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Why Call Them Back From Heaven? Paperback – January 1, 1967

3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 125 ratings

To come back to life, and never die again - that's what the Forever Center promises the human race. And that's why, in the year 2148, people spend their whole lives in poverty, giving all their money to the Forever Center to ensure their happiness and comfort in the next eternal life. ~ ~ Daniel Frost is a key man at the Center. When he accidentally stumbles upon some classified documents, he incurs the wrath of an unseen enemy who has him framed and denounced as a social outcast. Something strange and untoward is happening at the Center, but can Daniel ferret out the secrets with an outcast's mark on his forehead?
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ ACE; First Edition (January 1, 1967)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 191 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0441080421
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0441080427
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4 ounces
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 125 ratings

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Clifford D. Simak
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During his fifty-five-year career, Clifford D. Simak produced some of the most iconic science fiction stories ever written. Born in 1904 on a farm in southwestern Wisconsin, Simak got a job at a small-town newspaper in 1929 and eventually became news editor of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, writing fiction in his spare time. Simak was best known for the book City, a reaction to the horrors of World War II, and for his novel Way Station. In 1953 City was awarded the International Fantasy Award, and in following years, Simak won three Hugo Awards and a Nebula Award. In 1977 he became the third Grand Master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and before his death in 1988, he was named one of three inaugural winners of the Horror Writers Association's Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
125 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2023
    This grandmaster posed the question, that John Lennon wrote in the song, Imagine If...there was no religion.. it beame a jarring thought for all religious beliefs.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2008
    Is the soul immortal? If it is and physical immortality is available, should humanity chose physical immortality over spiritual immortality? These are some of the interesting question this book by Clifford Simak asks in a most engaging manner.

    The story takes place in the mid-22nd century. The main character, Dan Frost, works at the Forever Center. The Forever Center has billions preserved dead people under ice waiting for the second immortal life. Dan finds a top secret Forever Center memo and then loses it. Dan winds up on trial for treason and is sentenced to ostracism from the human race. Any person who helps Dan will face stern punishment from the authorities. Dan will however, get a chance at the second life.

    Throughout history there have been stories about human immortality - both physical and spiritual. Clifford Simak spins his own interesting story about such a quest. In *Why Call Them Back from Heaven?* the problems of humanity striving for a second chance at a physical life are many. For example, one problem with the second life is that people need a nest egg for the second life. So people lead very frugal lives in order to save up for the next life. Their lives are so frugal that they don't have any fun - no concerts, no sports, no entertainment, no vacations. "The space in front of the drug counter was packed. People stopping on the way to pick up their dream pills - hallucinatory drugs - that would give them a few pleasant hours come evening....there were those who felt they needed them - something to make up for what they might be missing, the excitement and adventure of those former days when man walked hand in hand with a death that was an utter ending. They thought, perhaps, that the present life was a drab affair, that it had no color in it, and that the purpose they must hold to was a grinding and remorseless purpose." (pages 13-14).

    *Why Call Them Back From Heaven?* is nice, interesting read. Dan's quest for survival and the other people he meets are this heart of the plot of this thin book. I really enjoyed it. There are also many interesting ideas about life and death brought up in the book.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2024
    I have read many of his books. I group them into two categories: Adventures and Quests. This is a combination with the twisting wonderment and searching for Truth. Enjoy as you will
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2012
    "Why Call Them Back from Heaven" by Clifford Simak

    "Why Call Them Back from Heaven" (1967) concerns a near future where individuals are placed in suspended animation with the promise that they will be reborn when medical science can assure them of a prolonged life - that is, life everlasting. Simak's future is very bleak. Individuals are fitted with death notification devices that alert monitors to quickly bring the deceased to the Forever Centers for internment. The punishment for crimes against the state is removal of the transmitters. Citizens live frugally in order to accumulate wealth, usually in the form of Forever Center investments, in order to assure themselves financial resources when they are revived since, after all, they will be living forever. The plot is propelled by the search for a missing document that may reveal unfortunate truths about the whole concept of the Forever Centers.

    Admittedly suspended animation is not a very origional plot concept and the desperate search for a document is not a very exciting idea. What make this an intriguing book is the investigation and ponderings by the characters of the spiritual ramifications of the concept of eternal life in our present corporal state. Our religions assure us that after our short existence here on Earth in this "vale of tears" we will have eternal life with the Creator in a heavenly realm. What would happen to our religious beliefs and concepts of God if mankind could assure himself of earthly, eternal life? Simak does not provide any pat answers. His characters ruminate and speculate and we readers are invited to do the same. This concept of a supreme being and man's place in the universe is a reoccurring theme in many of Simak's novels and is one of the guilty pleasures I use to justify reading his fiction. I would recommend to interested readers Simak novels titled: "A Choice of Gods"-"Project Pope" and "Way Station".

    It is regrettable that the last printing of this book was in 1988. A generation of fantasy and science fiction fans haven't had the opportunity to read this extraordinary story unless, like myself, they ferret a copy off the Internet.

    Who should read this book? Well, for starters anyone who admires the writing of Clifford Simak and individuals with a curiosity about the effects of technology on religious faith. This is an aspect of speculative fiction that greatly interests this reader.
    14 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2023
    I always appreciate when an unfamiliar Simak title pops up in my suggested reads. I was not familiar with this one and added it to my reading queue promptly.

    He creates a very different future earth, where most everyone lives in giant buildings in cities, and the countryside has been abandoned. Religion is also mostly a thing of the past, as everyone is put into suspended animation at death with the promise of rebirth and immortal life… As soon as science can figure out the details.

    The main character is an executive in the company that’s working out those details when he has a fall from Grace and goes off to wander in the wilderness. His quest for redemption is mirrored by others, who are also off looking for something that no longer seems to exist.

    As always, the author is exploring the big ideas in his own unique fashion. A worthwhile read

    VFL.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2001
    The premise is interesting, but for me this story was somewhat disturbing, because the way people reacted to the situations in the story weren't realistic at all. The ending will leave you very disappointed. Worth reading only if you're a big Simak fan.
    6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 11, 2014
    Really interesting, but Clifford Simak always is...
  • David Badke
    3.0 out of 5 stars Good book, bad editing
    Reviewed in Canada on January 4, 2024
    Once again Open Road Media has spoiled a good book with their horrible lack of proofreading or even a simple spell check. Lots of mistakes, missing or misordered lines, missing or incorrect punctuation... Typical for this amateur-level publisher. Many self publishers do much better than this sloppy crew. So... Simak's story gets 4.5 stars, the publisher gets -4 stars - and that's being generous! .