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The Slaves of Heaven
They were the Night Comers. No one could say if they were ghosts or gods or devils. They only knew they came from the sky, silver clad, ominous, with a Medusa glance that could freeze a man in his tracks. They stole women and carried them off to heaven, decimating the Earth's population and threatening the survival of the human species.
Berry, chief of the Londos clan, frustrated by the uselessness of his tribes' primitive weapons, ventures into the inner circle of the Night Comers and is spirited away in their ship to their home in the stars. There, Berry's fight for survival holds the key to the existence of his own world and that of the Night Comers as well.
Berry, chief of the Londos clan, frustrated by the uselessness of his tribes' primitive weapons, ventures into the inner circle of the Night Comers and is spirited away in their ship to their home in the stars. There, Berry's fight for survival holds the key to the existence of his own world and that of the Night Comers as well.
156 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 1974
1 person is currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Edmund Cooper
101 books45 followersExcerpted 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, Brain Child, was adapted as the movie The Invisible Boy (1957).
In 1969 The Uncertain Midnight was adapted for Swiss television, in French. At the height of his popularity, in the 1970s, he began to review science fiction for the Sunday Times and continued to do so until his death in 1982.
Apart from the website mentioned above there was another Edmund Cooper website full of information about the author and his publications.
Known Pseudonyms:
Richard Avery
George Kinley
Martin Lester
Broderick Quain
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, Brain Child, was adapted as the movie The Invisible Boy (1957).In 1969 The Uncertain Midnight was adapted for Swiss television, in French. At the height of his popularity, in the 1970s, he began to review science fiction for the Sunday Times and continued to do so until his death in 1982.
Apart from the website mentioned above there was another Edmund Cooper website full of information about the author and his publications.
Known Pseudonyms:
Richard Avery
George Kinley
Martin Lester
Broderick Quain
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 16, 2025
The Slaves of Heaven was published in hardback by Putnam in April of 1974 and was a SF Book Club selection soon after, with the same very red Paul Lehr cover. It's a kind of familiar post-apocalyptic story of a barbarian society living in the wasteland and the more advanced distant overlords that raid regularly and kidnap their women. (Heaven, like Mars, needs women.) Clan Chief Berry follows the Night Comers after one of their raids and the long metal column takes him to Heaven, which is a space station. It's not a bad story, the sexual content is rather bland, but be warned that the attitudes and conceits are definitely rooted in 1974. It's not Cooper's best, but he was a very good writer and it's an interesting read.
November 2, 2018
This is a perfect example of historical sci-fi, one with a strong speculative fiction element to it.
Humankind has reverted to a territorial, nomadic, pre-literary existence. For the hints that our main character gives us, we assume that there was a nuclear war leaving 'hot-spots' and that mankind descended into primitive 'savagery' as a consequence.
Our narrator, Berry, is the chief of his clan in what we may guess is what is left of the UK. The main thorn in the side of the clans - aside from the difficulties of day to day existence, hunting, fighting with out clans, ect... Is the existence of 'night comers'. No, not a variation on what happens to single young males at night (I just can't help it, the term cracked me up every SINGLE time I read it). No, every clan gets visited at night by mysterious beings who put everyone to sleep and steal the women of the tribe. Only the women.
Berry, as chief, devises a plan to defense against these mysterious beings, the plan fails, Berry's pregnant mate is taken but Berry himself is left awake and able to follow, through the forest to a space ship where he is taken aboard to find out what happens to the kidnapped women, and how the other half of the decedents of the war coped.
Edmund Cooper is an author for whose books I have a strange addiction. I really enjoy the writing style, I really love the various plots for his stories where he takes people and puts them in unique, impossible situations using science fiction (of it's time) scenarios. His storytelling is always tight and intelligent, his scenarios were fresh and unique when they were written and still maintain that level of interest for me. Cooper was very much a product of his times; that is to say, he was smug, sexist and misogynistic in accordance with his era (April 1926 – March 1982) but I have always been able to look past that to enjoy his writing.
This story was very interesting in that a lot of it takes place on a 'space station' which were in the very first stages of being developed when this story was written. Berry, the 'noble savage' comes aboard, learns amazing amounts, becomes a kind of genius savant. Then he goes on to make a truce between the station and mankind on earth that may be the saving of the human race. The space station itself, the ways in which the society has stratified and the uses they made of their station are at times incredibly dated, other times they are contemporary enough that I can see them being re-used by modern sci-fi writers.
