Mike

The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In post-holocaust America, technology is non-existent, having been blamed for the nuclear war that wrecked the world. Technology is actively opposed, set in stone by the 30th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; even cities are banned, with population limits set and rigorously enforced by neighboring villages. Fire-and-brimstone religion has come to dominate the countryside, with traveling old-tyme religion preachers roving the countryside to heap Hell’s damnation upon the wicked dream of technology.

Enter Len Colter and his cousin Esau, New Mennonite youngsters dreaming of the past glories retold to them by Len’s elderly grandmother. Against their fathers’ wishes, they sneak off to a revival meeting, where the preacher incites a mob to stone a trader to death on charges of trading in technology. Tech, we are told, comes from a secretive bastion known as Bartorstown… a name synonymous to Hell for most of the world, extending its scientific tentacles against the wishes of Godly men, which will undoubtedly destroy the world yet again. The two boys are shocked at seeing the brutal death, but fascinated with the idea of Bartorstown, so they decide to run away and find its mythical technology.

This is the novel that was billed as "Leigh Brackett's best" on the cover. And the first chunk of the book is Brackett in fine form: a kind of Tom Sawyer pastoralism amongst the small New Mennonite communities of future America. The middle of the book is a journey tale, taking us to various settlements as the boys move on towards Bartorstown. The last third begins to get muddled, losing its momentum and focus; the ending is okay, lacking the resonance that would have made it great.

This is a slick novel, with a lot going for it, though I'm not sure this is Brackett's best: most mature, yes, and most thought-provoking---her closest to mainstream SF. But I'm not sure it's her strongest. The cover is correct, it's "awfully close" to being a great novel, but even as something of a letdown this is still a book I have fond memories of.



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Three to Conquer by Eric Frank Russell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Eric Frank Russell followed the ideas of Charles Fort: humans in the future would include some special ability. In this case, the proganist is Wade Harper, a maker of microscopic tools and a telepath. Harper normally hides his ability - but when he reads the mind of a non-human, he realizes that the world has a serious problem. Combatting an alien invasion is more important than hiding from the military and media... He announces himself and his talents to the government, and they press him into the war against the aliens. Only he can detect them - which makes him their prime target.

Russell's blend of humanity and wit makes him my favourite writer of SF. This novel was written in the cold war, so there are morals to be made and parallels to be drawn - but only if you want to. It's good SF, and a good thriller. That combination makes it worthy of a read. Don't worry if you don't like SF, read if for the light comedy, the chase, the storyline. I've dipped into it several times in the decades since it was written - it's always entertaining.



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Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This story is the very definition of the word "romp". Set in a universe of interstellar capers, it's a great fun space opera, largely devoid of subtext and brimful of derring-do.

The premise is one seldom approached by SF: the Prince-and-Pauper trope. The universe's greatest character actor is embroiled in a scheme to impersonate a top-ranking politician and save the galaxy, which he achieves with a mixture of futuristic disguise and old-fashioned acting prowess. Lorenzo is one of Heinlein's more fleshed-out protagonists, written with great charm and humour. Heinlein writes as confidently and sparingly as usual and this short novel whips along with pace and vim, but without the repetition of his other thrillers (e.g. The Puppet Masters).

It's an old book now and so it comes off as somewhat cheesy, but this is pulp SF at its best and well worth the small investment of time it takes to read.



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The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In the future the police employ empaths, they can peep you, you can now longer get away with murder. But Ben Riechs, head of a huge 24th C business empire is driven to kill his rival, how will he get away with it, and who is the Man With No Face?

Written in 1953 this is an astonishingly modern novel, it reads very quick and has some great ideas, only a few things link it to the 20th C, like using photographs and printed tape but other than that a great slice of sci-fi. My first from the Gollancz SF Masterworks imprint but not my last.



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