City

Rating:
Summary: Smartest Animals in the World
Review: You would think that a sci-fi world in which humans are no more and dogs are the masters of the Earth would be found in a fanciful book for kids. Instead, Clifford Simak turned that deceptively lightweight premise into this poignant, melancholy, and even creepy collection of tales. And these are actually tales within tales, presented as snippets of folklore that have trickled down into an advanced society of dogs, tens of thousands of years in the future. In a fascinating mode of storytelling, Simak posits how dog scholars of the future place doubt on the folktales that they were once pets to man, and even doubt if humans ever existed. Dogs claim to have proven scientifically that outer space is not possible, but that inter-dimensional worlds are, and that's because of the different intellects of dogs and humans. (Though in one familiar mental twist, dogs still really hate fleas and advocate exterminating them, or possibly placing them on reservations!) There are a couple of problems with Simak's mode of presentation, as the mutant humans and wild robots who supposedly have such a large hand in these future developments are barely explained; while having the Webster family represent all of humanity and shape its course for thousands of years is implausible. But otherwise, this book offers very compelling explorations on the nature of humanity and its possible futures, philosophical differences and similarities between humans and the creatures of the natural world, and especially the processes of thought and society. Simak's unique storytelling methods here add great depth and insight to these ruminations. [~doomsdayer520~]