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THEY SHALL HAVE STARS CITIES IN FLIGHT / JAMES BLISH James Blish 9780099086703 Books

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THEY SHALL HAVE STARS CITIES IN FLIGHT / JAMES BLISH James Blish 9780099086703 Books

They Shall Have Stars (1956) is the first of James Blish's famous Cities in Flight novels (note: the series was not released according to its internal chronology -- the third volume, Earthman Come Home was published first in 1955).

They Shall Have Stars is an intriguing early hard science fiction work which takes place in a somewhat well-realized future Earth society. It suffers from pseudo-science babble bombardment (PSBB) -- the weird 1950s dated grade school chemistry lecture sort of pseudo-science.
For example...

(invented molecule diagram)

"On Earth, such a compound, had it occurred at all, might had grown porous, hard, and as strong as rhinoceros-horn. Here, under nearly three times Earth's gravity, the molecules were forced to assemble in strict aliphatic order, but in cross section their arrangement was hexagonal, as though the stuff would become an aromatic compound if only it could."

I've always been somewhat frustrated with hard sci-fi in general so many readers who want to read some early exemplars of the subgenre might have an entirely positive reaction to his chemistry lectures. Blish was trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Colombia University and was a science editor for Pfizer pharmaceutical company so these sorts of digressions are second nature...

Plot Summary

The plot is off the wall bizarre until about two thirds of the way through when the standard elements of 1950s sci-fi are introduced. The West has devolved into a Soviet sort of state with extreme censorship. Scientists, because all their experiments are classified, are prevented from dialogue and competition with one another resulting in scientific stagnation. A senator, Bliss Wagoner, realizes this and funds "crackpot" scientists in an effort to create some radical new inventions.

Since science has suffered so horribly under the Western government religious movements are flourishing. Some of Bliss best world building scenes involve the techniques the Believers use to "convert" people passing by.

"As the Caddy pulled up for the second time, a nozzle was thrust into the rear window and a stream of iridescent bubbles poured across the back seat directly under Paige's and Anne's noses. As each bubble burst, there was a wave of perfume -- evidently it was the "Celestial Joy" the Believers were using this year..."

Seemingly tangential to what is happening on Earth is the construction of a gigantic ice bridge on Jupiter built by men and women who use remote control vehicles from outposts on Jupiter's moons. Since they live under harsh conditions they've been "conditioned" by the government to cope. The slow realization of the purpose of the ice bridge is the main thrust of the plot.

The main character is Paige, a spaceman, sent to find extraterrestrial soul samples for a medical company. Delivering his samples he gets involved romatically with the receptionist (and daughter of the chief scientist of the firm) who reveals too much about the company's activities. Eventually the two main narratives intertwine.

Final Thoughts

This is a worthwhile early hard sci-fi novel with some genuinely well-written passages. Blish is consciously attempting to move away from pulp science fiction -- most explicitly with a main female character who is definitely intelligent and average looking (Blish repeats, in often frustratingly "1950s crude" language, how normal she looks). At least our main character seems to genuinely fall in love with her.
The plot is rather minimal, the ice bridge on Jupiter concept absolutely outlandish, and the mini-chemistry lectures annoying. That aside, Blish has some fascinating ideas and offers a somewhat new take on some central 1950s sci-fi cold war related themes. Recommended.


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THEY SHALL HAVE STARS CITIES IN FLIGHT / JAMES BLISH James Blish 9780099086703 Books Reviews

They Shall Have Stars is an intriguing look at the near future. Blish writes in the 60s, and so his version of what actually happened historically is of course off, but it has some interesting takes on this present reality. He posits a future in which the West becomes like the Communist East in order to effectively fight them. The West becomes more and more restrictive and controlling. And the West doesn't have the practice at this that the East does, so eventually the Communist East wins and takes over- but only because there was in the end no difference between the two governments. Perhaps some lessons are there in our current fight against terrorism at that.

The book is about the development of two technologies which are important for the rest of the history of humanity. Blish has an amazing ability to write real characters, getting the nuances of interactions, even with the science fiction setting. Again and again I was struck how I was reading an engaging story, but also excellent writing.
They Shall Have Stars is Book 1 of the Cities in Flight Series.

A lull in the space program spawns an idea in which `crackpots' must be hired in order to delve into unexplored regions of science. The government thereon sponsors the exorbitant cost in order to take humankind to new levels. In sci-fi culture, it is widely known that the two discoveries found which will send humankind beyond the lonely confines of the earthly orbit are the spindizzy (the anti-gravity device) and ascomycin (the anti-agathic [or anti-mortality] drug). The lead-up to these discoveries is shrouded in mystery but at the same time is also lightly exposed to play into the hands of the government's agenda.

