Planet der Affen: Originalroman

Von Pierre Boulle

In einem Raumschiff, das mit Lichtgeschwindkeit durch das Weltall fliegt, begibt sich der Journalist Ulysse Mérou zusammen mit zwei Wissenschaftlern auf eine Mission, die die Erkundung des nächstgelegenen Sonnensystems zum Ziel hat. Zu ihrer goßen Überraschung finden sie einen Planeten, der unserer Erde gleicht. Doch eine noch größere Verblüffung erwartet sie: Auf Soror, so der Taufname durch die Entdecker, leben menschenähnliche Wesen! Diesen scheint jedoch jedwedes rationale Denkvermögen zu fehlen, und kaum ist eine erste Verständigung hergestellt, werden sie allesamt gejagt und gefangen genommen von der herrschenden Zivilisation auf dem Planeten: Affen!
Schreckliche Experimente und einen schmerzvollen Tod vor Augen muss es Ulysse gelingen, seine haarigen und hochintelligenten Entführer davon zu überzeugen, dass er anders ist, von einem fremden Planeten kommt und vor allem, dass er keine Gefahr darstellt. Besonders von Letzterem lassen sich aber nur die Wenigsten überzeugen …

• Sprache: Deutsch
• Herausgeber: Cross Cult
• Erscheinungsdatum: 21. Apr. 2014
• ISBN: 9783864254574

Buchvorschau

PLANET

DER AFFEN

von

PIERRE BOULLE

Aus dem Französischen

ins Deutsche übertragen

von Merle Taeger

Die deutsche Ausgabe von PLANET DER AFFEN

wird herausgegeben von Amigo Grafik, Teinacher Straße 72, 71634 Ludwigsburg.

Herausgeber: Andreas Mergenthaler und Hardy Hellstern,

Übersetzung: Merle Taeger; verantwortlicher Redakteur und Lektorat: Markus Rohde;

Lektorat: Anika Klüver und Gisela Schell; Satz: Rowan Rüster/Amigo Grafik;

Artwork: Mario Alberti. Printausgabe gedruckt von CPI Morvia Books s.r.o.,

CZ-69123 Pohorelice. Printed in the Czech Republic.

Titel der Originalausgabe: LA PLANÈTE DES SINGES

German translation copyright © 2014, by Amigo Grafik GbR.

Copyright © Editions Julliard, Paris, 1963

German Language publication rights arranged by SA. Editions Robert Laffont.

Print ISBN 978-3-86425-425-3 (April 2014)

E-Book ISBN 978-3-86425-457-4 (April 2014)

WWW.CROSS-CULT.DE

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ROMANE BEI CROSS CULT

Jinn und Phyllis verbrachten einen wunderschönen Urlaub im All, so weit entfernt von allen bewohnten Planeten wie nur möglich.

Zu jener Zeit waren interplanetare Reisen nichts Ungewöhnliches, die interstellare Fortbewegung war alltäglich. Raketen brachten Touristen zu den außergewöhnlichen Sehenswürdigkeiten des Planeten Sirius und Banker zu den berühmten Börsen von Arcturus und Aldebaran. Doch Jinn und Phyllis, ein reiches und müßiggängerisches Paar, fielen im Kosmos durch ihre Originalität und ihren Hang zur Romantik auf. Sie durchstreiften das Universum zum Vergnügen – und zwar per Segel.

Ihr Transportmittel war eine Art Kugel, deren Hülle – das Segel – erstaunlich dünn und leicht war. Das Gefährt bewegte sich von Lichtstrahlen getrieben durch den Weltraum. Wenn man ein solches Gefährt in der Nähe eines Sterns sich selbst überlässt (natürlich weit genug davon entfernt, damit das Gravitationsfeld nicht zu stark ist), bewegt es sich grundsätzlich in die direkt entgegengesetzte Richtung des Himmelskörpers, doch da sich in Jinns und Phyllis’ Sternsystem drei Sonnen befanden, die nicht sehr weit voneinander entfernt lagen, empfing ihr Schiff Lichtschübe aus drei verschiedenen Richtungen. Jinn hatte sich daher einen äußerst raffinierten Steuerungsmechanismus ausgedacht. Das Segel war auf der Innenseite mit schwarzen Rollos versehen, die er nach Belieben ein- und ausrollen konnte, wodurch sich die Stärke der Lichtschübe veränderte, indem die Reflexionsintensität bestimmter Partien beeinflusst wurde. Außerdem konnte sich diese elastische Hülle je nach Wunsch des Piloten verbreitern oder zusammenziehen. Wenn Jinn also beschleunigen wollte, dehnte er das Segel auf den größtmöglichen Durchmesser aus. Dadurch bot es den Strahlen eine riesige Kontaktfläche, und das Schiff schoss mit einer irren Geschwindigkeit durch den Raum, wovon seiner Freundin Phyllis ganz schwindelig wurde, ein Schwindel, der ihn ebenfalls ergriff, sodass sie sich leidenschaftlich umarmten, wobei sich ihr Blick in den fernen, geheimnisvollen Abgründen verlor, zu denen sie ihre Reise führte. Wenn sie dagegen ihre Geschwindigkeit verringern wollten, drückte Jinn auf einen Knopf, und das Segel zog sich zu einer Kugel zusammen, die gerade groß genug war, dass sie beide eng aneinandergedrückt darin Platz fanden. Das Licht hatte dann kaum noch eine Wirkung und diese kleine Kugel, die in diesem Zustand ihrer eigenen Trägheit überlassen war, schien stillzustehen, als hinge sie in der Leere an einem unsichtbaren Faden. Die zwei jungen Leute verbrachten müßige und berauschende Stunden in diesem begrenzten Universum, das sie auf ihre eigene Art für sich allein erschaffen hatten und das Jinn mit einem Segelschiff bei Flaute und Phyllis mit der Luftblase einer Wasserspinne verglich.

Jinn kannte noch ganz andere Tricks, die unter Segelkosmonauten als Gipfel der Kunst galten, zum Beispiel die Nutzung der Schatten von Planeten und Satelliten für Wendemanöver. Er führte auch Phyllis in diese Wissenschaft ein, sodass sie fast genauso geschickt darin wurde wie er und manchmal sogar noch verwegener war. Wenn sie am Steuer stand, kam es vor, dass sie sich auf Streifzüge bis an die Grenzen ihres Sternsystems begab, ohne dabei etwa auf einen Magnetsturm zu achten, der die Lichtwellen erschütterte und ihr Gefährt herumwarf wie eine Nussschale. Zwei oder drei Mal musste Jinn, der von dem Sturm aus dem Schlaf geschreckt wurde, wütend werden, ihr das Ruder entreißen und den Hilfsantrieb anwerfen, den sie prinzipiell ausschließlich in gefährlichen Situationen benutzten, um so schnell wie möglich einen Hafen zu erreichen.

