapledon's political leanings are members of ideologies that are inherently hostile to creativity and deep thinking. Stapledon was a philosopher, not an ideologue, and his fully developed conceptions of the small place of humanity in the cosmos ultimately revealed his humanist faith. He achieved these philosophical insights with a science fiction vision of an immensity that has never been equaled in the genre.

Last and First Men (1931) gives a future history of the human race that is incredibly far beyond the few thousand years that most sci-fi writers can come up with. Stapledon maps out human progress and evolution over a whopping two billion years, with a narrative scope in which all of human experience as we know it can be glossed over in a single paragraph. Though Stapledon's predictions of future progress are hokey at times (for instance, he was a few hundred million years off on the first human space voyage), his vision is stupendous in its range and depth. The spirit of humanity survives through 18 different species, many near-extinctions and evolutionary dead-ends, and three different homeworlds.

Star Maker (1937) has, amazingly, a vision of universal history that is orders of magnitude beyond Last and First Men. That story's two billion years become but a single paragraph here. Via thought experiments in dream-like omniscience, Stapledon presents the history of the cosmos as a tragedy taking place over hundreds of billions of years, with the rise and fall of galaxies and dimensions serving as the action. Eventually Stapledon envisions the universe as a sentient deity of a vastness and complexity that even his nearly-omniscient narrator can't put into words. Stapledon's works are essential for big thinkers who are obsessed with understanding their place within the billions of years and trillions of light years of the vast infinite universe. Stapledon's ability to shed light on mankind's inconsequential yet fully worthwhile place in the uncaring cosmos was profoundly astonishing. [~doomsdayer520~]

communist diatribes, not novels.......2007-06-14

These books are fiction, but they are not novels. There is no plot, no character development, no dramatic tension. Nothing about them, structurally, is like a novel. There is a great deal of creativity, and the occasional dose of mysticism, but it is all bent in the service of an endless assault of over-the-top communist propaganda.

I was quite surprised by this, since I loved Stapledon's novel "Odd John", which is anything but egalitarian or socialist.

Human spiritual evolution is Stapledon's basic theme in all his works, but in these two, he went down the wrong road. Evolution takes place when individuals separate themselves from the unconscious masses. Socialism can only lead to the masses dragging conscious men down to their own level. Freedom alone can lead to evolution. Stapledon was a victim of the sick philosophies of his time, now, of course, utterly discredited. It clearly destroyed his later works, where he went against his every artistic instinct to pen this socialist tripe for transparent political reasons.

But do read "Odd John", which has none of this gobbledygook in it, is an actual novel, and indeed a bona fide classic.

This is my 5th copy!.......2006-06-29

Last and First Men has been my favorite book for almost 30 years. W.O.S. is my favorite author of all time. I find myself re-reading it every few years to marvel at the accuracy of his predictions. The chapter on the Americanization of the planet and the conflict with China is eerie in it's accuracy. This from a book written before WWII. I've loaned out several copies and they always wind up on extended journeys. I bought this paperback edition to give to my 17y.o. This book is a must for any serious SF fan!

Don rubber underpants before reading ..........2005-09-14

Last and First Men :-
One of the most succinct and accurate renderings of mankind's present state of mind and future progression. It documents the future of man from the start of WW2 and continues until the Sun engulfs the earth, and beyond. Considering this book was first published in 1931, it is remarkable, both in its honesty as regards human nature, and in its phenomenal span. By the time we reach chapter 3 of the 16 in this book, it is already 2300 AD and you feel like you have had the viewpoint of a God. So intense is the writing, that a few pages can take you hours to read and weeks to think about. What a writer, what a visionary. Of particular interest to me was the laconic way he can sum up an entire country's culture and people, and the accuracy of prediction in the first part of the book. Quotes from around what would be the back-end of the 20th century on his timescale (what he terms "Balkan Europe") :-

"... For love of France was the undoing of the French. They prized the truly admirable spirit of France so extravagantly, that they regarded all other nations as barbarians."

"... the practice of communism was gradually undermined. For the Russian state came increasingly under the influence of Western, and especially American, finance. The materialism of the official creed also became a farce, for it was foreign to the Russian mind. Thus between practice and theory there was, in both respects, a profound inconsistency. What was once a vital and promising culture became insincere."

Points to note :-
All budding politicians should be forced to read this book. It should be part of any politics curriculum.
Strikingly accurate and plausible portent of homo sapiens future. Read in the context of 2002, it is easy to see mankind's current folly and the extrapolation of current scientific endeavours. For example, we may achieve global peace ("An Americanised Planet"") for a few millennia, but at the cost of spiritual and intellectual freedom and development. When the "Fall of the First Men" happened, recovery took a very long time :-

"Later, when the epidemic was spent, even though civilisation was already in ruins, a concerted effort of devotion might yet have rebuilt it on a more modest plan. But among the First Men, only a minority had ever been capable of wholehearted devotion. The great majority were by nature too much obsessed by private impulses."

