Sparkles with wit and good nature
The Goblin Reservation has joined Way Station at the top of my list of favorite Simak novels. It has all the wonderful Simak classical elements-- folksy heros, visitors from the stars, lost knowledge, and gentle good nature. Additionally, Goblin Reservation has some of the wittiest Simak moments that I have read. The pages are full of little touches that bring an unforced smile.
Peter Maxwell returns to Earth bearing a mission entrusted to him by a dying race. Once home, he discovers that another version of himself had already returned and died in a strange accident. The mystery of what really happened is linked with the mystery of an object known only as The Artifact. Peter must cope with unsympathetic aliens, academic politics, unfriendly banshees and his own strange mission before a resolution can be reached.
Recommended for any fans of intelligent science fiction or fantasy. Simak should also appeal to general readers who are not classic genre fans. Simak never confuses explicit scenes with maturity, and his books are safe for readers of any age.
My favorite Simak novel- just wish there was more.
I love the idea of a university having a College of Supernatural Phenomenon, as well as, a College of Time travel. That's the sort of place I wish that I had attended- and he locates it right here in Wisconsin. Heck, I could commute.... There is also so much more that is pure Simak here- drinking moonshine with an educated neanderthal, a domesticated ghost, and a cloned saber-tooth tiger, for instance. Of course there is also the idea of reservations for the Little Folk (fairies, goblins, trolls, banshees, etc.) Then combine it all with commonplace instersteller travel by matter transmitter throughout a vast galactic community of intelligent aliens. All this is just the incidental setting for the main plot, which just happens to be very well crafted mystery story.
I believe that I have read just about everything that Clifford Simak ever published, and I would have to say that this little novel is probably my all time favorite. I just wish that he would have written a sequel or two.
Classic Simak; a fun read
Simak has written a lot of books and stories about the presence of the supernatural in mundane situations, but I can't recall one that does it so well -- nor so whole-heartedly -- as 'Reservation.' Ghosts, time travel, goblins, færie, dragons, politics, aliens, Neanderthals -- all intermix here on an University campus. This is another one of those books that draws you in and makes you feel welcome and part of the action. While not necessarily faithful to legend and myth, it's still grand tale. Good for all ages; I'd say it's rated 'G.'
It's the Hobbit of Simak's fantasy lore
Goblin Reservation is one of the few examples of a happy marriage between SF and fantasy, that many strive for but only chosen achieve. This book because of its relatively small size and "classic" SF elements (like aliens, cybertigers and space travel) is a great introduction to a more Tolkienish side of Simak creativity, filled with dwarves, ogres and rafter goblins. It can ease a neophyte poisoned by the made-for-TV SF into reading of Fellowship of Talisman, Heritage of Stars and Where the Evil Dwells. Did I mention it's a good book? Well, then, don't just sit there...
Simak's lighthearted SF-fantasy murder mystery.
The Goblin Reservation is Clifford D. Simak's synthesis of science fiction and European faerie lore within a murder mystery, with a little historical revisionism on the side. It stands safely within both the SF and fantasy categories, and will be well-liked by readers fond of either genre. Although a serious and coherent storyline runs the length of the book, the focus is on the way in which the characters relate to each other, which is often amusing even though the characters are not trying to be comical.
Peter Maxwell was a professor at the College of Supernatural Phenomena, a unit within the planetary university that had become Earth's largest industry in a multi-species galactic civilization. He was, that is, until he was killed. Maxwell had gone to a faraway planet in the Coonskin star system to investigate the report that a dragon had been sighted there. The rumor turned out to be false, however, and Maxwell came back to Earth, only to turn up suspiciously dead a few days later.
Imagine the surprise that Earth's security agency felt when Peter Maxwell showed up again, very much alive, at a matter transmission station in Wisconsin. Upon being questioned, this Peter Maxwell said that he had never arrived at the Coonskin system. His "pattern" had been copied enroute and diverted to a Crystal Planet containing information about a technology far surpassing that of any planet in the entire galaxy. The shadowy alien residents of that planet originated in a previous incarnation of the universe, before the latest Big Bang, and they were looking for a worthy species to receive the inheritance of their accumulated learning. Peter Maxwell was to be the one to arrange the transfer of that knowledge to Earth.
But there was a problem. Not only did Peter Maxwell have to be alert for the murderers who caused the demise of his other self, he also had to contend with unemployment. After his death, the university had filled his position at Supernatural, leaving him without a job.
Maxwell teams up with Carol Hampton, a member of the faculty at Time College (which, among other things, had brought William Shakespeare forward through time to explain why he did not write the plays), Alley Oop (a Neanderthal who had been headed for the cannibalistic stewpot when rescued by Time), and a Ghost who can't remember whom he is the ghost of, in order to unravel the mystery of the forces seeking to prevent Earth from inheriting the knowledge of the Crystal Planet.
The answer to the mystery will involve a dragon, and the dragon's relationship to the Little Folk (goblins, fairies, banshees, and trolls) who live on reservations on the campus of the College of Supernatural Phenomena, as well as a mysterious alien race of "Wheelers" who, it turns out, have been the enemies of the Little Folk races for millions of years.
The Goblin Reservation is written with rare wit, and perhaps the best scene is the bar fight at the Pig & Whistle Tavern, where Peter Maxwell, Alley Oop, Ghost, Carol Hampton, and Carol Hampton's sabertooth tiger get mixed up in a violent dispute between groups of students who were politically polarized over "the William Shakespeare issue."
Just one regret lingers in the reader's mind after finishing The Goblin Reservation. Simak did not see fit to include the recipe for making sweet October ale (the favorite drink of goblins and trolls, and much favored by humans who can rarely get a tankard of it). What a pity.