Would thoroughly recommend to lovers of classic sci-fi who can look past the several ways in which it has dated poorly.
Humankind has reverted to a territorial, nomadic, pre-literary existence. For the hints that our main character gives us, we assume that there was a nuclear war leaving 'hot-spots' and that mankind descended into primitive 'savagery' as a consequence.
Our narrator, Berry, is the chief of his clan in what we may guess is what is left of the UK. The main thorn in the side of the clans - aside from the difficulties of day to day existence, hunting, fighting with out clans, ect... Is the existence of 'night comers'. No, not a variation on what happens to single young males at night (I just can't help it, the term cracked me up every SINGLE time I read it). No, every clan gets visited at night by mysterious beings who put everyone to sleep and steal the women of the tribe. Only the women.
Berry, as chief, devises a plan to defense against these mysterious beings, the plan fails, Berry's pregnant mate is taken but Berry himself is left awake and able to follow, through the forest to a space ship where he is taken aboard to find out what happens to the kidnapped women, and how the other half of the decedents of the war coped.
Edmund Cooper is an author for whose books I have a strange addiction. I really enjoy the writing style, I really love the various plots for his stories where he takes people and puts them in unique, impossible situations using science fiction (of it's time) scenarios. His storytelling is always tight and intelligent, his scenarios were fresh and unique when they were written and still maintain that level of interest for me. Cooper was very much a product of his times; that is to say, he was smug, sexist and misogynistic in accordance with his era (April 1926 – March 1982) but I have always been able to look past that to enjoy his writing.
This story was very interesting in that a lot of it takes place on a 'space station' which were in the very first stages of being developed when this story was written. Berry, the 'noble savage' comes aboard, learns amazing amounts, becomes a kind of genius savant. Then he goes on to make a truce between the station and mankind on earth that may be the saving of the human race. The space station itself, the ways in which the society has stratified and the uses they made of their station are at times incredibly dated, other times they are contemporary enough that I can see them being re-used by modern sci-fi writers.
Would thoroughly recommend to lovers of classic sci-fi who can look past the several ways in which it has dated poorly.
November 26, 2015
I hate reviews that for sci-fi or fantasy books like this one give away too much of the plot, but this brief review from Kirkus Reviews sort-of hits the nail on the head, even if a little erroneous (which i'll clarify):
A one linger exercise in post-holocaustian conflict about an orbiting super-society of humans who have everything - except fecundity. Therefore they send their robots to the "dirt people" of Earth, now living in primitive tribes, to filch women for breeding. Dirt-person Berry, a chief transported upwards by mistake, outwits the techno-caste and achieves a mutual assistance pact. Active but overly familiar. (Kirkus Reviews)
Clarification: setting = Earth post-apocalypse, circa 2000 years future; there is a caste system in place, but the enemy is not the 'techno-caste,' but another caste or rather the society as a whole.
I like the phrases used in the Kirkus review, 'one linger exercise' and 'active but overly familiar,' although the book and the usual Cooper writing that I admittedly greatly admire is meant to lightly explore ideas, politics, question a moral, and provoke some thought rather than spin a simple yarn.
In the Cooper canon, ultimately this book is probably best enjoyed by Cooper fans. I liked the easily digestible sci-fi with a good dash of fantasy, action, his signature quirky-but-mild sex. Even though I have turned Cooper Über-fan and could even give this a 4/5 just because I love Cooper so much, more objectively this is probably a 2.5-3/5, but I would have to go right in the middle at 3/5.
A one linger exercise in post-holocaustian conflict about an orbiting super-society of humans who have everything - except fecundity. Therefore they send their robots to the "dirt people" of Earth, now living in primitive tribes, to filch women for breeding. Dirt-person Berry, a chief transported upwards by mistake, outwits the techno-caste and achieves a mutual assistance pact. Active but overly familiar. (Kirkus Reviews)
Clarification: setting = Earth post-apocalypse, circa 2000 years future; there is a caste system in place, but the enemy is not the 'techno-caste,' but another caste or rather the society as a whole.
I like the phrases used in the Kirkus review, 'one linger exercise' and 'active but overly familiar,' although the book and the usual Cooper writing that I admittedly greatly admire is meant to lightly explore ideas, politics, question a moral, and provoke some thought rather than spin a simple yarn.