Sounds like the malaise of current homo sapiens.
The theme of continual physical exertion and constant movement of attention as an underpinning for the lifestyles of all successful social inhabitants was beautifully described. This is so true of today's and future societies. No pause for reflection or contemplation. The abandonment of philosophy as a science in the future. The pig-headed clinging to pagan artefact or idol worship, rather than logic.
The brilliant description of the "Second Men", with his finer array of senses, and his natural propensity for altruism.
The plausible evolution of intelligent life on Mars in 10 million years time, with the subsequent misunderstanding of what is intelligent between Earth and Mars.
Man's creation of more evolved forms of man meshes brilliantly with current genetic research.
"Time travel" achieved by mental regression into past minds. The future remains unknown.
Conclusions :-
Apply common sense to the situation as it is now, to work out the best course of action. Never invoke traditions or old beliefs as these threaten your survival in an ever-changing environment.
Within the same species, organisms are equally complex biochemically. Therefore, any social structure that imposes arbitrary division within the species, is intrinsically flawed. This is true of current homo sapiens organisation, where certain people are far more highly regarded than others for stupid reasons, and divisions between cliques of people usually erupt in violence, rather than heated debate.
Just because someone cannot be convinced of your way of seeing things, doesn't mean that physical coercion becomes necessary.
"Live and let live" doesn't mean live it up and let the rest live in squalor.
Nothing should be regarded as taboo, save that which is unnatural.
There are absolutely no restrictions on what anyone can think.
If you can have it, then anyone can have it.

Star Maker :-
After reading "Last and First Men", I approached Olaf's next masterpiece, "Star Maker" ( first published in 1937), with some disbelief as to how on earth he could possibly better the span, pathos and magnanimity he had already laid out. A quick scan of the appendices yielded the impression that this book would embrace not just the tiny fragment of history that was mankind's stay in the universe, but that all history of the universe would be described, and that of other universes too. All of this in less pages than "Last and First Men"! My immediate reaction was simply, "No way, Jose" and I wondered how he was going to set about such an immense task. The vehicle used was, of course, the best man has going for him - his imagination. A contemplative man is whisked off on an imaginary journey through space and time by an ever-gathering mass consciousness. He describes how galaxies of stars formed from nebulae that were born flying apart from each other, how these cooling nebulae condensed into galaxies of stars, and how the rare occurrences of young stars that passed each other, formed planets, and how, on a few rare planets, intelligent life evolved. He shows how certain conditions inhibit the appearance of life, or intelligent life, and how certain evolutionary pathways cause life to stagnate or wipe itself out. He puts mankind's existence into perspective in both universal time and space.

There are touching moments and there are exciting battles. There is both tragedy and comedy. There are uplifting victories and crushing defeats. Far from being stuffy, this book is really a very good read indeed, considering the scope of its subject. The final few short chapters really have you reading a couple of paragraphs, and then putting the book down to have a long ponder over what has just been addressed. And the book's climax leaves you with lifelong matters to mull over - one of these being, "Boy, and I thought I was pretty intelligent..." ;-)

Here are a couple of lengthy quotes for your enjoyment :-
--------------------------------------------------------------
... The sequence of events in the successfully waking world was generally more or less as follows. The starting point, it will be remembered, was a plight like that in which our own Earth now stands. The dialectic of the world's history had confronted the race with a problem with which the traditional mentality could never cope. The world-situation had grown too complex for lowly intelligences, and it demanded a degree of individual integrity in leaders and in led, such as was as yet possible only to a few minds. Consciousness had already been violently awakened out of the primitive trance into a state of excruciating individualism, of poignant but pitifully restricted self-awareness. And individualism, together with the traditional tribal spirit, now threatened to wreck the world. Only after a long-drawn agony of economic distress and maniac warfare, haunted by an increasingly clear vision of a happier world, could the second stage of waking be achieved. In most cases it was not achieved. "Human nature", or its equivalent in the many worlds, could not change itself; and the environment could not remake it.

But in a few worlds the spirit reacted to its desperate plight with a miracle. Or, if the reader prefers, the environment miraculously refashioned the spirit. There occurred a widespread and almost sudden waking into a new lucidity of consciousness and a new integrity of will. To call this change miraculous is only to recognize that it could not have been scientifically predicted even from the fullest possible knowledge of "human nature" as manifested in the earlier age. To later generations, however, it appeared as no miracle but as a belated wakening from an almost miraculous stupor into plain sanity.

and from later in the book :-

... The result of this extraordinary custom, of artificial fatherhood by "brute-men", which was carried on without remission in all countries for a generation, and in a less thorough manner for a very much longer period, was to alter the composition of the whole quasi-human race. In order to maintain continued adaptability to an ever-changing environment a race must at all costs preserve in itself its slight but potent salting of sensibility and originality. In this world the precious factor now became so diluted as to be ineffective. Henceforth the desperately complex problems of the world were consistently bungled. Civilization decayed. The race entered on a phase of what might be called pseudo-civilized barbarism, which was in essence sub-human and incapable of change. This state of affairs continued for some millions of years, but at last the race was destroyed by the ravages of a small rat-like animal against which it could devise no protection.

