James E. Gunn (1923–2020)

Listen for signals from the stars. It starts slow…but continues with the effort to continue the search, the results of actually getting a signal, the wait for the response to our response…and the need to continue searching. This is a story of bureaucratic tension...and what is more likely to happen if we should find a contact.

F/SF

The Empire may still exist, at least it does on the fortress orbiting the planet, where the bulk ofthe population toils to preserve the privileges of the few administrators. Cracks are appearing in the administration, and we are left with a few rebels who are working to overthrow the system. I read this paperback in 1963, though it was published in 1951.

I think I'll be an outlier on this book.

The backdrop was interesting, the characters varied and extreme, the plot interesting, and yet it didn't hang together for me at all.

The intro drew me in, then the book just stumbled along for many many pages, and when it finally got interesting, it ended.