The Werewolf Principle

by Clifford D. Simak

Paperback, 1994

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Publication

Carroll & Graf Pub (1994), Paperback, 189 pages

Description

His body hosting a pair of strange alien presences, an amnesiac space traveler returns home to an unrecognizable Earth Many centuries in the future, a two-hundred-year-old man is discovered hibernating in a space capsule orbiting a distant star. Transported back to his home planet, Andrew Blake awakens to an Earth he does not recognize--a world of flying cars and sentient floating houses--with no memory whatsoever of his history or purpose. But he has not returned alone. The last survivor of a radical experiment abandoned more than a century earlier, Blake was genetically altered to be able to adapt to extreme alien environments, and now he can sense other presences inhabiting his mind and body. One is a biological computer of astonishing power; the other is a powerful creature akin to a large wolf. And Blake is definitely not the one in control. With his sanity hanging in the balance, Blake's only option is to set out in frantic pursuit of his past, the truth, his destiny--and quite possibly the fate of humankind.   A bravura demonstration of unparalleled imagination, intelligence, and heart, The Werewolf Principle addresses weighty issues of genetic manipulation that are as relevant today as when the novel first appeared in print. One of the all-time best and brightest in speculative fiction, Grand Master Clifford D. Simak offers a moving, stunning, witty, and thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be human.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member hailelib
The title is a little misleading for today's readers because Andrew Blake isn't really a werewolf although he is a shapeshifter. At the beginning of the book he has no knowledge of his past or of his shapeshifting abilities. He was found in stasis in an escape pod on a distant asteroid and brought
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back to Earth where he was revived. It wasn't realized at first that he was the result of a past attempt at genetically engineering the perfect space explorer. We gradually learn about his nature and his past along with Andrew. Simak includes some interesting ideas about how his future Earth would work, for instance, the flying houses. But, politics is still much the same.
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LibraryThing member andyray
andrew blake finds imself on a planet that allegedly has no life. He is found by earthlings and returned home. He is carrying two other personalities in his body and the three of them confuse and comboogle the scientific establishment. Finally, Blake realizes he no lolnger is human and steals a
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rocket ship and takes off to find a home for himself.
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LibraryThing member dbsovereign
An interesting foray into genetic engineering (from 1967 - it's amazing that he was so ahead of his time!), with Simak giving us a very personal take on the whole issue.
LibraryThing member AQsReviews
I find Simak’s novels to be uneven. Whether it is uneven in plotting, pacing, or execution, it does not really matter because the result is always somewhat of a rolling up and down read. This novel may be slightly more uneven than some of the others I have read, but its, again, something I have
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learned to expect with Simak.

I liked the usual things one likes about Simak novels. I disliked the unevenness and I definitely did not like the sudden negative mood of the main character. I would not be surprised if the next novel I read of his also contains a character who does not fit in with humanity, finds a deep nostalgia for Earth and nature, but has a uncomfortable attitude toward humans. This is NOT a bad read, certainly not at all. It just is not the high level of Simak’s work.
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LibraryThing member ikeman100
OK, I have to admit I did not finish this one. I really like SIMAK but this one didn't work for me.

Awards

Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 1967)

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1967

Physical description

189 p.; 17 cm

ISBN

0786701005 / 9780786701001

Local notes

Omslag: Frank Kelly Freas
Omslaget viser en ulv
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi

Pages

189

Rating

½ (74 ratings; 3.5)

DDC/MDS

813.54
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