A Far Sunset
 | |
| Author | Edmund Cooper |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Published | 1967 (Hodder & Stoughton) |
| Pages | 189 |
| ISBN | 0-340-04364-4 |
| OCLC | 463957 |
A Far Sunset is a science fiction novel by Edmund Cooper, published by Hodder & Stoughton in July 1967.
Plot summary
The starship Gloria mundi, built and manned by the United States of Europe, lands on the planet Altair Five in the year 2032. Most of the crew mysteriously disappears soon after touchdown, leaving only the psychiatrist Paul Marlow, the book's protagonist. The planet is inhabited by primeval humanoids.
A central theme in the novel is the clash between Marlowe's rational worldview and the natives' superstitious and often brutal culture. Paul Marlow (pronounced Poul Mer Lo by the Bayani tribe he lives amongst) gains a leading position in the primitive society. He uses that power to educate the alien race, enabling them to make inventions that improve their society, such as the wheel, the ball-bearing and the axle.
Paul Marlow also demystifies the Bayanis' religion, by discovering its factual origin — thereby uncovering that the humans of Altair Five share their ancestry with humans of Earth and other worlds in the Milky Way.
While Marlow adapts to the simplicity and naivety of the Bayani lifestyle, he starts seeing the complex and advanced culture of the Earth as absurd. When after two Bayani years he is contacted by a starship come to his rescue, he decides to stay on Altair Five.
See also
External links
- A short plot description at www.fantasticfiction.co.uk
- A Far Sunset title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database