I must not stay to notice the strange fortunes of all the many other quasi-human worlds. I will mention only that in some, though civilization was destroyed in a succession of savage wars, the germ of recovery precariously survived. In one, the agonizing balance of the old and the new seemed to prolong itself indefinitely. In another, where science had advanced too far for the safety of an immature species, man accidentally blew up his planet and his race. In several, the dialectical process of history was broken short by invasion and conquest on the part of inhabitants of another planet. These and other disasters, to be described in due course, decimated the galactic population of worlds.

In conclusion I will mention that in one or two of these quasi-human worlds a new and superior biological race emerged naturally during the typical world crisis, gained power by sheer intelligence and sympathy, took charge of the planet, persuaded the aborigines to cease breeding, peopled the whole planet with its own superior type, and created a human race which attained communal mentality, and rapidly advanced beyond the limits of our exploring and over- strained understanding. Before our contact failed, we were surprised to observe that, as the new species superseded the old and took over the vast political and economic activity of that world, it came to realize with laughter the futility of all this feverish and aimless living. Under our eyes the old order began to give place to a new and simpler order, in which the world was to be peopled by a small "aristocratic" population served by machines, freed alike from drudgery and luxury and intent on exploration of the cosmos and the mind.

This change-over to a simpler life happened in several other worlds not by the intervention of a new species, but simply by the victory of the new mentality in its battle against the old.
--------------------------------------------------------------
To summarise, "Star Maker" is the best book in the whole world ever, and everybody should be forced to read it and understand it, at gunpoint.

New A To Z Horoscope Maker & Delineator (Revised and Expanded)

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This has all that you need to learn astrology
This is the real Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need
Star Light -- Star Bright !
The only astrology book you'll ever need.
The Best book on Astrology

New A To Z Horoscope Maker & Delineator (Revised and Expanded)
Llewellyn George
Manufacturer: Llewellyn Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

This has all that you need to learn astrology.......2004-04-01

This book has a fault, I'll start off with that. When describing the aspects, it describes Postivie Aspects and Negative Aspects. There are five major aspects: Conjunction (neutral), Trine and Sextile (positive), and Square and Opposed (negative). I do like having Conjunction listed separately at least. Most astrology texts lump the positives and lump the negatives, but leave the conjunction as a separate category.

Beyond that, this book does have all the formulae you need to assemble a chart. You will need an ephemeris for planetary positions, and a house table (...) for the house cusps, but those are just the input numbers. This book tells you how to crunch the numbers.

More importantly, this book tells you a lot about interpretation, even with what it leaves out. Dividing the chart up into roughly 20 categories, it helps the astrologer determine which parts of the chart are relevant to which topic. That is a very central point, very necessary, very useful, and has become the foundation of my astrology.

This is the real Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need.......2002-02-05

Llewellyn has made a living from publishing books that are pertinent to the field of astrology and tarot, and this book is no different. This is every astrologer or wanna-be astrologer's must have! I keep it right next to my Devore Encyclopedia on my desk. Written in almost a dictionary-esque format, this book gives the reader simple and informative answers to every possible word associated with astrology. Combine that with a wonderful step by step lesson in learning astrology...this is truly the only astrology book you'll ever need.

Star Light -- Star Bright !.......2001-08-10

One of the best books on the subject. Something for every level of knowledge. Admittedly more informative to beginners because of the extremely simple way the information is set up. There are literally thousands of delineations to choose from as you learn A-L-L about Astrology. You can literally open the book cover and go from complete ignorance to almost expert long before reaching the other cover. There is VERY little "fat" or nonsense in this book. It's the Joe Friday of Astrology books: "Just the facts Ma'am!"

The only reason for one to buy any other book would be to further the exploration of all you may glean from reading this one. An expert may want more wordy dissertation about any of the hundreds of astrological subjects introduced to the reader. But, that is what makes this ideal for beginners and intermediate astrologers. Those who want to de-mystify the mumbo jumbo they usually hear from those in the know would do well to drink from this fountain first. They will be amazed at how much sheer knowledge is shared on every page. And, it is all crystal clear but concise and to the point. You can't go wrong with this one!!

