The Wanderer

If you are old enough to have been aware of the culture of the early 1960s, and were a reader of sf then, you must love this novel! Modern readers may balk at the way the African American characters are portrayed, but I assure you that they were not intended in a demeaning way. As you read, look closely at all of the cast; before,during and after, and you will see the authors fine touches. Fast pacing, interesting technique of POV jumps; very visual. Yes, I love it for the touchstone it is to that time of my life at the fading of the Beat Generation and just before the hippy/revolution generation. Of course, the characters reading like they were drawn from a sf readers club of the time does wonders for me too.

Fritz Leiber’s The Wanderer is a Hugo winning novel from the 60’s. The title refers to a planetary, Earth-sized body that suddenly appears near the moon’s orbit and proceeds to devour the moon. At the same time, excessive tidal forces create earthquakes and tsunamis that wreck havoc, destruction, and many deaths. The story is told from multiple perspectives of various groups around the world and focuses on two individuals who actually make it onto the behemoth, a moon-based astronaut who barely escapes and a man from Earth associated with the space program. Eventually, Earth is left to deal with a global catastrophe as well as the understanding that they are no longer alone in the universe.

Leiber posits a crowded universe leading to bureaucratic malaise that instigates the Wanderer. Travel is through hyperspace, but tightly controlled. The main intelligence encountered suggests a feline evolution which is highly skeptical of “intelligent” monkeys. Control of gravity and thoughts is routine. There is also some focus on the amateur scientist. While the overall sense of galactic intelligence is a bit anthropomorphic, humanity seems well suited for galactic integration.

Focuses primarily on a rare plot in sci fi – effect on earth of having a planet instantaneously appear in its vicinity. Excellent sub plots about earth person encounter with alien. Tastefully done.

I first read this story when I was a teen-ager, and it terrified me. Now, three decades later I find that the terror never went away. Leibers incredible talent with this story was to sneak up on the reader with what appeared to be a reasonably typical golden age-type action story, then pull back the focus to something far, far more frightening. Like walking along your own street, turning a corner and being confronted with a tiger, it takes a bit of time to adjust.
Through a fairly enormous cast of characters the entire human race is confronted not just with the immanent threat of utter ruin, but with an extremely humbling realisation of our place in the universe. Unlike some tales with such a large number of story arcs, I found it very easy to follow the individuals, probably because Fritz made sure they all were memorable in some way. Even a soviet cosmonaut, Tigran Baryutzov, who was only mentioned twice, made an impression.
Our global culture has moved on since this excellent story was written, and quite a few portions will read to modern eyes as somewhat dated. Put that aside, and enjoy a truly epic story. SF true believers need to read this book.

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