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Scientifictionist, v. 2, issue 1, November 1946-January 1947
Page 5
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BOOK REVIEW by 4e Ackerman Death Into Life by Olaf Stapledon Methuen & Co., London, 1946. 7/6and O It is a source of regret, to me at least, that Dr. Stapledon's books grow shorter. No more the meaty volumes of well over 300 pages apiece -- Last a First Darkness and the Light, (181), Old Man in New World but a booklet of 36 pages; and now, Death Into Life, 159. At the same time, I have a criticism to make of Death Into Life that I had not to make of his preceding books, except in small part Star Maker and Odd John: It did not completely capture my interest, did not spellbind me as say Darkness or Sirius. For in Death Into Life Dr. Stapledon is concerned primarily with that mystical, metaphysical thing, the spirit, and the affairs of the spirit seem to proceed at a more pedestrian pace than the considerations of body or brain. We have been treated to Mr Allenby Loses His Way and Julian Grant Loses His Way, fantasy books by other authors; and I was tempted to subtitle this Dr. Stapledon Loses His Way, but that would be too harsh a criticism and, and I feel, an impertinence on the part of lesser-order mind such as my own. Actually, to quote the blurb on the interior of the jacket would be to pretty well tell all that the book has to say in 159 pages. It describes the sensation of dying; how the individual is aware of himself briefly as an individual, then coalesces with the nearest --to it -- newly released spirits, this multispirited entity in turn combining with the spirit of Man, and so on up the span to the Universal Spirit -- which yet yearns to know the dark, tyrant Other, the creator responsible for all that is, was and will be. One dies like a falling raindrop, a molecule of H20 with a personality; splashes into a cup of water, becoming part of the commonality; the cup is poured into a stream; and the stream flows to the sea. The book does not have a story; Stapledon plainly states at the beginning, "This fantasy is not a novel". Sanwiched in along with the spiritual spiral, as living. These are italicized pages, occuring 2 or 3 at a time; they are not fantastic, and I do not especially see their relationship to the rest of the book; but they are nice. Stapledon displays only briefly the facet most appreciated by fans when he stands "at the foothills of eternity" and envisions Man's colonization of 5 planets, the distant disintegration of Luna inot a Saturnlike ring around Terra, and the eventual explosion of the sun which annihilates the minded-life of the solar system. He uses a phrase I liked, "beyond the stars and aeons", for our more familiar "space and time"; and he introduced me to a fascinating new word "sublunary" for "under the moon". (On checking the dictionary I see they don't credit Stapledon with this term but a chap named Dryden who once said "All things sublunary are subject to change".) I can recommend the book only with reservations. I doubt it will be anybody's favorite Stapledon -- it's too repetitious and eventless to charm me completely -- but it's one advanced thinker's guess at "life" after death, and what it might be like, and is worth say a buck and half, used. Don't let some money-mad non-fan dealer try to convince you your life won't be worth living -- or death worth dying -- if you don't buy a mint copy a couple months from now for five bucks. (UTOPIAS MADE TO ORDER -- continued) a score of others -- the best of these inspire a determination toward social and scientific progress which even the most cynical can appreciate. For science-fiction is a realistic idealism! While acknowledging man's not-infrequent lack of logical reasoning, it still maintains firm faith in his ability to chart an eventual course toward Utopia -- the world of tomorrow that may equal even the science-fiction fan's most idealistic dreams. The End. page 5
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BOOK REVIEW by 4e Ackerman Death Into Life by Olaf Stapledon Methuen & Co., London, 1946. 7/6and O It is a source of regret, to me at least, that Dr. Stapledon's books grow shorter. No more the meaty volumes of well over 300 pages apiece -- Last a First Darkness and the Light, (181), Old Man in New World but a booklet of 36 pages; and now, Death Into Life, 159. At the same time, I have a criticism to make of Death Into Life that I had not to make of his preceding books, except in small part Star Maker and Odd John: It did not completely capture my interest, did not spellbind me as say Darkness or Sirius. For in Death Into Life Dr. Stapledon is concerned primarily with that mystical, metaphysical thing, the spirit, and the affairs of the spirit seem to proceed at a more pedestrian pace than the considerations of body or brain. We have been treated to Mr Allenby Loses His Way and Julian Grant Loses His Way, fantasy books by other authors; and I was tempted to subtitle this Dr. Stapledon Loses His Way, but that would be too harsh a criticism and, and I feel, an impertinence on the part of lesser-order mind such as my own. Actually, to quote the blurb on the interior of the jacket would be to pretty well tell all that the book has to say in 159 pages. It describes the sensation of dying; how the individual is aware of himself briefly as an individual, then coalesces with the nearest --to it -- newly released spirits, this multispirited entity in turn combining with the spirit of Man, and so on up the span to the Universal Spirit -- which yet yearns to know the dark, tyrant Other, the creator responsible for all that is, was and will be. One dies like a falling raindrop, a molecule of H20 with a personality; splashes into a cup of water, becoming part of the commonality; the cup is poured into a stream; and the stream flows to the sea. The book does not have a story; Stapledon plainly states at the beginning, "This fantasy is not a novel". Sanwiched in along with the spiritual spiral, as living. These are italicized pages, occuring 2 or 3 at a time; they are not fantastic, and I do not especially see their relationship to the rest of the book; but they are nice. Stapledon displays only briefly the facet most appreciated by fans when he stands "at the foothills of eternity" and envisions Man's colonization of 5 planets, the distant disintegration of Luna inot a Saturnlike ring around Terra, and the eventual explosion of the sun which annihilates the minded-life of the solar system. He uses a phrase I liked, "beyond the stars and aeons", for our more familiar "space and time"; and he introduced me to a fascinating new word "sublunary" for "under the moon". (On checking the dictionary I see they don't credit Stapledon with this term but a chap named Dryden who once said "All things sublunary are subject to change".) I can recommend the book only with reservations. I doubt it will be anybody's favorite Stapledon -- it's too repetitious and eventless to charm me completely -- but it's one advanced thinker's guess at "life" after death, and what it might be like, and is worth say a buck and half, used. Don't let some money-mad non-fan dealer try to convince you your life won't be worth living -- or death worth dying -- if you don't buy a mint copy a couple months from now for five bucks. (UTOPIAS MADE TO ORDER -- continued) a score of others -- the best of these inspire a determination toward social and scientific progress which even the most cynical can appreciate. For science-fiction is a realistic idealism! While acknowledging man's not-infrequent lack of logical reasoning, it still maintains firm faith in his ability to chart an eventual course toward Utopia -- the world of tomorrow that may equal even the science-fiction fan's most idealistic dreams. The End. page 5
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