An diesem Tag lagen Jinn und Phyllis nebeneinander in der Mitte ihres Ballons, ohne sich um etwas anderes sorgen zu müssen, als darum, ihre Ferien zu genießen und sich von den Strahlen der drei Sonnen braten zu lassen. Jinn hatte die Augen geschlossen und dachte einzig und allein an seine Liebe zu Phyllis. Phyllis selbst lag auf der Seite, betrachtete die unermessliche Größe des Universums und ließ sich wie so oft vom kosmischen Gefühl des Nichts in den Bann schlagen.

Plötzlich erwachte sie aus ihrer Träumerei, runzelte die Stirn und richtete sich halb auf. Ein ungewöhnliches Blitzen hatte das Nichts durchzuckt. Sie wartete ein paar Sekunden und sah ein neues Aufleuchten, als würde ein Lichtstrahl von einem glänzenden Gegenstand reflektiert. Ihr Gespür für den Kosmos, das sie sich im Laufe ihrer Reisen angeeignet hatte, konnte sie nicht trügen. Außerdem teilte Jinn, der nun ebenfalls alarmiert war, ihre Meinung, und dass Jinn sich in einer solchen Sache irren sollte, war unvorstellbar: Ein Gegenstand, der im Licht glänzte, schwebte in einer Entfernung, die sie noch nicht genau bestimmen konnten, durch den Raum. Jinn griff nach dem Fernglas und richtete es auf den geheimnisvollen Gegenstand, während Phyllis an seiner Schulter hing.

»Das ist ein kleiner Gegenstand«, sagte er. »Er scheint aus Glas zu sein … Lass mich doch gucken. Er kommt näher. Er bewegt sich schneller als wir. Sieht so aus …«

Sein Gesicht wurde ernst. Er ließ das Fernglas sinken, und sie hob es sofort auf.

»Das ist eine Flasche, mein Schatz.«

»Eine Flasche!«

Sie schaute selbst durch das Fernglas.

»Ja tatsächlich, eine Flasche. Ich sehe sie ganz deutlich. Sie besteht aus durchsichtigem Glas. Sie ist verschlossen, ich kann den Verschluss sehen. Da ist etwas Weißes drin … Papier, bestimmt ein Manuskript. Jinn, wir müssen sie einsammeln!«

Dieser Meinung war Jinn auch und er hatte bereits mit geschickten Manövern begonnen, um sie in die Bahn des ungewöhnlichen Gegenstandes zu bringen. Dies gelang ihm schnell und er verringerte die Geschwindigkeit der Kugel, um sich von dem Objekt einholen zu lassen.

Währenddessen zog Phyllis ihren Raumanzug an und kletterte durch die Ausstiegsluke aus dem Segler. Draußen hielt sie sich mit einer Hand an einem Seil fest und machte sich mit einem Fangnetz mit langem Stiel in der anderen bereit, die Flasche aufzufischen.

Es war nicht das erste Mal, dass sie auf merkwürdige Gegenstände stießen, und das Fangnetz hatte ihnen schon oft gute Dienste geleistet. Da sie langsam unterwegs waren und manchmal fast reglos verharrten, hatten sie einige Überraschungen erlebt und Entdeckungen gemacht, die Raketenreisenden vorenthalten blieben. Mit ihrem Netz hatte Phyllis bereits Teile von zersplitterten Planeten eingefangen, Fragmente von Meteoriten, die aus den Tiefen des Universums kamen und Stücke von Satelliten, die zu Beginn der Eroberung des Weltraums ins All geschickt worden waren. Sie war sehr stolz auf ihre Sammlung, aber dies war das erste Mal, dass sie eine Flasche fanden, noch dazu eine Flasche mit einem Manuskript darin – denn daran zweifelte sie nicht mehr. Sie zitterte vor Ungeduld am ganzen Körper, während sie wie eine Spinne am Ende ihres Fadens herumturnte und ihrem Begleiter durch das Funkgerät Anweisungen zurief:

»Langsamer, Jinn … Nein, ein bisschen schneller, sie überholt uns gleich, nach backbord … nach steuerbord … weiter so … Ich hab sie!«

Sie stieß einen Triumphschrei aus und kletterte mit ihrer Beute zurück an Bord.

Es war eine große Flasche, deren Öffnung sorgfältig versiegelt worden war. Im Inneren sah man eine Papierrolle.

»Jinn, zerschlag sie, mach schnell!«, rief Phyllis und stampfte vor Ungeduld mit den Füßen.

Jinn, der ruhiger war, entfernte vorsichtig Stück für Stück das Wachs. Doch als er es geschafft hatte, die Flasche zu öffnen, bemerkte er, dass das Papier eingeklemmt war und nicht herausrutschen konnte. Endlich gab er dem Drängen seiner Freundin nach und zerschlug das Glas mit einem Hammer. Das Papier entrollte sich von selbst. Es waren viele hauchdünne Seiten, die mit feiner Schrift bedeckt waren. Das Manuskript war in einer Sprache der Erde verfasst, die Jinn perfekt beherrschte, da er einen Teil seiner Studienzeit auf diesem Planeten verbracht hatte.

Ein seltsames Unbehagen hielt ihn allerdings zunächst davon ab, mit dem Lesen des Dokumentes zu beginnen, das ihnen auf so merkwürdige Art und Weise in die Hände gefallen war. Doch angesichts Phyllis’ übermäßiger Aufregung gab er schließlich nach. Sie selbst verstand die Sprache der Erde nicht gut und war daher auf seine Hilfe angewiesen.

»Jinn, ich bitte dich!«

Er verringerte das Volumen der Sphäre so weit, dass sie nur noch langsam durch den Raum schwebte, und vergewisserte sich, dass vor ihnen kein Hindernis in Sicht war. Dann streckte er sich neben seiner Freundin aus und begann, das Manuskript vorzulesen.

Ich vertraue dieses Manuskript dem Weltraum an, nicht in der Hoffnung auf Hilfe, aber um vielleicht dabei helfen zu können, die schreckliche Plage abzuwenden, die die menschliche Rasse bedroht. Möge Gott uns gnädig sein …!

»Die menschliche Rasse?«, betonte Phyllis erstaunt.

»So steht es hier«, bestätigte Jinn. »Unterbrich mich doch nicht gleich am Anfang.« Und er las weiter.

Ich selbst, Ulysse Mérou, bin mit meiner Familie im Raumschiff geflohen. Wir können hier jahrelang überleben. An Bord züchten wir etwas Gemüse und Obst und haben auch einige Hühner. Uns fehlt es an nichts. Vielleicht finden wir eines Tages einen bewohnbaren Planeten. Diese Hoffnung wage ich kaum auszusprechen. Doch hier folgt nun der wahrheitsgetreue Bericht meiner abenteuerlichen Erlebnisse.

Im Jahr 2500 brach ich mit zwei Begleitern per Raumschiff auf, mit der Absicht, bis zu jener Region des Alls vorzudringen, in der ganz einsam der Überriesenstern Beteigeuze thront.

