Seven Steps to the Sun

by Fred Hoyle, Geoffrey Hoyle

Mike Jerome, a likeable young TV writer, visits Professor Smitt, a physicist, who gives him an idea for a TV script: using some source of light, perhaps a laser beam, one could reduce the human structure to a form that could be transmitted into the future as electrical pulses, and thus create time travel.
On the way home Mike is hit by a taxi, and when he recovers he finds the date is 1979, ten years in the future. Thus is the beginning of a series of bewildering, fascinating ten year jumps. Mike is himself living the time change himself! At the end of each stop he tries to find his best friend, Pete Jones, a Negro jazz musician. Mike's lumps to 1989, 1999 and so on, take him into such far-reaching places as London, the Northern Territory of Australia, California and the Italian Alps.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

246 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1970

About the author

Professor Sir Fred Hoyle was one of the most distinguished, creative, and controversial scientists of the twentieth century. He was a Fellow of St John’s College (1939-1972, Honorary Fellow 1973-2001), was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1957, held the Plumian Chair of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy (1958-1972), established the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy in Cambridge (now part of the Institute of Astronomy), and (in 1972) received a knighthood for his services to astronomy.

Hoyle was a keen mountain climber, an avid player of chess, a science fiction writer, a populariser of science, and the man who coined the phrase 'The Big Bang'.

Reviews

[The Bauchler · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the first grown up sci-fi novels I ever read borrowed from the grown-up section of the mobile library that visited our primary school every Friday morning.

God knows how/why the teacher didn't make me choose a different, more age-appropriate book.

I can STILL remember the 70's art cover of the hardback edition I borrowed a 'spooky' face with piercing eyes and seven suns merging together - a version GR unfortunately doesn't have recorded.

Yup, a quick google image search shows I remembered it correctly.

I remember a few passages and the premise but little else.

I knew Hoyle was a proper scientist that they would often interview when the moon landings were on the news, so I knew what he wrote was bound to come true:)

In the book the MC jumped 10 years into the future (seven times?) and I remember thinking I was almost an adult reading this book but when I was fully grown up the future would be an AMAZING place to be.

Not sure how much he got right, or whether I still agree with my optimistic view of adulthood now that the futures he described are mostly in my past.

But this book (and it's cover) will always have a special place in my heart.

Addendum: My GR pal Craig kindly found, and uploaded, the missing cover to Goodreads.

I am complete:)

[Barry Haworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was in high school and it was a new book in the town library and remember enjoying it, but that was many years ago. Then earlier this year I found a copy in the Lifeline bookfest.

Revisiting the book 40+ years later, my thought it was it doesn't really stand up. Perhaps it never did. The book tells the story of writer Mike Jerome who is looking for his next writing project meets a mysterious professor who suggests a time travel idea and sets out a concept where a person could conceivably jump forward in time. Then it starts happening. Mike starts jumping forward in time in intervals of ten years, the jumps being triggered by accidents. It doesn't really make any more sense than that, and there is never any explanation as to how it goes from being simply talked about to actually happening.

This time around my chief interest was in seeming how the predicted futures line up with reality. The book was written in 1969 and imagines the futures of 1979, 1989, 1999, 2009 and 2019. At first in England, later jumps take him to America, Australia and Italy. As for the trends that run through the book:

Transport. In the first jump (1979) London is in perpetual gridlock, but this is gone ten years later, and ten years after that wheeled cars are a thing of the past - cars have been replaced by helicopters and hovercars, and the American freeways and the Sydney Harbour Bridge have been demolished. Big air liners have also gone, and air travel is done by smaller (~40 passenger) VTOL air craft with plenty of leg room, which offer supersonic travel at low cost - in 1999 Mike travels from New York to Los Angeles in 1 1/2 hours for the cost of just $70. There are no Jumbo Jets or Airbuses in this world.

World events. By 1999 a major earthquake has devastated Los Angeles, which is essentially in ruins. Globally, central governments have become weaker and regional councils have more autonomy. there is no suggestion of anything like the AIDS epidemic - casual sex is still the order of the day.

Technology. Apart from the flying cars, video phones are in use by 1999, which allow for split screen conference calls. These are controlled using punch cards. A computerised terminal gives personalised news reports. Automation causes widespread unemployment, and advanced building materials allow the construction of much higher sky scrapers in New York - the Empire State building is demolished because it is too small. At one point (1989) Mike is given a truth serum by police who are interrogating him, and ten years later he is given an injection to prevent jet lag. No mention of moon landings, but at one point a TV documentary about astronauts fixing satellites in space is mentioned.

Overpopulation and breakdown. A concern throughout the book is that of overpopulation and food shortages. In the penultimate jump (2009) the Australian interior is irrigated and green to boost food production, but farms have to be protected by a strong military presence. In the final segment (2019) global order has broken down altogether, with a series of demonstrations triggering a world wide collapse into anarchy.

Finally, Mike wakes up in a hospital bed back in his own time. No explanation as to how he gets back. Perhaps it is all a dream.