The only astrology book you'll ever need........1999-04-04

The A-Z Horoscope Maker book has all the information you need to become a proficeint astrologer. This is a book you will use as a reference for your whole career. It was written in 1910, back when must astrologers had a darker outlook. This book does has a doom and gloom feel to it with the harsh interpretations and meaning. The moderen astrologer knows to modify the pessimistic meanings and look on the brigher side of things. A total understanding of this book will make you into a confident astrologer after following the examples in the A-Z book. This is one of the few books that teach you how to read a chart and what it all means. For the $15 price, this book will be a constant lifetime companion, I think of it as one of the bibles for astrologers. This book is the real deal,no sun sign cheese or generalizations here. This book contains the precise calculations and math formulas needed to do charts by hand, something that many moderen astrologers have forgotten. If you want to become an astrologer you'll need this book!

The Best book on Astrology.......1999-01-30

I have this book for already 10 years now and I concern it as the bible of astrology. No other book has al this features.

Renaissance Astrolabes and Their Makers (Variorum Collected Studies Series, 766)

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Renaissance Astrolabes and Their Makers (Variorum Collected Studies Series, 766)
Gerard L'Estrange Turner
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Llewellyn's New A To Z Horoscope Maker & Interpreter: A Comprehensive Self-Study Course

Average customer rating:

outdated... take it with a grain of salt
One of the first

Llewellyn's New A To Z Horoscope Maker & Interpreter: A Comprehensive Self-Study Course
Llewellyn George
Manufacturer: Llewellyn Publications
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Book Description

New A to Z Horoscope Maker and Interpreter

For nearly 100 years, astrologers the world over have trusted the A to Z as their primary textbook and reference for all facets of astrology. Now this classic guidebook is bigger and better than ever, with over 100 pages of new material and an even easier-to-use design. Today's generation of astrologers can benefit from Llewellyn George's timeless interpretations, along with new material by contemporary astrologer and author Stephanie Jean Clement.

The expansion contains modern developments in astrology including Chiron and the major asteroids, Transneptunians, Horary and Mundane astrology, mythology of the planets, and health considerations. Also new to this edition is a study guide to help you understand, organize, and remember what you have read, plus a free birth chart offer to get you started.

Customer Reviews:

outdated... take it with a grain of salt .......2005-02-20

this was my first "advanced" astrology book -- and it took some kind words from an experienced astrologer and a few more modern books to undo the damage that it did.

llewellyn's work is very important, and some of his ideas and theories are still valid today, however llewellyn lived in a very different time than we do. the issues of his time were different and therefore these dilienations are very old-fashioned and fatalistic. for example, using this book, i learned from my chart my husband is at risk of drowning. (my mars in cancer.) and i have liability to accidents by falling or falling objects. (saturn square urenus.) there was also a warning about being beheaded somewhere in there. a little scary, but mostly silly and impractical!

for the budding modern astrologer i would wholeheartedly recommend "the inner sky" by steven forrest, "astrology, karma, & transformation" by stephen arroyo, and "astrology for the light side of the brain" by kim rogers-gallagher. much more modern.. less scary.... and much more practical!!!!!

One of the first.......2005-02-11

This book is a must have for the beginner and expert.
Absolutely the most wonderful astrology book ever and
one of the first of it's time.The updates are great
as well.

Best of Romance: Love Makers, Where When, Dazzle, in Pursuit of the Green Lion, Stars

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Best of Romance: Love Makers, Where When, Dazzle, in Pursuit of the Green Lion, Stars
Judith Gould , Anita Shreve , Judith Meate Riley , and Kathryn Harvey
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Book Description

5 Books on 10 Cassettes • Lovemakers by Judith Gould • Where or When by Anita Shreve • Dazzle by Judith Gould • In Pursuit of the Green Lion by Judith Merkle Riley • Stars by Kathryn Harvey

The Best of Romance audio collection is filled with stories of love, obsession, and seduction. The series will provide hours of enjoyment with stories of moonlit walks and chance encounters. An unbelievable value for the romance fan. In your car, while jogging, or on an airplane, these audio books offer a unique experience, and allow today's time-pressed reader the opportunity to hear literature in a convenient and entertaining way.

Lovemakers by Judith Gould Elizabeth-Anne Hale arrived in New York with four small children, no husband, and a dream that seemed impossible to everyone but herself. In the free-wheeling world of high finance, in the relentless realm of hard work, and in the arms of the brilliant, dynamic man she desperately needed in the greatest gamble of her life, she makes her passionate dream come true. 2 cassettes, 180 minutes

Where or When by Anita Shreve Despite their reservations, the power of Charles and Sian's attraction leads them to meet again...and again. Two lovers struggle against formidable odds, reaching across a lifetime to reclaim what they once lost. In doing so, they set in motion a tumultuous series of events that moves inexorably to a shocking conclusion. 2 cassettes, 180 minutes.

Dazzle by Judith Gould The Boralevi women rose from the depths of a Russian ghetto to the heights of wealth and power in St. Petersburg, Hollywood, and the Middle East. Dazzle is the story of these amazing women, a racy, scintillating novel packed with all the blockbuster potential of Gould's earlier bestsellers, Sins, and Lovemakers. 2 cassettes, 180 minutes.

