Special Deliverance

This is my favorite s/f novel of all- much like Tolkien - a must read . The story works at several levels; you are simply absorbed. It still has the same magic every time I read it.So good it hurts!!

This little allegorical novella is Simak's _Pilgrim's Progress_. He is using simplified symbolic characters to explore the human condition. He dumps them into a strange world on an involuntary journey to solve a puzzle for survival, with no instructions. All is mystery, but with a hint that an omnipotent (but unknown) power must be behind it all. Sounds alot like life, doesn't it? As for the symbolism of the characters, the Brigadier (from a world of perpetual, mechanised warfare) is a extraverted thinker. The Parson (from a grim theocratic world) is an extraverted feeler. The Engineer (from a stable, but static, world where the British Empire never ended) is an introverted thinker. The Poet (from a world of perpetual Greek rennaisance) is an introverted feeler. Altogether, they represent the divisions of the entire human race. They come across as pretty obnoxoius at times, but that is because they are all "unbalanced" aspects of a whole and healthy personality. Simak's view here is that we need to integrate all these views, if not in each of our own personalities, then in one society by recognising and appreciating each others strengths and working together. Oh yes, the other two principle characters are both classic "outsiders." The main character is a professor/reporter type that principly observes, occationally advises, but has no real social power. The Robot, is also an outsider and represents the working class- the people who do the actual labor, but who have no actual control or power in the society. It is interesting that these outsiders are the two most decent and sympathetic of the cast.All-in-all, a most satisfying little morality play.

While the main action of the book takes place on a kind of a board-game world where the superior race of non-humans representing the sort of the galactic Greenpeace conducts trials to see which humans from countless alternative Earths qualify to make a fresh start at bettering themselves, the actual message of the book lies deeper than solving alien puzzles. The adventures of the band of complete strangers trying to survive in an unfamiliar and, for the most part, unfriendly world underscores the importance of interpersonal communications and the need for certain character traits without which an individual cannot survive and live a meaningful life. The book is an engaging mixture of Freudian and Darwinian concepts, although the characters are a bit cartoonish, and the narration is a bit flat at times.

This is decidedly not as good as some of Clifford Simak's short storys, but it stands in good favor anyway. This was the first real sci-fi that I have ever read, and I was instantly hooked. Not as good as some of Asivov or Arther Clarke's stuff, but still.... Read this, but beware! He uses some VERY foul language in this book.

This book was one of the first few books I had ever read. You actualy begin to feel sorry for some of the characters when they find out that they had made a mistake in judgement. Even though they were not the nicest of people. If you find yourself able to still get a copy of this book do so, you will not regret it!