Ratings2
Average rating4.5
A telepath acquires a powerful alien consciousness—and must run to escape corporate assassins and angry mobs—in this novel by the author of Way Station. Space travel has been abandoned in the twenty-second century. It is deemed too dangerous, expensive, and inconvenient—and now the all-powerful Fishhook company holds the monopoly on interstellar exploration for commercial gain. Their secret is the use of “parries,” human beings with the remarkable telepathic ability to expand their minds throughout the universe. On what should have been a routine assignment, however, loyal Fishhook employee Shepherd Blaine is inadvertently implanted with a copy of an alien consciousness, becoming something more than human. Now he’s a company pariah, forced to flee the safe confines of the Fishhook complex. But the world he escapes into is not a safe sanctuary; Its people have been taught to hate and fear his parapsychological gift—and there is nowhere on Earth, or elsewhere, for Shepherd Blaine to hide. A Hugo Award nominee, Time Is the Simplest Thing showcases the enormous talents of one of the true greats of twentieth-century science fiction. This richly imagined tale of prejudice, corporate greed, oppression, and, ultimately, transcendence stands tall among Simak’s most enduring works.
Reviews with the most likes.
This has always been my favourite of Simak's books, since I first read it, probably in the 1960s. There are so many original ideas and scenes to wonder at in it, although to be sure the scenario is rather bizarre and unlikely; and it seemed to be rendered obsolete by Yuri Gagarin at around its date of publication.
Clearly it long ago ceased to be a vision of the future, if it ever was; it's more of an alternative-world story. But I find it fascinating as such, and it draws me back time and time again.
Shep's encounter with the Pinkness, and the peculiar knowledge and abilities that he derives from that contact, are undying classics of sf.
It's very strange that Simak had a long and apparently happy marriage, and yet his heroes consistently fail to have any successful relationship with a woman. In his fiction, women seem appealing and desirable but out of reach, unattainable and somewhat incomprehensible. Fortunately this is not a big part of the book because it's not something he lingers over for very long. There are several women in the book, they have minds of their own and are players in the story, but the story is about the male hero and they don't take up too much space in it.
The cover of this edition is completely inappropriate: there are no spaceships in this story.