In Pursuit of the Green Lion by Judith Merkle Riley Forced to marry her former tutor, Margaret of Ashbury, a wealthy widow, discovers tat she has fallen in love with her husband, Gregory. A failed monk, reluctant scribe and poet, Gregory is taken prisoner by a French Count, an arch-fiend who takes exception to Gregory's critique of his dreadful poetry. Bent on rescuing Gregory, Margaret enlists her trusted friends, Mother Hilde, a midwife, and Brother Malachi, an alchemist, in her dangerous mission. 2 cassettes, 180 minutes.

Book Description

Ensign Andreas Nikolas, heartsick over the loss of his Mirror Universe lover, has resigned his post on Jean-Luc Picard's starship, the Stargazer, to seek a home on the freighter Iktoj'ni.

All he wants of his new life is a chance to forget his troubles. And that's what he gets -- until the Iktoj'ni is taken over by a monstrous alien with unbelievable powers and a disdain for all forms of life.

Without saying why, the alien sends the freighter hurtling toward a part of space inhabited by the Ubarrak, the Federation's deadliest and most xenophobic enemy. And Nikolas, who fears that the incident will start a war, can't convince his captor to turn back.

Picard's only hope of stopping the alien menance is Serenity Santana -- a woman who once abused his trust in the name of her people's survival. Now she's back, asking for the captain's trust a second time.

Picard desperately needs Santana's help in his struggle to save his galaxy. But will she justify his faith in her -- or once again twist it to serve her own shadowy ends?

Download Description

"Ensign Andreas Nikolas, heartsick over the loss of his Mirror Universe lover, has resigned his post on Jean-Luc Picard's starship, the Stargazer, to seek a home on the freighter Iktoj'ni. All he wants of his new life is a chance to forget his troubles. And that's what he gets -- until the Iktoj'ni is taken over by a monstrous alien with unbelievable powers and a disdain for all forms of life. Without saying why, the alien sends the freighter hurtling toward a part of space inhabited by the Ubarrak, the Federation's deadliest and most xenophobic enemy. And Nikolas, who fears that the incident will start a war, can't convince his captor to turn back. Picard's only hope of stopping the alien menance is Serenity Santana -- a woman who once abused his trust in the name of her people's survival. Now she's back, asking for the captain's trust a second time. Picard desperately needs Santana's help in his struggle to save his galaxy. But will she justify his faith in her -- or once again twist it to serve her own shadowy ends? "

Customer Reviews:

ST: Stargazer, Maker.......2006-07-19

Star Trek: Stargazer, Maker written by Michael Jan Friedman is worderfully well constructed story. As with all of the Stargazer series, Michael Jan Friedman writes them and he hasn't diappointed us with this story. There is character development, mystry, action, and intrigue with this story.

"Maker" is well developed and has two main stories within this book. If you have read "Valiant," this story finishes a lot of loose ends and ties in well with that book. The Stargazer series is about the young Jean-luc Picard in his first captancy aboard the Stargazer and a well rounded crew.

"Maker" expands on and has very good characterizations of not only Picard but the crew as well, filling gaps and making the reader feel as if we known these characters all along.

Captian Picard is fighting to hold on to his captaincy, as three admirals decide his fate. Also, there is a story of ensign Andrea Nikolas as he leaves the Stargazer and work on a cargo ship and all hell breaks loose. He's up against a super being like Gary Mitchell in the original series of Star Trek. Only in this case it's a Nuyyad trying to take over the galaxy, and Nikolas is taken along for the ride of his life.

This book takes off with a bang and rivits the readers attention till the end making this one of the better books in the Stargazer series. Friedman dosen't disappoint the reader with this book.

I enjoyed this novel and it was a fast read. This is an excellant book and it highly recommend it.

Picard's Pre-Enterprise Life.......2006-06-26

The Stargazer stories lend important background to flesh out Jean-Luc Picard's life. The Stargazer stories capably accomplish this purpose. They are very readable and above-average for the current Star Trek stories.

Finally, a book not just for Stargazer fans.......2004-12-15

This is a true sequel to The Valiant, thankfully with the quality of writing that deserves. The descriptions of the book are generally good. Many of the characterisations are somewhat shallow, and some Stargazer crew appear just so we do not forget they exist. The few characters important to this story alone get the depth, and they are very well done. Andreas Nikolas is excellent. The depiction of the Barrier-affected Nuyyad is remarkable. He is one of the most inventively sadistic villains in Star Trek. The pacing is also well judged. About halfway through, I thought the book was turning to slow scenes of the life of the Stargazer crew. There were just a couple of those scenes, and then the author brings in some of the mind-bending scenes between Nikolas and the Nuyyad. To sum up, this is a good read. It is enjoyable in its own right, and you probably do not have to have read most, perhaps any, of the previous Stargazer books to understand the characters.