Es war ein gewagtes Projekt, das umfangreichste, das jemals auf der Erde in Angriff genommen wurde. Beteigeuze, Alpha Orionis, wie unsere Astronomen ihn nannten, ist ungefähr dreihundert Lichtjahre von unserem Planeten entfernt. Der Stern ist aus mehreren Gründen bemerkenswert. Erstens wegen seiner Größe: Sein Durchmesser ist drei- bis vierhundert Mal so groß wie der unserer Sonne, was bedeutet, dass sich dieses Monster, wenn es an die Stelle der Sonne gesetzt würde, bis zur Umlaufbahn des Mars erstrecken würde.

Zweitens aufgrund seiner Helligkeit: Es ist ein Stern der ersten Größenordnung, der hellste im Sternbild Orion, von der Erde aus trotz der Entfernung mit bloßem Auge zu erkennen. Drittens wegen der Art seiner Strahlung: Er stößt rotes und orangefarbenes Feuer aus, was fantastisch aussieht. Außerdem ist seine Helligkeit nicht konstant: Sein Schein verändert sich abhängig von seinem Durchmessers im Laufe der Zeit. Beteigeuze ist ein pulsierender Stern.

Warum wurde nach der Erforschung des Sonnensystems, dessen Planeten alle unbewohnbar sind, ein so weit entfernter Planet als Ziel des ersten interstellaren Flugs ausgewählt? Der weise Professor Antelle setzte diese Entscheidung durch. Als Hauptorganisator des Unternehmens, dem er sein gesamtes, immenses Vermögen gewidmet hatte, und als Leiter unserer Expedition hatte er selbst das Raumschiff entwickelt und seinen Bau beaufsichtigt. Auf der Reise erklärte er mir den Grund für seine Wahl.

»Mein lieber Ulysse«, sagte er, »es ist für uns nicht schwieriger und dauert auch kaum länger, Beteigeuze zu erreichen, als einen viel näher gelegenen Stern, zum Beispiel Proxima Centauri.«

An dieser Stelle fand ich es angemessen, Protest einzulegen und meine frisch erworbenen astronomischen Kenntnisse zu demonstrieren.

»Kaum länger? Aber der Stern Proxima Centauri ist nur vier Lichtjahre entfernt, während Beteigeuze …«

»Dreihundert Lichtjahre entfernt ist, das ist mir auch klar. Doch wir werden lediglich etwas mehr als zwei Jahre brauchen, um dort anzukommen, während eine Reise zur Region von Proxima Centauri nur sehr wenig kürzer wäre. Sie gehen vom Gegenteil aus, da Sie an diese Flohsprünge zwischen unseren Planeten gewöhnt sind. Zu Beginn ist bei ihnen eine starke Beschleunigung zulässig, weil sie nur wenige Minuten dauert, da die zu erreichende Reisegeschwindigkeit so lächerlich gering ist und in keinem Verhältnis zur unsrigen steht … Es ist an der Zeit, dass ich Ihnen etwas näher erläutere, wie unser Schiff funktioniert.

Dank seines perfektionierten Raketenantriebs, dessen Entwicklung ich mir selbst zuschreiben darf, kann sich dieses Schiff mit der höchsten im Universum vorstellbaren Geschwindigkeit eines materiellen Körpers fortbewegen, also mit Lichtgeschwindigkeit minus Ypsilon.«

»Minus Ypsilon?«

»Damit will ich sagen, dass es sich daran bis auf eine unendlich kleine Größe annähern kann, in der Größenordnung eines Milliardstels, wenn Sie so wollen.«

»Gut«, sagte ich, »das verstehe ich«.

»Sie müssen außerdem wissen, dass sich bei unserer Geschwindigkeit unsere Zeit spürbar von der Erdzeit unterscheidet. Das bedeutet, dass dieser Unterschied umso größer wird, je schneller wir uns bewegen. In diesem Moment, seit Beginn unserer Unterhaltung, haben wir ein paar Minuten erlebt, die auf unserem Planeten einer Dauer von mehreren Monaten entsprechen. Bei Höchstgeschwindigkeit wird für uns fast gar keine wahrnehmbare Zeit mehr vergehen. Ein paar Sekunden für Sie und mich, ein paar Schläge unserer Herzen, werden auf der Erde einer Zeitspanne von mehreren Jahren entsprechen.«

»Auch das verstehe ich noch. Das ist ja sogar der Grund, warum wir hoffen können, das Ziel zu erreichen, bevor wir tot sind. Aber warum dauert die Reise dann zwei Jahre? Warum nicht nur ein paar Tage oder Stunden?«

»Darauf wollte ich gerade hinaus. Ganz einfach aus dem Grund, weil wir mit einer Beschleunigung, die für unsere Körper noch zu verkraften ist, ungefähr ein Jahr brauchen, um die Geschwindigkeit zu erreichen, bei der die Zeit nicht mehr vergeht. Ein weiteres Jahr werden wir brauchen, um unsere Geschwindigkeit wieder zu reduzieren. Begreifen Sie jetzt, wie unser Flugplan aussieht? Zwölf Monate für die Beschleunigung, zwölf Monate für den Bremsvorgang und dazwischen nur ein paar Stunden, in denen wir den größten Teil der Reise zurücklegen werden. Zugleich verstehen Sie, warum es nicht viel länger dauert, zum Beteigeuze zu reisen als zum Proxima Centauri. Im letzteren Fall hätten wir dasselbe unverzichtbare Jahr für die Beschleunigung gebraucht und dasselbe Jahr zum Abbremsen und dazwischen vielleicht ein paar Minuten anstatt ein paar Stunden. Insgesamt ist der Unterschied unbedeutend. Da ich langsam alt werde und wohl nie wieder die Kraft für eine weitere Reise aufbringen werde, wollte ich lieber gleich ein weit entferntes Ziel ansteuern, in der Hoffnung, eine Welt zu entdecken, die völlig anders ist als die unsere.«

Mit solchen Unterhaltungen verbrachten wir unsere freie Zeit an Bord, und sie sorgten zugleich dafür, dass ich die außergewöhnliche wissenschaftliche Arbeit von Professor Antelle mehr und mehr zu schätzen lernte. Es gab keinen Bereich, den er nicht schon erforscht hatte und ich war froh, dass ein solcher Mensch dieses gefährliche Unternehmen leitete. Wie er vorhergesagt hatte, dauerte die Reise nach unserer Zeitrechnung ungefähr zwei Jahre, während auf der Erde dreieinhalb Jahrhunderte vergingen. Dies war der einzig unpraktische Aspekt bei einem so weit entfernten Ziel: Sollten wir eines Tages zurückkommen, wäre unser Planet um siebenhundert bis achthundert Jahre gealtert. Doch darum machten wir uns kaum Gedanken. Ich vermutete sogar, dass die Aussicht, den Menschen seiner Generation zu entkommen, für den Professor ein weiterer Anreiz war. Er gab oft zu, dass sie ihm auf die Nerven gingen …

»Die Menschen, immer die Menschen«, bemerkte Phyllis noch einmal.

