Page "Shikasta" Paragraph 23

New York Times reviewer George Stade said that Shikasta " forces us to think about [...] what we are, how we got that way and where we are going ", but complained that the book is filled with " false hopes ", and that the fate of humankind relies on " theosophical emanations, cosmic influences, occult powers, spiritual visitations and stellar vibrations ".

When the SOWF is cut off and the Shikastans degenerate, Lessing " both indicts and exculpates " them, implying that humanity is bad, but it is not their fault.

While Stade complemented Lessing on the book's satire, and her depictions of Zone 6, which he said " have the eerie beauty of ancient Gnostic texts ", he " disapprove " of the novel as a whole, but added, " that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy reading it ".