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The Water of Thought
IT DROVE MEN MAD
...but each in a different way. In one the effect was total, utter addiction. In another, a compulsion to absolute obedience. In a third, idealistic monomania. In a fourth, unending, all-consuming lust. Of all the enigmas surrounding the planet Kappa, none was more inscrutable than that mysterious liquid central to all the native rites.
There was, in fact, only one certainty about it: Now that it threatened to contaminate the worlds of Earth, its source would have to be destroyed - even though for the native Kappans the Water of Thought was as necessary as the Breath of Life itself.
...but each in a different way. In one the effect was total, utter addiction. In another, a compulsion to absolute obedience. In a third, idealistic monomania. In a fourth, unending, all-consuming lust. Of all the enigmas surrounding the planet Kappa, none was more inscrutable than that mysterious liquid central to all the native rites.
There was, in fact, only one certainty about it: Now that it threatened to contaminate the worlds of Earth, its source would have to be destroyed - even though for the native Kappans the Water of Thought was as necessary as the Breath of Life itself.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
255 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
77 people want to read
About the author
Fred Saberhagen
335 books496 followersFred Saberhagen was an American science fiction and fantasy author most famous for his ''Beserker'' and Dracula stories.
Saberhagen also wrote a series of a series of post-apocalyptic mytho-magical novels beginning with his popular ''Empire of the East'' and continuing through a long series of ''Swords'' and ''Lost Swords'' novels. Saberhagen died of cancer, in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Saberhagen was born in and grew up in the area of Chicago, Illinois. Saberhagen served in the [[U.S. Air Force]] during the Korean War while he was in his early twenties. Back in civilian life, Saberhagen worked as an It was while he was working for Motorola (after his military service) that Saberhagen started writing fiction seriously at the age of about 30. "Fortress Ship", his first "Berserker" short shory, was published in 1963. Then, in 1964, Saberhagen saw the publication of his first novel, ''The Golden People''.
From 1967 to 1973, he worked as an editor for the Chemistry articles in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as well as writing its article on science fiction. He then quit and took up writing full-time. In 1975, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He married fellow writer Joan Spicci in 1968. They had two sons and a daughter.
Saberhagen also wrote a series of a series of post-apocalyptic mytho-magical novels beginning with his popular ''Empire of the East'' and continuing through a long series of ''Swords'' and ''Lost Swords'' novels. Saberhagen died of cancer, in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Saberhagen was born in and grew up in the area of Chicago, Illinois. Saberhagen served in the [[U.S. Air Force]] during the Korean War while he was in his early twenties. Back in civilian life, Saberhagen worked as an It was while he was working for Motorola (after his military service) that Saberhagen started writing fiction seriously at the age of about 30. "Fortress Ship", his first "Berserker" short shory, was published in 1963. Then, in 1964, Saberhagen saw the publication of his first novel, ''The Golden People''.
From 1967 to 1973, he worked as an editor for the Chemistry articles in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as well as writing its article on science fiction. He then quit and took up writing full-time. In 1975, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He married fellow writer Joan Spicci in 1968. They had two sons and a daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 14, 2024
This was an interesting adventure story, it doesn't go too deep and the ending was abrupt but I still had a good time reading it.
3.75/5
3.75/5
July 24, 2017
Garbled pseudo science, and healthy dose of sexism, made this a difficult and boring read.
February 18, 2017
This was a good, solid adventure story until the end, which turned it into a very good adventure story. On a barely-explored planet well off the commonly-traveled space lines, the natives have a drug that they don’t understand and that earth-descended humans understand even less. The natives use it in their rites of passage; to the humans, it causes bizarre and wildly different mental issues depending on who takes it.
One interesting feature of the story is that the narrator speaks in terms of sociological types, simply and without explanation, following the Campbellian dictum that we as readers should be treated as contemporaries.
But the best part of the story is toward the end, where Saberhagen has his main character treat with one of the villains, and we get to see just how deeply and sadly the man’s obsessions run. It turns a good adventure story into a very good story.