»Die Menschen«, bestätigte Jinn. »So steht es hier.«

Auf dem Flug gab es keine ernsthaften Zwischenfälle. Wir waren vom Mond aus losgeflogen. Die Erde und die Planeten verschwanden rasch. Wir hatten beobachtet, wie die Sonne schrumpfte, bis sie nur noch eine Orange am Himmel war, eine Pflaume, dann ein leuchtender, dimensionsloser Punkt, ein einfacher Stern, den nur der Professor mit seinem Wissen über die Milliarden anderen Sterne der Galaxis vom Rest unterscheiden konnte.

Wir lebten also ohne Sonne, doch

Rezensionen für Planet der Affen

[amymacevilly · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

I did not realize that a) the movie(s) were based on a book nor b) that it's a work of French SF. Although published in 1961, the text has a much older feel: it uses the "found MS" framing device and feels akin to a "lost world" narrative, both 19th century tropes. The narrator sounds very much like a Verne narrator. That older feeling certainly emphasizes the underlying commentary on civilization, colonialism, and humans relationships to animals and the natural world in the novel, and having that commentary makes sense given what was going on regarding France and its colonies in the 60s. Boulle uses the planet Soror to hold up a mirror to ourselves and ask some questions regarding what makes us civilized. My friends in planning will be amused by Boulle's description of the apes using monkey bars in lieu of crosswalks: that's an idea only a male author would come up with, frankly. I was disturbed by the narrator and his traveling companion pairing up with "young girls". I just had to accept his trope of having the apes wearing clothing as an outward mark of civilization despite maintaining their body hair.

[srboone · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

I read this account of a space traveller's adventure on a future earth populated by talking simians with a sense of surprise at the direction it took (compared to the movie). Nice bookends to the story. It works best as satire.

[unclebob53703 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Bought the paperback when I was a boy after seeing the original movie; it's a very different story with not one but two surprise endings. Replaced with this nice hardcover.

[theboltchick · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

This was one of my favorite movies growing up, so I really wanted to read the book. First, let me tell you I bought the 1969 printing of the book. The typeset on a 1969 paperback is REALLY small. My old eyes just couldn't do it! As a result, I subsequently bought the Kindle version of the book so that I would have a font size that was more agreeable to my eyes. (I will be keeping the 1969 paperback as an addition to my permanent library, however.)Long story short, while the book differs considerably from the movie, I still loved it. The social commentary throughout definitely reflects the times in which it was written, yet many of the situations are still applicable to today's society. While I saw the end coming from a mile away, I was still quite satisfied with it. I highly recommend this book.

[dbsovereign · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

We have all stood on the beach and seen our past. This one makes us go ape. We can revert.

[paul_s-289480 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Subtle - it is not. Worthy of the classic status, the science is obviously dated (more than the date of publication would suggest) but it's a clever setup.

[untraveller · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Excellent with a great ending. Nice artwork as well in the Folio edition. Finished 11.08.2020.

[aug3zimm-1 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Monkeys! Okay, apes, not monkeys, but still. Monkeys!

I'm actually pretty torn on what to rate this book. First off, I've seen the movies. The original series, that is, with Charlton Heston. (I'm pretty sure I've seen the one with Mark Wahlberg, too, but I don't remember it.) So I thought I knew the twist. (Though when I watched the Heston film, I didn't know that the twist was a twist. I didn't realize we shouldn't have known he had landed back on Earth.) But this? No Statue of Liberty. So for me, the twist was more that the planet he was on wasn't Earth. Which made the twist after they left the planet... not all that twisty. (And really made me second guess the seemingly heavy-handed foreshadowing that he had landed back on Earth, but whatever.)

Second, I hated the narrator. The book is written in a first person point of view and I would like to say that his personality suffers because of age (the book's age, that is, not mine or the narrator's. The book was written in the 60s, after all) but I thought he was an arrogant, misogynistic, egocentric louse. I mean, I don't support the Sean Connery school of dealing with women so automatically the narrator and I had a big difference of opinion.
I had had to resort to force to keep her quiet. After receiving a few thundering slaps across her beautiful face, she had eventually calmed down. (p71)
Lovely, huh? And let's not get into all the time he spends talking about how beautiful Nova is even though he also goes on about how she is pretty much an unintelligent animal. Nova's entire value to the narrator is her attractiveness. Well, that and how easily he can scare her with a flashlight. It does make the fact that he had a child with her kind of icky, frankly. I mean, the narrator treated her pretty much like a pretty show dog and yet, he's okay with breeding with her. See, he's a stand up guy.

Thirdly, while I found the story pretty engaging, I started to disconnect at the end, mostly because of how the "big reveal" happened to expose the truth (that the animalistic humans had once ruled and had been overtaken by the intelligent apes due to laziness (no really, laziness)).
By a combination of physico-chemical processes, of which I shall spare you the details, this genius [scientist] has succeeded in awakening in [the test subject] not only her own individual memory but the memory of the species. Under electrical impulse her recollections go back to an extremely distant line of ancestors: atavistic memories reviving a past several thousands of years old. (p133)
So basically, we learn what happened to the humans and apes on this planet because a scientist chimpanzee accessed the ancestral memory of one of the humans so she could tell them stories about what happened thousands of years ago. I've always thought that the genetic memory theory sounded like a bunch of bunk so yeah, I just couldn't suspend disbelief enough. And the humans were chased out of their homes by the gorillas, etc and just... took it? Set up evacuee camps and gave up because they were lazy. Maybe there's a cultural disconnect there (the author is French, I live in Texas) but all I could think was, "Uhm, no. They would be chased out of their homes, go and get their guns, then kill all the apes. Why did we not do that?" So these factors made the last bit of the book difficult for me to swallow.

Adding to the disconnect towards the end was that the narrator decided he was the second coming of Christ or some such narcissistic absurdity.
The good Lord does not shoot dice, as a certain physicist once said. Nothing happens by mere chance in the cosmos. My voyage to the world of Betelgeuse was decreed by a superior consciousness. It is up to me to show myself worthy of the choice and to be the new savior of this human race in decline. (p121)

I who believed myself entrusted with a semi-divine mission! (p142)
Of course, he runs away pretty quickly for a guy so determined that he is to be the new Christ.

So yeah, I ended up eye-rolling a lot during the last fifteen minutes of the book. Which leaves me a bit torn. Why torn? I mean, a misogynist narrator with delusions of grandeur and a big reveal through genetic memory? There are plenty of reasons in that last sentence to emphatically not like this book. But honestly, until the last twenty or so pages, I was pretty into it. Sure, I couldn't stand the narrator, but I still looked forward to having the chance to read at night (since I was reading this before bed). So I didn't hate the book. And if there was really a series like I thought there was, I'd probably find myself reading the second book. (The book series out there is actually based on the movie franchise from the 60s and 70s, not this book.)