In the Cooper canon, ultimately this book is probably best enjoyed by Cooper fans. I liked the easily digestible sci-fi with a good dash of fantasy, action, his signature quirky-but-mild sex. Even though I have turned Cooper Über-fan and could even give this a 4/5 just because I love Cooper so much, more objectively this is probably a 2.5-3/5, but I would have to go right in the middle at 3/5.
March 2, 2018
Another from my S-F Book Club collection from the 1970’s. This review is going to be somewhat short because I don’t want to ruin it with spoilers, and there are a LOT of ‘em. This short (148pp) book tells of Berry, intelligent and politically insightful Chief of a nomadic primitive tribe, one of several in the area. The country is mostly verdant, with plenty of game and food for foraging, but there are a number of large “hot spots,” in which nothing grows and which the tribes avoid. While the tribes have a good deal of cohesion, structured by customs and leadership, there is competition among the tribes because of a shortage of women. This is because of the semi-regular disappearance of women from the tribes, taken by seemingly invulnerable creatures called “Night Comers.” When Berry’s pregnant wife Vron is captured during one of these raids, Berry follows the Night Comers, to a clearing in which there is a strange, large shiny tower. Berry is captured by the Night Comers and wakes up…See, that’s about as far as I can describe this intriguing work without spoilers, except to say that Berry’s intelligence helps him deal with the situations that arise.
So what’s the connection among the Night Comers and their tower, the disappearance of tribal women, and the “hot spots?” That is what takes up the remainder of the book, which I enjoyed and would recommend with the following caveat: As with a number of writings from this era, the role of women throughout the book is that of subservience and a source of children. The women are basically shared by men sexually, and any man can have sex with any woman, including others’ wives (save for the wife of the Chief). I tell ya, there were times I wanted to resurrect Mr. Cooper and force him to watch several episodes of “Vikings.” That said, it’s still a fun read. Four stars.
So what’s the connection among the Night Comers and their tower, the disappearance of tribal women, and the “hot spots?” That is what takes up the remainder of the book, which I enjoyed and would recommend with the following caveat: As with a number of writings from this era, the role of women throughout the book is that of subservience and a source of children. The women are basically shared by men sexually, and any man can have sex with any woman, including others’ wives (save for the wife of the Chief). I tell ya, there were times I wanted to resurrect Mr. Cooper and force him to watch several episodes of “Vikings.” That said, it’s still a fun read. Four stars.
August 16, 2023
Slaves of Heaven by Edmund Cooper is the 3rd Sci Fi story from Cooper I've enjoyed since I discovered his work. He's not my favorite author in the Sci Fi genre but he is worth checking out.
In The Slaves of Heaven, we find a dystopian Earth. Earthmen, and this starts off in what was previously England. Humans are basically wanderers and live in tribes and often go to war against each other. There is another adversary who attacks at night, the Night Comers, who invade the various camps and steal away with the tribe's women.
Berry is the chief of the Londos tribe and he wants to stop wandering and build a permanent settlement. There is a risk to this. It makes them more susceptible to the Night Comers. There are hot spots throughout England and presumably the rest of the world. Berry finally gets his tribe to agree and they set up a camp. But one night, the Night Comers come, disable the men and steal off with the women. Berry manages to avoid being disabled and follows the attackers. He is captured and then finds himself in a city in the stars.
This begins the 2nd part of the story where Berry tries to save his wife and becomes a 'pawn' of one of the groups in this city, the Technos. He is the 'arrow' to the bow, so to speak. Berry will learn where he is, he will be given knowledge of the past of Earth, of technology, etc and will use it to try and save Earth.
It's a neat story, flows nicely and has enough action to satisfy the reader. The playing off of Berry and his enemies is well presented. It's an interesting story, maybe a bit simple, but entertaining nonetheless. I do have a couple of other of Cooper's Sci Fi stories awaiting my attention and look forward to continuing to explore is work. (3.5 stars)
In The Slaves of Heaven, we find a dystopian Earth. Earthmen, and this starts off in what was previously England. Humans are basically wanderers and live in tribes and often go to war against each other. There is another adversary who attacks at night, the Night Comers, who invade the various camps and steal away with the tribe's women.
