Un tranquillo inglese contempla il cielo stellato su una collina. In un attimo, si ritrova a volare nel firmamento, mente priva di corpo, e inizia così un incredibile viaggio nel cosmo, attraverso miriadi di mondi.In un percorso che attraversa milioni di anni, il protagonista va alla ricerca del Costruttore di Stelle, che gli permetterà di cogliere l'essenza dello spirito primigenio.Uno dei romanzi più ambiziosi della storia della fantascienza, apprezzato tra gli altri da Jorge L. Borges e Arthur C. Clarke.

Last and First Men is a science fiction novel written by Olaf Stapledon and published in 1930. The book explores the future history of humanity over a period of two billion years, charting the rise and fall of eighteen different civilizations.The book is written in a highly imaginative and poetic style, which can make it challenging for some readers. However, it remains a significant work of science fiction, and it has influenced many other authors in the genre, including Arthur C. Clarke and H.G. Wells.Olaf Stapledon (1886-1950) was a British philosopher and science fiction writer. Stapledon is best known for his science fiction works, which explore grand and philosophical themes, such as the nature of humanity and the universe, the limits of knowledge, and the evolution of civilizations. 

One night when I had tasted bitterness I went out on to the hill. Dark heather checked my feet. Below marched the suburban street lamps. Windows, their curtains drawn, were shut eyes, inwardly watching the lives of dreams. Beyond the sea’s level darkness a lighthouse pulsed. Overhead, obscurity.I distinguished our own house, our islet in the tumultuous and bitter currents of the world. There, for a decade and a half, we two, so different in quality, had grown in and in to one another, for mutual support and nourishment, in intricate symbiosis. There daily we planned our several undertakings, and recounted the day’s oddities and vexations. There letters piled up to be answered, socks to be darned. There the children were born, those sudden new lives. There, under that roof, our own two lives, recalcitrant sometimes to one another, were all the while thankfully one, one larger, more conscious life than either alone.

Sirius is Thomas Trelone’s great experiment - a huge, handsome dog with the brain and intelligence of a human being. Raised and educated in Trelone’s own family alongside Plaxy, his youngest daughter, Sirius is a truly remarkable and gifted creature. His relationship with the Trelones, particularly with Plaxy, is deep and close, and his inquiring mind ranges across the spectrum of human knowledge and experience. But Sirius isn’t human and the conflicts and inner turmoil that torture him cannot be resolved.