City

City follows the slow decline of human society and innovation, mostly through the lens of a specific family and their creations. Simak clearly holds little hope for the human race and it's ability to solve it's own problems. While the book is written in a tender and soft-spoken way, humanity is seen to fail again and again to revolutionize themselves, and become something greater. When given the opportunity, most humans choose to either run away from their problems, or simply ignore them. Yet, we see that some human are capable of great acts of sacrifice, in order to give other species a better chance at success. In humanities wake, other sentient races are born, in the hopes that they may one day exceed the legacy of their fore-bearers.

I loved the way that this 'fix-up' novel was tied together. It was humorous and added to the world building in a significant way. The ideas in City are pretty wild and fabulous. I was taken in by the child-like imagining of the world. If you're looking for hard sci-fi, I would suggest to look elsewhere. While this book has a lot to say on a philosophical stand point, it's also fun and whacky.

I will say that at some points you can really feel the age of the novel. It's as if women were but a distant memory in this world, as they have no role in the story. Characters are also thin, which is honestly to be expected. The chapters were very uneven in quality. Some were amazing. Some were especially slow-paced and pondering.

Ultimately, it feels like a very old book with very old ideas, but one that I can't help but love.