The Complete Novels Of Olaf Stapledon

Stapledon's science fiction novels often present the strivings of some intelligence that is beaten down by an indifferent universe and its inhabitants who, through no fault of their own, fail to comprehend its lofty yearnings. It is filled with protagonists who are tormented by the conflict between their "higher" and "lower" impulses. Table of Contents: Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future Last Men in London Odd John: A Story Between Jest and Earnest Star Maker Darkness and the Light Sirius: A Fantasy of Love and Discord Death into Life The Flames

A human narrator from England is transported out of his body via unexplained means. He realizes he is able to explore space and other planets. After exploring a civilization on another planet in our galaxy at a level of development similar to our own that existed millions of years ago thousands of light years from Earth (the "Other Earth") in some detail, his mind merges with that of one of its inhabitants, and as they travel together, they are joined by still more minds or group-minds. This snowballing process is paralleled by the expansion of the book's scale, describing more and more planets in less and less detail. The disembodied travelers encounter many ideas that are interesting from both science-fictional and philosophical points of view. Star Maker tackles philosophical themes such as the essence of life, of birth, decay and death, and the relationship between creation and creator. A pervading theme is that of progressive unity within and between different civilizations.

Stapledon's science fiction novels often present the strivings of some intelligence that is beaten down by an indifferent universe and its inhabitants who, through no fault of their own, fail to comprehend its lofty yearnings. It is filled with protagonists who are tormented by the conflict between their "higher" and "lower" impulses._x000D_ Table of Contents:_x000D_ Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future_x000D_ Last Men in London_x000D_ Odd John: A Story Between Jest and Earnest_x000D_ Star Maker_x000D_ Darkness and the Light_x000D_ Sirius: A Fantasy of Love and Discord_x000D_ Death into Life_x000D_ The Flames_x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_

Sirius is a dog with humanlike intelligence. He is raised by scientist Thomas Trelone in North Wales, near Trawsfynydd. Thomas embarks on a program of using steroids and other chemicals to rapidly develop cognitive power of dogs, resulting in super sheep dogs. Sirius, however, proves to possess a dog intelligence comparable to a normal human being, as he is able to communicate with English words, although it takes some time for the humans to understand his canine pronunciation. He is born at the same time as his creator's human daughter, Plaxy, and the two of them are raised together as brother and sister. When Plaxy leaves for school they drift apart and troubles for Sirius begin. With human intelligence and emotion he declines to lead a life of a regular dog and he tends to develop as a person, but keeps running into obstacles.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Odd John" by Olaf Stapledon. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

DigiCat presents to you this meticulously edited Olaf Stapledon collection, formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Stapledon's science fiction novels often present the strivings of some intelligence that is beaten down by an indifferent universe and its inhabitants who, through no fault of their own, fail to comprehend its lofty yearnings. It is filled with protagonists who are tormented by the conflict between their "higher" and "lower" impulses. Table of Contents: Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future Last Men in London Odd John: A Story Between Jest and Earnest Star Maker Darkness and the Light Sirius: A Fantasy of Love and Discord Death into Life The Flames

William Olaf Stapledon is best remembered for the extraordinary works of speculative fiction he published between 1930 and 1950. As a novelist, he was known as the spokesman for the Age of Einstein and has influenced writers as diverse as Virginia Woolf, Arthur C. Clarke, and Doris Lessing. This biography is the first to draw on a vast body of unpublished and private documents—interviews, correspondence, archival material, and papers in private hands—to reveal fully the internal struggles that shaped Stapledon's life and reclaim for public attention a distinctive voice of the modern era. Late in his life in an unpublished "letter to the future" Stapledon unwittingly provided the rationale for his biography: "It is just possible that my very obscurity may fit me to speak more faithfully for my period than any of its great unique personalities. A pacifist in World War I, an advocate of European unity and world government, one of the first teachers in the Workers' Educational Association, and an early protestor against apartheid, Stapledon turned utopian beliefs into practical politics. With roots in the shipping worlds of Devon, Liverpool, and the Suez Canal, he was transformed from a self-described provincial on the margins of English literary and political life into a visionary idealist who attracted the attention of scientists, journalists, and novelists, and, given his left-wing political affiliations, even the F.B.I. Stapledon's novels—Last and First Men, Star Maker, Odd John, and Sirius—have gathered a passionate following, and they have seldom been out of print in the last twenty-five years. But the personal experiences and political commitments that shaped this creative work have, until now, barely been known. Robert Crossley's work reveals how, in public and in private, in his social activism as in his fiction, Olaf Stapledon embodied many of the modern era's anxieties and hopes that allow his works to continue to speak to and for the future.