Overall? The story, of a man trying to make his way in a series of strange worlds and make sense of what is going on, isn't as bad as all that. As prediction is is perhaps instructive as a 1960s vision of the future, but otherwise not very close. Not a bad book, I suppose, but not one I am likely to revisit.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple of months back a novel I co-wrote with Eugen Bacon, "Secondhand Daylight", was published. In it, the central character uncontrollably jumps forward in time, repeatedly. This central idea was mine. I had "The Time Traveller's Wife" by Audrey Niffennegger in mind, but in her novel there is forwards and backwards jumping, so - I thought - my idea was original, especially as light is the 'jumping off point' for my character. Of course, there is nothing new under the sun, and here, Hoyles' central character, Mike, starts involuntary time-jumping instigated by a curious light. First published in 1970, it's clear the Hoyles had somehow time-jumped to my future, stole my idea, then jumped back and wrote it. That's how it works, right?

Anyway, I enjoyed this novel. It's quite fluid in the telling, and intriguing, although does get a little bogged down towards the end and the very end is a throwaway explanation. It's also quite dated in terms of its depiction of women. However, it's good fun, and an easy read, with some of the 'predictions' with regards to the future in 1970 quite revealing:

"It was an obvious step to go from the man commuting to his office to the man remaining in his own environment and conducting his business through the use of advanced electronics."

[Leila P · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man is taking ten-year-hops through the future and ends up somewere... well, around today. It's always funny to read old predictions of future, and this one was pretty bleak so I'm glad the present is a much happier place. As the book was published in 1970, the writers didn't know about the green revolution that took place in the 70's. It was okay to read, but it wasn't the best sf I've seen.

[Andy Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is really not great. I picked it up as I liked the artwork and thought it might be interesting involvement of an astronomer and scientific theorist (Fred Hoyle - who wrote with his son Geoffrey who is still alive). But it wasn't my cup of tea. The set up is swinging sixties London, the main character is a jazz musician and writer. First forward time jump sees him accused of murder after being missing for 10 years. All that seems an interesting basis for a novel but....he keeps hopping through a series of disconnected scenarios all sketchily envisioned that he manages to scrape through more or less in the US, Australia, Italy. There has been society changes each time but nothing particularly novel. The authors seem to realise the plot is going nowhere and he wakes up back in the sixties with a good idea for a TV show. There is some effort to add a twist. His shoes are worn out the time travel professor picks him up at the studios. None of that is very convincing. The dialogue is pretty stilted.

[Rafael Cabral · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si tienen ganas de leer ciencia ficción esta novela es lo que buscan. La simpleza de la narración hace que el libro sea de muy rápida lectura. Sin embargo, en ocasiones los personajes pueden parecer muy vacíos y carecen de rasgos (salvo un par) que los diferencien de los demás.
Además, si bien el autor no describe extensamente las diferentes localizaciones presentes en la novela, es muy fácil visualizarlas uno mismo.
El autor, mas allá de contarnos la historia, nos da su visión de un posible futuro que aguarda a la humanidad.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book by a friend when l was 14. He said I’d enjoy it but l didn’t really read a lot so l was doubtful. He was correct. Yes it’s a little dated and in hindsight some things are wrong but it’s a cracking read, clearly more suitable for teenagers but still. I’ve reread this book several times and l still enjoy it. Never forgot this book and at 55 l decided to buy a copy. Don’t expect the theory of relativity but it’s a great story. Great book to give your friendly teenager to get them reading

[MinotauRock · Rating 1 out of 5]

Malo
No es una novela de ciencia ficción, tan solo relata eventos fantásticos sin ningún sustento científico. Las vivencias del protagonista son unos "avances o saltos en el tiempo" que no tienen ninguna conexión entre si, de tal modo que cada "aventura" es un texto solo para completar la cantidad de hojas necesarias que exige una novela. Y para colmo... lleno de clichés norte-americanos.
El libro es una completa pérdida de tiempo.

[Sean Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the first novels I ever read (not assigned through school or parents, just picked up and was curious about it) and was probably around twelve years old. Don't remember too much about it but I believe I read it three times back then. There was time travel, a little bit of sex, and a surprise ending (sort-of).

[Sterling Wesson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fun! I enjoyed how Hoyle doesn’t get too bogged down with science. Also the main character was a screenwriter (what I am) yay!

[SciFiOne · Rating 5 out of 5]

1982 grade B+
2016 grade A-

with Geoffrey Hoyle

Good Book! Very intriguing. It is basically a vehicle to explore the coming future and the destruction of society in small time jumps where we see a fragment of the society at that time, sort of like a short story. The authors predicted a lot of the science correctly although the timeline is way too brief. I think the events will probably still happen eventually.

I reread the story right after reading Cobra War 3, which is 75% longer. This one is better even though less is going on, there are many times fewer characters, and there are long descriptive areas instead of dialog. It kept my interest so well that I almost finished it in one afternoon. Cobra War 3 took a week or two. The bleakest part is the last time jump into the future but I was very curious what was going to happen (I never found out BTW). The final change back to the start is a bit of a cheat but it might not have been when the book was published.

[João Sousa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed by the simple plot of this book. Actually, I expected more from Hoyle, sometimes the speech was too direct and plain.

But in another hand this book kept me hooked to it, keeping my attention to what was about to come next.

[Pete · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oddly fascinating (but horribly written) book where the character keeps jumping forward in time for no apparent reason. The far flung future of 2005 is pretty amusing.