Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon is a classic novel of speculative science fiction, by a writer described during his lifetime as “the heir to HG Wells.” His 1937 novel is a spiritual sequel to Last and First Men, a “history of the future” of the human race; Star Maker is even more ambitious, a description of life spanning all of time and the entire galaxy. Does that sound ridiculous? Probably, but the story unfurls smoothly and cleverly, and the ideas and imagery positively bursts from the page.
Olaf Stapleon was born in Cheshire in 1886 and was educated at the University of Oxford. In his early career he worked as a teacher in Manchester and in shipping offices in Liverpool and Egypt. A pacifist and conscientious objector, he drove ambulances in the First World War and won a medal for bravery. He studied philosophy and psychology and became a professor at the University of Liverpool. He wrote A Modern Theory of Ethics in 1929, but turned to fiction a year later. If you haven’t read any of his work I heartily recommend you do!
Have a safe and sound night, Avocadians!