The Ragged World [Paperback]

Judith Moffett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1992

In the early years of the twenty-first century, Earth teetered on the brink of ecological destruction. Then the alien Hefn came, determined to save the dying Earth -- and to the Hefn, the ends always justified the means. Humans were given nine years to correct their mistakes -- alone, with no recourse to the Hefn's advanced technology. If by then the Earth's ecology had not stabilized, the Hefn would solve the problem for good . . . by eliminating humans entirely.

But slowly, against their will, some of the Hefn became deeply involved with their human counterparts. And to the handful of people who came to know them, the Hefn made a great difference: as mentors, researchers, rulers . . . and saviors. But could those few friendships sway the Hefn to help save a despoiled planet -- and the human race?

"A considerable achievement." -- The New York Times Book Review

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

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A race of gnomish aliens (known as "Hefn") intervenes in Earth's affairs and institutes a series of radical measures to save the planet, inspiring mixed feelings in the hearts of those whose lives they most closely touch. Crafted from a series of short stories previously published in magazines (including new material to link the stories), this novel by the author of Pennterra ( LJ 9/15/87) confronts sensitive issues with maturity and gentle humor. Recommended.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

In the early years of the twenty-first century, Earth teetered on the brink of ecological destruction. Then the alien Hefn came, determined to save the dying Earth -- and to the Hefn, the ends always justified the means. Humans were given nine years to correct their mistakes -- alone, with no recourse to the Hefn's advanced technology. If by then the Earth's ecology had not stabilized, the Hefn would solve the problem for good . . . by eliminating humans entirely.

But slowly, against their will, some of the Hefn became deeply involved with their human counterparts. And to the handful of people who came to know them, the Hefn made a great difference: as mentors, researchers, rulers . . . and saviors. But could those few friendships sway the Hefn to help save a despoiled planet -- and the human race?

"A considerable achievement." -- The New York Times Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Del Rey (June 1992)
• ISBN-10: 0345901088
• ISBN-13: 978-0345901088
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,851,500 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Judith Moffett was born in Louisville in 1942. She is an English professor, a poet, a Swedish translator, and the author of eleven books in five genres, including four science-fiction novels and a Pulphouse Press story collection. Moffett earned a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, where she taught creative writing for fifteen years. Her first published story, "Surviving," won the first Theodore Sturgeon Award for best science-fiction story of 1986, and she won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1988. Three of her stories have appeared on the final ballot for the Nebula; one of these, "Tiny Tango," was also on the Hugo ballot. Her novels The Ragged World and Time, Like an Ever-Rolling Stream (Volumes I and II of her Holy Ground Trilogy; the third volume is The Bird Shaman) were New York Times Notable Books for their years of publication, and Time, Like an Ever-Rolling Stream was short-listed for the Tiptree Award in 1995.

Moffett has received a number of awards outside the science-fiction field, including two Fulbright Grants to Sweden, a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship Grant in poetry, and a National Endowment for the Humanities Translation Grant. Moffett divides the year between Swarthmore, Pennsylvania and her hundred-acre ex-farm near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Widowed in 1998, she lives with her standard poodles, Fleece and Corbie.

Note: the author photo appears courtesy of Mark Kidd Studios.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The synopsis does not do this book justice., April 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ragged World (Mass Market Paperback)

The synopsis of this book is very dry and cold, and does not do justice to the warmth and depth of Moffett's skillful writing. This is more than just an environmental cautionary tale -- it is a tender character study, and a home for some extremely interesting, quirky inhabitants. Definitely worth a read if this type of thing appeals to you, whether you are a fan of SF or not. A shame that this is currently out of print. I hope that changes soon.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hefn Meet Human, October 14, 2002

By 

"rita1940" (Platteville, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ragged World (Mass Market Paperback)

This book and the second volume, Time, Like an Ever-Rolling Stream, are based on the premise that humans are steadily destroying their environment, but not doing much about it. The Hefn happen to come to Earth for their own reasons, not intending to have anything to do with humans, but decide to take steps to ensure the saving of the earth ecosystem. Whether the human race survives or not depends upon cooperation of humans with the Hefn. The conflict between Hefn ways and human ways is developed in both books by the interaction between various individual Hefn and individual humans. In the second book there is more discussion of the conflict between the Hefn and human ways of thinking.

This book's characters are generally pro-intervention by the Hefn. Each chapter narrates the story of seemingly unconnected people, but they come together in the end. Each story is fascinating. In the introduction, written in 2023, a summary of the Hefn on Earth is given. In 1623 a group of Hefn crew members of a Gafr/Hefn space ship started a rebellion and earth was a convenient place to maroon them. This was meant to teach them a lesson, not to strand them permanently on earth. Mechanical difficulties and time dilation caused the ship to return about 400 years later (2006) to see if anyone survived. When they could find no one, they left but there was a shift in power aboard the ship and they returned in 2010, just after a major meltdown at Peach Bottom power plant, contaminating the Philadelphia area totally. In 2011 The Gafr (parked on the moon), through the Hefn, issue the Directive that humans must mend their ways within 9 years (by 2020) or they would sterilize the earth of human life. They must cease ecosystem-altering behavior. When any group would do something such as hurting the rain forest, their minds would be wiped from on high. In 2013, since changes were not being made quickly enough, the Gafr caused there to be no more children conceived until further notice. They also set up a school for select human youth to study the true nature of time. This is expanded upon in the second book. The various stories involve people who had been in contact with the Hefn in some way but whose minds had been wiped but eventually the memories return through a combination of events. Another character is an HIV-positive victim who has kept it secret for many years because of vigilante groups killing such persons.

In the book we discover that the Hefn are those who serve the Gafr, who are never seen and seem a bit cold. Although the Hefn seem ruthless in some cases, there is a certain kindness because they love to serve. Of interest is how the Gafr and Hefn see humans. The Hefn were astonished by human capacity for self-deception.

This book makes one think about what people are doing to this planet and the closed self-satisfied world so many people live in.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bring this back in print!, December 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ragged World: A Novel of the Hefn on Earth (Hardcover)

These were wonderful stories when they appeared in magazine form, the forward with the list of demands I think everybody should think about. The Hefn are aliens who think this is a wonderful world and wonder why we are so intent on destroying it.