A review by anusha_reads
The Waystation by Clifford D. Simak

lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

4.0

"TO READ SCIENCE-FICTION IS TO READ SIMAK. THE READER WHO DOES NOT LIKE SIMAK STORIES DOES NOT LIKE SCIENCE-FICTION AT ALL." - ROBERT HEINLEIN

Clifford Simak and Isaac Asimov were contemporaries and Simak was well-liked by Asimov.

Way Station is a Pastoral Science Fiction. I just came to know about this genre. Did you know about this genre? It’s a sci-fi set in the woods in this case.

A way station, its keeper, some aliens and events that transpire!

The protagonist, Enoch Wallace is a guardian of the way station, which is actually his house. It's a station meant for intergalactic travel. He provides coffee and refreshments to the aliens who pass by. The aliens reach Earth through a materializer. The station, set up by the aliens keeps Enoch young. He looks like a 30-year-old although he is 124.

What would it be like to live so long? I might not like to live so long and that too without my friends and close relatives.  

I loved the character Lucy, who is deaf and mute but is sweet, warm and charming. Though I wasn’t certain of her role in the book at the beginning, her role fits the story so aptly, finally.

The story is set in the 19th century and was written in 1963, but reads as though it has been written in the current years.

If Aliens are found, what might be the extrapolated words for global citizens, or nationalistic for instance? Though Marvel movies do have a lot of new words and so does Star Wars etc.

Every time I read the word aliens, I remember reading in a book by Stephen Hawking, where he says that humans should never try to contact aliens for if they come to earth, they might suck out all our energy resources. (though this doesn’t happen in the Way Station!)

It’s a simple, slow-paced read that I found very interesting and the theme was really sweet too!