Berry is the chief of the Londos tribe and he wants to stop wandering and build a permanent settlement. There is a risk to this. It makes them more susceptible to the Night Comers. There are hot spots throughout England and presumably the rest of the world. Berry finally gets his tribe to agree and they set up a camp. But one night, the Night Comers come, disable the men and steal off with the women. Berry manages to avoid being disabled and follows the attackers. He is captured and then finds himself in a city in the stars.
This begins the 2nd part of the story where Berry tries to save his wife and becomes a 'pawn' of one of the groups in this city, the Technos. He is the 'arrow' to the bow, so to speak. Berry will learn where he is, he will be given knowledge of the past of Earth, of technology, etc and will use it to try and save Earth.
It's a neat story, flows nicely and has enough action to satisfy the reader. The playing off of Berry and his enemies is well presented. It's an interesting story, maybe a bit simple, but entertaining nonetheless. I do have a couple of other of Cooper's Sci Fi stories awaiting my attention and look forward to continuing to explore is work. (3.5 stars)
May 22, 2019
review of
Edmund Cooper's The Slaves of Heaven
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - May 21, 2019
The back cover synopsizes the outline of the plot of this for the reader:
"They were the Night Comers... No one could say if they were ghosts or gods or devils. They only knew they came from the sky, silver clad, ominous, with a Medusa glance that could freeze a man in his tracks. They stole women and carried them off to heaven, decimating the Earth's population and threatening the survivial of the human species.
"Berry, chief of the Londos clan, frustrated by the uselessness of his tribes' primitive weapons, ventures into the inner circle of the Night Comers and is spirtied away in their ship to their home in the stars. There, Berry's fight for survival holds the key to the existence of his own world and that of the Night Comers as well."
I enjoyed this. I was a tad reminded of Mack Reynolds's Space Barbarians (see my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ) because it's about superior vitality & integrity winning out over superior force & dirty tricks. As my Reynolds review concludes:
"As I've come to expect from Reynolds, anything he writes questions status quo assumptions — in this case: who're the barbarians & who're the civilized? & what makes one preferable to the other? While many SF writers seem to have military experience that informs their stories, Reynolds seems to have a deep knowledge of history that's closest in spirit to Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States while clearly predating it."
Cooper's bk is from 1974. By then, describing sex, especially the sex of barbarians, was 'ok':
"He glanced at Vron's face. Her eyes were closed: her lips were open. She seemed happy. He slipped his hand between her legs & began to fondle her. She gave a low groan of pleasure, but did not move." - p 1
I hope everything came out alright. Sometimes those manual enemas are tricky. Imagine that paragraph w/ this simple change of names.
'He glanced at Sally's face. Her eyes were closed: her lips were open. She seemed happy. He slipped his hand between her legs & began to fondle her. She gave a low groan of pleasure, but did not move.'
Of-course,-these-Earthlings-are-post-nuclear-war-descendents.
"The Londos people were nomadic. They had been nomadic for generations, though their wanderings were restricted mainly to the south country. Like every other tribe or clan, they knew the hot spots and avoided them sedulously. Men who sought refuge in the hot spots—clan outcasts, criminals, those whose minds were unclear—did not usually live long. Or, if they did, strange things happened to them. They developed horn or bone where there should only be flesh. They grew limbs where there should be no limbs. They went blind or began to see what others could not see." - p 6
Our man Berry has managed to get taken on a Night Comer spaceship in an attempt to thwart their spacenapping of the Earth females. He arrives at their satellite home.
""Welcome to Heaven," he said. "The acquisition program is enturely for females, but the occasional enterprising male does not displease us."" - p 41
He discovers that the Earth women are being used a breeders.
"Berry scratched his head. "If no man has lain with you, how could you bring forth babies?"
""The Lords of Heaven had them put in my belly while I slept. That is the truth. They do not lie with dirt women, or only rarely. They have strange instruments, and much magic, whereby they can plant the seed of a child in the womb of a woman without her knowing. So it was with me. I have given them three sons. When a woman has given birth three times, the Lords of Heaven consider her to be spent. She is taken from the seminary and is not seen again. Some say that such women are returned dirtside, but others say they are killed, that the Lords of Heaven make use of their bodies to grow flowers. That is why I am afraid."" - p 46
""And did she please you? Did you rut happily?"
"Still Berry was not to be drawn. "She is much of a woman. I am content."
"The Controller laughed. "It seems she has also taught you to be cautious, savage. Thus, having fulfilled her task, she may now be put down."
