Customer Reviews

Cities in Flight (Sf Masterworks 03)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Probably the only way Mr Blish could have made the title anymore self-explanatory would be to call it "Cities in Space" but that's not really as poetic. Mostly due to that teeming mass we fondly call pop culture, if you've heard of James Blish at all it's probably by way of his novelisations of Star Trek episodes, which is where I first heard of him (and they really aren't half bad, honestly) but as it turns out he was one of the smarter SF writers of the fifties. His SF reputation basically rests on two novels, A Case of Conscience (which is a decent examination of original sin from a SF perspective) and the collective groups of novels known as Cities in Flight, which we'll be talking about here. Over the course of time Blish wrote four average sized novels depicting over time man discovering the ability to launch entire cities into space and the culture that developed around them as the centuries wore on. The first novel "They Shall Have Stars" mostly serves as a really long prologue to the proceedings, showing how the technology was developed, as well as the secret to halting the aging process, indispensible to staying in space for a really long time. The story also functions as a political thriller on some level, showing the earth of the future as more narrowminded and religious (always an easy target, alas) and focused more upon itself, crumbling even as he moves forward. Still, it's really just prelude for what's to come. "A Life for the Stars" is next, and is basically a better introduction to the culture of the flying cities, as they weave their way through space, taking odd jobs. Blish does a decent job making a somehow plausible stab at what a wandering space culture would be like, although I do have to agree that he rarely gives you a sense of the massiveness of a city and all the people inside it, instead focusing only on a small handful (I mean they're on NYC, for pete's sake) which takes some of the epicness away from it, although the fact that it's a giant city rocketing through space helps. "Earthman Come Home" is probably my favorite of the group (and it's the longest) focusing on the mayor of NYC, John Amalfi (who was glimpsed in the last novel but takes center stage for this and the next one) as he deals with some crises over the course of a novel, showing the downsides of a wandering culture (what if there's no jobs?) and what drastic actions those people might take, it's the widest ranging examination and description of Blish's future history. The last novel "Truimph of Time" mostly ties things up, bringing the crew back one last time after centuries have past to deal with the one thing they'll never be able to deal with and wrapping up things nicely, on a real poetic note. Blish's novels are hugely readable and move at a good clip, the characterization isn't what it could be (a common complaint for fifties' SF, since putting the idea forward was more important) and since the novels were written so long ago some of the science is suspect (a lot is outdated and the rest is just babbling) . . . also, the novels sometimes act more like collections of short stories, as the city moves from one unrelated crisis to another. But in terms of ideas and scope, Blish was standing nearly alone and I have to admit I have a fondness for the type of SF that liked the idea of strapping giant engines onto things and sending them into space. Sure it's not as graceful but it's much for a better mental image. If you're looking for cutting edge, sophisticated SF for the new century, this probably isn't what you're looking for, but for those who like to see one man lay out wild ideas in a calm, level fashion, this is probably some of the best stories you can get from this era and well worth the look.

Like many people, I first read this collection of four novels when I was in High School. Long out-of-print I was very happy to see them repackaged for a whole new generation. This is high-quality science fiction from the golden age. I was suprised that so little of the technology is out-of-date (vacuum tubes excepted) that it reads as fresh now as it did before.

But this is more than just the superficial sci-fi that we sometimes hear about. Much more than spaceships and aliens, these novels dig deep into our culture, our sensabilities, our fundamental attitudes. It is a story of the human condition, as told by one of the grand masters of science fiction. If you enjoy Heinlein, Asimov, and Bradbury, you'll like this one. If you aren't into sci-fi, I think you will still find a lot to like about Cities in Flight. Give it a try.

It's over 30 years since I have read the "Cities" series, originally 4 novels, and it has not lost any of my pleasant memories. James Blish created a masterpiece which has not been tarnished in anyway, true technology has advanced, this is still plausable. As a author I rate him along the big names of Science Fiction such as Assimov, Heinlien, E E Smith and many overs. If you have nothing to do one day and it is raining outside then pass a few hours away reading Cities in Flight. You will not be disapointed, it's a very relaxing read worthy of space on any bookshelf.

Should this ever happen, then all I have to say is "I want on".

This really is a good buy at the Amazon price, considering
you're getting 4 books in one. This is a good summer
vacation reading book, it'll keep you dug in for a while.

Blish is very economical with words, somehow he missed the
concept of being paid by the word, his normal paragraph
would have taken any other author 6 pages to relate.
You'll find yourself happily rereading sections just to
understand everything that's happened, and be amazed at
how simply the most earth shattering events can be told
with little or no build up, and be left with little
patience for other author than stretch things out.
You'll find in Cities in Flight more astounding events,
wonders of science, amazing concepts on each page than
you'd get after reading a whole novel by current writers.
You could pick most any page here, tear it out, and spin
off a whole book around what just happen there.

