I just reread it for the first time since then and I'm again amazed at Simak's understated complexity. I first read this in the late 1970s and loved it for a charming, pastoral delivery of a SF Contact novel. Heinlein that 'to read science-fiction is to read Simak.' … ( more) A cautionary tale that is at once ingenious, evocative, and compassionately human, it brilliantly supports the contention of the late, great Robert A. Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Way Station is a magnificent example of the fine art of science fiction as practiced by a revered Grand Master. though the cure could ultimately prove more terrible than the disease. Still, one final hope remains for the human race . . . But the gifts of knowledge and immortality that his intergalactic guests have bestowed upon him are proving to be a nightmarish burden, for they have opened Enoch's eyes to humanity's impending destruction. The truth is, Enoch is the last surviving veteran of the American Civil War and, for close to a century, he has operated a secret way station for aliens passing through on journeys to other stars. Living a secluded life in the backwoods of Wisconsin, he carries a nineteenth-century rifle and never seems to age-a fact that has recently caught the attention of prying government eyes. Hugo Award Winner: In backwoods Wisconsin, an ageless hermit welcomes alien visitors-and foresees the end of humanity.

Way Station by Clifford D. Simak