"The Big Front Yard" by Clifford D. Simak

 

            Clifford D. Simak, while known well enough within the circle of science fiction by serious fans, is still not the kind of author typically cited as among the best, or an author who wrote a number of classics, or an author on the top of a number of recommendation lists. This is a shame, since, from what I've read about him and of his stories, he should be a big deal. After reading "Huddling Place", I was eager to see more, and also had "The Big Front Yard", both of which are stories featured in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame collections (which are stories gathered based on the idea of honoring stories released before the founding of the Nebula awards, so it's not like Simak never obtains recognition).
            But there's not much for me to say about "Huddling Place" other than, "It was awesome, check it out." For me to say enough about it otherwise, I'd definitely have to spoil it and I don't want to do that to such a wonderful story with a great twist at the end, and would rather just tell people to read it and see how great it is for themselves. So I'll say a bit about "The Big Front Yard" instead.
            "The Big Front Yard" has no surprises or twists, but is nonetheless a captivating story about a man whose home is transformed into a gateway to another plane with gateways to other worlds. This concept alone, while basic, has massive potential, and just on this alone I couldn't help but read on with such wonder at the possibilities and am amazed at the detail Simak forged into such beautiful worlds; Simak seems to have a great talent at transforming words into imagery, he is one of the few artists I could read world-building all day. He could plaster words onto a canvas and display them in a museum for many to stare in awe. And, to boot, he is also a fantastic story-teller and judgment of character. He seems to me to be an all-around excellent author.
            It's just a shame "The Big Front Yard" ends. And I mean that in the sense that I wanted to read more, sure, but I also mean that in the sense that it just ends, pretty much out of nowhere. It reads like a story that wasn't finished but was finished anyway. There's a deal going on and there's more world and character-building and the line "It's a big front yard," is said and that's it. I would've loved to have seen this story published as a novel, and I'm quite sure it never was. I don't know why this happened, either, like if it was a conscious decision by Simak to inspire the reader's own wild ideas, or because he was short on time before publishing. While I still recommend this story as it's a thoroughly entertaining read, I just feel like there's a void left by the gateway that needs filled, and Simak never really got around to filling it (to my knowledge anyway).
            However, inter-dimensional travel seems to be a common theme to Simak's work, so I suppose if one wanted to fill that void, they could just read his other stories. If they could find them anyway; seems a number of popular bookstores don't carry his stories and even in used book stores I've visited, I can't find much. This is such an unfortunate revelation, because I believe Simak deserves more public exposure. For further argument on my stance, to convince more of my absent readers, I will let the man write for himself, in quote:
            "Overall, I have written in a quiet manner; there is little violence in my work. My focus has been on people, not on events. More often than not I have struck a hopeful note... I have, on occasions, tried to speak out for decency and compassion, for understanding, not only in the human, but in the cosmic sense. I have tried at times to place humans in perspective against the vastness of universal time and space. I have been concerned where we, as a race, may be going, and what may be our purpose in the universal scheme—if we have a purpose. In general, I believe we do, and perhaps an important one."

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

 

            I had, for a long time, wanted to read some works by Arthur C. Clarke. Up until finishing Childhood's End, the only work of his I had read was yet another supposed "classic" that wasn't very good called "The Nine Billion Names of God", which wasn't terrible but was a simple story with not much at all going for it other than a concept and something happening which is what was predicted would happen within the story itself. Nothing noteworthy about that, and so I figured the story was definitely not a good representation of Clarke's work.
            And I'm not sure if this is, either.
            I'm sure Clarke has still written good stories, since this had potential and was quite good for a while (despite the problem it had with showing instead of telling, too much of that). For a while, the novel handled its central themes and ideas with such brilliance I could see why it was considered a classic. This novel is still quite thought-provoking as a critique of the idea of utopia and possibly even socialism, and will recommend people read it at least once, or at least to a certain point.
            But the novel doesn't detail much other than aliens arrive and bad stuff happens, so I had high expectations for what would happen, and boy was I let down. And to give my thoughts on this novel, I will need to give some level of spoilers, so if you don't want to be spoiled, don't read any further.
            So the aliens are seeking the next evolution of man. And that's what the novel means by the end of humanity is that humanity is ending and another evolved race of man is pretty much taking over. So that's fine, but it's executed so awkwardly I couldn't help but stare in disbelief at the words pressed on the paper. The evolution takes place so quickly, the evolved species are unsympathetic (which I suppose may be part of the point), and it provides no real conflict. Humans evolve into something and that's practically it. A character who stows away on the alien ships arrives on Earth later and witnesses some grand epic finale told in painful-to-read detail with his dialogue, which if you picture it is epic but this isn't pictures and is instead words, so it doesn't work out so well.
            But I'm sure everything detailed in this novel is supposed to symbolic, likely related to Christian imagery, particularly to the book of Revelation (or perhaps something else I am not considering at this time), so maybe Clarke's idea was to shoot for a symbolic edge rather than great story-telling. If so, mission accomplished, but symbolism does not a good book make. The symbolism should work around the story, rather than the story working around the symbolism, and a good story ought to be the forefront of your work. Otherwise it is not as engaging and enjoyable, instead usually just annoying and disappointing, as is the case with this novel.
            And there's some weird crap about paranormal stuff that even Clarke renounced some time after writing this novel, but believed in it at the time, which still sticks out like a sore thumb. Be warned of that much at least.
            So, unfortunately, this is yet another "classic" that isn't really a classic, or worthy of being one. However, unlike the other "classics" I've denounced, I will still recommend this novel to people; read it at least once to see Clarke's intelligence on display and to see he does have great potential. In fact, I will be giving Clarke another chance, as I've seen some people who are Clarke fans still don't like this book too much compared to works such as Rendezvous With Rama and The Fountains of Paradise. This won't be the end of Clarke for me, but it will serve as a disappointing footnote in his bibliography nonetheless.