One interesting feature of the story is that the narrator speaks in terms of sociological types, simply and without explanation, following the Campbellian dictum that we as readers should be treated as contemporaries.
But the best part of the story is toward the end, where Saberhagen has his main character treat with one of the villains, and we get to see just how deeply and sadly the man’s obsessions run. It turns a good adventure story into a very good story.
January 15, 2026
This is one of those books when you wished Goodreads allowed half a star rating, as 2 and a half would be perfect, but as you can't, 3 is a little too high for me, so a 2 it is.
Perfectly fine, read it in a few sittings which is usually a good sign for me, but it won't sit in my mind for very long, hence the 2 stars.
Perfectly fine, read it in a few sittings which is usually a good sign for me, but it won't sit in my mind for very long, hence the 2 stars.
May 24, 2022
Not bad by any means, but also nothing particularly special. The core concept is decently interesting thought the rest of it is just Heart of Darkness in space.
August 15, 2014
‘Drink Earthman, and all will be revealed to you!
WAS THAT THE KEY TO A WORLD FORGOTTEN?
One explorer had already disappeared on the primitive planet, Kappa. So the day that a second Terrestrial, Jones, ran away after drinking the sacred Kappan water that he had coerced the natives into giving him, the remaining planetologists meant to find out just what was going on.
Questioning the aliens only deepened the mystery. For they said that what Jones had drunk would enable him to communicate with his animal ancestors. It was their most precious and sacred possession.
But how could it affect a person never born on Kappa, a person without such ‘animal’ ancestors? What had really happened to Jones and the other man – and what would happen if either of them managed to bring this incredible liquid back to Earth?’
Blurb from the 1965 Ace Doubles Edition (M-127)
Boris Brazil is a planeteer. He is currently visiting the planet Kappa with his girlfriend Brenda, en route to somewhere else.
It's not clear what planeteers actually do, although they seem to have some quasi official status and are issued with power suits which allow them to crush things with their gloved hands and run very fast. Another planeteer, Edmund Jones, is also on Kappa unofficially, on an anthropological project of his own.
Kappa has a small colony of Earth humans and an extant species of humanoids, as well as a race of hominids that the native species employ as slaves.
At the outset Jones decides to try a liquid offered to him by a native Shaman and then runs off. When he does not return Boris sets out after him. Jones has tried the Water of Thought, a local substance that has differing effects on humans. Boris, having drunk some, finds himself completely under Jones' control and forced to obey his every command.
Jones is determined to find the source of the water which is of interest to others. The Mayor of the human colony is selling the water as a drug while a scientist, Magnuson, is using it in an attempt to raise the local hominids to a sapient level.
It is up to Boris to find a way to escape his own slavery, scupper the plans of the drug dealers and discover the secret of the Water of Thought.
There's no real science here. Saberhagen is looking at issues of exploitation, slavery and colonialism but doesn't break any fresh ground.
WAS THAT THE KEY TO A WORLD FORGOTTEN?
One explorer had already disappeared on the primitive planet, Kappa. So the day that a second Terrestrial, Jones, ran away after drinking the sacred Kappan water that he had coerced the natives into giving him, the remaining planetologists meant to find out just what was going on.
Questioning the aliens only deepened the mystery. For they said that what Jones had drunk would enable him to communicate with his animal ancestors. It was their most precious and sacred possession.
But how could it affect a person never born on Kappa, a person without such ‘animal’ ancestors? What had really happened to Jones and the other man – and what would happen if either of them managed to bring this incredible liquid back to Earth?’
Blurb from the 1965 Ace Doubles Edition (M-127)
Boris Brazil is a planeteer. He is currently visiting the planet Kappa with his girlfriend Brenda, en route to somewhere else.
It's not clear what planeteers actually do, although they seem to have some quasi official status and are issued with power suits which allow them to crush things with their gloved hands and run very fast. Another planeteer, Edmund Jones, is also on Kappa unofficially, on an anthropological project of his own.
