Search the Sky
One investigator, a chain of isolated colonies and a devastating lesson in how badly human societies can lose their way.
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Humanity reached the stars. Progress did not follow.
Ross leaves the declining planet Halsey’s to investigate why contact with other human colonies has failed. Faster-than-light travel takes him from one isolated society to another, each trapped by its own distorted logic and shrinking possibilities.
Pohl and Kornbluth turn the interstellar quest into a satirical tour of social failure. The episodic structure is not a detour from the plot—it is the machinery that makes the novel’s conclusion work.
Inside the book
- A far-future network of isolated colonies
- Pohl and Kornbluth’s rapid Hot-Typewriter collaboration
- An introduction by Andrew G. Gibson
- A complete narrated audio edition
For readers who enjoy
- The Space Merchants and classic social satire
- Gulliver-like journeys through strange societies
- Funny science fiction with a serious conclusion
Explore beyond the book
Read Andrew’s analysis of Search the Sky or explore Forgotten Futures.
Search the scattered human worlds
Choose the restored book edition or listen to the complete narrated journey.
Questions readers ask
Who wrote Search the Sky?
The novel was written collaboratively by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth.
Is an audiobook available?
Yes. The audio edition is narrated by James Gibson.
Why is the novel episodic?
Each colony forms part of the investigation, and their separation is essential to the final revelation.