Rating: 
Summary: One of the better books I've read in a long time.
Review: Clifford Simak won all kinds of awards for his sci-fi work.
This novel is a good example why. If you enjoy reading novels on human interaction with other races, this is the book for you. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Skip it!
Review: Do you like thought provoking sci-fi with interesting, innovative plots that are relevant to life's many questions, a fast paced plot, and well fleshed out characters? Then skip this book! Its written with all the skill and innovativeness of a high school junior's aptitude. Imagine a decent 10 page story stretched into a horribly mediocre novel, and you get this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but heavy on philosophy - best for adults
Review: From a 13 year-old new to science fiction (Evan Magura): it was an interesting story; some parts could have been shortened - heavy on the philosophy. Liked the action scenes. The aliens were not the stereotypical Hollywood aliens - they were more complex. Good for young adults and adults - not kids!
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: Here we go again. This is yet another sci-fi book written in the 60s with a really interesting premise that gets too bogged down in the preachy social issues of the time. Simak's prose isn't the most eloquent, but it suffices. The story does meander a bit, and suffers from descriptive prose that really would have been better suited to fleshing out the main character (Enoch) who is ~135 years old, and fleshing out the story more. More interaction with traveling aliens would have been better too help give the feeling that the galaxy is a vast and strange place. I enjoyed the book for the most part, but felt it could have been much more...and more interesting.
Rating:
Summary: I think it's good, but.............................
Review: I can't really judge since I read it when I was sick. I actually think Simak's less dated then some of his contemporaries. After all this book had virtual reality, love of nature, teleporters, & a "Force" of sorts way before Star Wars or Star Trek. Despite the fact that Simak mentioned virtual reality in this & City it would be difficult to imagine anything less like cyberpunk then him. For the most part right on Salah Hasanpor even if I end up not liking this when I read it again. You know since I was sick the first time.
Rating:
Summary: Very good Simak, but not as good as The Big Front Yard
Review: I first read The Big Front Yard; then I read Way Station, which contains much of the thrust and delight of The Big Front Yard but is altogether too long and at times slow. Please please offer The Big Front Yard (1959 Hugo, one of the best short stories ever)! I wrote Mr. Simak and gave him my interpretation of this gentle story about the importance of ideas; he wrote me back, stating that of all the SF historians and critics who have written about the story, and about his work in general, I was the first and only one to put my finger unerringly on what he had tried so hard to say. "Thank God for you," he wrote me, and I am so proud and happy to have this memento from such a great and gentle author! He gave me permission to write a film script (which I have done), but he had no great opinion of the "rat's nest of intrigue" that he called Hollywood. Would that someone somewhere would make this film; we need more films that appeal to families, not just to "target audiences".
Rating:
Summary: I have been searching almost 30 years for another copy.
Review: I first read this book in the late 60's/early 70's when I was 10 years old and visiting my grandmother. It was as captivating then as it is now. An excellant piece of work!! Well worth reading by young and old
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest and Wisest Science Fiction Novel
Review: I just finished reading this great book. I can only say that in my opinion reading this book is essential. It is by far the most intelligent, thoughtful, human and universal, kind-hearted and far-reaching novel I've read in a long time. Perhaps the best book I've ever read. I could go on, examining the story and trying to explain why the book makes such a strong impact on me, but that would be futile - in my opinion Way Station cannot be condensed or translated in any way other than word-for-word. Anyway there are other reviews that give a superficial sense of the story. But to learn the book's message in full you must simply read it and be open to it. All I can say about the less positive reviews - the ones that claim that Way Station is dated, preachy, rambling, etc. - is that in those cases the fault lies more with the reviewer than with the book. Some people, at certain times in their lives, simply aren't open to certain messages of truth.I cannot recommend Way Station too highly. In my opinion it is an embarrassment that this book - this stunning achievement of Science Fiction - is currently out of print.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest and Wisest Science Fiction Novel
Review: I just finished reading this great book. I can only say that in my opinion reading this book is essential. It is by far the most intelligent, thoughtful, human and universal, kind-hearted and far-reaching novel I've read in a long time. Perhaps the best book I've ever read. I could go on, examining the story and trying to explain why the book makes such a strong impact on me, but that would be futile - in my opinion Way Station cannot be condensed or translated in any way other than word-for-word. Anyway there are other reviews that give a superficial sense of the story. But to learn the book's message in full you must simply read it and be open to it. All I can say about the less positive reviews - the ones that claim that Way Station is dated, preachy, rambling, etc. - is that in those cases the fault lies more with the reviewer than with the book. Some people, at certain times in their lives, simply aren't open to certain messages of truth. I cannot recommend Way Station too highly. In my opinion it is an embarrassment that this book - this stunning achievement of Science Fiction - is currently out of print.
Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Flash in the Pan
Review: I think this started out as a long short story or a short novella. At least that's the form I read it in back in the 60s. The loner with his alien way station, his shooting gallery in the basement, the graves in front, the discovery of the alien bones. I thought it was a great story then, so I bought this edition, which has been fleshed out considerably. On the whole, I'd say for the worse, but I disagree with the reviewer who picked on Enoch's imaginary friends. In my opinion, this by itself was worth the price of the book. If Wells predicted atom bombs, Simak predicted virtual reality. His basement games are uncannily similar to the video games of the internet age. For this bit of prescience alone, he deserved the Grand Master Award. Simak takes virtual reality lot further than I've ever seen it taken. The idea of an imaginary friend who thinks for herself and can cut off a relationship is, to put it bluntly, stunning. I recommend this book to fans of Robert A. Heinlein and A.E. van Vogt. It's sort of a flash in the pan, but it's brilliant.
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