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Cities in Flight
Cities in Flight is an important part of science fiction's increase in breadth and complexity through the 1950s. Much of the plotting, particularly in the parts first published, displays the pulp antecedent but the ideas are grand and fully worked through. The glorious central image of Manhattan lifting from the Earth and sailing through the stars is backed by sufficient technological breakthrough and human history to be as convincing as it is wonderful.
The work is episodic and occasionally contrary as a result of its publication history. Much was originally published as short stories and the internal chronology does not closely relate to the order of book publication. Its final publication as a single work - an omnibus, strictly - occurred twenty years after the first publication of the initial short story. Despite, or perhaps because of, this, Cities in Flight manages to cover the next two thousand years of human history in a complex patchwork.
The first book, They Shall Have Stars, is a prologue. It is a short, sharp look at the development of the technology necessary for the society present in the later books. Set early in the next century, this book develops directly from the world of the 1950s. It is a powerful manifesto for the space movement and a convincing, well written, coherent novel.
A Life for the Stars, the second book, steps forward over a thousand years to a time when the exodus of cities from the solar system is almost complete. Aimed at a younger audience, it details the struggles of an Earth boy for acceptance in Manhattan. Many cities have reached a position equivalent to itinerant workers, travelling from planet to planet and taking jobs such as mining or complex manufacturing in exchange for supplies, repairs or money. These cities are referred to as "Okies", reflecting the effects of the dustbowl years of the 1930s on the Midwestern USA. While this is a central plot device it also reflects Blish's interest in the cyclical nature of history.
The next book, Earthman, Come Home, was the first to be published. It is the hub of the saga, covering the height of the freedom of the flying cities and the nature of the end of that lifestyle. In its episodic nature and action-oriented adventures the book displays its origin in science fiction magazines of the early fifties. In its overarching plot and philosophy, Earthman, Come Home shows considerable depth. This book returns to consideration of the importance of the greater good over the individual first discussed in They Shall Have Stars. Other abiding themes of the series are also present - the passage of time and the obtaining of (or failing to reach for) wisdom.
The final book in the internal chronology, A Clash of Cymbals, is more directly concerned with these philosophical questions. It continues the story of Manhattan and its inhabitants, though the city has come to the end of its journey through space. This new circumstance affects the characters as does the inevitability of the triumph of time. The book has little action and much thought but is a tense, and intense, farewell to an amazing universe.
Cities in Flight forms part of the texture of science fiction, both in standing apart from earlier works and through becoming part of the canon, influencing much of what followed. It is filled with the classic science fiction "sense of wonder". There are powerful images and ideas, many of which have been used time and again in subsequent decades; the "spindizzy", the engine of the Flying Cities, may sound almost antiquated but the concept of confusing atomic particles to do the impossible is a standard in many novels using faster than light travel; longevity as a method of carrying a single group of protagonists through an extensive history is another example. Blish uses this immunity to age to explore the nature of history. He appears to believe that only the best of humanity is capable of learning from the past and that as a result we are destined to repeat our own mistakes. The heroes are brave, strong, clever and prepared to do whatever is necessary for good to triumph. Yet, they develop. They become more rounded people, more prepared to defend their territory than their ideals and are barely able to admit the mistakes they are forced to live with. This imparts great depth to an adventure as large as the galaxy.
Purchase this book at fatbrain
Amazon.com (US) reports a hardcover edition to be published in February 2000.
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One thing that I've noticed is that if an author writes a Star Trek book, they tend to be dismissed by 'real' SF fans unless they've a track record outside that genre. Blish is dismissed because he's best known for his Trek stuff; in fact, AFAIK that's the only stuff that's currently being printed in the UK.
/. for bringing these older authors to the attention of the masses.
Blish is a massively underrated author, and one that the current generation of SF fans needs to read. I can't say for certain that he was an influence on, for example, Vernor Vinge, but there's something distinctly Blishian about A Fire Upon the Deep.
Blish is a great author not just for people who want to understand the history of SF over the past few decades, but for anyone who just plain wants a cool bit of space opera.
Well done to
They Shall Have the Stars is a dystopic view of the West, so obsessed with national security that most rights have been suppressed, including such goodies like freedom of speech, due process, etc. The director of the FBI is a hereditary post, and more concerned with his own position than the country's. In the end, the Soviet's cause the US to become a mirror image of their society, complete with corruption, fear, stasis and repression.
Today, the Soviets are a shadow of themselves, but the government keeps finding new ways to repress our rights. Remember when packages over a pound had to be mailed in person, because they were worried TWA 800 was brought down by a mail bomb? Everyone agrees that it wasn't a mail bomb, but good luck putting package weighing more than a pound in the mailbox. Another minor right chipped away.
SPOILER below
In the end, the senator that worked hard to make an interstellar drive and anti-agathics and allowed humanity to reach the stars gets locked up in a radioactive waste dump. Joy.
George