Kappa has a small colony of Earth humans and an extant species of humanoids, as well as a race of hominids that the native species employ as slaves.
At the outset Jones decides to try a liquid offered to him by a native Shaman and then runs off. When he does not return Boris sets out after him. Jones has tried the Water of Thought, a local substance that has differing effects on humans. Boris, having drunk some, finds himself completely under Jones' control and forced to obey his every command.
Jones is determined to find the source of the water which is of interest to others. The Mayor of the human colony is selling the water as a drug while a scientist, Magnuson, is using it in an attempt to raise the local hominids to a sapient level.
It is up to Boris to find a way to escape his own slavery, scupper the plans of the drug dealers and discover the secret of the Water of Thought.
There's no real science here. Saberhagen is looking at issues of exploitation, slavery and colonialism but doesn't break any fresh ground.
October 7, 2011
The Water of Thought is ostensibly science fiction, but I personally would classify it as space opera due to the utter lack of science. Which isn’t a bad thing – I likes me some space opera.
The book is set on Kappa, an Earth-like planet inhabited by an intelligent species. Boris, the main character, is a seasoned “planeteer” (from context, a planeteer appears to be someone who explores planets) who is spending his leave at the Earthling colony. His R&R turns into an adventure when Jones, another planeteer on leave, samples a strange liquid offered by the Kappans and runs amok.
Since Jones has a groundsuit (it’s a self-contained environmental suit that also provides extra mechanical power, sort of like the suits in Starship Troopers) and an energy rifle (no explanation of what kind of energy), he’s a force to be reckoned with, and Boris, as the only other person in the colony with groundsuit and energy rifle training, is tapped to track him down. Jones forces Boris to sample the liquid, the Water of Thought, as well, and it has a completely different effect on him. Jones had developed an instant complete addiction, while Boris was compelled to do nothing but obey Jones implicitly.
The effects of the Water of Thought eventually wear off, leaving Boris his own man again. He goes through a number of ordeals to finally discover the source of the Water (note: there's a reason the author named the planet Kappa) and – of course – his destiny.
The story is well-written, well-paced, and interesting. It’s both entertaining and thought-provoking, as one of the running themes is the question of what it means to be human. No great philosophy involved, of course, but this brain candy definitely has a crunchy center.
...Perhaps that wasn’t the best metaphor.
The book is set on Kappa, an Earth-like planet inhabited by an intelligent species. Boris, the main character, is a seasoned “planeteer” (from context, a planeteer appears to be someone who explores planets) who is spending his leave at the Earthling colony. His R&R turns into an adventure when Jones, another planeteer on leave, samples a strange liquid offered by the Kappans and runs amok.
Since Jones has a groundsuit (it’s a self-contained environmental suit that also provides extra mechanical power, sort of like the suits in Starship Troopers) and an energy rifle (no explanation of what kind of energy), he’s a force to be reckoned with, and Boris, as the only other person in the colony with groundsuit and energy rifle training, is tapped to track him down. Jones forces Boris to sample the liquid, the Water of Thought, as well, and it has a completely different effect on him. Jones had developed an instant complete addiction, while Boris was compelled to do nothing but obey Jones implicitly.
The effects of the Water of Thought eventually wear off, leaving Boris his own man again. He goes through a number of ordeals to finally discover the source of the Water (note: there's a reason the author named the planet Kappa) and – of course – his destiny.
The story is well-written, well-paced, and interesting. It’s both entertaining and thought-provoking, as one of the running themes is the question of what it means to be human. No great philosophy involved, of course, but this brain candy definitely has a crunchy center.
...Perhaps that wasn’t the best metaphor.
August 8, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I've always thought science fiction lends itself well to philosophical stories and this one is well done. A really focused plot that tells a unique story. Definitely a good read.
August 4, 2008
This was a quick fun read from an author I previously enjoyed greatly (book of swords series). Have an hour or two free and take the plunge into a self contained and nicely complete story.
January 2, 2011
This is the worst book by an author I think is good that I know of.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews