Polite Dissent

The Goblin Reservation, by Clifford D. Simak, tells the story of Professor Peter Maxwell. In the not too far future, humanity has rediscovered all the creatures of legend – elves, trolls, goblins, banshees, and so on. All of the supernatural creatures have been accounted for except the dragon. Maxwell, a professor of Supernatural at the University, has made it his life’s work to find a dragon.

As the story begins, Maxwell arrives back on Earth by matter transporter after spending several fruitless weeks searching a distant star system for rumors of a dragon. His transmitter beam was hijacked on his way to Earth, and he found himself a guest on a mysterious crystal planet for several days. While there, he was asked to share the immense knowledge of this mysterious planet with Earth.

He finally returns home to discover that his transmitter beam was not hijacked, but duplicated. Another Peter Maxwell returned two weeks before and died in a mysterious “accident.” Maxwell’s attempts to re-establish his life are complicated. His apartment has been leased to a new tenant – a graduate student with a pet saber-toothed tiger. His teaching job no longer exists. His friends want him to pay back the money they spent on his funeral wreath.

Meanwhile, he is trying to figure out what to do with this knowledge he has been asked to share. He is approached by a group of mysterious aliens, the Wheelers (who look like giant pill bugs on wheels), and who seem to know too much and wish to purchase this knowledge from him. How can he reconcile his own loyalties, return to his previously happy life, and fulfill his appointed duties wisely?

The book showcases the common Simak themes. The first is the search for knowledge. As a former newspaper reporter, Simak injects this into almost all of his characters, many of whom are reporters themselves. In The Goblin Reservation, the character Ghost represents this quest in its most basic sense. He knows that he is someone’s ghost, but he can’t remember whose. Peter Maxwell represents this idea turned on its end. Maxwell has the knowledge – but doesn’t know what to do with it. Who is he supposed to give the knowledge to, and how? The quests of both the Ghost and Maxwell are an integral part of the novel’s ultimate outcome.

Simak’s stories commonly show the struggle between the urban and rural ways of life. This is often shown as conflict between technology and the “simple life”. His characters are generally unassuming individuals thrust into some technological conundrum. In this novel, the Wheelers represent the technological aspect while Maxwell himself represents the uncomplicated rural lifestyle. Both his caveman friend, Alley Oop, and his goblin friends represent the ideal of the pastoral life; another concept common in Simak’s novels.

All of Clifford Simak’s science fiction novels are unreservedly recommended. He was a not a multiple award winner (Nebulas and several Hugos) by accident. His stories, originally written in the 1960s and 70s, still ring true today.

The Goblin Reservation is more light-hearted than most of Simak’s other novels. It is a near-perfect blend of action, humor, and conscience and has my highest recommendation.

This first cover is from the original Berkley paperback edition of 1968. It shows a good example of the very abstract cover art common on Berkley books at that time.	The second cover is from a Carroll & Graff reprint in 1993. The cover image is more colorful and more evocative of a traditional goblin, but bears little relation to the novel. I actually prefer the original cover.