Star Maker

Star Maker

by Olaf Stapledon
Star Maker

Star Maker

by Olaf Stapledon

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Overview

Widely regarded as one of the true classics of science fiction, Star Maker is a poetic and deeply philosophical work. The story details the mental journey of an unnamed narrator who is transported not only to other worlds but also other galaxies and parallel universes, until he eventually becomes part of the "cosmic mind." First published in 1937, Olaf Stapledon's descriptions of alien life are a political commentary on human life in the turbulent inter-war years. The book challenges preconceived notions of intelligence and awareness, and ultimately argues for a broadened perspective that would free us from culturally ingrained thought and our inevitable anthropomorphism. This is the first scholarly edition of a book that influenced such writers as C.S. Lewis and Arthur C. Clarke and which Jorge Luis Borges called "a prodigious novel."

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780575128613
Publisher: Orion
Publication date: 11/14/2011
Series: S.F. MASTERWORKS , #52
Sold by: Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format: eBook
File size: 893 KB

About the Author

About The Author
Olaf Stapledon (1886-1950) was born near Liverpool and educated at Balliol College, Oxford and Liverpool University. After spending eighteen months working in a shipping office in Liverpool and Port Said, he lectured extramurally for Liverpool University in English Literature and industrial history. He served in France from 1915 until 1919 with the Friends' Ambulance Unit and then lectured again for Liverpool University in psychology and philosophy. His novels include First and Last Men, Last Men in London, Star Maker and Odd John.

Table of Contents

Forewordxi
Acknowledgmentsxvii
Introductionxix
Preface3
IThe Earth7
1.The Starting Point7
2.Earth Among the Stars11
IIInterstellar Travel16
IIIThe Other Earth27
1.On the Other Earth27
2.A Busy World32
3.Prospects of the Race47
IVI Travel Again60
VWorlds Innumerable70
1.The Diversity of Worlds70
2.Strange Mankinds77
3.Nautiloids87
VIIntimations of the Star Maker94
VIIMore Worlds100
1.A Symbiotic Race100
2.Composite Beings111
3.Plant Men and Others120
VIIIConcerning the Explorers131
IXThe Community of Worlds137
1.Busy Utopias137
2.Intermundane Strife146
3.A Crisis in Galactic History158
4.Triumph in a Sub-Galaxy161
5.The Tragedy of the Perverts168
6.A Galactic Utopia172
XA Vision of the Galaxy177
XIStars and Vermin187
1.The Many Galaxies187
2.Disaster in Our Galaxy189
3.Stars194
4.Galactic Symbiosis204
XIIA Stunted Cosmical Spirit210
XIIIThe Beginning and the End213
1.Back to the Nebulae213
2.The Supreme Moment Nears218
3.The Supreme Moment and After223
XIVThe Myth of Creation232
XVThe Maker and His Works236
1.Immature Creating236
2.Mature Creating246
3.The Ultimate Cosmos and the Eternal Spirit253
XVIEpilogue: Back to Earth258
A Note on Magnitude265
Time Scales267
Glossary271
Notes281
Bibliography307

What People are Saying About This

Robert Shelton

“Star Maker is a masterpiece in the field of science fiction, a bursting to the brim compendium of ideas for later science fiction writers.”

From the Publisher

"A buried treasure of 20th century literature reemerges in this splendid and practical edition. McCarthy's revealing introduction and notes display the genius of Star Maker to a new century."—Robert Crossley, author of Olaf Stapledon: Speaking for the Future

"A buried treasure of 20th century literature reemerges in this splendid and practical edition. McCarthy's revealing introduction and notes display the genius of Star Maker to a new century."—Robert Crossley, author of Olaf Stapledon: Speaking for the Future

"Star Maker is a masterpiece in the field of science fiction, a bursting to the brim compendium of ideas for later science fiction writers."—Robert Shelton, Associate Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Michigan State University

Robert Crossley

"A buried treasure of 20th century literature reemerges in this splendid and practical edition. McCarthy's revealing introduction and notes display the genius of Star Maker to a new century."
Robert Crossley, author of Olaf Stapledon: Speaking for the Future

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