Star Maker
Star Maker
Olaf Stapledon
Stewart Brand
Stewart Brand recommended this book on his "Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization" blog post.
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Star Maker

Star Maker

Olaf Stapledon
By
Olaf Stapledon
3.9
8342
ratings on Goodreads

In the blink of an eye, an unassuming observer perched on a suburban hill is catapulted across the cosmos, embarking on an odyssey that transcends the boundaries of imagination. "Star Maker" by Olaf Stapledon is not merely a voyage through the staggering expanse of the universe but a profound exploration of existence itself. As our voyager encounters civilizations and consciousnesses beyond human ken, spanning the eons from the birth of stars to their ultimate demise, Stapledon weaves a narrative that is as ambitious in its scope as it is in its philosophical inquiry. This is a story that dares to confront the fundamental questions of our place in the universe and the nature of the cosmic architect, the enigmatic Star Maker. With a masterful blend of awe-inspiring scale and deeply personal introspection, Stapledon's masterpiece challenges the reader to consider the myriad possibilities of life and intelligence. Through the eyes of the lone traveler, we witness the rise and fall of empires, the evolution of myriad worlds, and the interplay of creative and destructive forces on a cosmic level. "Star Maker" stands as a monument within science fiction, not just for its grand vision of an interconnected universe, but for its poignant reflections on humanity, our aspirations, and our fleeting significance in the vast drama of creation. It is a journey that stretches the limits of our imagination, inviting us to ponder our place among the stars and the mysterious architect who set the celestial saga in motion.

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Released
1937
1 Jan
Length
272
Pages

1

recommendations

recommendation

Stewart Brand recommended this book on his "Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization" blog post.
Sitting there on the heather, on our planetary grain, I shrank from the abysses that opened up on every side, and in the future. The silent darkness, the featureless unknown, were more dread than all the terrors that imagination had mustered. Peering, the mind could see nothing sure, nothing in all human experience to be grasped as certain, except uncertainty itself; nothing but obscurity gendered by a thick haze of theories. Man's science was a mere mist of numbers; his philosophy but a fog of words. His very perception of this rocky grain and all its wonders was but a shifting and a lying apparition. Even oneself, that seeming-central fact, was a mere phantom, so deceptive, that the most honest of men must question his own honesty, so insubstantial that he must even doubt his very existence.
— Olaf Stapledon, Star Maker

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