What this is all about is the idea of a field device.
You turn it on and anything within the field is a unit
which can be moved, essentially by repelling gravity.
Therefore, it becomes possible to move, easily, whole
communities. If you want to go for the ride, you stay
put, if not leave before we lift. Thus is born Cities in
Flight. This is the story of those cites which are mobile
units that move about the known universe picking up the
resources they need as they go, much like the hobos of the
the early 20th century. These are honest working cities,
only looking to improve their economic well being by
moving to where the work is, sort of a mobile work force.
Thus we get to see the breath of the known universe,
multiple cultures, many levels of technology and stunning
natural wonders out the windows of this mobile city.

I'd recommend starting this one in the middle, with Earthman,
Come home. It was written first and the others came later.
Once you see the cities in action you'll be more interested
to know the details laid out in the first two books as to
how the technology came about.

I rate this a college level read.

I first read "Cities in Flight" back in the 70s. I agree with some of the other reviewers that the plot, characterization, and consistency of the novels was flawed--so I won't rehash those points here. Despite this, I thought Blish came up with a rather novel and breathtaking vision of the future. I was also struck by the political forces that created the Okie culture. Specifically, I was intrigued by the idea that the pressures of the Cold War was slowly forcing the US to become as totalitarian as the Soviet Union. This political transformation would serve as a prelude to the creation of a world-wide, Bureaucratic (socialist) state. According to Blish, this global entity resulted in repression and permanent economic depression. The only way to gain freedom was to use spaceflight to leave Earth behind. As a result, the State deemed spaceflight technology because it provided an escape route. Despite these restrictions, the technology was rediscovered and whole cities took the opportunity to literally lift off into space. Eventually, this trend caused the Bureaucratic State to collapse of its own weight. With the Soviet's losing the Cold War and democracy breaking out all over in the 80s & 90s, it seemed like Blish's political predictions would remain in the realm of fiction.

Less than twenty years later, I'm not so sure anymore. The whole world seems to be moving toward a global, essentially socialist, order. In particular, power will be concentrated in the hands of elite bureaucrats who will make decisions for the rest of us "for the common good". The older I get, the more things seem to be accelerating in that direction. As a result, I think its possible that Blish's predictions are coming true. There will be a global, Bureaucratic state, though it will not come about in the way he foresaw. Likewise, the only way to be free will be to leave Earth and colonize other planets. It will essentially be back to to future--we will need to become pioneers again to reclaim our lost heritage. In this manner, I think Blish has provided us with a blueprint for how our freedom may one day be regained.

Although viewed by some as juvenile literature because of the technology described in the works this collection does have merit as good quality SciFi.
The premise of the works is what happens when transforming technology is thrust upon mankind.This is what all good SF is about! The what could happen if? kind of question and the exploration of possible answers. So what would happen if a great deal of resources and effort were appplied to fringe areas of science research? Suppose the result was the discovery of an energy source based in the spacial relation of all matter and an economical means of using it! Suppose the result was also a group of medicines that could cure all and extend life indefinitely!
If these things occured what would be the economic and social impact? Might not the current global economy be disrupted beyond repair? Given the ability to leave earth and explore the galaxy would we not do so? Would our expansion into the reaches not entail the exploitation of resources, technology or of goods and services. Would we not possibly encounter other life?

Well, in the "Cities in Flight" collection the language used is definitely dated in the 1950's but the questions asked and answered are timeless. Thats what makes this good SF!

This book is and has been one of my all-time favourite SF-novels. The scope is indeed awesome for its days and only the Foundation came close to it. Having said that; the book cannot be compared to the Foundation except for the scope, the space-opera feel. Others have given a synopsis here at amazon, so let me just make a couple of observations.

The book was getting dated indeed, with its vacuum tubes et al. But there is so much more in the book that will never age; what would you do if you could live hundreds, even thousands of years? What would the leading currency be in the universe? What would happen if the means to extend your life would become hard to come by? And on and on it goes...

I think that anyone who loved Van Vogt, Doc. E.E. Smith, Foundation, etcetera, will love this book. And read it again from time to time. Because although some of the imagery is obviously out-dated, much more is still relevant.

Although the first part of the novel is slow, it sets up the rest of the series remarkably well. I have never read any science fiction that manages to encapsulate the entire galaxy so well. Many have tried, but few have come close to succeeding as well as Blish does. It deserves a few readings to appreciate this work. And Blish is as fine a scientist as he is a writer.

