It's often compared to The Count of Monte Cristo in its theme of an ordinary man driven to genius by revenge. It gets referenced in other science fiction books. It's cited as seminal by some famous authors. In fact, it's one of the foundations of cyberpunk (this novel often being cited as one of the prototypes of that genre).Īnd last, but perhaps not least-and let me warn you right here that there's a ton of cynicism in this paragraph-this book regularly makes its way onto "Greatest Science Fiction" lists. A world controlled by corporations eager to extract the last bit of profit, run by amoral super-rich who are immune to the law (or, more accurately, have purchased it) has lost none of its appeal. On the other hand, there is something timeless about an obsessed anti-hero who will stop at absolutely nothing for revenge. And the circumlocutory reticence that averts its eyes from the sex, euphemizes the violence, and throws up its hands altogether when they meld in what is a plot-important rape scene just seems awkward in this Internet age. The simplicity of Gully's obsession and the responses of those faced with it can seem shallow to those who have read of a Hannibal Lecter. The language in which it is written has that same slightly-artificial, somewhat stilted tone that sets "The Big Sleep" off from "The Godfather". However, the techno-socio vision clearly didn't even capture the commonplace physical world of the late 20th century, much less what might occur in the 25th century in which it is set.
Show More "Doc" Smith-it is, after all, very much soft science fiction about psychological and social issues rather than hard science fiction focused on technology.
0 kommentar(er)
