Way Station

mass market paperback

Published Dec. 22, 1964 by Macfadden Books.

ISBN:
978-0-523-60198-4
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4 stars (4 reviews)

13 editions

reviewed Way Station by Clifford D. Simak

Peace, Love and Understanding Under Threat in the Whole Galaxy

4 stars

The premise is that a single human has been chosen as the manager of a galactic teleportation station. He is the only person on earth who is in contact with the broader community of interstellar life. On the outside, he lives a peaceful existence walking through the countryside and chatting with his best friend the postman, but secretly he is in daily contact with strange creatures from all over the galaxy.

The book was written at the height of the cold war, and Simak portrays an earth society on a seemingly inevitable course to nuclear annihilation. The protagonist, Enoch Wallace, discovers that the galactic community of which he is the sole human participant is also on the brink of a destructive crisis.

Simak portrays a universe where god exists as a sort of higher lifeform, and is somehow made accessible by technology. The nature of that technology, in keeping with …

reviewed Way station by Clifford D. Simak (Collier nucleus fantasy & science fiction)

Review of 'Way station' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Enoch Wallace took part in the American Civil War. Today, he lives on his family's farm a solitary existence, and doesn't look to have aged a day. Wallace is responsible for a way station, a stop over point on a galactic transport network that brings him visitors from far and distant planets.

Enoch is a very likeable character. A simple man, he brings an air of personal responsibility. He believes in solving problems on his own means, and keeps a certain honour about himself. Not perfect, by far, but he always strives to learn, having grasped alien languages and branches of advanced off-world mathematics. Very little phases him, and the relationship he has with aliens tends to be one of friendship and comradeship - rarely is he hung up on appearance. Enoch is a wonderful ambassador for the human race.

The story starts following two viewpoints - Enoch and his …

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