Book Review: “Terraforming Earth” by Jack Williamson

This was an impulse read.  I was walking through the library, and the spine of this book caught my eye.  It was not on my “to read” list, but I’m glad I went with the impulse.

I have not read science fiction in years, but when I was in high school I devoured most of the classics of the genre.  Jack Williamson is one of those authors that is not a household name, but he is well know to me as one of the better sci fi writers.

Terraforming Earth deals with a well worn premise in the genre; post apocalyptic earth.  In this story, life on earth was wiped out by a direct hit by an asteroid .  Rather than focusing on the struggle for survive in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, the story occurs millions of years in the future.

Earth has recovered from the trauma of the impact.  A colony of robots on the moon has followed their directive to begin their work of repopulating the earth.  They clone and nurture a handful of people using their tissue banks for the mission of recolonizing earth.  If this attempt fails, the robots patiently wait for the next opportunity , and prepare a new group of clones for the job. 

In the story, the clones are regenerated a number of times, and each time they study the records of their brother and sister clones before them.  Each time, the challenges and outcomes are different.  The clones have an awareness of their immortality in that the robots will continue to generate new versions of them until the mission is accomplished.  Ar the same time, they know they are very mortal, and will likely die in their attempt to return human life to the earth.

Even a reader that does not indulge in science fiction may find this book worthwhile, although it maybe a disappointment to die hard fans of the genre.  It is not weighed down with the “space lore” that has become cliché since Star Wars and Star Trek.  Its not about the technology, its the story of people who do their best to succeed ina task they did not choose.  The characters are sympathetic without being one dimensional, and the paradox of mortal immortality is thought provoking.