RTaylor.9993iLONS@RADC-MULTICS.ARPA (10/25/85)
From: " Roz " <RTaylor@RADC-MULTICS.ARPA> Recently I received the SF Book Club edition of _Way Station_, author's name not remembered. The reason I don't remember is that my husband idly picked up the book the day it came in and I haven't seen it without him in tow, since! What is the book about--can someone review it without spoiling it? Why, you ask? My husband doesn't like science fiction (exception: Stainless Steel Rat series), he likes Louis L'Amour and Andy Rooney; he also does NOT read fiction books much, especially not on a daily basis. It seems that everytime he has a few spare minutes, this book is in his hand. When I ask him what the book is about, I get maybe four words from him--I guess he's not a 'book reviewer'. Again, I ask what does this book have? If this book has been covered previously in SF-LOVERS, please respond to me directly, since I must have missed it! Thanks--Roz (RTaylor@radc-multics)
goun%whoaru.DEC@decwrl.DEC.COM (10/29/85)
From: goun%whoaru.DEC@decwrl.DEC.COM (Ask me about my personal_name) > Recently I received the SF Book Club edition of _Way Station_, > author's name not remembered. The reason I don't remember is that > my husband idly picked up the book the day it came in and I haven't > seen it without him in tow, since! What is the book about--can > someone review it without spoiling it? _Way_Station_ was written by Clifford Simak. It is my favorite SF novel by far. <Begin non-spoiler plot summary> The story concerns a U.S. Civil War veteran, Enoch Wallace, who is recruited by a galactic civilization to act as the keeper of a way station along its interstellar transportation network. The station is established on Earth, in rural Wisconsin (I think), but its existence is kept secret from the populace. Enoch does not age while inside the station, so he is still a young man when the mid-twentieth century rolls around. Local intelligence agencies are beginning to notice him. Earthly and galactic conflicts enfold him. <End non-spoiler plot summary> What this book has, I can only describe as "texture". Simak is a master at describing the feel of rural life and people. He includes just enough scientific justification to keep his story going, and it never intrudes. The main character grows and changes, and the reader can't help but care what happens to him. I can only envy you if you haven't read _Way_Station_ yet. You're in for a rare treat. -- Roger Goun ARPA: goun%cadlac.DEC@decwrl.ARPA UUCP: {allegra, decvax, ihnp4, ucbvax}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-cadlac!goun USPS: Digital Equipment Corp., APO-1/B4 100 Minuteman Road; Andover, MA 01810-1098 Tel: (617) 689-1675 -------------------- Please note that this mail message is likely to be incomplete. The sender aborted the transmission. rhea::MAILER-DAEMON --------------------