Way Station

By: Clifford D. Simak

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer

Length: 7 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

In this Hugo Award-winning classic, Enoch Wallace is an ageless hermit, striding across his untended farm as he has done for over a century, still carrying the gun with which he had served in the Civil War. But what his neighbors must never know is that, inside his unchanging house, he meets with a host of unimaginable friends from the farthest stars.

More than a hundred years before, an alien named Ulysses had recruited Enoch as the keeper of Earth's only galactic transfer station. Now, as Enoch studies the progress of Earth and tends the tanks where the aliens appear, the charts he made indicate his world is doomed to destruction. His alien friends can only offer help that seems worse than the dreaded disaster. Then he discovers the horror that lies across the galaxy.

BONUS AUDIO: Way Station includes an exclusive introduction by Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Mike Resnick.

©1963 Clifford D. Simak (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Hugo Award, Best Novel, 1964
• All-Time Best Science Fiction Novels (Locus Magazine)

A nice soft classic sci-fi novel from another age

A well deserved classic from its time. Good exploration of authors idealistic hope for humanity.

All that said... very thin on anything resembling a plot and may bore an audio looking for something with more action or tension. The few characters seem to be little more than ways for Simak to preach for a more rational and connected humanity.

Amazing storytelling

A fantastic story of other worlds and yet well grounded with Earth and Humanity. A story of isolation and yet connection. A story masterfully crafted with just enough world building to be credible, but not so much as to be overwhelmed. Extremely satisfying in its simplicity. The author's essential optimism in humanity shines through and makes me wish I was as optimistic as he.

Very well done!

Where does Way Station rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 5

What did you like best about this story?

The unique story line, the performance, and the expert way in which the story was developed.

Which scene was your favorite?

The first meeting with the Alien

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When he sheltered the girl from her father

Any additional comments?

The plot kept me guessing. I had no idea it would end like it did. This is one of my favorite books!

Holds up in this day and age!

I loved the premise of the story which first interested me. I had held off purchasing due to the time it was written as most of these old sci fi books show their age with the tech they portray but this book did really well and even surprised me with the tech involving his pastime which could be used in a modern day book. Anyhow really enjoyed it and was narrated very well!

Timeless classic

Clifford simak is a grand master of science fiction and this novel shows why. The storyline is engaging, Enoch Wallace is an interesting character and there are enough plot twists to keep things interesting

Way Station

Loved the story but it could of been a bit better performed..this is a story I wish had a full cast Reading.

thought provoking and still timely

themes are still relevant today with many questions we all struggling with as a society.

Check out the ratings, not the reviews

Good: The Mizar Math reminded me of Foundation by Asimov. Virtual Reality games in 1953. Long before Star Wars, we hear about The Force. He walks alone theme. Only seven hours long. Audio was better then reading the book.

Average: Enoch is a good man and good things happen to good people. Enoch is not ambitious and does not stand up for mankind too well, and if he was in a Heinlein novel he would get beat up a lot. The pace of the book is slow.

If your a big Heinlein fan I don't believe you will get into this book. If you like more easy listening, simple, then you may really like this. The first page of reviews are very positive, but if you look at the ratings, more people gave it a four then a five and there are lots of three's and some lower.

SUPERB !!

I was somewhat hesitant to download my first audible book. I also wasn't sure I wanted to hear one of my all time favorite books growing up being read to me in the voice of someone else. I was extremely impressed. Quality of download and clarity were wonderful. I was very pleased and this made my long travels for work much more enjoyable. Almost hoped for rush hour jams!

Holds up well

For a science fiction book written in 1963 this novel holds up remarkably well. Like much of the genera from the 60's it reflects hope with regard to the future of humanity; it is whimsical and sweat in spots. The main character is a solid decent human being who represents us well to the
rest of the galaxy; and Simak represents him well to us the reader.
This book is a gem coming from the era where the
trilogy meant Lord of the Rings or maybe the Foundation books. Back when a well crafted science fiction story most often was only one book. It is solid and I would recommend it to all.