City of Baraboo

Circus World #2

by Barry B. Longyear

Berkley/Putnam, 1980. Hardcover with dustjacket, 1st edition. Weaving together several stories first published in Asimov's Magazine, this is a picaresque story of a group of circus performers taking the show on the road into outer space.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Barry Brookes Longyear was an American science fiction author who resided in New Sharon, Maine.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

City of Baraboo is one of three books that Longyear wrote featuring the travails and adventures of a Earthly circus that becomes an interstellar touring company in order to survive. This one is a fix-up novel comprised mostly of stories first published in Asimov's Science Fiction and it's short-lived companion, Asimov's SF Adventures. It's probably a narrow-niche market, but a great pick for those who remember loving the magic found in seeing a circus. There have been a lot of circus-themed works in the genre (I also liked Mike Resnick's Galactic Midway books), and Longyear's Circus World books are certainly among the very best. Step right up! It's the greatest show off Earth.

[Ira (SF Words of Wonder) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out my full, spoiler free, video review HERE. This is a prequel to Circus World but I think you could read it first if you wanted. It’s a fix up novel of short stories telling the story of how a struggling circus company left earth to take the show to the stars. So much deeper in parts than I would have thought but the mix of circus culture and humor make this one a blast to read. Highly recommended.

[Joseph Teller · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I've seen cultures orient themselves around numerous things - making religions out of them. But...they were survival things with laws concerning food, sex, social organization. But a Circus?"

***

"...Why? Why did you do it? A circus, of all things. Why?"

***

"It's A Disease"

(Above Paraphrased from the book)

This is a tale of the last great Earth Circus, from its final days on Earth to its soaring to the stars to the founding of the City of Baraboo. It takes a fan of the circus to truly understand the books in this series, one who has it somewhere 'in the blood', but it simply takes a flexible mind to enjoy them. Probably Barry B. Longyear's best work ever.

Hard to find but worth having read.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time 30 years ago. I had good memories of it, but retained none of the details of the story. So, when I needed a diverting book to spell me in between sessions of reading about Spinoza, it was a natural choice. The general plot is very predictable, but the "insider" circus aspect, and the details of how the predictable plot progresses entertained me (How is the author going to get them out of this situation credibly?). The characters, largely due to their being circus people, are vivid and sympathetic for all their oddities. I will probably have to reread the sequel also.

[Tatter Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm afraid I quote the good Mr Longyear a lot. I'd apologise, but I probably wouldn't mean it (blush). And mostly I quote him because writing can be a bit like the carnival in Circus World. If someone has to ask me why I do it, I know I'll never be able to tell them. So I say, like Mr Longyear has the Carnies say, 'it's a disease'.
There are some things that often aren't fun, are hard work, and seem to return little in the way of reward. And still, despite all that, doing them is better than not doing them. Not just better, but a part of who you are. For Mr Longyear's carnies, whether they be performers or crew, barkers or wet behind the ears First of Mays, it's like that. So when the place you are has no room or need for the thing that makes you _who_ you are, what do you do?
You go somewhere else. _Anywhere_ else. Because being who you are with nothing is better than trying to be someone else, whatever that someone else may have.
Why do I like this book? Because even if I've never been a carnie - I sort of have. Because writing? It's a disease :-).

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book decades ago, back when it first came out (in the late '80s?). I read it then, thoroughly enjoyed it and tucked it safely away in a box on one of our moves. And pulled it out again when we got a new bookcase for the new house. And now I have read it again. And enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed it the first time.

It's "old skool" science fiction, told in the anthology style of the first book in the series, CIRCUS WORLD. This book came out next, but it goes back to the beginning, of how the circus wound up on the planet Momus. It's full of tall tales, practical jokes, puns, tricks played on the bad guys and more. And all of it is about how the earth-stlye circus spread to the stars and prospered. Good stuff. I liked it a lot. Again.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second in the Circus World series by this author. I think I read all three, back in the day (1980-81). OK, my notes say just #1 & #2, fwtw. Short and amusing stories of the Circus in SPAACE! I gave both of the first two 4-star ratings (0r the equivalent) then.

Craig's 4-star review is the go-to here, and I see the average GR rating for this one is also 4 stars. So if you liked the Circus as a kid AND like mild adventure SF, these could be the books for you!

[james · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually have a hard cover copy but the body is the same of course.

City of Baraboo is the first in a three book series by Longyear, followed by ELephant Song and concluding with Circus World. The premise is a circus struggling with ever changing bureaucratic barriers and hinderances to keeping the show running and a decision to change from 'taking the show on the road' to 'taking the show to the stars'.

The reader will be immersed in the lingo and peculiarities of the circus culture as the characters are developed, to include the circus veterans and a host of new recruits and returning circus folk, all joining the O'Hara show to the stars.

