Masters of Evolution

Masters of Evolution is a 1959 science fiction novel by American writer Damon Knight. It first appeared in 1954 in Galaxy Science Fiction as the novella "Natural State". Knight subsequently expanded the text by about 5000 words, and the longer version was published by Ace Books in 1959 as Masters of Evolution, in a dos-a-dos paperback that included George O. Smith's Fire in the Heavens (Ace Double D-375).

Masters of Evolution
Cover of Masters of Evolution
AuthorDamon Knight
Cover artistEd Emshwiller
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction
PublisherAce Books
Publication date
1959
Media typePrint (Paperback) (magazine)
Pages96

Synopsis

In the near future, the world is divided into two antagonistic groups: city dwellers and country dwellers, called "muckfeet". The muckfeet control most of the land area and have a much higher population. The mayor of New York convinces a popular actor, Alvah Gustad, to negotiate an agreement with the muckfeet: technology in exchange for their scarce metals. Alvah reluctantly agrees and is given a chance to present his wares at a fair in the Midwest. No one is interested; an altercation ensues and Alvah realizes that he is stranded. He is taken in by a pretty young woman named B. J.; gradually he comes to accept and understand the muckfeet way of life, which includes novel uses of genetic engineering in place of machines. Alvah falls in love with B. J. and when the cities launch an attack on the muckfeet, Alvah is forced to reexamine his beliefs about the superiority of the city way of life.

Reception

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction considered that when "Natural State" was "expanded from (its original novella form)", it lost its "compressed drivenness".[1] Kirkus Reviews was far harsher, calling it a "mediocre, tired comic's vision of city folk and country types in collision".[2]

Origins

Mike Ashley has noted that the story was shaped by editor Horace Gold, and that Knight "accepted that the end result was better than his original", but was disappointed that the original "had been still-born".[3]

gollark: <@575658043782463518> Use systemd/openrc/some service runner thing, or accursedly `nohup whatever &`.
gollark: You don't now. Previously the process was accursed and semimanual.
gollark: Close enough.
gollark: ++remind 3.5h fix ABR
gollark: Hmm.

References
  1. Knight, Damon , by Malcolm Edwards, John Clute and David Langford; updated April 4, 2017; retrieved February 1, 2018
  2. Three Novels, reviewed at Kirkus Reviews, originally published January 6, 1966; retrieved February 1, 2018
  3. Transformations: The Story of the Science-fiction Magazines from 1950 to 1970, by Mike Ashley; published 2005 by Liverpool University Press
Knight's novella "Natural State" was originally published in the January 1954 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction


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