I first read this book whilst I was serving in the Royal Navy. It helped pass many hours of boring travelling between ports. I must have read it about 10 times and never found anything predictable about it. Unfortunately it eventually fell apart and I no longer have a copy. The story is an act of genius and the Fiction is of the purest Science. I'm certainly no scientist but it had me convinced. John Amalfi for world president? I wish! Please re-publish...I beg you Mr Blish!

This omnibus was written over a period of about a decade and it shows; the writing tends to be uneven and there are numerous continuity errors. The first book, They Shall Have Stars, is really just an extended "idea" short story where Blish shows how eternal life (through drugs) and faster-than-light travel become realities in 2018. The future society he imagines shows that the story was written in the 50s. In Blish's 2018, America has become an authoritarian police state to cope with its ongoing cold war is the Soviet Union. Most of this short book (120 pages) is full of exposition as one character explains to another character what is going on. Not a very exciting book, especially since most of it is an explanation of a world that is hard to take seriously and science we now know to be patently false.

The second book, A Life for the Stars, is easily the weakest of the group and seems to have been written for no reason other than to sell a short story to the teenage market. The characterization of the main character is especially poor as he rarely seems like 17 year old boy. The conclusion is confusing more than relevatory as no explanation is given for why New York City needs a City Manager or what such a person would do.

The third book is a patchup of a couple of short stories Blish wrote in the early 50s. It is the earliest book of the four and this is where the problems really begin to show. The entire series is pure space opera and if you can lose yourself in the adventures then maybe the bad science and inconsistencies won't bother you. I couldn't get past all my niggling complaints, however. My suspension of disbelief came crashing down under the combined weight of the bad science, the bad economics, the inconsistent world, the arbitrary plot turns, and the boring 1950s characterizations.

For instance, the only female character in the book is Dee, with whom Amalfi falls in love with for no reason that we can see. Despite Amalfi being the sole point of view for the entire book, the reader is just as surprised as Dee is when the revelation is made. During the March to Earth numerous Okies drop out in order to work at lucrative planets along the way, yet Amalfi says they must leave the galaxy because there is no work to be found anywhere. How are they able to convince the City Fathers of the "all purpose city" to do what they say? Why does the bindlestiff Okie city care about capturing women? Why does Amalfi decide to land on an inhabited planet in the Magellan cloud with the intention of stealing it from them? Why does news of the economic collapse spread so fast but news of technological advancements waits until Okies can bring them around? Why does Amalfi say that Okies can't work on something for four or five years and then have his people spend several years outfitting a planet with spindizzy drives? Why did the city feel the collision when it hit the orbital fortress -- the spindizzy field is supposed to prevent that? If they've got the planet going so fast that it can't even be measured in multiples of the speed of light, how can other people be communicating with them using the ultraphone -- something that works at just 25% faster than the speed of light? Why is it that none of the other mayors of Okie cities have ever heard of Amalfi, despite the fact that he has been the only mayor of the most famous Okie city for over 500 years? Amalfi said he was going to resign when they make planetfall so why is he still giving orders a hundred years later? Just on and on and on there are things that make no sense to me.

One of the biggest problems, I think, is that Blish pushes the hobo metaphor way too far. The cities are supposed to wander around the galaxy doing work for hire. Yet New York supposedly has tens of thousands of residents. What do they do? The jobs that New York takes over the course of the book don't provide work for more than a few dozen people it seems. Why are there thousands on board? Blish constantly refers to New York as if it were a single monolithic entity, instead of a metropolis comprised of hundreds of thousands of people. How is spending time in a huge city flying through space for years on end between planet falls going to satisfy the wanderlust that these Okies supposedly have? If Okies are allegedly so a-social and standoffish why do they live in huge cities with thousands of other people?

Finally, how the heck does someone get "space tanned"? What is that supposed to mean? The spindizzy fields prevent radiation from entering.

At the end I just lost interest. The characterization was relatively weak. Amalfi is a character who is supposed to be hundreds of years old but he doesn't seem much different from any other character in fiction. He acts just like any other 50-something mayor of a big city has ever acted. Blish never has him deal with any of the potentially interesting questions that being effectively immortal raises. Instead we find the city of New York and its mayor go through a series of improbable and, frankly, not very interesting adventures.

Obviously, however, other people like the book. If you're going to give it a try I would recommend starting with the third book, Earthman, Come Home. If you end up liking that then you can read the others after that without any loss in understanding.

In the end I give it two stars because it has some interesting ideas. It just never goes anywhere with them.