Star Maker

Name: Star Maker
ISBN: 9787572702600

威廉·奥拉夫·斯特普尔顿 / 宝树 / Yao HaijunSichuan Science and Technology Press · ChinaJul 2025

4.5

Word count: 196K words
Chapters: 23
ISBN: 9787572702600

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Summary

Star Maker, published in 1937, is a work remarkable in both form and content. It recounts the history of life in the universe on a timescale far exceeding the two billion years of human history in its predecessor, Last and First Men. Star Maker explores philosophical questions such as the nature of life, birth, decline, and death, and the relationship between creator and creation. Running through the book is the gradual unification of civilizations, both within and across worlds. Some of the elements and themes briefly discussed here anticipate genetic engineering and alien life forms often found in later science fiction.

Editor's review

Star Maker is a classic work published in 1937 by British philosopher and science fiction writer William Olaf Stapledon; the Chinese edition was edited by science fiction scholar Yao Haijun, translated by Baoshu, who also wrote the introduction. This is not a conventional narrative novel but a philosophical epic set on a cosmic stage. It follows a soul journeying through successive cosmic structures, witnessing the birth and evolution of stellar, planetary, and even galactic life forms, and ultimately seeking the origin of cosmic consciousness. Stapledon's astonishing imagination builds a complete cosmic picture from the microscopic to the macroscopic, and its intellectual depth surpasses that of its contemporaries, directly influencing later masters such as Arthur C. Clarke and Stanisław Lem. Reading this book is like a spiritual voyage through the cosmos, challenging the boundaries of human understanding of life, consciousness, and the nature of existence. For readers who seek intellectual depth and imaginative breadth, this is an unmissable science fiction and philosophical classic.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Experienced readers who demand intellectual depth and philosophical substance from science fiction
Fans of philosophically minded science fiction such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris
Those interested in grand questions such as cosmology, the origin of life, and the nature of consciousness
Literary scholars seeking to understand the history and classic sources of science fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for fast-paced, plot-driven entertainment
Beginners who find abstract speculation and philosophical discussion difficult or tedious

Reading tips

Read the translator's introduction first; it helps in understanding the book's background and core intellectual framework
The book is best read slowly, chapter by chapter, leaving time for thought and digestion rather than rushing through
Reading it alongside works such as Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End can illuminate its intellectual lineage

About the publisher

Sichuan Science and Technology Press China · Founded in 1982

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.

版权信息
译序斯特普尔顿及其《造星主》
自序
第一章地球
第二章星际之旅
第三章另一个地球
第四章重启旅程
第五章无数个世界
第六章寻觅造星主
第七章更奇特的世界
第八章探索者之变
第九章银河世界共同体
第十章银河全景
第十一章星辰与虫豸
第十二章不成形的宇宙之灵
第十三章开端与结局
第十四章创世的神话
第十五章造物主及其作品
第十六章尾声：重返地球
附录一
附录二
附录三
译后记

FAQ

Is this a novel? Is it strongly story-driven?

It is a work of strong thought-experiment character with a narrative frame, but its driving force is philosophical speculation rather than character and plot, so the story element is weak.

How is the translation?

It was translated by the veteran science fiction writer and translator Baoshu; the translation is fluent and includes a detailed introduction and notes that help with this intellectually demanding work.

Why is it considered a science fiction classic?

Because it uses science fiction as a vehicle to systematically explore life, consciousness, and civilizational evolution on a cosmic scale for the first time, and its conceptual originality has had a profound influence on later science fiction.

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About the author

威廉·奥拉夫·斯特普尔顿 Author

William Olaf Stapledon was a British writer known for his science fiction. Publicly available information about his birth and death dates and his early life is limited. The Chinese book database currently includes one work by him, his representative novel Star Maker. This novel is commonly classified as science fiction and is one of Stapledon's best-known creations. Star Maker is notable for its vast cosmic perspective and philosophical speculation, moving beyond the conventions of traditional science-fiction adventure narratives to incorporate questions of life's evolution, cosmic scale, and humanity's place into its imagination. This approach gives the work a distinct character as a thought experiment and has secured Stapledon a unique place in the history of science fiction. For Chinese readers, his work offers a science-fiction reading experience oriented toward contemplation and cosmic vision, suited to those interested in classic science fiction and intellectually ambitious narratives.

宝树 Author

Baoshu is a prolific Chinese science fiction author. Public information about him is limited, and details such as his nationality and biographical dates remain unclear. Seven of his works are held in the collection, mainly science fiction with some fantasy writing in the otherworldly continent vein. Representative titles include The Three-Body X: Observing the Universe, The Star Maker, and Saving the World, as well as contributions to the Nebula XIV: Our Dinosaur Island and the Nebula Anthology series associated with the Global Chinese Science Fiction Nebula Awards. He is also represented by the four-volume Insect: Great Fantasy Writers science fiction classics collection and The Three Delicacies of Food. These works show an imagination grounded in science fiction frameworks, ranging from extensions that converse with classic science fiction to short stories and multi-author series. His writing is connected with the Nebula Awards tie-in series and appears through channels such as Science Fiction World.

Yao Haijun Author · China · 1966

Yao Haijun, born in May 1966 in Yichun, Heilongjiang, is a Chinese science fiction publisher. In 1986 he founded the fanzine Xingyun (Nebula), and in 1998 he joined the magazine Science Fiction World, where he served successively as editor, editor-in-chief, and deputy editor-in-chief. In his publishing work, he planned the science fiction book project “Vision Project” and edited multiple series; he is also known as the discoverer and an important promoter of The Three-Body Problem. His catalog includes 39 titles, spanning science fiction and fine fiction, with representative works such as The Wandering Earth: Selected Short Stories of Liu Cixin, The Star Maker, the Ringworld collection, The City and the Stars, and Dragon’s Egg, as well as edited series including the “Rogue João” trilogy and the World Science Fiction Masters series. As an editor and series editor, his work centers on introducing and promoting science fiction literature, and he has had a sustained influence on Chinese-language science fiction publishing.