Desolate City
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Summary
In the distant future, humanity has hydroponic agriculture, genetic modification, and atomic energy—yet it also faces social collapse and abandoned cities.
Humans chose to leave—for the countryside, for Jupiter, for oblivion.
Webster’s descendants gave dogs the ability to speak and read. Intelligent, kind, and peace-loving, the dogs became the final guardians of human history. With the help of the robot Jenkins, the dogs maintain brotherhood with other animals and live in harmony.
Yet residual humans still carrying warlike genes, along with mysterious alien beings, bring new threats.
Editor's review
As an editor, I believe the book’s greatest value lies in its unique literary temperament and timeless themes. In today’s fast-paced, high-concept science fiction landscape, The City Is Dead offers a return to simplicity. It does not rely on intense conflict but builds a warm, slightly melancholy utopian picture through delicate daily descriptions and trusting dialogue between characters. Its portrayal of Earth’s natural recovery after humanity’s “departure” and its redefinition of “civilization’s” legacy are especially likely to prompt readers today to think dialectically about technological progress and natural essence, city and countryside, transience and eternity. Through its science fiction shell, Simak completes a purely literary inquiry into the meaning and transmission of life, which elevates The City Is Dead beyond genre fiction and makes it a classic worth savoring repeatedly.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who enjoy quiet, poetic science fiction with philosophical depth
- Readers interested in imaginings of Earth after the Anthropocene and ecological narratives
- Readers who appreciate the humanistic care and optimism of classic science fiction
- Those who hope to find emotional solace and intellectual沉淀 in science fiction
Not a good fit for
- Science fiction fans seeking high-intensity plots and spectacular space-opera action
- Readers expecting the latest technological settings or hard science extrapolation
Reading tips
- Read in a quiet environment to immerse yourself in its slow narrative rhythm and atmosphere
- Pay attention to the book’s depiction of canine intelligence and culture—one of Simak’s most original creations
- After reading, consider: if civilization’s most precious legacy were not buildings or knowledge but a certain emotion or relationship, what would it be?
About the publisher
Sichuan Science and Technology Press features science and technology, popular science, and science fiction publishing, while also covering agricultural technology and medical and health books. In science fiction, the press has continued to release works by Liu Cixin, including The Wandering Earth: Selected Short Stories of Liu Cixin, boxed sets of Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction classics, and masterworks such as Ringworld, Snow Crash, and Minus Zero, organized into series including the Chinese Science Fiction Cornerstone Series and the World Science Fiction Masters Series. In popular science, classics such as George Gamow's One Two Three... Infinity reflect its orientation toward public science communication. Its author resources in the library include Liu Cixin, Yao Haijun, and Cheng Xi, among other science fiction and popular science editors and translators; the library contains 190 titles, classified mainly as popular science, science fiction, quality fiction, and foreign literature. Public information is limited, and the above is summarized only from the library's titles and existing profile.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 编者序言
- 对第一个故事的说明
- I 荒城 上
- I 荒城 下
- 对第二个故事的说明
- Ⅱ 依偎之地
- 对第三个故事的说明
- Ⅲ 人口普查
- 对第四个故事的说明
- Ⅳ 逃兵
- 对第五个故事的说明
- V 天堂
- 对第六个故事的说明
- Ⅵ 爱好
- 对第七个故事的说明
- Ⅶ 伊索
- 对第八个故事的说明
- Ⅷ 简单的方法
- 对《结局》的说明
- 结局
FAQ
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About the author
Clifford D. Simak is an author known primarily for science fiction. Public information about him is limited, and his dates of birth and death, nationality, and educational background are not clearly recorded. Judging from the two works collected here, City and Way Station, his writing often revolves around future worlds and interstellar space, and he is skilled at depicting the relationship between the human condition and unknown environments within a science-fiction framework. Way Station is included in the World Science Fiction Masters series, which indicates that his work has achieved a certain reach and recognition among Chinese science-fiction readers. Simak's style tends toward plain narrative pacing, balancing imagination with observation of human nature, and is suitable for readers interested in classic science fiction, especially interstellar themes. Overall, his Chinese translations remain relatively few, and the value of his work deserves further attention from readers and researchers.
Chen Yunru is an author about whom limited public information is available. Two of her works are included in the library, one falling into science fiction and the other into historical writing. Her science fiction is represented by Wasteland City (Huangcheng), which, judging from its title and classification, appears to unfold against a backdrop of a city or its ruins, with the imaginative settings and narrative tension common to the genre; the available material does not allow a detailed account of its plot or stylistic features. Her other work, The Five Dynasties in Steles and Epitaphs: Writings on Five Dynasties Warriors, turns to historical subject matter, linking epigraphic materials with the warrior groups of the Five Dynasties, which suggests an interest in historical sources and in the writing of historical figures. The two works span quite different subjects, one fictional and one factual, indicating that her writing interests are not confined to a single field. Since details of her life and nationality are not recorded in the library, readers seeking to learn more about her and her work should rely on the works as actually published.
