Cheap Why Call Them Back from Heaven (Book) (Clifford D. Simak) Price

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Customer Reviews of Why Call Them Back from Heaven

Imagine a world where cryonics, the preservation of the human body by freezing, has become not only the norm, but also the primary reason for human existence. Imagine that one single corporation is in charge of freezing and preserving every single person in the world, until either a cure for their disease- or outright immortality- is discovered. Imagine that people work their entire lives to scrape together the money that the corporation demands for the trust fund to look after their bodies after death. Imagine that some people choose "early death" so that they can be frozen before they eat into their trust fund. Now, imagine that this is all one giant scam- that no one has ever been revived and no one ever will be. Finally, imagine that you have unwittingly stumbled over this fact- and the corporation knows that you know!

Simak does no less than examine the fundamental obsession of western society with the cult of materialism, science, and progress. The belief in eventual immortality and "paradise" through freezing is analogous to the average westerner's unshakable belief in physical science. In Simak's tale the vast majority of mankind have abandoned any belief in God or an afterlife because with scientifically induced immortality they feel that they don't need it any more. That is except for a few mavericks and rebels on the fringe of the corporate mega-state- and the system does everything it can to either round up or eliminate them.

A frightening look at what Simak saw coming- a world totally run and ruled by the Corporation.- a world where God and heaven have been eliminated because they stood in the way of increased corporate profits.

Physical Immortality or Spiritual Afterlife?
I had thought that I had read every single published work of my favorite science fiction author, Clifford D. Simak, and then I found this one. A faulty reference lists this as an alternate title to one of his other novels. It is not, this is a totally original work. It is also the work where he perhaps gives human society, and human existence, his most profound examination.

Imagine a world where cryonics, the preservation of the human body by freezing, has become not only the norm, but also the primary reason for human existence. Imagine that one single corporation is in charge of freezing and preserving every single person in the world, until either a cure for their disease- or outright immortality- is discovered. Imagine that people work their entire lives to scrape together the money that the corporation demands for the trust fund to look after their bodies after death. Imagine that some people choose "early death" so that they can be frozen before they eat into their trust fund. Now, imagine that this is all one giant scam- that no one has ever been revived and no one ever will be. Finally, imagine that you have unwittingly stumbled over this fact- and the corporation knows that you know!

Simak does no less than examine the fundamental obsession of western society with the cult of materialism, science, and progress. The belief in eventual immortality and "paradise" through freezing is analogous to the average westerner's unshakable belief in physical science. In Simak's tale the vast majority of mankind have abandoned any belief in God or an afterlife because with scientifically induced immortality they feel that they don't need it any more. That is except for a few mavericks and rebels on the fringe of the corporate mega-state- and the system does everything it can to either round up or eliminate them.

A frightening look at what Simak saw coming- a world totally run and ruled by the Corporation.- a world where God and heaven have been eliminated because they stood in the way of increased corporate profits.

What sci-fi is supposed to be
First of all, does writing a review for an inexcusably out-of-print book assist in getting it republished?

Clifford Simak was a giant in sci-fi, with a grand output of classics and duds (but there's always another Simak book you haven't read...), and most of his books are fascinating, fleshed-out premises, but well done.

This one is another in a series of understated "what if" books, and deals with the readjustments society makes after everyone starts getting cryogenically preserved to be reawakened in the future. The upshot is, they all become pennypinchers and start looking at everything as an investment, not for old age, but for 200 years in the future. Classic Simakian themes of economic craziness in a society where everyone starts living for tomorrow and tricksters, swindlers and so on run amok selling postage stamps, future antiques, worthless swampland and so on.

Plenty of spooky futuristic images that are even more relevant today than when he wrote this. And fun to read!