"Berry looked at Tala. Her face became white, and she trembled. He turned to the Controller. "Chief, what do you mean by these words 'put down'?"" - p 59
Remember the days when MEN WERE MEN & women were turned into manure as soon as the MEN tired of rutting them? Well, actually, those days have never existed — but that's what we have FICTION for.
"At the evening meal he confused Tala greatly when he tried to explain the significance of Operator J—the square root of minus one." - p 79
You mean she hasn't been composted yet? It's obvious that Tala doesn't have the GREAT ORACLE or she wd've immeditaely gotten this:
"The j operator is “a mathematical symbol that is used to represent the complex numbers”. For example, the j operator is used in the form of x+jy. Where x is a real number, and y is a complex number.
"The j operator plays a vital role in the analysis and calculations of three phase unbalanced loads, symmetrical faults, ac circuits, and phasor diagrams in electrical engineering." - https://www.chegg.com/homework-help/d...
That wd've straightened her right out. Last but not least, let's get down to culture. Berry's going to be nothing but a Dingle if he doesn't get up to speed.
""Have you seen a Shakespearean play? Do you understand the philosophy of Existentialism? Have you read Tolstoi, seen a Leonardo painting, watched Fonteyn dance in 'Swan Lake'? What do you know of giants, such as Sartre, Ibsen, Moliere, Cervantes, Eliot, Goethe? Intellectually, savage, you and your kind are in the Stone Age. You are the trash that is left after the destruction of a civilization."
""These giants, they are very big people?" inquired Berry.
"Regis LeGwyn laughed. "Giants of the spirit, stupid one. Men whose thoughts made them immortal."" - p 128
It looks like Berry's the one who ended up getting put down. That's not fair. Throwing in Existentialism is also not fair given that the most famous Existentialists aren't Existentialists & that nobody seems to know what it means anyway.
Well, there you have it: a review mostly w/o spoilers of a bk that I've told you almost nothing about. Trust me, I enjoyed it but it's not high on my list of recommendations.
Edmund Cooper's The Slaves of Heaven
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - May 21, 2019
The back cover synopsizes the outline of the plot of this for the reader:
"They were the Night Comers... No one could say if they were ghosts or gods or devils. They only knew they came from the sky, silver clad, ominous, with a Medusa glance that could freeze a man in his tracks. They stole women and carried them off to heaven, decimating the Earth's population and threatening the survivial of the human species.
"Berry, chief of the Londos clan, frustrated by the uselessness of his tribes' primitive weapons, ventures into the inner circle of the Night Comers and is spirtied away in their ship to their home in the stars. There, Berry's fight for survival holds the key to the existence of his own world and that of the Night Comers as well."
I enjoyed this. I was a tad reminded of Mack Reynolds's Space Barbarians (see my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ) because it's about superior vitality & integrity winning out over superior force & dirty tricks. As my Reynolds review concludes:
"As I've come to expect from Reynolds, anything he writes questions status quo assumptions — in this case: who're the barbarians & who're the civilized? & what makes one preferable to the other? While many SF writers seem to have military experience that informs their stories, Reynolds seems to have a deep knowledge of history that's closest in spirit to Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States while clearly predating it."
Cooper's bk is from 1974. By then, describing sex, especially the sex of barbarians, was 'ok':
"He glanced at Vron's face. Her eyes were closed: her lips were open. She seemed happy. He slipped his hand between her legs & began to fondle her. She gave a low groan of pleasure, but did not move." - p 1
I hope everything came out alright. Sometimes those manual enemas are tricky. Imagine that paragraph w/ this simple change of names.
'He glanced at Sally's face. Her eyes were closed: her lips were open. She seemed happy. He slipped his hand between her legs & began to fondle her. She gave a low groan of pleasure, but did not move.'
Of-course,-these-Earthlings-are-post-nuclear-war-descendents.
"The Londos people were nomadic. They had been nomadic for generations, though their wanderings were restricted mainly to the south country. Like every other tribe or clan, they knew the hot spots and avoided them sedulously. Men who sought refuge in the hot spots—clan outcasts, criminals, those whose minds were unclear—did not usually live long. Or, if they did, strange things happened to them. They developed horn or bone where there should only be flesh. They grew limbs where there should be no limbs. They went blind or began to see what others could not see." - p 6
Our man Berry has managed to get taken on a Night Comer spaceship in an attempt to thwart their spacenapping of the Earth females. He arrives at their satellite home.
