Thread: Literary City by Clifford D. Simak
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Old 08-20-2018, 04:24 PM   #19
Wearever
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fantasyfan View Post
The City vs Individual theme develops as the sequence continues. The mutants are self-contained units. Webster is obsessed with racial identity in “Paradise”. The “cobbly worlds” idea rings another variation. Without trying to give away too much, the way the Websters finally link into a world dominated by pure racial identity is quite ironic.

I would certainly agree that Simak represents the “soft” area of science fiction. We see it too in Sturgeon and Bradbury. Personally, I think that Simak’s sequence in City is far more coherent than the latter’s The Martian Chronicles. However, this is owing to thematic development particularly the Juwain Philosophy—not to any scientific extrapolation.
Great description, Thematic development.
I think the Juwain Philosophy is something that the humans are not prepared for.
I'm up to tale 5 and it really made me wonder why the human explorers wanted to stay on Jupiter and not return. It seemed that once on Jupiter they had a very different experience. So much so that they needed to change physically to adapt.
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