The fear that human beings will be displaced by some other species has
been a major them in many science fiction stories. Usually this
usurping power comes from outer space, although occasionally it is
home-grown.
Pierre Boulle’s Planet of the Apes is a representative example of the
genre, a classic account of homo sapiens finding themselves losers in
the Darwinian struggle for superiority. Boulle’s experiences as a
prisoner of war in World War II no doubt contribute to the ethos of this
work. (And it may be worth noting that this author’s other famous
book, The Bridge Over the River Kwai, is one of the great POW stories
of all time.)
But Clifford Simak takes this familiar theme, and turns it on its head.
The world of City is run by dogs. But instead of depicting them as vile
usurprers—as we have come to expect in books of this sort—Simak
makes them into nostalgic, tender-hearted creatures who miss the
“good old days” when a dog was man’s best friend. Simak plays on all
the positive canine traits of loyalty, dependability, protectiveness and
affection in creating his kennel of characters.
City is less a novel than a series of interlocking stories. In toto, they
represent chapters from the mythology and
folk tales of the ancient race of men, as pre-
served by the dogs. Simak, with surprising
deconstructive flair, even offers notes from
the canine editors, who sometimes struggle
to understand the tales of humans that have
been passed down to them, paw to paw,
through the ages.
Simak uses this framing device to show how
humans lost their edge, moving away from
the cities when the spread of family air
transports allowed them to live in more
isolated rural areas. The sociological models here are fuzzy and
unconvincing, and the human characters in the book fairly one
dimensional. Yet the book compensates for these limitations through
its conceptual originality, sketching man-and-dog symbiotic
relationships beyond the wildest dreams of Lassie or Rin-Tin-Tin.
Bruce Webster is an especially cherished human in this folklore. He
made the surgical modifications that allowed dogs to speak (although
with a bit of a Scooby Do lisp), and later generations of Websters
become so important in the canine imagination that homo sapiens come
to be called websters. Into this mix, Simak tosses in other characters—
dogs, robots, mutants and even some very smart ants.
This book is more noteworthy for its individual parts than for its
overall coherence. I can’t help thinking that Simak took several
different story ideas, and tried to force them together into a single
narrative. Some of the best parts of the book—for example, an
interesting interlude focusing on a scientist and his dog on Jupiter—
could have worked just as well as a short story, and the attempt to fuse
them into an over-arching plot seems strained.
Nonetheless, this is an inventive book, with no shortage of interesting
twists and turns. The pacing and constant plot shift keep City
interesting, and while this may not be the great sci-fi masterpiece that
some have made it, it will continue to charm readers. Especially those
who buy dog-food in bulk.
| City by Clifford Simak Reviewed by Ted Gioia |
| conceptual fiction |
Follow Ted Gioia on Twitter at
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Around the Moon
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Wells, H.G.
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Lord of Light
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Disclosure: Conceptual Fiction and its
sister sites may receive review copies
and promotional materials from
publishers, authors, publicists or other
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www.twitter.com/tedgioia
Conceptual Fiction:
A Reading List
(with links to reviews)
Home Page
Abbott, Edwin A.
Flatland
Adams, Douglas
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Allende, Isabel
The House of the Spirits
Amis, Martin
Time's Arrow
Asimov, Isaac
The Foundation Trilogy
Asimov, Isaac
I, Robot
Atwood, Margaret
The Handmaid's Tale
Banks, Iain M.
The State of the Art
Ballard, J.G.
Crash
Ballard, J.G.
The Crystal World
Bester, Alfred
The Demolished Man
Bradbury, Ray
Dandelion Wine
Bradbury, Ray
Fahrenheit 451
Bradbury, Ray
The Illustrated Man
Bradbury, Ray
The Martian Chronicles
Bradbury, Ray
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Burgess, Anthony
A Clockwork Orange
Card, Orson Scott
Ender's Game
Chabon, Michael
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Chiang, Ted
Stories of Your Life and Others
Clarke, Arthur C.
Childhood's End
Clarke, Arthur C.
A Fall of Moondust
Clarke, Arthur C.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Clarke, Susanna
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Danielewski, Mark Z.
House of Leaves
Dick, Philip K.
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said
Dick, Philip K.
The Man in the High Castle
Dick, Philip K.
Ubik
Doctorow, Cory
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
Gaiman, Neil
American Gods
Gibson, William
Burning Chrome
Gibson, William
Neuromancer
Haldeman, Joe
The Forever War
Hall, Steven
The Raw Shark Texts
Harrison, M. John
Light
Heinlein, Robert
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Heinlein, Robert:
Stranger in a Strange Land
Heinlein, Robert
Time Enough for Love
Herbert, Frank
Dune
Huxley, Aldous
Brave New World
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Lathe of Heaven
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Left Hand of Darkness
Leiber, Fritz
The Big Time
Leiber, Fritz
Conjure Wife
Leiber, Fritz
Swords & Deviltry
Leiber, Fritz
The Wanderer
Lem, Stanislaw
His Master's Voice
Lem, Stanislaw
Solaris
Lethem, Jonathan
The Fortress of Solitude
Lewis, C. S.
The Chronicles of Narnia
Márquez, Gabriel García
100 Years of Solitude
McCarthy, Cormac
The Road
Miéville, China
Perdido Street Station
Miller, Jr., Walter M.
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Mitchell, David
Cloud Atlas
Niffenegger, Audrey
The Time Traveler's Wife
Niven, Larry
Ringworld
Noon, Jeff
Vurt
Okri, Ben
The Famished Road
Pohl, Frederik
Gateway
Pynchon, Thomas
Gravity's Rainbow
Robinson, Kim Stanley
Red Mars
Rowling, J.K.
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
Rushdie, Salman
Midnight's Children
Saramago, José
Blindness
Shelley, Mary
Frankenstein
Silverberg, Robert
Dying Inside
Silverberg, Robert
Nightwings
Simak, Clifford
City
Simak, Clifford
The Trouble with Tycho
Smith, Cordwainer
Norstrilia
Smith, Cordwainer
The Rediscovery of Man
Stephenson, Neal
Snow Crash
Stross, Charles
Glasshouse
Sturgeon, Theodore
More Than Human
Sturgeon, Theodore
Some of Your Blood
Updike, John
The Witches of Eastwick
Van Vogt, A.E.
The World of Null A
Verne, Jules:
Around the Moon
Verne, Jules:
From the Earth to the Moon
Verne, Jules:
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Wallace, David Foster
Infinite Jest
Wells, H.G.
The First Men in the Moon
Wells, H.G.
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Wells, H.G.
The Time Machine
Zelazny, Roger
Lord of Light
Special Features
Notes on Conceptual Fiction
Ray Bradbury: A Tribute
Remembering Fritz Leiber
Curse You, Neil Armstrong!
Robert Heinlein at 100
Links to related sites
The New Canon
Great Books Guide
Postmodern Mystery
Ted Gioia's web site
SF Site
io9
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Los Angeles Review of Books
Jospeh Peschel
The Misread City
Reviews and Responses
SF Signal
True Science Fiction
Disclosure: Conceptual Fiction and its
sister sites may receive review copies
and promotional materials from
publishers, authors, publicists or other
parties.