Sirius

Let me first put it simply: this novel is wonderful. "Sirius" is a thoroughly enjoyable novel in its own right - a delight to read just for its plot. I bet you'll be hooked by the end of the first page! But "Sirius" is also meant to encourage philosophical thought, which it does in a delicate, subtle, and very approachable way. As with all good books of this sort, "Sirius" raises many more questions than are answered. Ostensibly, "Sirius" is a science fiction novel. I think you'll agree Sci-fi generally doesn't age well - this was written in 1944 - so you might be inclined to pre-emptively dismiss this as hopelessly outdated. Not so. "Sirius" maintains its relevancy by keeping science in the background. What science there is remains quite believable and plausible - only the briefest internal struggle is necessary to make it compatible with our modern knowledge. Essentially, the main character, Sirius, is a sentient quadrupedal dog created by a scientist, and who has acquired mostly human sensibilities through being raised by a human family alongside their own children. Sirius' development and upbringing closely parallels the scientist's youngest daughter, Plaxy, with whom he forms a close and unique life-long bond. Plaxy, while biologically entirely human, is fundamentally altered (yet not overtly) by her close upbringing and relationship with Sirius. Most of the text deals with humanity - or more specifically, a non-human sentient's perspective and interactions with the society of Britain in the 1930-40s. "Sirius" manages to be engaging right from the start while also raising serious questions about humanity and its worth, delivered through an accounting of Sirius' daily life, adventures, and misadventures. The book accomplishes this without preaching - one gets a sense that the author has been careful not to trample upon the narrative for the sake of hammering home a point. To go into greater detail, the central issue is Sirius' "otherness." His mood is at some times that of a pet dog, subservient to humans and humanity, then a savage wolf resenting his human oppressors, then a human trying to relate to others in a human way, and more than anything, a combination of all three aspects, in which state he cannot fit into any of society's niches. Sirius oscillates between all these states as he tries to determine who he is, who he is meant to be, who he wants to be, and how to be true to himself. Sometimes Sirius wishes to fit in with human society, other times that is of no importance to him, and when in his "wolf" mood he finds humanity repulsive, but always he is "other," a permanent outsider. Sirius is neither dog nor man and he suffers for it. Stapledon's presentation of Sirius' sentient yet non-human perspective on humanity is uniquely masterful and convincing, but its true value is in provoking the reader to think about humanity, oneself, and one's relationship with humanity. p.s. If you like "Sirius," also find Sta

A moving SF tale of some superintelligent dogs, and one in particular. An experiment produces a dog that is smarter than people. Unfortunately this makes it hard for him to fit in anywhere, he can love a woman, and she can love him, but that can't work. He also still has a low level need to want to go and rip the throats out of animals, even though he knows that this is an animal instinct. He helps run a farm, but is hampered by lack of dexterity, gets tired of tests being run on him, among other things, not to mention getting a bit sick of the condescending farmer and/or creators. A lot of pathos here.

Olaf Stapledon (1886-1950) was the generational link between H. G. Wells (with whom he corresponded) and more recent British sci-fi authors as Arthur C. Clark (who recognizes Stapledon's influence on his "Childhood's End"). Born in England, spent his infancy at Port Said. He was a conscientious-objector but served as ambulance driver in WWI. In 1925 he was awarded with a Ph.D. in Philosophy and this is clearly perceptible in his novels. He had a powerful imagination and humanistic, scientific and philosophical interests that he poured in his four major opus: "Last an First Men" (1930), "Odd John" (1935), "Star Maker" (1937) and "Sirius" (1944). The present story follows the life and deeds of a Super Dog. He is the product of a biological experiment and was gifted with a human equivalent intelligence. He is raised as a step-son in his creator's family and develops a very intimate relation with Plaxy the younger daughter of Dr. Thomas Trelone. Sirius' career comprises being a super sheepdog, wild wolf, laboratory subject, farmer and investigator. There is one central issue that traverses the whole narration: Sirius' uniqueness and solitude. He is a Dog in Man's universe, a Wolf in Monkey-land. He goes from alert inquisitiveness to deep dark depression and back. A melancholic air is always present until the unavoidable tragic ending. It is thought provoking book, even if not as dynamic as may be expected from sci-fi novel, it will captivate the reader's interest. Reviewed by Max Yofre.

A British scientist bioengineers a dog of human intelligence, and the scientist and his wife raise the dog, Sirius, as another one of their children. The story centers on the relationship between Sirius and his human sister Plaxy. There are interesting details about how being a dog is different from being a human, but essentially this is a story about basic human issues of acceptance, love, identity, purpose, happiness, meaning--issues that are especially difficult for Sirius, as the only one of his kind. "Sirius" is out of print as a separate novel but is in print paired with another Stapledon novel (that I didn't like as much) as "Odd John and Sirius." "Sirius" and Stapledon's "Last and First Men" are two of the best science fiction books I've ever read. I wonder why Stapledon's work isn't better known.

Isolated among us, Sirius is the archetype of alienation and is at the same time a more human protagonist than most. He is an intelligent dog, a singular creature resulting from an experiment. He faces his limitations, the physiologically limited form lacking hands, the lonlieness of a singular existance, without peers, serparated by species from the human society around him, separated by his sentience from the species from which he sprang. Yet he is no Frankenstein's monster, his life is not a remonstration of man's quest for knowledge, it is instead directed to understanding himself and the world around him. He studies humankind's best and faces mankinds worst and ultimately the reader realizes that his struggle is also our own