The book definitely isn't a great literary masterpiece (even discounting the dated misogynistic attitudes) but I don't know. I kind of liked it. I can't actually recommend anyone read it though, unless it's just to read a classic work. I can't say that I'll ever read this again but, even with all my complaining about it, I'm kind of pleased that I actually got around to reading it. Even if I would have been fine with the narrator being set on fire.

[michael5rimmer · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

I read this book because I love the original movies and the 70s TV show and, as it's a sci-fi classic, I thought that I should. I was not expecting it to be particularly good, and so was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

At the start, I was rather irked that the translator more often rendered singe as monkey, when clearly we're dealing with APES! After I put that aside, I really got into the story.

There was more of the book in the films than I had expected (although there is a different "surprise" ending!). However the main theme is not about how warlike men are (no, You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!), but how decadence leads to cultural stagnation. There's also a very strong, and compelling, anti-vivisection message.

Despite a slight datedness, this still stands up very well.

[jo1968_1 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

I re-read after a 7 movie marathon with my 11- and 13-year-olds. It as great to relive my love of the POTA films and the book. I really like the book and feel it's more "realistic" than the movies. I like that the apes in the books have just substiuted themselves into the human environment rather than created an entirely new society. Also, the ending is better.The main events of the book are placed in a frame story, in which Jinn and Phyllis, a couple out on a pleasure cruise in a spaceship, find a message in a bottle floating in space. The message inside the bottle is the testimony of a man, Ulysse Mérou. Ulysse explains that he was a friend of Professor Antelle, a genius scientist on Earth, who invented a spaceship that could travel at nearly the speed of light. In 2500, Ulysse, the professor, and a physicist named Arthur Levain flew off in this ship to explore outer space. They traveled to the nearest star system that the professor theorized might be capable of life, the red sun Betelgeuse, which would take them about 350 years to reach. Because of time dilation, however, the trip seems to the travelers only to last two years.They arrive at the distant planetary system and find that it contains an Earth-like planet, which they name Soror (Latin for sister). They land and discover that they can breathe the air, drink the water, and eat the local vegetation. They encounter other human beings on the planet, although these others act as primitively as chimpanzees and destroy the clothing of the three astronauts. They are captured by the primitive humans and stay with them for a few hours. At the end of this time, they are startled to see a hunting party in the forest, consisting of gorillas and chimpanzees using guns and machines. The apes wear human clothing identical to that of 20th-century Earth, except that they wear gloves instead of shoes on their prehensile feet. The hunting party shoots several of the humans for sport, including Levain, and capture others, including Ulysse.Ulysse is taken to the apes' city, which looks exactly the same as a human city from 20th-century Earth, except that some smaller furniture exists for the use of the chimpanzees. While most of the humans captured by the hunting party are sold for manual labor, Ulysse is sent to a research facility. There, the apes perform experiments on the humans similar to Pavlov's conditioning experiments on dogs, and Ulysse proves his intelligence by failing to be conditioned, and by speaking and drawing geometrical figures. Ulysse is adopted by one of the researchers, Zira, a female chimpanzee, who teaches him the apes' language. He learns from her all about the ape planet. Eventually, he is freed from his cage, and meets Zira's fiancé, Cornélius, a respected young scientist. With Cornélius' help, he makes a speech in front of the ape President and numerous representatives, who grant him his liberty and is given specially tailored clothing. It is around this time that he discovers his companion Professor Antelle survived the hunt and was captured, being sent to the zoo and kept in captivity in a large cage with the primitive humans. However when the protagonist attempts to make contact and speak with the professor, it is revealed he has completely lost his mind and his faculties, degenerated and behaving just as the primitive humans do. Ulysse tours the city and learns about the apes' civilization and history. The apes have a very ancient society, but their origins are lost in time. Their technology and culture have progressed slowly through the centuries because each generation, for the most part, imitates those of the past. The society is divided between the violent gorillas, the pedantic and conservative orangutans, and the intellectual chimpanzees. 1991 Russian edition of the book.Although Ulysse's patrons Zira and Cornélius are convinced of his intelligence, the society's leading orangutan scientists believe he is faking his understanding of language, because their philosophy will not allow the possibility of intelligent human beings. Ulysse falls in love with a primitive human female, Nova, whom he had met in the forest at the beginning of his visit to the planet. He impregnates her and thus proves that he is the same species as the primitive humans, which lowers his standing in the eyes of many of the apes. Their derision turns to fear with a discovery in a distant archaeological dig and an analysis of memory in some human brains. Evidence is uncovered that fills in the missing history of the apes. In the distant past, the planet was ruled by human beings who built a technological society and enslaved apes to perform their manual labor. Over time the humans became more and more dependent upon the apes, until eventually they became so lazy and degenerate that they were overthrown by their ape servants and fell into the primitive state in which our protagonist found them.While some of the apes reject this evidence, others (in particular, an old orangutan scientist, Dr. Zaius) take it as a sign that the humans are a threat and must be exterminated. Ulysse learns of this, and escapes from the planet with his wife and newborn son, returning to Earth in the professor's spaceship. Ulysse lands on Earth more than 700 years after he had originally left it, just outside the city of Paris. Once outside the ship, he discovers that Earth is now ruled by intelligent apes just like the planet from which he has fled. He immediately leaves Earth in his ship, writes his story, places it in a bottle, and launches it into space for someone to find. It is at this point in the story that Jinn and Phyllis, the couple who found the bottle, are revealed to be chimpanzees. Jinn and Phyllis dismiss Ulysse's narrative, saying that a human would not have the intelligence to write such a story.

[bnielsen_30 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Jorden, år 2500 og et godt stykke derefterJinn og Phyllis finder en flaskepost i rummet. Den rummer en beretning om nogle mennesker, professor Antelle, hans elev Arthur Levain og journalisten Ulysse Mérou, der rejser til Betelgeuse. De lander på en jordlignende planet, som Ulysse døber Soror (dvs søster). De opdager menneskelignende væsener, der er som aber og aber, der er som mennesker. Aberne driver jagt på soror-menneskene, så kort tid efter landingen finder Ulysse sig som fange mellem en flok nøgne soror-mennesker. Han synes godt om en af soror-kvinderne, som han døber Nova og danner par med, omend han savner en mere intellektuel partner i fangeskabet. Han får med noget besvær gjort en af soror-aberne, en hunchimpanse ved navn Zira, opmærksom på at han er væsentlig mere intelligent end resten og hun sørger for at tilbringe lang tid med ham, så hun kan lære fransk og han kan forsøge at lære chimpanse-sprog. Han forklarer at han kommer fra Jorden og det accepterer hun, specielt fordi landingsfartøjet er blevet fundet. Godt nok er det ødelagt af soror-menneskene, men det er alligevel tydeligt at det ikke kommer fra noget sted på Soror.Alle tekniske detaljer er sprunget over, så man skal bare acceptere at man kan rejse med nærlyshastigheder og at det er supernemt at skærme mod kosmisk stråling og at bruge sollys til at give masser af energi selv om man er langt langt væk. Ideen er selvfølgelig at spejle menneskenes samfund ved at stille det op mod et samfund, hvor aberne er de intelligente, der styrer verden og jager menneskene som sport.???

[unkletom_1 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Originally written in 1963 by the same author who brought us 'The Bridge Over the River Kwai', this book will most likely be remembered for the many movies that were based on it's premise of a world where the roles of apes and men are reversed. Originally written in French, the main character in the novel is Ulysse Mérou: A journalist who took part in the space expedition that lands on Soror, a planet orbiting the star Betelgeuse. There is some argument as to whether the book can be considered science fiction or if it's a work of satire in the vein of Gulliver's Travel. Personally,I tend to see most science fiction as a study of society so I'm not going to say this isn't it. Bottom line: PotA is an entertaining read but not extremely imaginative. I listened to the audio version recorded by Greg Wise in 2012 and was surprised to find that in many cases the word ape in the print version was changed to monkey in the audio recording. As one who knows that apes and monkeys come from distinct simian families, I felt the change made no sense and found it extremely irritating. Thanks to the Goodreads Time Travel reading group for choosing this book and giving me the opportunity to read and discuss it with others.

[jmourgos · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

The book by Peter Boulle is quite different in many respects to the resultant films and TV series – The Planet of the Apes!

If you've seen the film (and who hasn't?) then you know the story of Charlton Heston's crew, crashing on a planet run by apes and through various adventures finds at the end [Spoiler for the two or three who have not seen the film yet] that the planet he has crashed on is actually the planet Earth and the apes arose after a mighty atomic war!

Book's Themes:

The book is different. The author himself has called it a social fantasy and I see why.

A couple in a star craft of some kind find a note in a bottle. Inside the bottle is a manuscript which takes the story of Ulysse, Earth explorer and his adventures on a planet named Sorror in the Betelgeuse system. The book is made up of this manuscript.

Ulysse, one of three astronauts, arrived at Sorror and find the humans there stupid like animals. After some adventure, he is captured by the civilized apes of this planet. In many ways, the author is criticizing the slow growth of civilization, Dark Ages, and how the ones who believe old theory (such as the planet is the center of the universe) will not progress far.

The chimps are the intellectuals; the orangutans are the keepers of theory and law, as backward as it is, and the gorillas are the tough guys, the security & police force. All three of these resent each other, in similar fashion to the intellectuals and the conservatives here in Earth.

The ending is not bad; it reminds me of the ending of Tim Burton's version of the Planet of the Apes. Unlike Burton's movie though, the ending makes a lot more sense, if a shocking one!

Recommended reading for those who want to read the original story behind all those great movies! Easy to read, done in a day or two. Boulle also wrote "Bridge on the River Kwai," another book to film that was excellently portrayed. Can't wait to read that!

[duffdaddy-1 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

I re-read after a 7 movie marathon with my 11- and 13-year-olds. It as great to relive my love of the POTA films and the book. I really like the book and feel it's more "realistic" than the movies. I like that the apes in the books have just substiuted themselves into the human environment rather than created an entirely new society. Also, the ending is better.The main events of the book are placed in a frame story, in which Jinn and Phyllis, a couple out on a pleasure cruise in a spaceship, find a message in a bottle floating in space. The message inside the bottle is the testimony of a man, Ulysse Mérou. Ulysse explains that he was a friend of Professor Antelle, a genius scientist on Earth, who invented a spaceship that could travel at nearly the speed of light. In 2500, Ulysse, the professor, and a physicist named Arthur Levain flew off in this ship to explore outer space. They traveled to the nearest star system that the professor theorized might be capable of life, the red sun Betelgeuse, which would take them about 350 years to reach. Because of time dilation, however, the trip seems to the travelers only to last two years.They arrive at the distant planetary system and find that it contains an Earth-like planet, which they name Soror (Latin for sister). They land and discover that they can breathe the air, drink the water, and eat the local vegetation. They encounter other human beings on the planet, although these others act as primitively as chimpanzees and destroy the clothing of the three astronauts. They are captured by the primitive humans and stay with them for a few hours. At the end of this time, they are startled to see a hunting party in the forest, consisting of gorillas and chimpanzees using guns and machines. The apes wear human clothing identical to that of 20th-century Earth, except that they wear gloves instead of shoes on their prehensile feet. The hunting party shoots several of the humans for sport, including Levain, and capture others, including Ulysse.Ulysse is taken to the apes' city, which looks exactly the same as a human city from 20th-century Earth, except that some smaller furniture exists for the use of the chimpanzees. While most of the humans captured by the hunting party are sold for manual labor, Ulysse is sent to a research facility. There, the apes perform experiments on the humans similar to Pavlov's conditioning experiments on dogs, and Ulysse proves his intelligence by failing to be conditioned, and by speaking and drawing geometrical figures. Ulysse is adopted by one of the researchers, Zira, a female chimpanzee, who teaches him the apes' language. He learns from her all about the ape planet. Eventually, he is freed from his cage, and meets Zira's fiancé, Cornélius, a respected young scientist. With Cornélius' help, he makes a speech in front of the ape President and numerous representatives, who grant him his liberty and is given specially tailored clothing. It is around this time that he discovers his companion Professor Antelle survived the hunt and was captured, being sent to the zoo and kept in captivity in a large cage with the primitive humans. However when the protagonist attempts to make contact and speak with the professor, it is revealed he has completely lost his mind and his faculties, degenerated and behaving just as the primitive humans do. Ulysse tours the city and learns about the apes' civilization and history. The apes have a very ancient society, but their origins are lost in time. Their technology and culture have progressed slowly through the centuries because each generation, for the most part, imitates those of the past. The society is divided between the violent gorillas, the pedantic and conservative orangutans, and the intellectual chimpanzees. 1991 Russian edition of the book.Although Ulysse's patrons Zira and Cornélius are convinced of his intelligence, the society's leading orangutan scientists believe he is faking his understanding of language, because their philosophy will not allow the possibility of intelligent human beings. Ulysse falls in love with a primitive human female, Nova, whom he had met in the forest at the beginning of his visit to the planet. He impregnates her and thus proves that he is the same species as the primitive humans, which lowers his standing in the eyes of many of the apes. Their derision turns to fear with a discovery in a distant archaeological dig and an analysis of memory in some human brains. Evidence is uncovered that fills in the missing history of the apes. In the distant past, the planet was ruled by human beings who built a technological society and enslaved apes to perform their manual labor. Over time the humans became more and more dependent upon the apes, until eventually they became so lazy and degenerate that they were overthrown by their ape servants and fell into the primitive state in which our protagonist found them.While some of the apes reject this evidence, others (in particular, an old orangutan scientist, Dr. Zaius) take it as a sign that the humans are a threat and must be exterminated. Ulysse learns of this, and escapes from the planet with his wife and newborn son, returning to Earth in the professor's spaceship. Ulysse lands on Earth more than 700 years after he had originally left it, just outside the city of Paris. Once outside the ship, he discovers that Earth is now ruled by intelligent apes just like the planet from which he has fled. He immediately leaves Earth in his ship, writes his story, places it in a bottle, and launches it into space for someone to find. It is at this point in the story that Jinn and Phyllis, the couple who found the bottle, are revealed to be chimpanzees. Jinn and Phyllis dismiss Ulysse's narrative, saying that a human would not have the intelligence to write such a story.