The Postman by David Brin

 

            I mentioned before I had a desire to read The Postman in my post about another story written by David Brin. I will say, to start off, the novel has met at least the expectation that it would be good; despite any problems I had with the novel, the overall state of the book is quite recommendable nonetheless, and this did not surprise me. From what I've seen otherwise, Brin seems to have a general sense of good story-telling, and much like anyone is not perfect, but is at least another author I can point to with with legitimate interest.
            The Postman in particular seems to be a deconstruction of the usual post-apocalypse tropes, as the idea is a re-ignition of civilization, I suppose due to a nostalgic realization of having lived in a better time since societal collapse, which could be seen as a conservative viewpoint, but I doubt this was intended as a conservative novel by Brin as Brin, from what I know of him, is certainly not a conservative. The novel, more so than right versus left, merely seems to be about the collapse of civilization and the attempt to rebuild itself against a savage opposition, and so more seems to be a criticism of rugged individualism and anarchy.
            However, the central character of this novel, Gordon Krantz, while he does require help in this novel at various points in this novel, does happen to get himself out of many a situation by himself and holds himself as quite a headstrong leader; the Holnists, the novel's individualist antagonists, highlight their admiration for him for this reason, and so obviously Brin was aware of how he was building his character. I posit any untrained writer would've ignored this link, and so I give Brin credit for averting this trope (while still realizing his novel probably wouldn't work without Gordon overcoming his obstacles). Gordon himself does not even defeat his final adversary, however, which is a nice change of pace.
            But the novel still contains certain tropes which are tiresome; some are forgivable, but the most egregious is the deus ex machina toward the end before the final confrontation with the Holnist leader in which a character named George Powhatan (whose name I'm sure has meaning since he's named after a Native American tribe) saves Godron Krantz from certain fate pretty much out of nowhere. This scenario could feasibly happen as it did, but I still couldn't help but roll my eyes, as I tire of seeing situations like this in fiction.
            Besides that, I find the novel's treatment of feminism strange. I'm not entirely sure what statement exactly Brin was attempting to make about feminism in the novel, but his views either seemed to zig-zag or Gordon Krantz was simply too worried about the potential women can hold, which I suppose would be believable enough. I doubt Brin was attempting to make any sort of statement against feminism, but rather a sort of critique which still can give off mixed messages even if it is positive overall. To explain properly would truly require an essay out of me and that is not the purpose of this blog, so I will abstain from saying more without being too picky.
           This is not enough to keep this novel from being great, however. As a novel of epic struggles, it more than delivers excitement and can absolutely be thought-provoking. Brin is quite savvy to how he builds his worlds and characters, and as a scientist even builds a believable environment to the aftermath of war without going too deeply into the aspect of world-building or hard science. Brin keeps his style simple, yet still engages readers with intelligent quips and observations and, despite being somewhat formulaic, still holds some surprises and legitimate dramatic tension. Despite not living up quite to expectations (expected a potential classic), The Postman was well worth the journey.

            P.S. I have not seen the film adaptation starring Kevin Costner (because why would I want to see three hours of Kevin Costner?), but you can see Brin's commentary about the film here. I would also like to mention David Brin's interesting blog, Contrary Brin, showing more of the author's more informal side for those wanting to know the man himself better.