Rivalries, intrigue, plot twists, and more in this delightful story painting a world you can immerse yourself in. Light on focus of technical jargon opting instead to focus on the culture and acts of the circus evolving to a galactic show. You will have to read yourself to learn the end, or rather set up for the following novels.

[Kathy Sebesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has been sitting on my to-be-read shelves a very long time, and with the libraries being closed I'm working my way thru some of these really old boox.

Isn't it amazing how much story they used to be able to pack into 200 pages? It's part of a trilogy so there are two more, but altogether they won't raise 700 pages. Robert Jordan should take note (I know he's dead). Or Neil Stephenson. Diana Gabaldon. Terry Goodkind. You don't need 14 volumes of a thousand pages apiece to tell a story.

Anyway, I liked this little novel very much. Full of circus slang, lots of conning and misdirection, vendettas that keep coming - and always The Show Must Go On. Volume 2 is already on order.

[Mark White · Rating 5 out of 5]

The five stars are to some extent for sentimental value - the book has its faults but it's an old favourite. The premise is a circus travelling the planets but the circus is also very much of the turn of the 20th century so it's also very nostalgic. The closest thing to this book I can think of is the old 1952 movie The Greatest Show On Earth. See that and the images of the book come to life. The book is stitched together from a series of short stories of variable quality but when it's good it's excellent. I'd recommend this book as much for the circus history it contains as for the story, but well worth reading in any case.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This prequel addresses all the issues I had with Circus World. The short stories have a more consistent through-line and the characters are more compelling. A charming look into circus life... in space. The ending had me crying.

Rating is probably closer to 4 stars, but the whole concept charmed me. A fun find.

[James]

The Last Show on Earth finds its survival by taking to the stars and playing the worlds of the near galaxy, becoming the greatest show off Earth."What Barry has done . . . is to take a magnificent way of life, which today seems on the verge of extinction, and fling it bodily into the future, toward immortality."Spider Robinson

[Geoff Sebesta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about space circuses. The space circus doesn't really get good until they got to the prison planet. A fun read all the way through. A much more final ending than I expected, especially for a book with two sequels.

[Scout · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new top-tier favorite. The setting is so satisfyingly developed that you wonder about the pieces you don't encounter. The pacing and the perspective had me feeling as though I was also a member of the show trying to catch up with the newest predicament.

[Cheyenne Antell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once you suspend your belief in current reality, and remember that the book was published in 1980 (while also trying to be set 200 years in the future), this space circus odyssey is a fun read!

[Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

clever story full of hope, adventure and love. if you support the under dogs of life, this book is for you.

[Isabel (kittiwake) · Rating 4 out of 5]

O'Hara stood stunned for a moment, then he slapped Sticks on the arm and repeated the gesture on the accountant's arm. "Name? Your bet I have a name. It's to be called The City of Baraboo."
"What a curious name? Does it have a meaning?"
O'Hara slapped the accountant on the back. "I'll say it does! Baraboo, Wisconsin, is where the Big One was born. Big Bertha - Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows - the biggest circus the Earth ever saw. And when the City of Baraboo takes to the star road, it will have a show half again as big as RB&BB!"

In 2142 circus is a dying art, and the last show on Earth has ground to a halt on the outskirts of Ottawa. But John J. O'Hara isn't ready to give up, and decides to take his circus off world to play other planets. The circus fixer is a trickster who gets them out of many scrapes as the troup endeavours to make a profit and foil the machinations of a businessman with a grudge against the circus. Lots of fun!

[Nogoatsnoglory · Rating 4 out of 5]

After enjoying Circus World so much I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the follow ups. CoB ended up being great and the last chunk of the book really sold me on it. It was great seeing the origin story and the seeds of other points being laid out. Last chapters really got emotional as everything starts to collapse. Banger of a conclusion that got me to start Elephant Song right away. If ES stays as strong as CoB it’s going to tempt me to want to reread Circus World again to catch the details I have more background on now. How this series hasn’t been adapted into some visual media is beyond me because it’s simply just superb.

[Red · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book by a very talented, though not very prolific writer. The first in a multi-book universe, though not really a series. Science fiction. In teh future circuses travel to the stars to present the Greatest Show on ... your planet/ But what do you do when you break down on a backwater planet and you are broke?

Excellent characterization, humor, and general story. I love this one.

[J. Allen Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable fix-up about the last circus on Earth, and the adventures of those who take the show not just on the road, but to the stars. Although I felt a lot of the resolutions to their problems came quickly-- and conveniently-- the solid ending helped keep the tone and overall feel of the story intact.

[Bobo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first volume in one of my favorite series of all time. I traditionally start the set on the first of May (for those in the know). I have read the 3 volumes around 8 to 10 times. A good series from the author of the acclaimed "Enemy Mine".

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

City of Baraboo by Barry B. Longyear (1982)

[Andy]

1ST EDITION.

[Windrider · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last circus on Earth is going broke. So they take it to the stars. Fun Fantasy. Good light reading. I like the sequels also, Circus World and Elephant Song.