Review of 'City'
City by Clifford D. Simak
In a future where humans have moved away from the city they gradually lose their sense of identity allowing sentient dogs to become the dominant lifeform. Over the millennia we follow the legacy of the Webster family and their trusty robot Jenkins as their memory fades into mythos in the rising civilisation of dogs and other animals. Without their human masters and therefore their reason for creation robots find their own way by building spaceships to explore the universe.
From a master of Science fiction “City” is told from the perspective of a future (dog) historian in a series of 8 “tales” we learn how this future came into being with each chapter introduced by the historian to provide the future context. Ultimately, this is a cautionary tale of how our growing seeking of independence may lead to the collapse of society. It is our communal living, the author posits, that makes us human. Without this interaction we are no longer human and society collapses.
Despite the bizarre premise and fairly dated perspective of technology “City” is an interesting if fairly light read with each “tale”, set hundreds of years from the previous, pretty much a standalone story with different characters and settings but all very believable.
Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”
Review Date: 2024-12-08
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Magnum
Publication Date: 1961
ISBN: 041706540X