Today is August 3, the birthday of Clifford D.Simak (1904-1988). Simak primarily wrote science fiction, but he also wrote a few fantasy novels.

Simak was called the patoralist of science fiction. His books and stories were often set in a rural or small town setting, frequently in his native Wisconsin. His favorite themes involved robots and time travel.  While Simak could do dark when he wanted to, the majority of his stories were positive and optimistic. His characters tended to be common sense salt of the Earth people.

It’s been a few years since the last time I read any Simak. That’s partly because I’ve read more mysteries and thrillers in the last few years than science fiction or fantasy. I should try to read more Simak. His optimnism and likeable characters are a nice, refreshing change from some of the antiheroes and dark endings in so much of today’s fiction.