City
By Clifford Simak

And now for another old but "classic" science-fiction novel, this time Clifford Simak's City. I read this before Slan and enjoyed it more.

City is a "fix-up" novel from 1952, based on stories published in Astounding Science Fiction between 1944 and 1951. This is the story of Mankind's future, and far future. It is a melancholic story, almost elegiac, and one of a long sad decline. The age of exploration and excitement is over and most people fade away into a "dream" world of their own, or take other post-human form, thus separating themselves from humanity.

The book has a grand sweep, jumping ahead in time but keeping some focus on human history through the Webster family and their robot servant "Jenkins". Jenkins lasts a long time and sees the slow eclipse of humanity. As well as the robots, animals have also been bred and modified to be our intelligent companions. Dogs are no longer mute but think and talk and have their own civilisation, mindful of avoiding the mistakes we made: violence and war in particular.

I found a lot to like about the sweeping history and its philosophical airs, even though not a great deal happens and there is little actual science. It's a quiet and reflective novel. In the end, the dogs are the robots' best friends but still have a yearning for the past and their Human companions (the "websters"). I enjoyed City quite a lot.