Other editions of book Oomphel in the Sky

Since logic derives from postulates, it never has, and never will, change a postulate. And a religious belief is a system of postulates...so how can a man fight a native superstition with logic in order to save the inhabitants of an entire planet? A classic science fiction novelette by H. Beam Piper, first published in Analog Science Fact-Science Fiction, in 1960.

Little hope is left for the natives of Kwannon, whose religious, military and political leaders were powerless to stop the impending doom brought about by the end of the entire world. Only Miles Gilbert, a skilled reporter for the Kwannon Planetwide News Service, is capable of uncovering the truth and doing something to save the day. Will he be able to turn the course of history with the help of the "special magic" of Earth? H. Beam Piper is known for his remarkable science fiction short stories and novels often depicting strange alien worlds that face similar problems as humanity, in their periods of development. Oomphel in the Sky is one such book, introducing the people of Kwannon - a race that has developed by giving nearly complete power to magic rituals that could only be completed by accomplished and powerful shoonoon - whose prophetic dreams are also responsible for visions of the end of the world that have ended up throwing the planet into chaos. Through this story, Piper strongly exemplifies the negative aspects and traits of a political system exercising global domination over its population. He also shows the futility of religion through the inability of the shoonoon to present a more viable alternative to the end of Kwannon (as they basically believed the Afterlife would bring a much better outcome). Oomphel in the Sky is one of those original science fiction stories that you have to read from start to finish in order to fully enjoy. Not only is it exceptionally well-written, but the insightful ideas it presents provide a basis for both quality entertainment and an educational outlet that will make you think about many of the same issues our own civilization faces as a parallel to the problems the natives of Kwannon have to deal with. Without a doubt, this exceptional novel written by H. Beam Piper is worth every second spent reading it and will provide you with an entirely enjoyable pastime.

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Oomphel in the Sky Miles Gilbert watched the landscape slide away below him, its quilt of rounded treetops mottled red and orange in the double sunlight and, in shaded places, with the natural yellow of the vegetation of Kwannon. The aircar began a slow swing to the left, and Gettler Alpha came into view, a monstrous smear of red incandescence with an optical diameter of two feet at arm's length, slightly flattened on the bottom by the western horizon. In another couple of hours it would be completely set, but by that time Beta, the planet's G-class primary, would be at its midafternoon hottest. He glanced at his watch. It was 1005, but that was Galactic Standard Time, and had no relevance to anything that was happening in the local sky. It did mean, though, that it was five minutes short of two hours to 'cast-time. He snapped on the communication screen in front of him, and Harry Walsh, the news editor, looked out of it at him from the office in Bluelake, halfway across the continent. He wanted to know how things were going. "Just about finished. I'm going to look in at a couple more native villages, and then I'm going to Sanders' plantation to see Gonzales. I hope I'll have a personal statement from him, and the final situation-progress map, in time for the 'cast. I take it Maith's still agreeable to releasing the story at twelve-hundred?"