Why Call Them Back From Heaven? (Ace SF Special, H-42) [Mass Market Paperback]

Clifford D. Simak (Author), Leo & Diane Dillon (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1967

To come back to life, and never die again - that's what the Forever Center promises the human race. And that's why, in the year 2148, people spend their whole lives in poverty, giving all their money to the Forever Center to ensure their happiness and comfort in the next eternal life. ~ ~~ ~ Daniel Frost is a key man at the Center. When he accidentally stumbles upon some classified documents, he incurs the wrath of an unseen enemy who has him framed and denounced as a social outcast. Something strange and untoward is happening at the Center, but can Daniel ferret out the secrets with an outcast's mark on his forehead?

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 191 pages
• Publisher: Ace Books; First paperback edition (1967)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441080421
• ISBN-13: 978-0441080427
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,659,184 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What sci-fi is supposed to be, January 7, 2003

By 

D. Frades "Porfirio Fandango" (Snowy Plover Bay, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why Call Them Back from Heaven (Textbook Binding)

First of all, does writing a review for an inexcusably out-of-print book assist in getting it republished?

Clifford Simak was a giant in sci-fi, with a grand output of classics and duds (but there's always another Simak book you haven't read...), and most of his books are fascinating, fleshed-out premises, but well done.

This one is another in a series of understated "what if" books, and deals with the readjustments society makes after everyone starts getting cryogenically preserved to be reawakened in the future. The upshot is, they all become pennypinchers and start looking at everything as an investment, not for old age, but for 200 years in the future. Classic Simakian themes of economic craziness in a society where everyone starts living for tomorrow and tricksters, swindlers and so on run amok selling postage stamps, future antiques, worthless swampland and so on.

Plenty of spooky futuristic images that are even more relevant today than when he wrote this. And fun to read!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good book. Enjoyed reading it., February 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Why Call Them Back from Heaven (Textbook Binding)

While I don't know that fast-paced is the best description of this book, the action keeps things rolling along. The characters have a decent amount of meat to them and overall, I thought the storyline was a good one. Well worth reading, especially since I got it for free from my public library's withdrawn books.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Premise, February 25, 2002

By 

John Briginshaw (Huntington Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Call Them Back from Heaven (Textbook Binding)

Death is really just a moment. New corpses are stabilised and conveyed to vaults for eventual certain resuscitation. People are keen to stay within range of medical/cryogenic resources, and aware of the need to invest for their (unlimited) future life, when they will be brought back from the dead. Unsurprisingly, the corporation/organization that is in charge of the cryogenic preservation of the bodies has become the most powerful force in the world. In fact, it has pretty much taken over the world.

Fortunately there are still some nutters prepared to take on "the man". Religious groups still exist, much to the chagrin of the "Forever Center" cryogenic organization. The religious believers doubt that unfreezing can be achieved, and doubt the wisdom of calling the dead "back from heaven" anyway. Which is a risky view to hold, since those who interfere with the important work of freezing get the ultimate punishment: they are indelibly marked on the head, and when they die, they stay dead, they are denied freezing and therefore have no chance of resuscitation.

When a Forever Center employee discovers cover-ups at the heart of the organization, the game is on, and a ragtag band of resisters risks ostracism or worse in a search for the truth.