I’m astonished how many people have read these two novellas and miss the point. Some readers apparently can’t see any connection between the two stories. They think these novellas are in a single volume by a fluke or “to fill up space.” Either they didn’t really read them or they are conceptually challenged, unable to make a logical leap between two related ideas without a flow chart.
The point is that technology is a based on our belief it will work. As long as we believe in it, it functions. If or when we stop believing, it won’t. It’s all magic.
When we lose faith in technology, magic jumps in and becomes the new technology. The difference between one and the other is functionally negligible. The stories’ plots are irrelevant. It’s the concept that counts.
I read these books about 50 years ago. I haven’t read them since, but remember them. Meanwhile, I can’t remember the plot of whatever book I read last week. These were original concepts when first introduced in the 1940s, was still original 25 years later when I read it. Probably still original today, more than 60 years after the stories were first published.
The best science fiction is concept-driven rather than character or plot-driven. These two have stuck with me for a lifetime. Both novellas are based on a unified concept: We believe in what works — and what works is what we believe.
Nothing is certain anymore. Nothing. Chaos is king and magic is loose in the world.
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Categories: #Writing, Book Review, Books, Fiction, Literature, Magic, Reviews, Sci Fi - Fantasy - Time Travel
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Sounds interesting. Will have to add to very long and ever-growing list of books “to read.” I think I really need to set aside some more time to read, because I don’t seem to be moving through my list very fast, or is that because I add something at least twice a week? 🙂
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You and me both. My list keeps getting longer. I find new things to read faster than I can read them. But really, there are only so many hours in a day and unlike when I was a lot younger, I can’t read all the time! I probably would if I could.
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