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A Far Sunset
by
The year 2032 A.D. The Gloria Mundi, a star ship built and manned by the new United States of Europe, touches down on the planet, Alatair Five. Disaster strikes, leaving only one apparent survivor - an Englishman named Paul Marlow, whose adventures in the lair of a strange primeval race knowan as the Bayani leads him firstly to their God, the omnipotent and omniscient Orur
...more
Mass Market Paperback, 250 pages
Published
December 1977
by Ace Books
(first published 1967)
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This was one of the first science fiction books I bought (the earlier ones I borrowed since I had no idea what I was getting myself in to). It was part of a selection of Edmund Cooper titles which I read voraciously. Now years later on one of my random sorties in to the depths of my collection I find it again and sit down once more to read it.
The story is a fascinating one for me simple because not only do I enjoy the story all over again but I remember my feeling as I read it for the first tim ...more
The story is a fascinating one for me simple because not only do I enjoy the story all over again but I remember my feeling as I read it for the first tim ...more
Edmund Cooper was one of a group of U.K. authors who wrote some pretty good sf adventures that fell somewhere between the group of new wave modernists Moorcock assembled in New Worlds and after the group of classicists like Wyndham, Taine, and, of course, Clarke. Like Kenneth Bulmer and E.C. Tubb, Cooper explored sociological questions without becoming pedantic or sacrificing fast plots and the traditional sf big-concept tropes. It's a fun read, perhaps not sophisticated by current standards (an
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Oct 03, 2016
Skjam!
rated it
it was ok
Recommends it for:
Students of pro-colonial literature
Recommended to Skjam! by:
discount bin
Paul Marlowe is apparently the last survivor of the Gloria Mundi, a starship commissioned by the United States of Europe to explore the Altair star system. The fifth planet of Altair turned out to be inhabitable and inhabited by humanoid aliens, but the crew of the Gloria Mundi vanished in clumps. Marlowe and the remaining members were captured by the native Bayani, and while they were held, the ship self-destructed as a security measure.
Now known as Poul Mer Lo, the stranded Earthman must find ...more
Now known as Poul Mer Lo, the stranded Earthman must find ...more
I read this book a long time ago. It wasn't this edition, but I remember the cover featuring a much more exotic spaceship and background. I loved the alien world setting and the title. And I loved the idea how the crew with all their skill and technology were totally unprepared for the world they so unwittingly walked on. The alien world and the culture of the people living there are fully described in both their beauty and brutality. And the central idea of the main character, the only survivor
...more
Plot: Paul Marlowe is stranded on Altair Five after the somewhat primitive natives attack, and allow the ship's self destruct to kick in. Stranded and alone on an alien world, Marlowe tries to make a new life while finding out what happened to his crewmates.
Science: Cooper uses the light speed barrier, so they do the cryo-sleep thing, which is described as essential to society. The expedition is one of 5 (the European one... the Americans and Russian have their own, of course), and leaves in 201 ...more
Science: Cooper uses the light speed barrier, so they do the cryo-sleep thing, which is described as essential to society. The expedition is one of 5 (the European one... the Americans and Russian have their own, of course), and leaves in 201 ...more
Aug 02, 2015
Nikolis Asimakis
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
space
Quite an old sci fi story. Taking place in the far... 2012 at first and in the farther 2032 then, it follows the story of an englishman, part of a space mission, last survivor of his crew on a distant planet inhabited by human-like species living in a kind of medieval society. The plot is intriguing, with some clever twists. I didn't particularly care for the characters, especially the protagonist, which, for this kind of books, is not good. Furthermore, the chapters had a feeling like each chap
...more
Another great classic science fiction from one of the authors who was a trailblazer in the early years of the genera: Cooper was English rather than American and perhaps because of this he is not quite as well known as some of the other greats of sci-fi that were working in the mid 60's when A Far Sunset was published.
One of the things about this era of classic sci-fi is that the stories written then are rarely still considered 'science fiction' today and this one is no exception. In the far,far ...more
One of the things about this era of classic sci-fi is that the stories written then are rarely still considered 'science fiction' today and this one is no exception. In the far,far ...more
As with the other Edmund Cooper book, sexism and poor character development are rampant. Our protagonist, Paul Marlowe, is a psychiatrist/astronaut who embarks on a journey to find habitable planets. He's accompanied by his wife (of convenience) Ann, and 5 other couples, each from a different country. Actual scientific references are few, extremely lame interpersonal connections are many, and thanks to cryogenic sleep chambers our intrepid explorers are able to make the long journey without agin
...more
Uma vez mais Edmund Cooper brinda-nos com um magnífico livro de ficção científica. Um livro de leitura fácil onde a acção decorre de forma fluida e bastante natural. Uma mensagem muito poderosa e bastante atual.
Aconselho vivamente não só a fãs de F.C. mas a todo o tipo de leitores.
Um autor que infelizmente não teve a notoriedade de outros escritores , mas que merece a atenção de todos.
Aconselho vivamente não só a fãs de F.C. mas a todo o tipo de leitores.
Um autor que infelizmente não teve a notoriedade de outros escritores , mas que merece a atenção de todos.
Cooper’s A Far Sunset was a good read, with adventure, peril, growth. The overall plot could be considered stereotypical, but only in that it is old enough to be around at the founding of some of those stereotypes (if not actually responsible for them). There is almost an element of Apocalypse Now to the story, definitely an air of Planet of the Apes. A fun easy read.
This book is interesting but fairly sad. It is the story of humanity's first space travel to another star. The central character Paul Marlowe, is the last survivor of the star-ship Gloria Mundi. They landed on an inhabited world, however the society they entered was at best medieval. Many shocks and finally great enlightenment await Paul, as he integrates into the Mayan civilisation
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I have read this book many times and never tire of the world that Edmund Cooper created here. A Far Sunset transports you to a place far from reality and yet from the first page you are a participant in a truly epic adventure.
One of my all-time sf favorites. An astronaut is treated like
a god by the simple inhabitants of another planet. When he
learns the reason, he is astounded.
Cooper's books are hard to find now. They should be reprinted. ...more
Ideas of sentinel beings precede Arthur C Clarke's 2001 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
...more
Świetna opowieść w klasycznym scfi świecie, nie rozumiem czemu ten autor nie jest szerzej znany ale napisał naprawdę solidną powieść.
Summer 1982 Reading List #11
1982 grade C
Embora a história não tenha muita originalidade está bem conseguida e é cativante.
A história evolui a bom ritmo e tem leitura rápida.
A história evolui a bom ritmo e tem leitura rápida.
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Excerpted from wikipedia:
Edmund Cooper was born in Marple, near Stockport in Cheshire on April 30, 1926. He served in the Merchant Navy towards the end of the Second World War. After World War II, he trained as a teacher and began to publish short stories. His first novel, Deadly Image
(later republished as The Uncertain Midnight) was completed in 1957 and published in 1958. A 1956 short story
...more
Edmund Cooper was born in Marple, near Stockport in Cheshire on April 30, 1926. He served in the Merchant Navy towards the end of the Second World War. After World War II, he trained as a teacher and began to publish short stories. His first novel, Deadly Image
(later republished as The Uncertain Midnight) was completed in 1957 and published in 1958. A 1956 short story
...more
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