false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1242278200m/186682.jpg 186682 14 The benevolent galactic empire Canopus colonises a young planet they call Rohanda, the fruitful. They nurture its humanoids by introducing superior creatures from other colonised planets to teach & speed evolution. Some aliens also breed with natives to strengthen Rohanda's gene pool. When Rohanda is ready, Canopus imposes a Lock linking it to the harmonious strength of the Canopean Empire. The link is established by energy transmissions from stone formations built in native settlements. In addition to Canopus, two other empires establish a presence: Sirius & Puttiora. Canopus' allied Sirians confine themselves to genetic experiments on southern continents during Rohanda's prehistory (cf. Sirian Experiments), while the Shammat of Puttiora wait for opportunities to spread evil. For millennia Rohandans prosper in a Canopean induced climate of peaceful accelerated development. Then an unforeseen cosmic realignment puts Rohanda out of phase with Canopus causing the Lock to break. Deprived of Canopus's resources & a steady stream of SOWF (substance-of-we-feeling), the natives develop a degenerative disease that puts individual goals ahead of communal. The Shammat exploit this disturbance & begin undermining Canopus' influence by infecting natives with their ways. Rohanda degenerates into greed & conflict. The Canopeans reluctantly change its name to Shikasta, the stricken. To salvage Canopus's plans for Shikasta & correct the natives' decline, Canopean agents are sent. Johor is one such emissary, who takes on a native form & begins identifying those individuals who haven't degenerated too far to be amenable to corrective instruction. Johor then sends those he's successfully converted to spread the word. Soon isolated communities begin to return to pre-Shikastian ways. But without the strength of the Lock, Canopus is fighting a losing battle. The planet declines. By the 20th century, Shikasta has degenerated into self-destructive war. Johor returns, but this time thru Zone 6[b] from which he's incarnated as a Shikastian, George Sherban. As Sherban grows up he contacts other Canopeans in disguise & then resumes trying to help the Shikastians. Famine & unemployment grow, anarchy spreads. Sherban plays a prominent role in Youth Movements, striving for reconciliation amongst the youth. On the eve of WWIII Sherban & other emissaries relocate a small number of promising Shikastians to remote locations to escape a coming nuclear holocaust. The war reduces the population by 99%, sweeping the planet clean of barbarians. The Shammat, who set the Shikastians on a course of self-destruction, self-destruct & withdraw. The Canopeans help survivors rebuild their lives & realign with Canopus. With a strengthened Lock & SOWF flowing freely again, harmony & prosperity return. 2752388 15 11 1979 Shikasta: Canopus in Argos Archvies re Colonised Planet 5-Personal Psychological Historical Document Relating to Visit by Johor (George Sherban) Emissary Grade 9 87th of the Period of the Last Days total:243|5:75|4:70|3:59|2:23|1:16| 243 894 433 33 3 3 false false Fri Jun 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat May 31 08:27:10 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 06 15:31:08 -0700 2008
A white woman who grew up in Zimbabwe back when it was Rhodesia become a nobel laureate in literature last year...more...]]> 1 0 true false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1983 Wed May 13 22:19:48 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 22:28:27 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 1 0 false false Mon Oct 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 22 21:55:15 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 12:21:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Nov 26 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 26 08:37:18 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 30 16:13:39 -0800 2008 1x One thing--Am I the only perso...more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Dec 08 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Sep 10 11:52:01 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 08 16:31:20 -0800 2008
I thoroughly enjoyed the Golden Notebook and was excited when I found out that Doris Lessing had written a series of science fiction novels.

The idea of this novel is interesting. Shikasta is the planet Earth and the book is basically the...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jul 26 08:28:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 26 08:59:26 -0700 2008
The "sci"...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Mar 02 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 03 06:38:01 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 03 06:39:56 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1993 Sat Feb 07 19:19:48 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 07 19:24:17 -0800 2009 2 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1983 Tue Dec 16 20:17:45 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 16 20:20:54 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jul 29 15:21:57 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 13 09:21:10 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 29 15:21:57 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Mar 27 12:53:44 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 12:55:11 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Apr 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 19:37:26 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 06 16:00:13 -0700 2009 But overall it seemed more like a criticism of humanity thinly veiled as sci-fi. Lessing says in her intro that it is based on the Old Testament, but much of the book seems merely a retelling of human hist...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Mon May 18 13:28:09 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 13:33:10 -0700 2009 1 2 0 false false Wed Oct 21 09:58:58 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 21 09:59:43 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1982 Sat Nov 22 04:41:55 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 07 04:01:20 -0800 2009
"Shikasta has as its starting point, like many others of the genre, the Old Testament. It is our habit to dismiss the Old Testament altogether because Jehovah, or Jahve, does not think or behave like a social worker."...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Feb 16 14:58:53 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 15:05:02 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Mon Nov 19 13:21:11 -0800 2007 Fri Oct 19 09:11:30 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 16 21:22:42 -0800 2007
At the present time, I have only read 'Shikasta.'

The structure is off-putting and if, like me, you think Khalil Gibran is hackneyed b.s. worthy of the circular file, then you'll have some trouble getting used to the auth...more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Aug 15 17:53:27 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 17:56:37 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Thu Mar 12 18:33:41 -0700 2009 Sun Feb 22 12:24:44 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 12 18:33:41 -0700 2009 1 0 false false Fri Jul 03 19:27:50 -0700 2009 Sat Nov 07 18:58:42 -0800 2009 could not finish this. I threw it away, I hated it so much. Maybe later I'll add to this review and enumerate all the hundreds of reasons it was terrible, but that would require thinking about it again, an...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=186682