In the Distance, and Ahead in Time, de George Zebrowski

Banda sonora de la reseña: Sugiero leer esta reseña escuchando In the Distance, de Sarah Modene (Spotify, YouTube).

A pesar de que ha publicado más de veinte novelas y varias docenas de relatos, George Zebrowski es prácticamente un desconocido para los lectores de ciencia ficción de España. Sólo se han traducido un puñado de sus historias cortas y mi impresión era que se trataba principalmente de un editor, ya que mi única experiencia previa con su trabajo se reducía a dos antologías de los Premios Nebula publicadas por Ediciones B en los 80.

Así que me asaltó la curiosidad cuando, hace un par de meses, oí hablar en un foro online de su relato "Gödel's Doom", que trata sobre el famoso Teorema de Gödel. La lógica matemática es uno de mis temas favoritos, así que me sentí inmediatamente interesando y compré Swift Thoughts, una recopilación que contiene "Gödel's Doom" además de otras historias. Entonces, unas semanas después, tuve la oportunidad de conseguir una copia para reseñar de la nueva edición de In the Distance, and Ahead in Time y no lo dudé ni un instante. 

Esperaba encontrarme historias con una importante componente especulativa y racional, algo que se vio reforzado por las palabras del propio Zebrowski en la introducción a la colección de relatos:

In addition to the voices of its characters, a science fiction story should also voice thoughts, and so requires a thoughtful reader; or at least one open to the seductions of thinking, to the beauties of an idea or a rounded bit of reasoning, as much as to the trills of emotion and the thrills of action. A science fiction story without thought must surely be a lesser science fiction story—or perhaps not a science fiction story at all.

Sin embargo, parece que mis expectativas iban un tanto desencaminadas. Muchas de las historias tienen elementos filosóficos, pero normalmente apelan más a los sentimientos que a la fría lógica. Por ejemplo, los tres primeros relatos, que comparten un protagonista común, se centran en crear una atmósfera (acercándose a temas como el cambio climático o el colapso de la civilización en la Tierra), con descripciones líricas y dejando la trama en un segundo plano. De hecho, estas historias son bastante cortas y pienso que se habrían beneficiado de tener una longitud mayor.

Más interesante me resultó otro conjunto de historias conectadas que incluye a la que da título a la colección así como "Wayside World", "Transfigured Night" y "Between the Winds". Estos relatos, a su vez, están relacionados con la novela Macrolife de Zebrowski y plantean importantes preguntas sobre el papel de la humanidad en el Universo y el conflicto entre el progreso y la llamada "forma natural de vivir". Esta idea de la "misión" de los humanos, el objetivo de nuestra civilización como conjunto, también es planteado en otros relatos, como el notable "Heathen God" y el algo árido "The Sea of Evening". 

Globalmente,  In the Distance, and Ahead of Time es un libro que me ha dejado un sabor agridulce, principalmente porque me esperaba otro tipo de historia. Sin embargo, sí que me han gustado la mayor parte de los relatos ("In the Distance, and Ahead in Time" es probablemente mi favorito) y, lo que es más importante, ahora estoy aún más interesado en leer más historias de George Zebrowski y especialmente su novela Macrolife ya que tanto la ambientación como los temas abordados en los relatos que tienen que ver con ella me han resultado muy atractivos.

(You can also read this review in English/También puedes leer esta reseña en inglés)

In the Distance, and Ahead in Time, by George Zebrowski

(Disclaimer: English is my second language, so I want to apologize in advance for there may be mistakes in the text below. If you find any, please let me know so that I can correct it. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.)

Review Soundtrack: I suggest reading this review while listening to In the Distance, by Sarah Modene (Spotify, YouTube).

Despite his having published more than twenty novels and several dozens of short stories, George Zebrowski is almost unknown to the SF readers in Spain. Only a handful of his stories have been translated into Spanish and I thought he was mainly an editor, for my only previous contact with his work was the two Nebula Awards anthologies that were published by Ediciones B in the 80s.

Thus, I was intrigued when, a couple of months ago, I read in an online forum about his story "Gödel's Doom" which is devoted to the famous Gödel's Theorem. Mathematical logic is a favorite topic of mine, so I was instantly interested and bought Swift Thoughts, a collection that includes "Gödel's Doom" among other stories. Then, a few weeks later, I had the chance of getting an ARC of the new edition of In the Distance, and Ahead in Time and I jumped at it. 

I was expecting to find stories with a strong speculative and rational component, something that was further reinforced by Zebrowski's own words in the introduction to the collection:

In addition to the voices of its characters, a science fiction story should also voice thoughts, and so requires a thoughtful reader; or at least one open to the seductions of thinking, to the beauties of an idea or a rounded bit of reasoning, as much as to the trills of emotion and the thrills of action. A science fiction story without thought must surely be a lesser science fiction story—or perhaps not a science fiction story at all.

However, it seems that my expectations were a bit off. Many of the stories have a philosophical element, but they usually appeal more to feelings than to cold logic. For instance, the first three tales, which share a common protagonist, focus on creating atmosphere (approaching topics such as climate change and the collapse of Earth civilization), with lyric descriptions, with plot being a secondary concern. In fact, these stories are fairly short and I think would have benefited from a longer extension. 

More interesting to me was another set of connected stories which includes the one that gives title to the collection as well as "Wayside World", "Transfigured Night" and "Between the Winds". These stories, in turn, are also related to Zebrowski's novel Macrolife and raise important questions regarding the role of humanity in the bigger Universe and the conflict between progress and the so-called "natural way of life". This idea of the "mission" of humans, the goal of our civilization as a whole, is also approached in other stories of the collection, such as the remarkable "Heathen God" and the a little bit dry "The Sea of Evening". 

All in all, In the Distance, and Ahead of Time is a book that has left with mixed feelings, mainly because I was expecting a different kind of story. However, I did enjoy reading most of the stories ("In the Distance, and Ahead in Time" is probably my favorite) and, more importantly, now I'm even more interested in reading further stories by George Zebrowski and especially his novel Macrolife since I found the setting and the topics addressed in those tales related to it really compelling. 

(You can also read this review in Spanish/También puedes leer esta reseña en español)