Written with outstanding intelligence and focused maturity, James Blish presents (in the 1960s era) a new format of science fiction which eclipses the fiction of the same era (including his peers Asimov and Pohl). The science is thick enough to satisfy any hard sci-fi reader and also inventive enough to titillate the consumer of speculative fiction. The story may be fairly short (128 pages in my edition) but it provides a solid bootstrap to the universe which Blish has created, which I have yet to read but have much anticipation on continuing the series. Its sheer ingenuity condensed into the number of pages leads to its dryness and abbreviation of finer points.
They Shall Have Stars is Book 1 of the Cities in Flight Series.

A lull in the space program spawns an idea in which `crackpots' must be hired in order to delve into unexplored regions of science. The government thereon sponsors the exorbitant cost in order to take humankind to new levels. In sci-fi culture, it is widely known that the two discoveries found which will send humankind beyond the lonely confines of the earthly orbit are the spindizzy (the anti-gravity device) and ascomycin (the anti-agathic [or anti-mortality] drug). The lead-up to these discoveries is shrouded in mystery but at the same time is also lightly exposed to play into the hands of the government's agenda.

Written with outstanding intelligence and focused maturity, James Blish presents (in the 1960s era) a new format of science fiction which eclipses the fiction of the same era (including his peers Asimov and Pohl). The science is thick enough to satisfy any hard sci-fi reader and also inventive enough to titillate the consumer of speculative fiction. The story may be fairly short (128 pages in my edition) but it provides a solid bootstrap to the universe which Blish has created, which I have yet to read but have much anticipation on continuing the series. Its sheer ingenuity condensed into the number of pages leads to its dryness and abbreviation of finer points.

(September 20, 2009)
They Shall Have Stars (1956) is the first of James Blish's famous Cities in Flight novels (note the series was not released according to its internal chronology -- the third volume, Earthman Come Home was published first in 1955).

They Shall Have Stars is an intriguing early hard science fiction work which takes place in a somewhat well-realized future Earth society. It suffers from pseudo-science babble bombardment (PSBB) -- the weird 1950s dated grade school chemistry lecture sort of pseudo-science.
For example...

(invented molecule diagram)

"On Earth, such a compound, had it occurred at all, might had grown porous, hard, and as strong as rhinoceros-horn. Here, under nearly three times Earth's gravity, the molecules were forced to assemble in strict aliphatic order, but in cross section their arrangement was hexagonal, as though the stuff would become an aromatic compound if only it could."

I've always been somewhat frustrated with hard sci-fi in general so many readers who want to read some early exemplars of the subgenre might have an entirely positive reaction to his chemistry lectures. Blish was trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Colombia University and was a science editor for Pfizer pharmaceutical company so these sorts of digressions are second nature...

Plot Summary

The plot is off the wall bizarre until about two thirds of the way through when the standard elements of 1950s sci-fi are introduced. The West has devolved into a Soviet sort of state with extreme censorship. Scientists, because all their experiments are classified, are prevented from dialogue and competition with one another resulting in scientific stagnation. A senator, Bliss Wagoner, realizes this and funds "crackpot" scientists in an effort to create some radical new inventions.

Since science has suffered so horribly under the Western government religious movements are flourishing. Some of Bliss best world building scenes involve the techniques the Believers use to "convert" people passing by.

"As the Caddy pulled up for the second time, a nozzle was thrust into the rear window and a stream of iridescent bubbles poured across the back seat directly under Paige's and Anne's noses. As each bubble burst, there was a wave of perfume -- evidently it was the "Celestial Joy" the Believers were using this year..."

Seemingly tangential to what is happening on Earth is the construction of a gigantic ice bridge on Jupiter built by men and women who use remote control vehicles from outposts on Jupiter's moons. Since they live under harsh conditions they've been "conditioned" by the government to cope. The slow realization of the purpose of the ice bridge is the main thrust of the plot.

The main character is Paige, a spaceman, sent to find extraterrestrial soul samples for a medical company. Delivering his samples he gets involved romatically with the receptionist (and daughter of the chief scientist of the firm) who reveals too much about the company's activities. Eventually the two main narratives intertwine.

Final Thoughts

This is a worthwhile early hard sci-fi novel with some genuinely well-written passages. Blish is consciously attempting to move away from pulp science fiction -- most explicitly with a main female character who is definitely intelligent and average looking (Blish repeats, in often frustratingly "1950s crude" language, how normal she looks). At least our main character seems to genuinely fall in love with her.
The plot is rather minimal, the ice bridge on Jupiter concept absolutely outlandish, and the mini-chemistry lectures annoying. That aside, Blish has some fascinating ideas and offers a somewhat new take on some central 1950s sci-fi cold war related themes. Recommended.