[ahs7wolfy · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Young journalist Ulysse Mérou accompanies one of the most brilliant men of his generation on a voyage of discovery across space towards the Betelgeuse star system. Upon arrival they locate a planet so akin to Earth that they name it Soror (Latin for sister). Shortly after landing, they discover a group of humans who are so animalistic in nature it is scary to behold. Taken in by the humans they quickly discover a more intelligent species when their group is rounded up in a hunt by a bunch of gorillas and chimpanzees. While some are killed for sport others, including Mérou, are taken captive and he soon finds himself ensconced as lead specimen at a laboratory. Subjected to tests of a Pavlovian nature, Mérou quickly convinces the lead scientist, a chimpanzee called Zira, of his intelligence and that he is unlike any of her previous experimental lab-rats. Together with her partner Cornelius they then must convince the rest of the monkey hierarchy of this astounding discovery. What effect will this have on the ape world and what are the ramifications of their own origins?The basic outline of the story will be familiar to many through the various films. A lot of these movies represent portions of the book but none are quite representative of the whole. The character of Mérou, for example, is a lot more accepting than that of old Chuck. The whole story has a more intellectual than militaristic approach and examines such subjects as race, animal rights and social order. It is more dystopian satire than hard science fiction and while there is a lack of depth to the characters it really didn't affect my enjoyment of the tale.

[jburlinson_3 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

A rousing fantasy of racist paranoia. Boulle shifts his attention from the asian-bashing of Bridge Over the River Kwai to admonishing his countrymen, and the western world in general, to beware the dangers of becoming too lazy and comfortable, lest the lower orders wrest power from our enfeebled grasp.

[callmecayce · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, especially being a fan of the original movie and the current film, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. What I didn't expect was the book to be so good. While I heard the main character's voice in that of Heston's, that was one of only a few ways the movie stuck to the book (aside from the obvious). I enjoyed the change, especially the ending (they're both shocking in their own way, even when you know what's coming). I loved the apes, especially Zira. When I finished, I did wish that there had been a French movie version of Planet of the Apes, because I'd like to have seen it. Otherwise, this was very good, if very different from the very familiar movies. I'm glad I read it.

[sturlington_1 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

PLANET OF THEAPES is an entertaining, fast, but not particularly heavy book. You’re probably already familiar with the story (and if you’re not, I have to ask what cave you’ve been living in). An Earthman crashes his spacecraft on an alien planet and finds it populated by intelligent apes, while the humans there are just dumb animals used for zoo entertainment and lab tests. More social criticism and satire than science fiction (and those looking for hard science are bound to be disappointed, by the way), the tone tends to get overly didactic toward the end, as well as depressingly cynical in its evaluation of human achievements. The protagonist and narrator is thoroughly unlikeable, probably by intention. Still, this is a good read for an afternoon by the pool, and the twist ending won’t be spoiled if you’ve already seen the movies.

[samsattler · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

This is the second time I have read Pierre Boulle’s Planet of the Apes, but the first time since 1968. It is so much different than I remembered it. My memories of that first reading were tainted over the years by the awful movies that followed the original Planet of the Apes movie. The first movie was not completely true to the novel, but it was at least an above-average movie that deserved its popularity and box office success. The subsequent movies were just terrible in every sense of the word and, unfortunately for me, they tainted Boulle’s book beyond my recognition of its positive aspects.For starters, author Pierre Boulle is as French as his name sounds, and the astronauts who embark on a special mission in the year 2500 are French, not the Americans of the movies. Unfortunately for our French friends, however, they find themselves in much the same position as their American movie counterparts. Their world has been flipped on its head in more ways than they can count. They are fortunate to have landed on a planet hospitable to human life, but they find that it is a simian-dominated world, not one dominated the human tribe they soon encounter.Men are hunted for sport and for scientific purposes by gorillas sent to gather more research specimens for the chimpanzee scientists who need them for study purposes. Men, after all, are the nearest animal to the apes who dominate this world and that makes them very valuable to the chimpanzee scientists and doctors searching for the medical breakthroughs that will save simian lives in the future. In a matter of hours, Ulysse Merou is running for his life, part of a group of humans being systematically slaughtered by a hunting group of gorillas and their wives. Ulysse is one of the lucky ones; he escapes the hunters shotguns long enough to get himself entangled in one of their nets, meaning that he will become a lab specimen rather than a trophy.This sounds like sensational science fiction, and it is. But Pierre Boulle manages to create memorable characters (some of them men, some of them apes) along the way, characters with personality, depth, and the motivation and reactions that make them real. Planet of the Apes is a satirical novel, one that uses the simian society of this strange new world to reflect on the strangeness of our own 1970s world. Within this amazing story, Boulle explores politics, social mores, authority figures, human vanity and, of course, scientific research. This slim novel of just 128 pages manages to make the reader reflect a bit on his own world while entertaining him within the fantastic situation into which Ulysse Merou and his two comrades have been plunked. There is even a “Statue of Liberty” type ending for the book, perhaps the only aspect of the novel surpassed by its movie version (the ending of the first movie is still, by far, the highlight of that whole series of films). But, I am pleased to say that, as is almost always the case, the book is much better than the movie - and, in this case, deserves to be read as the standalone story it was meant to be. I had fun revisiting the Planet of the Apes.(Free trivia fact: Pierre Boulle is also author of the respected Bridge Over the River Kwai, another book made into a very successful movie.)Rated at: 3.5

[comfypants · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Very suspenseful, engaging and thought-provoking. In the end, when you finally get to the explanations of things, they're a bit of a disappointment. Although they're different from in the movie, they make just as little sense, which is especially frustrating as the book starts out with a promise of well-thought-out science, describing the workings of things in almost Verne-ian detail. Also, the ending is hopelessly cynical; rather than a cautionary tale, it's just a dig at humanity. Still, it's a great book, and infinitely more interesting than you might expect from the campy movie franchise. It's been a long time since a book made me think this much about it after I put it down.

[ozziejello · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

After having seen all of "Planet of the Apes" movies, including the 2001 remake, I wanted to read the book that started it all. I wasn't disappointed. The story contains some twists, some surprising and some not. Definitely worth a read.

