The age of the stars

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The age of the stars ( ISBN 3-426-05793-X , 1985, Orig .: Birthright: The Book of Man , 1982) is a science fiction - novel of US writer Mike Resnick . The novel is aboutmankind'sconquest of the galaxy , a theme Resnick uses in many of his other works.

action

The age of the stars spans a period of 17 millennia , beginning with the first attempts at expansion into space and ending with the death of the last people. It describes the steady expansion, including the setbacks. The intelligent races of the galaxy have been overwhelmed by humans and then suppressed by every means at their disposal: economic pressure and dependence, diplomatic maneuvers, or simply military superiority.

Not all chapters deal with the subjugation of aliens by humanity, some also deal with the development from a democracy to a monarchy through the expansion of the human empire. Most of the story, however, revolves around the never clearly defined peculiarity of mankind, which enables it to assert itself against all odds in the conquest of the galaxy.

In the course of time, there is no longer any room for further expansion of the human sphere of influence, and a regression takes place accordingly. Internal quarrels within the empire and the alien resentment towards humans are causing a decline in the influence and power of humanity. Resnick describes in this part a similar period as that of the ascent, but gives it less space in the novel. Despite their abilities to conquer the galaxy, humans are no longer able to consolidate and hold onto their influence. One of the chapters reveals, very ironically in this context, that literary fictions are not known to any of the alien races and are a genre peculiar to mankind ".

construction

The book is divided into 26 chapters , each of which tells its own story in the course of human history. Each chapter has its own plot, there are no characters that appear in several chapters. At first glance it appears to be a collection of short stories, but it comes together to form a whole. The impression of short stories is only cleared by the context of the development, which extends over 17 millennia. Each chapter bears the name of a human group or a job title, for example "The Cartographers", "The Artists" or "The Priests".

Most of the chapters are introduced by excerpts from the fictional history books of humans and those of aliens, each of which relates to the events of the following chapter. Compared to the narrative that follows in the chapter, these “official” histories show considerable distortions of the actual events.

Inspiration and connection to other works

Even in the age of the stars , Resnick uses the style of a historical narrative to create the framework for his vision of the future, something similar can be found in the novels Ivory , A Miracle of Rare Design , and Santiago . Resnick's keen interest in African history provided him with inspiration. The colonialism of the 16th to 19th centuries that Africa suffered has many parallels to the expansion of humanity in Resnick's universe in this novel. The characteristics are ruthless exploitation of resources , oppression of native cultures , based on an ideology of the superiority of one's own race.

In the Age of the Stars it is assumed that this behavior is one of the basic characteristics of human nature and that this behavior will continue even if the universe is "conquered". The later part deals with the phenomenon that seemingly invincible empires always slowly crumble, only to disappear in the end. History provides numerous examples, including the Roman Empire , the Mongol and British Empires, and the Empire of Alexander the Great .

Likewise, the book can be seen as an antithesis to the stereotypical threatening portrayal of extraterrestrial beings that is rumored in many films and books, such as Starship Troopers , and the Predator and Alien films. Instead, in Age of Stars , humanity itself is the most ruthless and dangerous race in the universe. A similar concept can be found in the short story With Friends Like These and the trilogy The Damned by author Alan Dean Foster .

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