""Welcome to Heaven," he said. "The acquisition program is enturely for females, but the occasional enterprising male does not displease us."" - p 41
He discovers that the Earth women are being used a breeders.
"Berry scratched his head. "If no man has lain with you, how could you bring forth babies?"
""The Lords of Heaven had them put in my belly while I slept. That is the truth. They do not lie with dirt women, or only rarely. They have strange instruments, and much magic, whereby they can plant the seed of a child in the womb of a woman without her knowing. So it was with me. I have given them three sons. When a woman has given birth three times, the Lords of Heaven consider her to be spent. She is taken from the seminary and is not seen again. Some say that such women are returned dirtside, but others say they are killed, that the Lords of Heaven make use of their bodies to grow flowers. That is why I am afraid."" - p 46
""And did she please you? Did you rut happily?"
"Still Berry was not to be drawn. "She is much of a woman. I am content."
"The Controller laughed. "It seems she has also taught you to be cautious, savage. Thus, having fulfilled her task, she may now be put down."
"Berry looked at Tala. Her face became white, and she trembled. He turned to the Controller. "Chief, what do you mean by these words 'put down'?"" - p 59
Remember the days when MEN WERE MEN & women were turned into manure as soon as the MEN tired of rutting them? Well, actually, those days have never existed — but that's what we have FICTION for.
"At the evening meal he confused Tala greatly when he tried to explain the significance of Operator J—the square root of minus one." - p 79
You mean she hasn't been composted yet? It's obvious that Tala doesn't have the GREAT ORACLE or she wd've immeditaely gotten this:
"The j operator is “a mathematical symbol that is used to represent the complex numbers”. For example, the j operator is used in the form of x+jy. Where x is a real number, and y is a complex number.
"The j operator plays a vital role in the analysis and calculations of three phase unbalanced loads, symmetrical faults, ac circuits, and phasor diagrams in electrical engineering." - https://www.chegg.com/homework-help/d...
That wd've straightened her right out. Last but not least, let's get down to culture. Berry's going to be nothing but a Dingle if he doesn't get up to speed.
""Have you seen a Shakespearean play? Do you understand the philosophy of Existentialism? Have you read Tolstoi, seen a Leonardo painting, watched Fonteyn dance in 'Swan Lake'? What do you know of giants, such as Sartre, Ibsen, Moliere, Cervantes, Eliot, Goethe? Intellectually, savage, you and your kind are in the Stone Age. You are the trash that is left after the destruction of a civilization."
""These giants, they are very big people?" inquired Berry.
"Regis LeGwyn laughed. "Giants of the spirit, stupid one. Men whose thoughts made them immortal."" - p 128
It looks like Berry's the one who ended up getting put down. That's not fair. Throwing in Existentialism is also not fair given that the most famous Existentialists aren't Existentialists & that nobody seems to know what it means anyway.
Well, there you have it: a review mostly w/o spoilers of a bk that I've told you almost nothing about. Trust me, I enjoyed it but it's not high on my list of recommendations.
April 25, 2021
I always enjoy a Edmund Cooper book. Very straightforward and easily understood. If your new to science fiction or not Edmund Cooper never fails to please.
October 5, 2024
3.5
Really quick to read. Easy to understand and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
I read this because my son wanted me to. It's a 1974 sci-fi story about robots, space stations, atomic wars, earth people and a hope for the future.
I loved how " " 1974" it felt as I read it. I loved how it all made sense and ended without a cliff hanger.
I didn't love some of the "relationship " things between the man and Vron and then later his other woman too but it wasn't extremely graphic and it fit with the characters.
I only gave a 3.5 because I'm not really into the genre of old type true sci-fi things and it's not my absolute favorite thing I've read but it was really truly pretty good.
I kept comparing a couple of things in it to Flowers for Algernon in a way. Not exactly the same and totally different overall but there were whispers and hints of comparison in my mind to that particular character of Algernon from what I remember if it back in high school.
Really quick to read. Easy to understand and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
I read this because my son wanted me to. It's a 1974 sci-fi story about robots, space stations, atomic wars, earth people and a hope for the future.
I loved how " " 1974" it felt as I read it. I loved how it all made sense and ended without a cliff hanger.
