Customer Reviews

Wolfbane

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

 

 

On settling down with this novel (on recommendation, I think I recall, of Instapundit) I enjoyed the flash of recognition of the classic SF style. Written well, with interesting, unexplained phenomenology (mysterious pyramids, Earth moving from the Solar System), followed by a "rational" "scientific" explanation within a sharply constrained set of premises. Unfortunately, perhaps because the length of this novel is probably 1/3 of a contemporary SF novel, the character development is limited. Also, the ending is consistent with the narrative arc but without any unforseen twists and therefore markedly anticlimactic. All in all, the pleasure from the first four fifths of the novel outweighed the weaker ending.

It's easy to miss the point of Kornbluth and Pohl's "Wolfbane". Sure, a starving humanity stratifies itself into "sheep" and "wolves." Still, the falsity of that stratification and - in fact - all dualities is at the heart of the book and really what these two brilliant sci-fi authors are trying to tell us.

The good news for sci-fi fans is we get a fascinating problem. A rogue planet pops into the solar system and steals Earth from orbit and there's nothing mankind can do. After all our weapons prove useless and no one returns from an invasion of the rogue planet, most of the human population dies out due to a dwindling food supply in the dwindling starlight as the solar system fades into the distance. And so we have a post-apocalyptic vision - shuffling drones and those few who rebel.

However, AFTER that set-up is when things really get good. The authors set up this almost insurmountable problem and then solve it. However, there's a deeper point here. At first, there seems to be an inherent criticism of meditation, but then the table turns in a way that you can only get in Sci-fi. Kornbluth and Pohl seem to ask us what's the difference between a wolf in sheep's clothing or a sheep in wolf's clothing - especially if you can't tell the difference? Thought-provoking stuff from sci-fi masters.

I would never describe Wolfbane as great literature but it does have staying power. I read Wolfbane more than 35 years ago and still think of the novel's plot and ideas from time to time. It probably has the greatest appeal to young men who are feeling rebellious and nonconformist. But we all need help figuring out human nature and deciding what kind of human being we want to be. This is what makes Wolfbane a good read.

Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth are probably best known for two of their collaborations, "The Space Merchants" and "Gladiator-at-Law," two scathing satires of 1950s American capitalism which were not only funny send-ups of advertising (Merchants) and the legal profession (Gladiator) but also fast-paced adventures set in a future (but all-too-recognizable) America. "Wolfbane" is not nearly as well known, but is at least as good as those two classics, albeit very different in tone. The social satire is not nearly as pronounced in "Wolfbane," a story of a future earth that has been literally stolen from its orbit by unseen aliens. The sociological element is still there-- the book begins by imagining the type of society that would grown up in a world full of privation, in which humans are helpless victims of aliens who are unseen and inscrutable-- but the caustic criticism of 1950s America is replaced by an almost elegiac tone. As the book goes on, the tone changes, as one man slowly learns that it is possible to rebel against the aliens. I hear echoes of this book in a lot of later science fiction (including the "Matrix" films), but the novel has dated much less than most SF of its era. Highly recommended.

Unfortunately for sci-fi fans, Cyril M. Kornbluth had a very short life (1923-1958). Nevertheless he was able to deliver several very good novels alone or usually in collaboration with other authors as "The Space Merchants" (1952) and "Gladiator-at-law" (1954) in collaboration with his friend Frederik Pohl, "Gunner Cade" (with Judith Merril 1952).

Frederik Pohl (1919) the other co-author is one "Sci-fi Golden Age" writers. He is still producing new books, imagine! He has authored more than one success as the already mentioned collaborations with Kornbluth, the underrated but excellent "Drunkard's Walk" (1960) and Hugo & Nebula winner "Gateway" (1977).


"Wolfbane" (1959) was Kornbluth's last novel, written before his fatal heart attack.

The plot is as follows: Earth has been dragged into deep space by a rogue planet, losing the sun as star. Instead the moon is an alternate sun reignited every five years by mysterious forces, probably related with an alien pyramid laid on Everest's top.

Human race has dwindled to ten million souls divided into ten thousand "wolves" and the rest submissive "lambs". "Wolves" are defiant and trying to liberate humanity from its prostrate state.
The chronicle of this struggle is the subject of the story.

This book is more centered in plot than in characters and that is its strength and weakness at the same time. The reader can't feel any deep identification with any character, but what is happening to humanity grows in significance. One other point to notice is the "compound mind" devised by the authors and compare it with Sturgeon's "More than Human".

Enjoy this somehow underrated and little known sci-fi classic!

Reviewed by Max Yofre

Unfortunately for sci-fi fans, Cyril M. Kornbluth had a very short life (1923-1958). Nevertheless he was able to deliver several very good novels alone or usually in collaboration with other authors as "The Space Merchants" (1952) and "Gladiator-at-law" (1954) in collaboration with his friend Frederik Pohl, "Gunner Cade" (with Judith Merril 1952).

