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Brother and Other Stories
165 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published January 1, 1988
34 people want to read
About the author
Clifford D. Simak
965 books1,069 followers"He was honored by fans with three Hugo awards and by colleagues with one Nebula award and was named the third Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) in 1977." (Wikipedia)
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford...
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford...
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 11, 2021
A mixed collection. Collectively rather brief at 165 pages, containing two short stories and two novelettes. There is nothing all-bad here; some are better than others but all of it is very readable and each story has at least one of Simak's best traits on display to provoke a smile.
Brother - 3.5
Classically quaint Simak. A recluse, a rocking chair, a mind reaching out to the stars. The dialogue is a little stilted, but the pastoral descriptions convey that same quiet and mysterious atmosphere as so many of his stories do. It's a nice, easy read, but not one of his best.
Over The River & Through The Woods - 4
Short, sweet and mysterious with a hard-hitting ending.
Auk House - 2.75
Novelette. I liked the initial setting and premise of this one, but it gets a bit too ambitious for the word count. Auk House starts off quite speculative and I think could have made for a nice, single-location science-mystery/fantasy of sorts. I feel like Simak shows his hand too soon though and is heavy-handed in his explanation of events. It's packed with ideas, but they held little interest for me because I have seen them better explored in other works of his. Alternate worlds, time-travel(ish), economic and social threat, the creation of a revolutionary philosophy, benevolent manipulation... the list goes on.
Kindergarten - 2.75
Some lovely writing in the first half with a fun concept, but it completely fumbles in the second half.
Brother - 3.5
Classically quaint Simak. A recluse, a rocking chair, a mind reaching out to the stars. The dialogue is a little stilted, but the pastoral descriptions convey that same quiet and mysterious atmosphere as so many of his stories do. It's a nice, easy read, but not one of his best.
Over The River & Through The Woods - 4
Short, sweet and mysterious with a hard-hitting ending.
Auk House - 2.75
Novelette. I liked the initial setting and premise of this one, but it gets a bit too ambitious for the word count. Auk House starts off quite speculative and I think could have made for a nice, single-location science-mystery/fantasy of sorts. I feel like Simak shows his hand too soon though and is heavy-handed in his explanation of events. It's packed with ideas, but they held little interest for me because I have seen them better explored in other works of his. Alternate worlds, time-travel(ish), economic and social threat, the creation of a revolutionary philosophy, benevolent manipulation... the list goes on.
Kindergarten - 2.75
Some lovely writing in the first half with a fun concept, but it completely fumbles in the second half.
Want to read
February 22, 20264 stories:
Brother (1977)
Over the River and Through the Woods (1965)
Auk House (1977)
Kindergarten (1953)
Brother (1977)
Over the River and Through the Woods (1965)
Auk House (1977)
Kindergarten (1953)
May 30, 2013
A wonderful collection of short stories that, due to the gentleness of prose, somehow manages to stand the test of time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews