A Heritage of Stars

by Clifford D. Simak

Book Overview

A man hunts for lost knowledge in a future society that's reverted to a primitive tribal state in this novel by the author of Way Station . More than a thousand years have passed since humankind... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399119469
• ISBN13: 9780399119460
• Release Date: January 1977
• Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
• Length: 219 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Classic Journey

Thomas Cushing has lived within the confines of the University of Minnesota for the last five years. But this is not the University of Minnesota of the present day, this is the walled-in University of Minnesota some 1,500 years after the Collapse. The Collapse was a time when society as we know it crumbled due to their fear and consequent destruction of modern technology and all information that related to it. Cushing, while at the University, finds the notes of a historian who lived some 500 years after the Collapse. These notes hint at what the author calls a Place of Going to the Stars. This place is somewhere far to the west and managed to survive the upheaval that occurred during the Collapse. Cushing takes it upon himself to find this place in a classic journey of discovery. During Cushing's travels, he encounters several kindred spirits, and they wind up joining him on his journey as he seeks out the Place of Going to the Stars. A Heritage of Stars is the first work of Simak I have read. His style of writing is interesting. In some ways, he reminds me of other contemporary authors, with a tale that is direct and to the point, keeping the length of the book to a minimum. And other ways... When he is writing character dialogue, there is a certain repetitiveness that frequently pops up. Being unfamiliar with Simak's other works (and therefore his style of character development), I do not know if it was a quirk of the character or something else entirely. A Heritage of Stars is pretty easy going most of the way. There were points when it, without giving away too much, got a bit mystical for my tastes. Also, the reasons for the Collapse were only hinted at and discussed in broad strokes. And while the tale takes place centuries after the Collapse, it would have been nice if Simak had gone into a bit more depth about what actually happened. None of this detracts from a story that is, fundamentally (despite stretches here and there), believable and entertaining. Given the correct mood, I would enjoy picking up a Simak story again in the future.

Quoteworthy

The storyline's been covered, etc., by other reviewers. I just wanted to add that in addition to finding the book as a whole to be a great read, I felt many of its passages were downright quoteworthy! Science Fiction at its greatest. Statements to make you re-examine your soul. And, from the perspective of an environmental activist, I found this book right on time for 2007.

The Long Twilight of Man

I've always been drawn to post-apocalypse stories, and this is one of the best. It takes place more than a thousand years after technological civilization has collapsed, not from global war, but from it's own internal contradictions and injustices. In several of Simak's novels he mentions this theme of mankind having taken the "wrong turn" long ago in it's development, and thereby containing the unrecognised seeds of its own destruction. Here, the mass of the people themselves apparently tore down their own civilization because it's "over-civilised", "over-organsed", and "over-technological" nature had become a hell to them. The creation of pyramids of robot brain cases (like the pyramids of skulls left by the Mongols as they sacked more ancient civilizations) was a nice touch. This story takes place long after this collapse. The tiny remnant of mankind that survives has settled in to a more traditional tribal pattern. The hero of the tale lives in a monastic-like walled university, where the last books, and readers, preserve the tales of mankind's lost heritage. While browsing the in the ancient university library a young scholar finds a lost manuscript that tells of a "Place of Going to the Stars" far to the West. He then takes up his bow and his pack and leaves the safety of the universitiy walls to confirm the truth of the old myths and legends for himself. His travels are through a forgotten, wild, and savage America and read more like a tale of the frontier than of the far future.This is classic Simak and contains many of the classic elements and settings found in his other works, such as _A Choice of Gods_ and _Enchanted Pilgrimage_. A very enjoyable read.

A look into the future!

This was an amazing read. this book told a tale in a time far far into the future. Where most of technologie has been completely wiped out by the poeple who have created it. It starts with the main character, a man named Cushing. He was a normal man who lived in a walled in university. he leaves the university only to find a world totaly differnet than when he once roamed them many years ago. Cushing finds some very interesting people. first a witch; who is very friendly and helpful. also with the witch is a horse, a horse as kind as its witch owner. Later he finds a robot named rollo. these three people and a horse go on a journey to find a place,...a place of going to the stars. Many things happen and the road even they knew was long and arduous. The author of this book, Clifford D. Stimak, was a very interesting and distinguished wrighter. Mostly Science fiction short storys and novels, he won many awards. Some of these awards include International Fantasy Award for best science fiction novel, 1953, for City; Hugo Award for best science fiction novelette, 1958, for "The Big Front Yard," for best science fiction novel, 1963, for Way Station. He had many years of wrighting back ground since he worked with many newspapers. some of these papers include Worked with various newspapers in Midwest during the 1930's; Minneapolis Star and Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, 1939-76, news editor of the Minneapolis Star, beginning 1949, coordinator of Minneapolis Tribune's Science Reading Series, beginning 1961.He was born August 4 1904, and sadly died on April 25 1988. He will be missed. After reading such a book it left me with many thoughts. Thoughs about society, the future, and friends. An adventure such as this one has such magnitude that it leaves something inside of you for a very long time. the way the author describes how our society had reacted to some events, are so plausable that it's scary. Hopefully our future is a brighter better future. I will continue reading Clifford D. Stimak, and more then liekly ill read heritage to the stars many more times just for the shrill thrill it gave me the first time i read the book. At the end i recomend this title to anyone who is interested in life, reading, science, society, and of course adventure. You wont regret it.

Another philosophical adventure from Clifford Simak

I am a huge fan of Clifford Simak and this book contains all the elements that make his books what they are: wandering robots, witches, strange tag-a-long creatures, and legends about distant places. A Heritage of Stars is an apocolyptic scenario where humans are forced to confront their past before being allowed to move forward into the future. If this particular book has a flaw, it is only that perhaps it contains a few too many of the familiar Simak elements. The plot is also possibly a little lopsided-- a little too much here, and not quite enough there. It does not really detract from the reading experience, but is not quite up to his own high standard. Simak is an interesting writer. He is often pastoral, but not really romantic. He never mistakes folksy for virtuous. His view on human nature is often unflinchingly bad, but he holds to the hope that it can be better. But still, there can be a bitter taste in his writing and A Heritage of Stars has quite a bit of that flavor. As always with Simak, highly recommended. If this is your first Simak, I might recommend beginning with Way Station or Enchanted Pilgrimage.