Cemetery World [Paperback]

Clifford D. Simak (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 1987

Earth: expensive, elite graveyard to the galaxy. Ravaged 10,000 years earlier by war, Earth was reclaimed by its space-dwelling offspring as a planet of landscaping and tombstones. None of them fully human, Fletcher, Cynthia, and Elmer journey through this dead world, discovering human traits and undertaking a quest to rebuild a human world on Earth.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Simak's work of science fiction, a brave team seeks to reclaim planet Earth, which, after a disastrous war, has become an elite graveyard.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Mandarin (March 12, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0413419908
• ISBN-13: 978-0413419903
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,803,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading but not spectacular, June 29, 2008

By 

Otis W. Doss "wahoodoss" (Olney, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cemetery World (Paperback)

I love Simak's books; but this was not my favorite. It's been a while since I've read a Simak book so I was psyched when I found this in a used book store. It's got the Simak feel to it; it has the Simak trek. It just doesn't have a sense of direction; the plot was too nebulous. It was still a good read so by all means give it a try, especially if you are a Simak fan.

3.0 out of 5 stars Another Version of the Pastoral, January 27, 2010

By 

Paul Camp (Chattanooga, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cemetery World (Paperback)

Clifford D. Simak's _Cemetery World_ was originally a three part serial in _Analog_ back in 1972 and was accompanied by some marvelous John Schoenherr illustrations. It was published in book form the following year. The novel is set mostly on a future Earth which-- after a bloody war-- has become the epitome of peace. It is now an expensive planetary graveyard to the galaxy, run by a smooth but sinister Organization.

The hero and heroine come to Earth in order to make a composition, a kind of multi-media documentary; and in no time at all, they have stirred up a peck of trouble. Added to the mix are a couple of robots, some mountain folk, two ancient war machines, several ghosts (well, shades, actually), a strange creature called the Census Taker, some grave robbers, a treasure, three mechanical wolves, and a time machine.

Simak tries to tie up all the loose ends in the final chapters, but the results are abrupt and not completely convincing. There are also stretches where the story seems unintentionally silly. And then there are the occasional small slips. At one point, for example, the Census Taker, who floats above the ground, is described as "clump[ing] on ahead" (114). _Cemetery World_, then, is not Simak at the top of his game.

And yet, the novel is a passable piece of entertainment. The characters are (for the most part) amiable and engaging. And there are several moments when Simak allows himself to give descriptive passages such as this:

I sat on a moss-grown boulder beside a brawling, dark-brown stream that carried on its surface the fairy boats of red and gold and yellow that were the fallen leaves. If one listened sharply he could pick out, at the edge of the throaty gurgle of the dark-brown water, the faint, far-off pattering of other leaves falling to the earth. And for all the color and the beauty, there was an ancient sadness there. I sat and listened to the liquid sliding of the water and the faint patter of the leaves, and looking at the trees, I saw they were massive growths exuding a sense of age, and that there was something homelike and secure and comfortable about them. There was color here and mood and sound, quality and structure, and a texture that could be felt with the fingers of the mind. (38)

Ah, yes. There it is. That old Simak sense of the pastoral. That love of the country. That valuation of the peaceful. And just when you begin to feel your attention flagging, that Voice breaks through and holds you. Give this one a try.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Should be burried on Cemetery Earth, November 30, 2011

By 

Zombie_Gunslinger - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cemetery World (Paperback)

Wow! I'll cut right to the chase: "Cemetery World" is one of the most horrifically written, sloppily conceived, and all around terrible excuses of a novel I have ever had the misfortune to read.

After reading the stunning classic A Canticle for Leibowitz I couldn't distance myself from a book set centuries (hell, millennia) into the future and at the quick glance, "Cemetery World" could almost be an unofficial and accidental sequel to "Canticle"; humans return to Earth from space 10,000 years into the future only to discover that the planet is not what it was originally perceived to be. Heck, the idea itself is not bad at all and Simak's somewhat dystopian ideas of Earth becoming a massive cemetery are entertaining. Even the cover looks like something out of a cheesy 1980's post-apocalyptic summer blockbuster.

But that's about all there is to praise about "Cemetery Planet" because there really is NOTHING good about this book. Simak has to be one of the worst writers I have ever read. Aside from his repetitiveness and general lack of knowledge concerning the use of a thesaurus, it's clear that the guy knows nothing of how to write a dialogue. I don't know about other readers but I grew tired of the constant sentence interruptions with the typical "he said/she said". For example: "So," she said. "What about blah, blah blah."
"I don't know," I said. "Let's blah blah blah." Seriously, Simak, take a creative writing course on how to craft decent dialogue structure. Conversations shouldn't be difficult to write and they surely don't have to be that boring.

Then there is the delivery. Like I said, the plot idea wasn't bad, but Simak manages to ruin his own brainchild with his slow story telling that involves too many characters or settings only to leave the reader scratching their head going "whaaaaaaat?" Take for instance Bronco and Elmer. Interesting characters to be sure and the author goes into far too much detail describing them and how Fletcher found the robot Elmer, and yet he, as well as Bronco only compose maybe 1/4 of this book's plot. Speaking of plot, the ending just doesn't work, both literally and fictionally. Ignore the fact that it's wrapped up in 2 paragraphs, but just like Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Skynet Edition) [Blu-ray], it doesn't make sense. Let's just say it involves time travel like Back to the Future, but in no way does Simak even attempt to explain it.

"Cemetery World" was bad. Horribly rotten. I kept reading hoping the story would pick up or the loop holes that were created would be filled. As you can see from my scathing review, both of those hopes, like a bug, were smashed flat. This may not have been as bad as "Neuromancer" or One Second After, but it was pretty damn close to being the worst book I have read this year. Honestly, if you want a good take on the future of Earth after a devastating nuclear war, stick with A Canticle for Leibowitz.