Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon Review

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Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon might be one of the weirder science fiction books that I’ve reviewed, though it’s definitely one of the most influential. Also, it’s more philosophical. By the time it was written in 1937, a lot of the concepts and ideas introduced in the book were new to sci-fi. It would profoundly shape how science fiction creates stories about aliens, time travel, and most importantly, the stars. So let’s get into it.

Time for a summary, though that’s not going to be the easiest task in the world for me. The main thing you need to know is that one night, an Englishman stands in his yard, gazing at the stars. Suddenly, he experiences something not unlike an out-of-body experience. His mind travels through space, where he sees multitudes of stars as everything pans out. So begins the narrator’s journey. Stapledon set out to explain “the whole of things” with this book. So shrug off conventional plot points and come along for the ride!

I won’t go into detail about everything, but there’s a lot that goes on. The narrator spends a good deal of time traveling the universe. His ultimate goal is to observe and discover the meaning behind existence and the vastness of space. In this case, “God” is considered the “Star Maker,” the one who made the stars, but the narrator wants to better understand this concept. He finally finds a planet with sentient life similar to humans, and the journey kicks off from there. He links minds with other psychic beings and forms a consciousness with them on his travels. They then travel to other planets, where they witness varying stages of evolution. There are species evolving from starfish, crabs, spiders, and even trees. However, things start taking a turn.

He witnesses certain species having their own industrial revolution. Civilizations crop up and die out, but eventually, the most advanced species harness the energy of stars and start creating artificial planets. But in a twist, it turns out that the stars themselves are sentient. At this point, the narrator begins experiencing time dilation. He finally meets the Star Maker, but only a brief flash of something much, much bigger, as well as evidence of multiple universes.

After all that, we come to the review. This book definitely focuses on heavy philosophical concepts rather than a traditional story, so I’m not going to review the writing so much as the themes the book conveyed. The book tackles themes of existence itself and the philosophy of the universe. It focuses on tons of concepts that were new to science fiction at the time as well. So all this makes for a book that takes time to digest at times.

One of the most striking things about the book is that it doesn’t mind not answering its big questions. Rather, it guesses what might be out there and what our tiny role is in all of it. Stapledon doesn’t pinpoint who exactly the “Star Maker” is. Instead, we get a flash of a iny fraction of who the Star Maker might be. With that hint of something much, much bigger, the book conveys just how small humans are in the grand scheme of things.

And I think that’s what I enjoyed most about the story. In the beginning, the narrator examines the stars from his yard and wonders if love was actually vital to existence, or “basic to the cosmos itself” (5). He eventually says:

“And further, did it, being itself a product of the cosmos, prove that love was in some way basic to the cosmos itself? And did it afford, through its own felt intrinsic excellence, some guarantee that we two, its frail supporters, must in some sense have eternal life? Did it, in fact, prove that love was God, and God awaiting us in his heaven?

No! Our homely, friendly, exasperating, laughter-making, undecorated though most prized community of spirit proved none of these things.”

But then, as the narrator goes out and sees more and more, then returns home and sees what’s about to happen in 1937 England, he realizes that humanity has a purpose. There is hope in the darkness. The people of Earth were a little light, just like the stars.

Though the book is rather short, it can be difficult at times to understand what’s happening. There are times in the book when I had to set it aside because of how heavy it was. I needed a break. But having a narrator who’s a disembodied consciousness means this was bound to happen. It’s not a novel that traditionally handles techniques like perspective, and that’s not a bad thing.

Star Maker is a pivotal book that’s revelant to when it was published in 1937 and today. It might be one of the more difficult books to read, but I highly recommend it.

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