Mostly Fanboy Stuff

Cemetery World by Clifford D. Simak


This was not only one of the first Simak books I ever read, it was one of the first science fiction books I ever read. It was Clifford Simak who made me think I liked science fiction, and he remains my favorite ever writer. (Tied with a couple others, tbh. But he was my first favorite, so... tie goes to him.)

It's been about 45 years since I first read it, and I only vaguely recalled what it was all about. I had lost the plot entirely. The truth is, I don't love the plot as much as I did back then. I think Clifford Simak may not have known exactly where he was going when he started writing. But that doesn't diminish my good opinion. I'm even more aware than I was then how I love his style, his tone, his sense of place, his way of putting huge things in perspective. There's something calming in reading his writing; I feel like everything's gonna be okay and I should go sit on the porch and pet my dog.

Some of that was conscious on his part, I'm pretty sure. Often referred to as a writer of pastoral SF, or even as THE pastoralist of science fiction, Simak often (not always) used rural settings for his stories, whether on earth in the present or future or another earth-like planet. Cabins in the woods or small towns in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, or other such places appealed to a kid growing up in rural Michigan. Guys go for walks in the woods with their dogs and have long chats with ghosts or robots or goblins while smoking a pipe or having a drink. Sometimes they have gadgets, and sometimes they have axes for splitting wood to keep the cabin warm.

Cemetery world is a perfect example. Fletcher Carson returns to earth (something like 10,000 years in the future) to see how things are. Much of the planet is given over to the sprawling cemetery catering to those humans throughout the galaxy who want to be interred in the soil of earth. The rest of the planet is making a slow recovery from the devastation of war. Most of the novel, he and the other characters are meeting the remnants of humanity who live in a wilderness that looks a lot like an early, unspoiled earth. They cross rivers and mountains while unraveling a mystery about the place, all the while philosophizing about life and time and all the big ideas that Simak likes to return to. (Me too.)

There's something about the main characters camping along a stream, cooking food over a fire, that humanizes and puts into perspective the giant SF ideas. Space opera can be very cold; Simak's stories and settings tend to be warm. Dangerous, of course, but still more human lasers in space.

It was nice to revisit. Scrupulous honesty demands I give this novel four stars (to mean "You'll probably like it this **** much) but the sentimental part of me gives it 10.

Whenever people ask "Who would you meet if you could talk to anyone from the past?" I answer Clifford Simak. He's the man.

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