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angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
2.0
Maybe this was not the place to start in Simak’s canon of books. A SF Grandmaster, so I was expecting to be blown away. The story certainly took itself very seriously, but I found it a bit corny. I felt it would’ve worked a lot better as camp. Just couldn’t maintain a believable narrative that was trying to carry such gravitas.
philster666's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ramsfan1963's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A beautiful, gentle, pastoral story of a man who runs a way station for intergalactic travelers. There's not a lot of plot or action until the last 1/3 of the book, but the world building of Enoch and his lonely existence as the keeper of the station, kept apart of the rest of humanity because of the secret he must keep, and the long life he's given by the way station, is excellent and tugs at the heart.
jefferz's review against another edition
4.0
A Hugo award winner, this novel is classic sci-fi through and through and a fond callback to when sci-fi stories were less focused on immense world-shattering or convoluted epics and were instead more grounded while presenting various "what if's". While there is a plot involving the status and future of Way Station, an intergalactic stop/rest point similar in purpose to a bus transfer station, the bulk of the book is more abstract in nature.
Rather than immediately delving into Enoch Wallace's tale of an "immortal" Civil War veteran chosen as a caretaker for this Way Station, it presents various short stories of Enoch's counters with both the extraterrestrial and (surprisingly more threatening) humans that encourage you to think about what it is that makes up the human existence and frame of mind. As an 120+ yr old veteran (returned my library copy, can't recall exactly what yr this took place) who has had more interactions with intergalactic travelers vs humans, there's a lot of interesting commentary layered with each story that cover topics from language, isolation, culture, bits of existential crisis, and the self-destructive nature of of human kind and war. Despite the topics, Simak's writing style is still an easy read that has an understated yet hopeful tone despite Enoch's difficulties at keeping the Way Station operable against mounting opposition both from the prying eyes of the CIA and neighbors as well as political factions from other parts of the galaxies.
What I found particularly surprising was how well elements of this book aged from 1963. Written during the height of the Cold War, the story of mankind's impending doom and mass civilian casualty in the 60's hits very close to home drawing many parallels to recent international conflicts and warfare that I will not be delving into for obvious reasons. The "cure" Enoch is faced with to avoid the end of mankind and planet Earth is a fascinating and refreshing alternative to mass genocide or Utopian dystopia all too common for the genre. There are also so many concepts that were innovative and unheard of at the time that are also quite relevant to technology developing today. Enoch is given a space that is 100% an equivalent of Virtual Reality and the "Shadowpeople" that appear partway through are eerily prophetic to AI technology. It's impressive how close these "alien items" in the 1960's are to developments today 60 years later.
Despite how impressed I was with this novel in concept, majority of the novel is taken at a slow, thought-provoking pace that will not be to all sci-fi tastes or even worse for those who want a clean cut read. There are also elements like the aforementioned Shadowpeople that are fascinating predictions to the future, but provide little or detract from the core story itself. There elements towards the end such as a missing Talisman and the politics of the Way Station that are also very rushed, condensed and quite honestly random which conflict with the otherwise collected and restrained pace. This book asks the reader a lot of questions and could serve as perfect material for a philosophy discussion, but it leaves most of them open-ended on purpose and that can be frustrated if you a straightforward concise narrative; if you don't want to think than this is not for you. We all have different reasons for reading or experiences so Way Station will not be to everyone's tastes, but it worked for me.
Rather than immediately delving into Enoch Wallace's tale of an "immortal" Civil War veteran chosen as a caretaker for this Way Station, it presents various short stories of Enoch's counters with both the extraterrestrial and (surprisingly more threatening) humans that encourage you to think about what it is that makes up the human existence and frame of mind. As an 120+ yr old veteran (returned my library copy, can't recall exactly what yr this took place) who has had more interactions with intergalactic travelers vs humans, there's a lot of interesting commentary layered with each story that cover topics from language, isolation, culture, bits of existential crisis, and the self-destructive nature of of human kind and war. Despite the topics, Simak's writing style is still an easy read that has an understated yet hopeful tone despite Enoch's difficulties at keeping the Way Station operable against mounting opposition both from the prying eyes of the CIA and neighbors as well as political factions from other parts of the galaxies.
What I found particularly surprising was how well elements of this book aged from 1963. Written during the height of the Cold War, the story of mankind's impending doom and mass civilian casualty in the 60's hits very close to home drawing many parallels to recent international conflicts and warfare that I will not be delving into for obvious reasons. The "cure" Enoch is faced with to avoid the end of mankind and planet Earth is a fascinating and refreshing alternative to mass genocide or Utopian dystopia all too common for the genre. There are also so many concepts that were innovative and unheard of at the time that are also quite relevant to technology developing today. Enoch is given a space that is 100% an equivalent of Virtual Reality and the "Shadowpeople" that appear partway through are eerily prophetic to AI technology. It's impressive how close these "alien items" in the 1960's are to developments today 60 years later.
Despite how impressed I was with this novel in concept, majority of the novel is taken at a slow, thought-provoking pace that will not be to all sci-fi tastes or even worse for those who want a clean cut read. There are also elements like the aforementioned Shadowpeople that are fascinating predictions to the future, but provide little or detract from the core story itself. There elements towards the end such as a missing Talisman and the politics of the Way Station that are also very rushed, condensed and quite honestly random which conflict with the otherwise collected and restrained pace. This book asks the reader a lot of questions and could serve as perfect material for a philosophy discussion, but it leaves most of them open-ended on purpose and that can be frustrated if you a straightforward concise narrative; if you don't want to think than this is not for you. We all have different reasons for reading or experiences so Way Station will not be to everyone's tastes, but it worked for me.
abagoflobsters's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Overall very lovely. Wonderful premise. Some really wonderful prose. Ending felt a bit predictable for me, too convenient and clean. Really glad I bought this and some other Simak books because I loved the goofy cover art.
megawhoppingcosmicbookwyrm's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
After my first Simak merely a week ago, I was nervous about how much I might like this one. I ADORE it! It’s a library copy but I love it so much it’s been added to my list of books to buy for my collection. Enoch is such a wonderful protagonist. Just enough of the old fashioned without being a patriarchal ass. His relationships with all the supporting characters were so lovely. I will absolutely be picking up more Simak in the future!
randombanana's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
bethriley's review against another edition
4.0
Way Station is a book that weaves the simplicity of backwoods living in rural Wisconsin with intergalactic travel and communing with aliens. I enjoyed this book very much, because it creatively used this otherworldly context as a lens into humanity and community. What kept me from loving this book were some non sequitur tangents attempting some sort of metaphorical weightiness and some questionable explanations for the logistics of alien culture that strained the suspension of disbelief. Despite the book's rawness, a good story and interesting thought experiment make Way Station well worth the read.
0o0000o000o0o0000o's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
shawniebooks's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would as I sometimes get bogged down in classic science fiction. I may look for more of his work.
I love the idea of a way station for alien explorers!
I love the idea of a way station for alien explorers!