Out of Their Minds (1970) by Clifford D. Simak

[Kappy]

Out of Their Minds (1970), by Clifford D. Simak, is one of his later works, and like several of his earlier novels, contains situations of horror and humor, along with a quest, and straddles the line between science fiction and fantasy. (The book jacket calls it "A fantasy written with the hard logic of science fiction.") As always, Simak writes in a clear, concise, easy-to-read style.

Of course, it wouldn't be a real Clifford D. Simak novel without his trademark philosophical musings, e.g., "sitting time is the most valuable there is. You do a lot of thinking and you do a lot of dreaming and you're a better man for it." "Time is a man's best friend if he makes good use of it and a man's worst enemy if he lets it run him." He also makes use of recurring themes and characters from his previous novels, e.g., demons and goblins, etc., and parallel worlds.

Much of the action takes place in one of the author's favorite settings: the countryside, where people, animals, honesty, and integrity (as opposed to technology and the advertising industry) are highly valued, and determine the way of life.

The protagonist, Horton Smith, is told about a strange theory by a friend, relating to how the thoughts of men might actually help shape our world (hence the book's title). Smith doesn't know what to think. Was it a joke? No, this friend never joked. But on a trip to his old hometown, which he hasn't visited in decades, Smith repeatedly encounters strange life-threatening events which are unexplainable--unless his friend's theory is actually true.

His close encounters with death make him believe that someone (or something) is trying to kill him. Was he being repeatedly ambushed? His friend with the odd theory died recently. And his friend's son, who delivered an envelope filled with his father's notes to Smith, died soon afterwards. What must Smith do to end the attempts to kill him and his girlfriend Kathy?

Smith told himself that it made no sense. But then he noted that fire made no sense, either, until men tamed it; and a wheel made no sense, until someone dreamed it up.

The late, great Clifford D. Simak (highly praised by Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov), a newspaper editor, was a master of "thinking outside the box," long before the phrase became commonplace. If you're looking for books that combine humor, horror, science fiction, fantasy, and philosophy, along with a true love of simple country life, Simak is your man!