Highway of Eternity [Hardcover]

Clifford D. Simak (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 1986

It all began simply enough. A client had vanished, and Jay Corcoran went to investigate the man's hotel suite, which seemed empty. Bot Corcoran's trick vision spotted what no one else could see - a room-sized box stuck somehow to the outside wall of the suite. There was no way to get into the box, however, so Corcoran cabled his longtime pal Tom Boone in Singapore to fly to New York. Boone had a talent. When threatened, he could "step around a corner" into some otherwhere until the danger passed. Maybe he could step around a corner into the box. The box turned out to be a time traveler machine that transported them almost instantly back to 1745 in Shropshire, England, where they found a strange family of refugees from a million years in the future. There, in the far future, the alien Infinites were converting humanity to incorporeal form, promising that would give them immortality. When the family refused conversion, they had been forced to flee in their time travelers. Now, for more than a century they had lain hidden in their time bubble around Hopkins Acre. But they had reports of something sniffing at the bubble. The, suddenly, the Infinites' killer monster broke through. After that, things grew complicated as they fled to the distant past and the farther future.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One of the best-loved authors in SF, Simak has built an appealing private universe with his rural settings and Midwestern ethos. His new novel once again questions material progress that scants moral values. A family of refugees flees into the past to escape the Infinites, aliens who are seducing Earth people away from their apathetic utopia and toward a transformation to an immortal but incorporeal state. Two contemporary Americansa reporter and a secret agent who have enhanced abilitiesare swept up in the chase through time and space. They encounter diverse challenges, from confronting killer robots and sabertooth tigers to dealing with aliens and finally trying to understand the place of humanity in a complicated, populous galaxy. The pleasing adventure itself brings up many questions that are never explained, but it is an enjoyable ride, not the least for its strong evocation of the surviving natural world, as humans learn to converse with wolves and consider these as the probable successors to man on this Earth.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 289 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; 1st edition (April 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345332202
• ISBN-13: 978-0345332202
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,604,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The old magic never dimmed...., January 7, 2003

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Highway of eternity

This final book of the master was a joy to read. Here, he returns, one last time, to many of the favorite topics, characters, and settings of so many of his other books and stories. All in one book you have time travel, alternate dimensions, robots, a vast brotherhood of friendly aliens, a very dog-like wolf (ala City), not to mention many other familiar elements. It is all contained in a very complex, skillfully woven, unpredictable narrative.

It is fitting that that this book should address the issues of immortality, eternity, and the purpose of life. After all, it was written only two years before the author died (peacefully and in his sleep.) You find immortality achieved by means of fields that hold time at bay, by artificially becoming points of pure intellect, by evolutionary means, by intelligent machines, etc. There is also the understanding that mankind has infinite potential to grow in intellect and understanding. Indeed, it is clearly stated that without consciousness and understanding the universe would lack meaning. That is the ultimate purpose of all sentient beings- to give meaning to the universe.

This is a mature, thoughtful, science fiction novel. It is not an old style shoot-em-up space opera, though it does have some pretty good killer monsters in the pay of sinister aliens from the future.

All in all, I found this novel to be an excellent capstone to a distinguished career. The old magic never dimmed. I actually postponed reading this book, for I knew that there would be no more coming after I had finished this one....

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it!, April 5, 1999

By 

Kurt Foster (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Highway of Eternity (Hardcover)

Regardless of what the other reviewers said about this book, I guess you can't please everyone. I thought this book was wonderful, and as a matter of fact, one of my favorites from Clifford Simak! It has great characters, a very interesting story, and makes you feel good, and something I've not heard others say about him is that Cliff's stories are so descriptive that you feel the texture of the grass and smell the air in the story. Pick this book up, if you can find it! You won't be dissapointed!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The road to Everywhen, June 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Highway of Eternity (Mass Market Paperback)

It all began simply enough. A client had vanished and Jay Corcoran went to investigate the man's empty hotel suite. But Corcoran's trick vision spotted a room sized box stuck to the outside wall of the suite. There was no way to get into the box, so Corcoran cabled his long time pal Tom Boone.

Boone had a talent. When threatened he could "step around a corner" into some otherwhere. Boone stepped into the box, taking Corcoran with him.

The box turned out to be a time travel machine that transported them back to 1745 England, where they found a family of refugees from a million years in the future.

In that far future, alien Infinites were converting humanity to incorporal form. When the family had refused conversion, they had to flee. For more than a century, the family had lain hidden in their time bubble. Suddenly, the Infinites' killer monster broke through and things grew very complicated as the family fled to the distant past and the farther future.