Frederik Pohl (1919) the other co-author is one "Sci-fi Golden Age" writers. He is still producing new books, imagine! He has authored more than one success as the already mentioned collaborations with Kornbluth, the underrated but excellent "Drunkard's Walk" (1960) and Hugo & Nebula winner "Gateway" (1977).


"Wolfbane" (1959) was Kornbluth's last novel, written before his fatal heart attack.

The plot is as follows: Earth has been dragged into deep space by a rogue planet, losing the sun as star. Instead the moon is an alternate sun reignited every five years by mysterious forces, probably related with an alien pyramid laid on Everest's top.

Human race has dwindled to ten million souls divided into ten thousand "wolves" and the rest submissive "lambs". "Wolves" are defiant and trying to liberate humanity from its prostrate state.
The chronicle of this struggle is the subject of the story.

This book is more centered in plot than in characters and that is its strength and weakness at the same time. The reader can't feel any deep identification with any character, but what is happening to humanity grows in significance. One other point to notice is the "compound mind" devised by the authors and compare it with Sturgeon's "More than Human".

Enjoy this somehow underrated and little known sci-fi classic!

Reviewed by Max Yofre

This was a very short book. I appreciate the brevity of the writers of yore, nonetheless I felt it could have done with some fleshing out - especially at the end. Perhaps, reading it from today's perspective, I felt some of the premises to be prepostorous. It was, however, solidly written and strongly plotted.

One other minor quibble, I felt like I could tell when the author's shifted from one to the other.

This is an interesting but somewhat dated attempt by two authors to depict a "far out" scenario in which automatons created by an ancient alien civilization capture our world and use it as a source of human "components" for an immensely complex planet-spanning system on their own world. It contains a multitude of thought-provoking ideas, but often feels dated and self-consciously erudite, as the authors drone on about subjects from meditation to cybernetics to large-scale engineering.

The first half of the book describes two human societies on the dying Earth, while the remainder takes place on the aliens' world and contains lengthy descriptions of their huge planetary mechanical empire. As someone noted below, the two authors' writing styles differ markedly, and the "gear changes" between chapters are noticeable. One writer (Kornbluth) died while writing this novel, or immediately thereafter, and I suspect that Pohl picked up his uncompleted work and filled it out. A creditable attempt for its day (1959) but shows its age despite an update by Pohl in 1986. 2.5 stars.

'Wolfbane' is a mess of a story, which is extremely disappointing since the authors (Kornbluth and Pohl) have produced one of best science fiction novels ever - 'The Space Merchants'. 'Wolfbane' fails from so many perspectives: completely implausible story, very inconsistent (and often horrible) writing, and characterizations which are weak. I am being generous by judging this book as two stars.

As for the story, we have our beloved planet in turmoil two hundred years after some alien influence kills off the sun and replaces it with a "mini-sun" which burns out ever five years. Most of mankind has died off. All the remaining folks are weak, reticent drones ... with the exception of a few free individuals called wolves. This tenuous co-existence falls apart when the alien influence flexes its muscle, and we have wolves to the rescue! .... yes, the book is THAT bad. Yet the first third of the book does lay out this strange world fairly nicely. Too bad it spirals out of control very fast.


Bottom line: pretty awful. Best avoided.

Here's the full review from the January 1960 issue of Amazing Stories. S.E. Cotts is the reviewer:

This satisfying novel, by two masters of the trade, gives the reader a bargain for his time and money. It contains a stream of scientific theorizing, a sociological study of a society, a satire on its mores and customs, and a portrait of a man striving first for individuality and then for maturity in a changing world. Yet all these diverse elements are combined in a story that is exciting and moving at the same time.


A strange planet has come into the galaxy and had dragged Earth from her orbit into the cold of outer space. Only a small artificial sun, rekindled by these conquerors every five years, stands between Earth and extinction. The shortage of food, the extreme cold, and the uneasy fear that perhaps this artificial sun will go out all serve to rob the population of strength. But even more important to the story is the fact that this lower-keyed pace of life has led to a whole new set of mores, customs and values. What happens when Glenn Tropile, who has realized that he is not like the others in his society, pits himself against the conquerors, forms the meat of this-written novel. He does not realize how he can save Earth until he falls into the hands of the enemy. Then, using the skills they taught him, he turns their own machines against them in some of the most masterful sabotage imaginable.


Be sure to put this one on your list!


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Thus ends the review by Mr. S.E. Cotts, who wrote hundreds of excellent reviews for Amazing Stories in the late 50s to early 60s. The star rating is my own pick since Cotts didn't have star rating. But if he gave one, I'm guessing it would be a five starer.