Cities in Flight

This is the omnibus edition of the Cities in Flight series written by James Blish. It is presented in the in-universe chronology, not the publication order.

#1 - They Shall Have Stars (1956): One of those sci-fi books where it's more about the ideas than the characters, this is a slim volume dealing with the development of the technologies that form the baseline for the rest of the series, namely the anti-agathic drugs that extend human life almost indefinitely and the spindizzy antigravity technology that allows faster than light interstellar travel. The characters are rather forgettable but, as I said, the ideas are the focus here. My least favorite of the series. (3/5 stars)

#2 - A Life for the Stars (1962): If book one set the scientific stage for the series, book two sets the sociopolitical landscape, through the story of a teenage boy kidnapped by one of the last cities to leave Earth. Blish explores this intricate backdrop within the a simple story of a boy living by his own principles and relying on his wits. Although the last book of the series published, it chronologically introduces the characters Joel Anderson and John Amalfi, whom both appear in Earthman, Come Home. (3.5/5 stars)

#3 - Earthman, Come Home (1955): The first book of the series published and also the longest, each of the nine chapters are more or less self-contained short stories, giving the novel an episodic feel like that a pulp serial. Each action-packed chapter acts as an exciting new adventure for Mayor John Amalfi and his ragtag crew of the Okie city of New York. (4/5 stars)

#4 - The Triumph of Time (a.k.a. A Clash of Cymbals, 1958): Chronologically the last of the series, this one goes out with a bang, literally. The stakes? Nothing less than the end of the universe itself. The final story of the series is a more cerebral book than the rest and I got entirely swept up into the different concepts presented. I absolutely loved it! My favorite of the series but it wouldn't have worked as well without reading Earthman, Come Home first. (4.5/5 stars)

My edition included a an afterword by Richard D. Mullen called The Earthmanist Culture: Cities in Flight as a Spenglerian History. Reading it cast the entire series in a different light for me. I had read the series with my focus on the science not the cultures. It made me re-evaluate the series and I even have a desire to reread it with this new perspective.