“Ape is of course the only rational creature, the only one possessing a mind as well as a body. The most materialistic of our scientists recognize the supernatural essence of the simian mind.”Two space travelers find a message in a bottle floating in space and inside is a manuscript containing the account of one Ulysse Merou. Ulysse recounts how Professor Antelle, assistant Arthur Levain and himself traveled to a new star system to a planet they name Soror. There they find a habitable planet with a thriving civilization. Too bad the inhabitants are intelligent apes and the humans they do find are primitive animals. Ulysse must now deal with the strangely different reality as he maneuvers through the sometimes dangerous idiosyncrasies of an ape civilization.
What follows is a great science fiction story with an ironic subtext aimed at humanity’s vain belief in its own superiority. Even without the underlying satire, which was laid on a little thick in later chapters, it is still a cool “what if” scenario that makes an entertaining read. And it gave a better appreciation for the Tim Burton version of the movie which was more faithful to the source material than I thought. (The super jumps were still a little ridiculous)
4 Extremely well made space-faring bottles out of 5
2 comments:
I really enjoyed this book. I read it from cover to cover in one sitting which I hadn't been planning to do, it was just so engaging.
Another great review. Excellent work.
I wouldn't have waited so long to bang the amazon. So she can't speak to me? Sounds almost ideal... /misogyny
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