All Flesh Is Grass (Masters of Science Fiction) [Paperback]

Clifford D. Simak (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1993 | Series: Masters of Science Fiction

A mysterious invisible barrier suddenly encloses a small, out-of-the-way American town. It's been put there by a galactic intelligence intent on imposing harmony and cooperation on the different peoples of the universe. But to the inhabitants, the barrier evokes stark terror.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Extraterrestrials attempt to impose social harmony on a small rural town in this novel by Hugo Award-winning author Simak.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub (December 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786700459
• ISBN-13: 978-0786700455
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #829,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The strange emerges from the familiar, November 11, 1997

By 

Patrick J. Callahan (La Crosse, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All Flesh Is Grass (Masters of Science Fiction) (Paperback)

This isn't a bad book, but the ending for me was very unsatisfactory. It's as though the author just stopped writing. Little is resolved. On the whole, though, the book is rich and beautifully written. Again, Simak takes American small town life and fills it with strangeness and wonder. Originality is so apparent-- in so many ways. For instance, who could imagine that some flowers growing by the roadside, transplanted into the garden by an old man, become a window to communicate with the stars? Read it, you'll enjoy it. And you may wish, like me, that it had a better ending.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A spell binding journey to rural Wisconsin and worlds beyond, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: All Flesh Is Grass (Masters of Science Fiction) (Paperback)

A classic Clifford D. Simak, small town middle America is the back drop to an other worldly tale of unparalleled originality. A griping read that thrusts you into the action right from the very first paragraph. Simak has a unique ability to have you turning the pages all night without ever loosing the relaxed atmosphere only he can create. This is a first contact story like no other, no other writer has created so alien aliens which at the same time are so familiar. But the real triumph of this book is the manner in which Simak is able to bring all the characters of small town America to life in such a believable manner. Like many of Simak's books the story is the story of a beginning and leaves you crying out for more and with many questions. This among other things make this book live on long in your imagination. A treat not to be missed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A neat idea - botanical 'aliens', August 22, 2008

By 

GPC "Grassman" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All Flesh Is Grass (Masters of Science Fiction) (Paperback)

I found this paperback where I get most of the classic sci-fi of the 1950s, 60s and 70s: in a used bookstore (in this case for $1). Knowing Simak's reputation, I took a chance (with my dollar) and wasn't disappointed. The idea of aliens coming in the guise of innocent-looking plant life was a cool concept and the story line was a lot of fun. Not any high-tech stuff here, but perhaps that is why this book endures and does not seem outdated. Simak writes in simple, declarative sentences and the structure of his work is logical and easy to read (Asimov says in a chapter in his own autobiography,'I Asimov', that he tried to emulate Simak). Definitely worth a read if you can find it.