A solid stopping point in the series.......2004-10-01

"Maker", the latest entry in the Stargazer books series, brings to a head several of the plot threads building since "The Valiant", published back in 2000. Over the course of "The Valiant" and the subsequent six books, we've seen Friedman weave together an intricate if not terribly complex framework for the series. As I stated in my review of "Enigma", the balancing act of keeping a series like this interesting is the cast of characters, and Friedman consistently delivers. Jiterica, Cole, and Nikolas are the stand-outs on that front, as we see the various relationships take shape and change. The character development is what really forms the nucleus of the series, considering that the main "plots" of the past six books haven't been earth-shattering or even terribly new.

In "Maker" we get two driving narratives. The first is the Stargazer and the choices Picard must make when he learns that Serenity Santana (who last appeared in "The Valiant") warns him of a threat that is impossible to ignore, but could cost him his command if he helps her. Given that one of the plot threads in this novel (as has been building since "Gauntlet") is Admiral McAteer's dislike of PIcard getting a command so young and the forthcoming hearing to determine whether he should continue as captain, some of the real drama comes from Picard's anxiety over his the decisions he must make and knowing that it will most likely cost him.

The second is the former Engisn Nikolas, and his deadly mis-adventure on the ship he now works aboard. I won't spoil the plot, but it interweaves nicely with the Picard storyline, building to a natural conclusion.

In fact, a lot happens in "Maker" and brings the book series to a nice stopping point, tying up loose ends over the past few years and setting the stage for what could lie ahead in the next few books, given what is said towards the end. The problem with this is that the book might leave people who dip in and out of the range a little cold. For those who have been following since "The Valiant" there definite payoffs and it's great. But for a casual reader, it won't have the same impact.

Friedman's writing style is solid as always, and the acknowledgement of the series' roots by way of an Original Series story (again, continuing a plotline from "The Valiant") is rather nice. If you want a solid Star Trek story that reads like an episode from the series, try out "Maker." But I highly recommend you read the books before it. The books are good, if not groundbreaking, and you'll have a richer experience in the end. More, please.

SALT CAMP: HerStory - Lakota Living Treasure

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Living Treasure
A Great American Spirit
Authentic Native American Voice
Native Amerian Life:Original,Historical,& Finally, Female.

SALT CAMP: HerStory - Lakota Living Treasure
Ollie Napesni
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Keeping Heart on Pine Ridge: Family Ties, Warrior Culture, Commodity Foods, Rez Dogs and the Sacred

ASIN: 1412003385
Release Date: 2006-07-06

Book Description

SALT CAMP is the autobiographical narrative of South Dakota\'s 2002 Indian Living Treasure, Ollie Napesni, Lakota Sioux from Rosebud Reservation. It contains thirteen legends including "How Salt Camp Got Its Name."

Customer Reviews:

Living Treasure.......2004-10-29

If you are not lucky enough to be able to sit at Ollie's feet and listen to her in person this is the next best thing... the book "sounds" like her... it is written as though she is speaking directly to you.... so it will throw many readers at first until you get used to the voice.... this is as close as you can get to her voice without voice recordings :) This is a wonderful way of speaking that has come about from mixing traditional lakota dialects with the english language to create a new dialect that is truely unique.

The book itself is a treasure of information that gives you a personal perspective of life in this area growing up during a time when this nation was going through major changes. Ollie gives you a vivid account of daily life, life that has all but disappeared, sprinkled with wisdom and facts you won't get out of main stream textbooks or history books. This is a wonderful window into another culture and belief system that you should not miss!

This book is for everyone, from young to old, from curious to students, those who have an interest in history, culture, and their fellow humans... this has something that speaks to everyone and gives you so much more when you are finished with it .... you won't regret this purchase! Donate a copy to your local library or school!

A Great American Spirit.......2004-02-07

In this wonderful book, Ollie Napesni tells her own story (through the meticulous work of her devoted recorder and editor, Dianna Torson). Born to Lakota parents on the plains of South Dakota in 1917, Ollie straddles and unites two American cultures. Through her, they fuse and participate energetically in the travails and triumphs of the century. What emerges is a great American spirit that comes sailing out of the pages in Ollie's own salty, vivacious, mid-western voice. If you have any interest in American Indian affairs - or even if you don't - you shouldn't miss this book. You won't put it down without a lump in your throat and a smile in your heart.

Authentic Native American Voice.......2003-11-02

Once you get into the syntax of Ms. Napesni's voice, you love it. She is a Lakota speaker and she thinks in Lakota because it is her first language. Highly fluent in English she is able to bring to the reader a sense of being Lakota. The book demonstrates to readers how one must be flexible in order to live in two completely different cultures. The book itself is a joy, easy to hold and easy to read. For fastest service it is best ordered straight from www.trafford.com.

