Not quite a masterwork (Last and First Men - Olaf Stapledon)

Member Name: RussellC

Product:	Last and First Men - Olaf Stapledon
Date:	12/09/00 (172 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Amusingly bizarre and absurd ideas for the future of mankind.

Disadvantages: Not particularly inciteful on the nature of man. At times just a little too absurd.

I've long had an interest in Science Fiction, but spent most of my teenage years reading classical literature and as such haven't read that broadly of the great writers of SF. Which means that for me the SF Masterworks series from Orion is an excellent range giving me a chance to experience a diverse selection of authors. Having read Olaf Stapledon's "Last and First Men" I have to question the appearance of the word 'Masterwork' on the cover of this book. I don't doubt that it may have been influential, but I found the novel to be both dull and increasingly absurd.

Written back in 1930 this book presents a future history of mankind from what was then the present far forward by many billions of years. Stapledn was a psychology and philosophy lecturer and a pacifist and this shows to an extent in his writing. For example on of the later stages of mankinds civilisation bears an uncanny resemblance to Plato's Utopia as given in the republic. Throughout the history mankinds acts of violence and destruction are viewed with suitable harshness and are frequently the cause of mankinds own downfall, which delays our evolution to the form of last men.

The book falls down however when it comes to the development and evolution of man. I do not expect my SF to be scientifically accurate and I'd regard myself as pretty good at suspending disbelief, but Olaf makes it very hard to do it. Perhaps I should note that I used to be a biologist, and though it's been a while I still have a pretty good understanding of evolutionary theory, which is more than can be said for Stapledon. I don't mind authors using biology with some flexibility when it lends to a good story, but some of Stapledon's ideas are insane. It isn't so long from now that we all live in giant tower blocks spending most of our life flying small aeroplanes in elaborate rituals to our Gods. At a young age children are taken out by plane, gripping
on to the wings for their life, only those who hold on survive and enter the nezxt generation, yet Stapledon tells us that the human ability to grip is being reduced when there is an obvious sleection for it. Well perhaps I'm not suspending my disbelief as much as I could do but I couldn't help being reminded of Vic Reeves asking Carol Vorderman if in the future we'd all drive round in giant weeping lemons.

Other interesting events to come are the loss of fuel by the race of plane flying men causing civilisation to crash. Uprising's of the Republic like society, which crashes due to warfare. The rebuilding of humanty from about 10 survivors of a great disaster. The development of giant braned men, whose minds are cased in great columns. The shifting of the position of the moon because the devlopment of civilisation apparently has an effect on the pull of gravity. One of my personal favourites the self-modification of some men into birdmen who are so euphoric whilst flying than can commit suicide. I could go on, but perhaps I've given too many things away already. Needless to say their are many more variations on mankind mentioned in the book.

To be fair Stapledon is imaginative and highly inventive, but I can't help feeling that his world s at times incnsistant. Some of his ideas had me laughing with their silliness; perhaps a consequence of progress in scientific knowledge making Stapledon's vision seem somewhat dated. I can't help feeling that other authors gave both more accurate and more entertaining visions around that time. Part of the problem for me with "Last and First Men" is it says very little to me about mankind, there is a message there of our own folly and self-destructive habits, but it's at times incidental to the bizarre and grand nature of our set backs. A lot of the SF I've been reading lately (in the Masterworks range) has said far more of interest to me about man's philosph
ies and psychology.

For me this book was a disappointment, the weakest novel in the lineup so far. Despite this I will be reading the other Stapledon book in the collection, but more for the sake of completeness than for hopes of a better book. It does have entertainment value, primarily for some of the absurdities of Stapledon's vision. Perhaps his views or more understandable when we remember that the atomic era lead to stories of giant radioactive insects threatening mankind.

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