I didn't love some of the "relationship " things between the man and Vron and then later his other woman too but it wasn't extremely graphic and it fit with the characters.
I only gave a 3.5 because I'm not really into the genre of old type true sci-fi things and it's not my absolute favorite thing I've read but it was really truly pretty good.
I kept comparing a couple of things in it to Flowers for Algernon in a way. Not exactly the same and totally different overall but there were whispers and hints of comparison in my mind to that particular character of Algernon from what I remember if it back in high school.
April 12, 2017
An early version of hunger games mixed with an episode of Star Trek. Politics and human nature are key topics, as well as human survival. Surprised it is not a popular book. Great beginning but felt rushed towards the end.
June 2, 2024
A fast, melodramatic, and pulpy read. Has the pacing and characters of an old sci-fi serial or B-movie. Its tribal humanity but actually it's a post-apocalypse premise is pretty cliche now (and I imagine it wasn't even all that uncommon at the time) but the melodramatic, almost theatrical, characterization and the fact that the story bridges the gaps between the old world and the new makes it a fun read. Occasionally, the story reads as surprisingly progressive but more often than not it is very much a product of its time, mostly in regards to depressingly outdated gender roles. Oh, and it literally opens with an adult man (our protagonist) drinking his wife's breast milk during sex so... yea, that's something.
April 22, 2024
An interesting insight into sci-fi from an older world perspective. Easy reading, not particularly deep, feels like more of a thought experiment of an 'Island in the sky' society with a story built around those ideas. Not a fan of technocracy personally but hey-ho .
June 12, 2025
A clan of simple people on Earth are plagued by large, silver creatures stealing their women, but when their leader, Berry, is taken captive by the invaders he forms a plan that will change everything. A good little story by EC from long ago. Great fun.
September 10, 2025
My introduction to Edmund Cooper, my favourite British Science Fiction author. Not one of his best, but any Edmund Cooper is better than no Edmund Cooper at all. May contain outdated social attitudes, along with other contentious nonsense.
July 27, 2023
Good fun escapism with cliches that didn't feel too strong but hit the right places and just generally an easy book to get through!
August 30, 2017
A post-apocalyptic story about the interaction between the two surviving societies. The protagonist, Berry, is a clan chief, a position he achieved through his political and survival skills. He tangles with night raiders and discovers their secret.
This novel is science fiction in that it is set in the future rather than because it involves clever or altered science. The early mystery isn't sustained but the adventure continues to the end. An end, which is surprisingly weak, not just because it is clearly signaled, but . Compared with other science fiction there is a surprising amount of sex. I think this is a consequence of being written in the 1970s. A decade that was more permissive for authors than before or since. There is an underlying idea that artistic innovation and to a lesser extent scientific innovation does not survive the apocalypse. This is a concept that remains unexplained.
The story is fast paced, while the structure of the societies is clearly described without too much exposition. Berry is an engaging character and the situation is intriguing but the way the book ended was disappointing.
This novel is science fiction in that it is set in the future rather than because it involves clever or altered science. The early mystery isn't sustained but the adventure continues to the end. An end, which is surprisingly weak, not just because it is clearly signaled, but . Compared with other science fiction there is a surprising amount of sex. I think this is a consequence of being written in the 1970s. A decade that was more permissive for authors than before or since. There is an underlying idea that artistic innovation and to a lesser extent scientific innovation does not survive the apocalypse. This is a concept that remains unexplained.
The story is fast paced, while the structure of the societies is clearly described without too much exposition. Berry is an engaging character and the situation is intriguing but the way the book ended was disappointing.
October 7, 2008
This one was purchased at the junk store near my miserable studio on Morse and Ashland in East Rogers Park, Chicago. I recall possessin and reading it, but don't have anything to add beyond the description given.
October 17, 2014
Mankind's distant descendants are a primite people enslaved by an alien star faring race. They come out of the sky to kidnap people, mostly women. The chief of one tribe pursues the night comers after his village is attacked.
March 23, 2013
I found this compelling to start with but anticlimactic by the time it became obvious what would happen. Not as clever as some of his books but still a good read.
November 8, 2014
1982 grade A-
November 23, 2016
Pulpy sci-fi. Predictable but enjoyable escapism.
December 18, 2023
A good read, very Edmund Cooper.
June 17, 2009
Pretty good, not as good as Seahorse in the sky.
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