Native Amerian Life:Original,Historical,& Finally, Female........2003-10-31

Reading Ollie Napesni's autobiographical account as a Lakota Sioux Native American was a pure pleasure. Finally we have female insight what it was like growing up in Native America from the early 1920's. Ms. Napesni's account to her editor, transcriber, Dianna Torson, has Ollie's voice in traditional Lakota story telling style. Ollie's voice rings through and we listen to her tell "HerStory". Ms. Torson's ability to edit without loosing the traditional Lakota oratory style is remarkable. Even through a few instances of time wandering, Ollie's story won't let you go. You follow her recollections and look for her bits of wisdom. We learn about honor, dignity, humbleness, family values and strength. We discover women, men and children in Native American communities who were centered in family and Lakota Native American traditions.

Ms Napesni has offered to those of us who yearn for simplicity, commonality, spirituality and peace a world view and a life that attained those qualities.

One walks away after reading this book with a feeling of being a better person and a bit of a longing to pack up your belongings and to rendezvous with family and friends, taking the time to appreciate life and it's giver.

Star Maker (SF Masterworks) (Millennium SF Masterworks S)
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Free SF Reader

Towering but overlooked sci-fi classic

Read no other scifi

A Large Task, Indeed

wow..

Star Maker (SF Masterworks) (Millennium SF Masterworks S)
Olaf Stapledon
Manufacturer: Gollancz
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Fiasco Fiasco

ASIN: 1857988078

Book Description

One moment a man sits on a suburban hill, gazing curiously at the stars. The next, he is whirling through the firmament, and perhaps the most remarkable of all science fiction journeys has begun.

Even Stapledon's other great work, LAST AND FIRST MEN, pales in ambition next to STAR MAKER, which presents nothing less than an entire imagined history of life in the universe, encompassing billions of years.

Customer Reviews:

Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

A humanist galactic odyssey. This is one of those 'wow' books. If you are after stories involving a local character or person, I would not recommend this one. A tour de force of the imagination.

Towering but overlooked sci-fi classic.......2007-02-23

Olaf Stapledon was a Philosopher who dabbled in science fiction. He wrote several science fiction stories and books, which attempted to project future trends of his time very far into the future. One book, First and Last Men, tracks human evolution over billions of years and ends when the last human dies in Neptune, long after the Sun is dead.

The Star Maker however, is by far his finest novel. It begins when the narrator becomes aware of a strange ability he seems to have to detach himself from his body and its ordinary existence and soar into space. The mind of the narrator then proceeds to investigate the cosmos, moving from the Earth to the galaxy and finally to the entire universe and its creator.

The Star Maker attempts to predict the future and in some cases, runs as a paralell story to The first and Last Men. The scope of the Star Maker however is truely cosmic, spanning aeons of time and billions of light years of space. Almost as a side show we experience alien life forms, Dyson Spheres (stated as light traps), bizarre worlds, sentient stars, galactic clusters but the novel soars to ever more dizzying heights until the very end is reached when the universal mind reaches to the mind of the 'Star Maker' himself, who effectively is God as traditionally understood. But even the cosmic mind reels as it sees the Star Maker has only made this universe as a sort of experimental toy; rather as Liebniz imagined God to have all possible worlds present at once in his mind and actively selects and creates universes (though in contrast to Liebniz this universe is not the Star-Maker's finest creation) the Star Maker creates ever more complicated and sophisticated universes from the infinite set of possible universes, populating them with creatures whose nature ever further eludes comprehension.

The story ends with a bit of an anticlimax, but with the apparent conclusion what is most precious is each other - somewhat akin to the conclusion of Ellie Arroway after meeting intelligent aliens in Carl Sagan's story 'Cosmos.'

Brian Aldiss wrote in his history of science fiction that The Star Maker stands on its own class, a work of genius whose volume is deafening. In my view this judgement is perfectly correct. Stapleton's range and scope of vision have been rivalled by few in science fiction, perhaps except by writers such as Arthur C Clarke, Frank Herbert, or Vernor Vinge. Many of his guesses now turn out to have been right, though some do look a bit dated in light of what science has discovered. He also brings many interesting but abstract philosophical ideas to light in a concrete form, such as possible and actual words, the existence and nature of God, the existence of life elsewhere in the cosmos, whether or not life in the universe is telelogical, and also somewhat anticipated later speculations amoung science fiction writers and scientists that in the far distant future all intelligent life in the universe will merge into a cosmic conciousness which will make the entire cosmos alive, and sentient of itself.

While this novel now sometimes shows its age, it well deserves to be considered a great classic of science fiction whose influence continues to this day, alongside great writers such as Jules Verne, Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells and Arthur C. Clarke.

Read no other scifi.......2006-11-29

Before you read this, or if you've read other sci-fi, read it and be prepared for a shocker.

As a sci-fi/fantasy fan, I'd been irritated by classic movie buffs raving about "Dr. Caligari", but when I finally went about watching it, I knew why. The work was so pivotal, so perfect and fundamental, later works gave tribute to it so as to not be seen as derivitive.

