Book Review: Way Station by Clifford D. Simak

Way Station by Clifford D. Simak

Paperback, 210 pages

Published 1992 by Collier Books (first published November 1963)

This will not be a super extensive review as I read this for the Dickheads podcast series on the Hugo award winners of the '60s. So if you really want deep thoughts on this novel you'll have to listen to the podcast. It will be added to this podcast once it is released.

As the 1964 winner of the Hugo award for the best novel, I had high hopes. I was already a big fan of Simak, having read most of his major novels and already being a big fan of City, Cemetery World, Time and Again and Ring Around the Sun to name a few. I have to admit the idea of Alien B and B on earth didn't sound super exciting. I also knew that it beat out Cat's Cradle which is one of Kurt Vonnegut's best novels and I just couldn't deal with that.

None the less on its own merits Way Station is a thoughtful and charming piece of midwestern science fiction that doesn't tell a hero's journey in a traditional sense. Enoch Wallace is a man who is over 100 years old, a Vet of the Civil War who returned to Wisconsin and appears to have never aged past his 30's. That is interesting enough of a mystery that gets a great set-up involving military spies, who are a bit under used in the rest of the novel.

We come to find out that Enoch doesn't age when he is in his house, A temporal portal exists that is a way station or a halfway point where teleportation travelers get to spend a night and teleport on to the next station on whatever world they are going to. This sets up the curious Enoch to have spent many a night talking with Aliens of many species. There is a conflict that arises, that challenges Enoch's position in the confederacy of worlds. This happens as his neighbors on earth start to get curious and the government gets involved.

Without spoiler the second half of the novel or our podcast let me say that I really enjoyed this novel. It has a few storylines that weave together and more importantly, the characters are well-drawn. The ideas at the core are excellently used to explore the themes. It is far from my favorite Simak novel but I enjoyed it. I have rolled my eyes at a few of the reviews that seem to have a problem accepting this novel for what it is. A piece of golden age sci-fi that I admit is a little weird coming in the Hugo series after PKD's Man in the High Castle. Knowing that it beats Cat's Cradle gives it a Jethro Tull winning the metal grammy feel. This is a good and important novel with themes for days of discussion. I just don't think it should've won the Hugo.

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DickHeads Podcast · Dick Adjacent #8 - Way Station - with Matthew L. Whitaker