[cbradley_77 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

The book that started it all. What would eventually be translated into a film, several film sequels, a short-lived television series, and a film remake, began with this intriguing story. Even if you have seen the movies this book will still be interesting. None of the adaptations do justice to the wonderfully thought out plot of the original. Stranded on a world where the roles of humans and apes are reversed, the protagonist must figure out a way to survive and ultimately get back to his world. The main character has to suffer through animalistic humans, ape scientist who perform degrading and often disturbing experiments on humans, ape leaders who cannot accept the idea of an intelligent human, and an ape society that is not ready for the truth of their evolution. The ending doesn’t quite pack the emotional punch that the original movie does, rather it packs an intellectual punch leaving the reader wondering what just happened. All in all a great book that deserves to have a more accurate portrayal in film.

[aethercowboy · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

The original inspiration for the film of the same name, this story tells of a group of astronauts who take their ship to a new world only to discover that the humans are animalistic while the apes are sentient. The apes, hunting humans for sport, manage to capture the main character, Ulysse, and send him to a lab as a test subject.Soon, Ulysse's intellect is discovered, and his existence challenges the fiber of the ape society. The rulers wish to remove Ulysse and forget him, while the ape responsible for him wishes to preserve him, and learn from him as he learned from them.Why the apes rule over the humans on this world, though, is a discovery left to the reader.An amusing piece of French satire to be enjoyed by those who like satirical dystopias, or even those who enjoyed the movie, though the film does deviate greatly from the book.

[mustreaditall · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Planet of the Apes or La Planète Des Singes or Monkey Planet. Whatever. Translated into English by Xan Fielding.Okay, now, you have to remember that the original novel and the movie deviate in certain major ways. The end twist is completely different, for example, and the main character is a journalist who is essentially just along for the ride, not an American astronaut. He's also a lot less... Hestonish, if you will, of course. More intellectual, less "get your stinking paws off me." I love the movie, by the way, and consider it a classic, but had to sort of ignore it in reading the novel.You can read this one as a straight ahead 60s scifi story, and a damn good read it is. From the curiosity of the travelers as they first encounter the inhuman humans to the panicked frenzy of Mérou escaping death at the hands of gorilla hunters to the strange love triangle of intelligent human/primitive human/intelligent chimpanzee, there's no mystery as to why the basic concept could be so well translated to the screen.If you are inclined that way, as I sometimes tend to be, you can also read it as paranoia about "lesser" races rising up to surpass and suppress European culture. With all the devolved people being depicted as beautiful and white - and the common racist portrayal of Africans as apes - this isn't exactly a stretch. But then, I may be playing Boulle false to assume that comparison was intended. I haven't studied him enough to know one way or the other.The little details, mostly of ape culture, were what I enjoyed most about this one. Their stock market, with various apes flinging themselves around a giant room, climbing into the rafters, all shrieking at the tops of their lungs as they buy and sell, is a memorable image. The idea that the chimp scientists focus so strongly on biological and brain studies because that's the last thing their unevolved ancestors were used for by human was inspired. And, of course, Zira's refusal of the human Mérou because he's "just so ugly" - a great moment.final thought: Our nearest cousins, and the ones most likely to overrun us in the end. Who doesn't feel that apes are just slightly too human sometimes?

[jamnjazzz · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Not even close to either movie version, totally off the wall in it's laid back narrative. It's almost as if you are watching a documentary, and you are not engaged with the characters. What saves this is two fold. One, its entirely novel point of view. Not just the situation and setting, but the shear compelling idea of something else happening along the evolutionary path that causes "us" not to be here and, two, it's considerably short length.

[bigorangemichael_1 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

“Planet of the Apes” is one of those books that’s hard to approach without bringing along the baggage of the original 60s film adaptation or the less-than-successful remake a few years ago. The original film is such a part of our pop-culture concsiousness that it’s almost impossible to separate it from what we have here.This is one of those books that is what it is–no more, no less. I could spend several paragraphs detailing the differences between the movie and the book, but that would be kind of pointless and wouldn’t tell you much about the book as a whole. That said, Boulle’s original novel is a social satire, as advertises and it’s one of what I’d classify as a fairly light, “bubble-gum” sci-fi read. It has just enough in there to make you think while reading it, but it’s not going to stay with you long after you’ve finished the final pages. The thing is that not a lot of the characters have much depth. They’re all in here to be part of the satire of modern life and humanity’s relationship with each other and animals. For a satire that wants to point out how drawing distinctions based on external apperances isn’t a great thing, you’d think it would have a bit more depth to the characters. Add to that that the central narrator has a tendency to become a bit pompous in his relation of events and you’ve got a story that works, quite frankly, better as a movie than it does as a novel. I’d even go so far as to say that without the series of movies, this is one novel that would have faded in memory long ago, remembered by some who read it for a few of the twists in the final pages but not much more.It’s not to say I hated this novel. But it’s not to say I loved it or found it nearly as compelling as some of the mid-range works by Issac Asimov or Orson Scott Card.

[orangemonkey_1 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Saw this book while at the World's Biggest Bookstore and picked it up, having been a fan of both movies. Of the two films, the Burton one is closer to the novel than the Heston one, which I found a little surprising, if I recall how many complaints I heard about the 2001 film being "just another Tim Burton movie". The plot: a trio of explorers go into space and find a planet with Earthlike living conditions, only this is a planet where apes are civilized, and men are not! Despite the b-movie set up of the book, it's actually a Swiftian sort of satire on theories of animal intelligence and behaviourism, which was something that I didn't see coming, and which was a rather pleasant surprise. Boulle uses apes as a metaphor for different prevalent and problematic attitudes that he saw present in society as he wrote it, and which mainly still exist today. A must read for fans of social science fiction!

[john257hopper · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

An interesting read. The main narrative takes place as a story recounted in a message in a bottle, topped and tailed with an overarching storyline with a fairly predictable twist. Most of the main narrative is actually very similar to the film, except that the ending, while quite dramatic, lacks the punch of the film's ending (won't give spoilers here, but the shock revelation seems more ambiguous and there is no Statue of Liberty in the book, ironically as my edition has the famous landmark plastered all over the cover!). The writing is actually very simple, almost like a children's book, and I read it very quickly. But it does contain some haunting imagery, such as the scenes of experimentation, the regression of Professsor Antelle, and the snippets we learn about how simians took over from humans.

[goodwillbooks · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

I read this book several years ago, primarily to compare to the movie. There are significant differences, which I always enjoy. The apes in the original book are far more advanced than in the movie. I don't recall all the details, but I did enjoy it. Hope you enjoy it.

[soylentgreen23 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

The film takes a sizeable departure from the book, which is fair enough - both of them work in their own ways, and both of them are excellent.Here, a message in a bottle is found drifting through space; in it, the story of a group of humans who encounter and advanced alien species - evolved from man.Boulle's story is philosophically advanced, and very clever. His writing (or at least the translation from the French) is punchy and direct, making for a quick read. Overall, a very cool tale of psychological, sci-fi horror.