Special Deliverance

by Clifford D. Simak

Paperback, 1982

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Genres

Science Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

English paperback sf

Publication

Ballantine Books (Mm) (1982), Mass Market Paperback, 224 pages

Description

From a Nebula and Hugo award winner, "one the best-loved authors in SF": A tale of humans and one robot navigating an alien puzzle-world (Publishers Weekly). Following a conversation with a talking slot machine, Professor Edward Lansing finds himself mysteriously transported to a tavern on a long and empty road. It is immediately obvious to the educator that he is no longer on campus--or even Earth--and that he is not alone. Lansing's new companions--a female engineer, a military officer, a humorless priest, a poetess, and a robot named Jurgens--all hail from separate alternate realities and share Lansing's confusion. What is clear, however, is that they must continue down the road together, encountering a series of bizarre sights, dangerous obstacles, and perplexing puzzles along the way: an abandoned, decaying city; a set of doorways; a large blue cube; a tower that sings. Soon it is apparent they are all being tested for some eerie, inexplicable reason, and the choices each must make will determine his or her future. For those who fail, the alien trail will never be seen again. A provocative science fiction allegory, Special Deliverance is Hugo and Nebula Award-winner Clifford D. Simak's Pilgrim's Progress--a tale of great trials and hidden agendas that expose the foibles of humanity and a fantastic exploration of the human condition. A science fiction classic brimming with intelligence, invention, and wonder, it is yet another extraordinary creation from one of the genre's most revered grandmasters.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV

Well, I hate to say it, but it's pretty bad. *I* enjoyed, but that's because I'm a fan of Simak, prejudiced in his favor. Awkward, especially the dialogue. Simak was getting old, and this reads like his final request to the universe. 'Oh please, powerful aliens, who we SF writers have

revered, do this thing for humanity.' Hero is an English professor, and it's his level-headedness that constantly saves the day against the vagaries of the other (also cardboard) members of the troupe. Not funny, not exciting, a bit insightful a few times, but mainly just concept.

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LibraryThing member andyray

I guess I am not as sophisticated as the two other reviewers, as I did not find it going downhill through the book and I did not guess the ending, although I surmised Cliff was going to have his protagonist get his girl. This is not classical literature,folks. Cliff Simak writes to have fun and

that is why I love to read his work. He is FUN. Maybe the great Doestevskii or Tolstoy or numerous other "classic" writers (I include Faulkner here) are not fun at all.

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LibraryThing member mrtall

Special Deliverance is a sci-fi novel sporting a cute title and a reasonably good set-up: a nice, mild-mannered college prof is mysteriously transported to a familiar place that’s still clearly not the Earth he knows. He must throw in his lot with a group of similarly-displaced travelers as they

journey through their new homeland seeking explanations of their situation.

After this reasonable (if not exactly unprecedented) beginning, it’s all downhill, as the remainder of this short novel becomes increasingly interminable. It’s downright bad by the three-quarters mark; appalling dialogue, sketchy character development, and a get-out-of-plot-jail card played without apology to finish things off.

Not recommended.

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LibraryThing member raizel

An English professor from our world finds himself part of a small group transported from different worlds and times. They include a woman who is an engineer from a world where this is not unusual; a robot, from a future world where most humans have left his planet and only the old and infirm are

left; another woman who is a poet, from a world where poetry is really important; a brigadier; and a parson, who is very rigid in his way of thinking. They choose to travel together in what is hardly a quest, since they don't really have a goal in mind, beyond figuring out where they are and why.

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