Now, Star maker, what a sci-fi writer does in a 6 novel series, you'll find in several paragraphs in this book. The Borg, done, but in this book its a good thing. Transhumanism, terraforming, galactic war, bizzare composite intelligence. Done.

And on top of it all, there's the quest to find God.

A Large Task, Indeed.......2006-09-06

While I do not believe Star Maker is an attempt at creating a new religion, Stapledon does add his religious and cultural (and political, which centered mostly around socialism and its benefits and failings) commentary to philosophy through this fictionalized narrative. His retelling of the history of the entire universe is a bite that many people will not be able to chew through and subsequently will not benefit from some of the interesting subtopics he explores throughout the novel.

Stapledon spends most of his time on the issue of God, who he has called Star Maker. His unnamed narrator struggles over the concept of a Star Maker, wondering all the time whether Star Maker is deserving of the universe's allegiance and worship, a term which he warns the reader that he uses differently than fundamental religion. The Star Maker is Hate, and then he is Love. He is Good, then Evil. He is Intelligent Creator, then Toy-making Child. He is Star Maker, then Star Destroyer. Even though the narrator uses all these contrasting views of the Star Maker, in the end he still feels compelled to worship him because he did create everything.

Within the realm of religious philosophy, Stapledon subtilely introduces arguments about fate, mankind, and hell. Many people have speculated as to whether the lives of humans are planned out and predestined in advance by some God of the universe, and the narrator takes that issue head on by saying that "the maker of the universe must be indifferent to the fate of the worlds." He directly enters the religious conversation by asking "How could the Star Maker . . . condemn his creatures to agony for the weakness that he himself had allotted to them?" "How could such a vindictive deity command worship?" Then he, sarcastically it seems, carries this argument to its religious fruition. Star Maker created people with "little intelligence and moral integrity" and therefore had to enter "into the mundane sphere to redeem the sinners by his own suffering." This last part delivers an intellectual right cross at the story of Jesus dying on the cross for the sins of mankind by twisting it to where it was God's fault that he had to send his son to die.

As an inadequate novelist, Stapledon attempts to hit back too many of the tennis balls that the religious discussion is firing at him. An author would be hard pressed to successfully discuss utopia, socialism, science and mechanization, fate, hell and heaven, worship, the church, creation and evolution, and God, all the while trying to combat the finer points of Christian fundamentalism. That is a large task.

Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens

wow.........2006-05-29

well.. for me this is probably the most amazing piece of fiction ever written.. i ended up reading it after getting into the cosmic visions of both h.p. lovecraft and william hope hodgson, plus the recommendation of c.s. lewis, arthur c. clarke, jorge luis borges and winston churchill (among others).. im sure it won't appeal to alot of people (one reviewer said it was completely boring and nothing at all happens in it) but it is more of an exploration of the nature of the universe and existence than a novel per se.. speaking of which i've recently been reading some of the process metaphysics of a.n. whitehead & charles hartshorne because its pretty obvious the 'star maker' him/her/itself was inspired by said philosophy.. he/she/it is the 'di-polar' god who grows with each successive 'cosmic epoch' by learning from the experiences of the creatures he/she/it creates in any of the given universe (my favourite of which in the book was the pythagorean-esque musical cosmos).. needless to say i don't agree with this view of deity ['pan-en-theism'] (c.s. lewis was also appalled by it and wrote his cosmic trilogy partly as a response) - to which i would recommend jay richards' recent book 'the untamed God' as a top draw defence of 'classical theism' which dialogues with process thought.. i'd also highly recommend stapledon's last & first men - a somewhat depressing account of the entire history of the human race from the 20th century on (which is relegated to a paragraph in star maker!)..

The Lavender Screen: The Gay and Lesbian Films--Their Stars, Makers, Characters, and Critics

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A fascinating collection of Gay and Lesbian film lore

The Lavender Screen: The Gay and Lesbian Films--Their Stars, Makers, Characters, and Critics
Boze Hadleigh
Manufacturer: Citadel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0806521996

Customer Reviews:

A fascinating collection of Gay and Lesbian film lore.......2002-11-22

I believe this is Boze Hadleigh's best book on Gay and Lesbian Hollywood. It covers films with homoerotic themes, as well as more openly gay films, throughout the history of film. Although the book was published long before some of today's more explicit gay and lesbian films, it is an interesting historical perspective of how gay themes were gradually introduced into mainstream Hollywood film.

All the films covered are put in the perspective of when they were made, and critiqued based on the extent of the portrayal of the gay characters. Films with both positive and negative images are reviewed, as well as stories that may have only gay imagery.

Boze Hadleigh is a great historian of gay cinema, but he does take a lot of liberty with his interpretations. Still, this book is lavishly illustrated and well documented, and a fascinating addition to any film book library.

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