Liberty and Culture Vol. 23, No. 4 Summer 2005

Repairman Jacked Kurt Vonnegut’s Neocon America: Infernal War and Socialism in Player Piano By F. Paul Wilson Gauntlet Publications, 2005, $50.00 By Thomas M. Sipos http://www.gauntletpress.com. Reviewed by Russell Madden

The latest Repairman Jack novel by F. Paul Wilson, Infernal, Although released in 1952, Kurt Vonnegut’s dystopian Player blasts into action with a (literally) shocking bang that thuds into your Piano can serve as a satire of modern America. That may not chest like a high-caliber bullet. Without warning, Jack is thrust into be readily apparent to those who focus only on its theme of tech- a situation that stuns him as none other has before. Unfortunately nology obsoleting workers. Seemingly influenced by Fritz Lang’s for him and those he holds closest to his heart, the unexpectedness Metropolis and foreshadowing The Twilight Zone’s “The Brian Center of what happens in the beginning of this fast-moving tale pales in at Whipple’s,” Player Piano paints a future America where a tech- comparison to what awaits him down the road. nocratic oligarchy has established a corporate command economy Even as Jack and his friends attempt to adjust to the trauma that and cradle-to-grave socialism. The leaders think they’ve created a jolts their world, an even more disruptive danger awaits. Worse, utopia but the proles disagree. the peril Jack, his girlfriend Gia, and Gia’s daughter, Vicky, must One big problem is that advancing technology makes more endure is introduced into their lives by none other than Jack’s older people useless every day. Retraining is no answer; even engineers brother, Tom. are being replaced by computers. Society has become a player piano, A Philadelphia judge, Tom travels to New York City to help Jack creating flawless music without aid of human hands. However, this deal with the aftermath of a tragic visit to LaGuardia airport. But Darwinism is not untempered. The useless do not go homeless and Tom is experiencing major upheavals in his own life and proves to hungry. On the contrary, everyone’s basic needs are met: pre-fab- be of only minimal assistance to his brother. In his desperate attempt ricated homes, washers, TV, even national health care. And twelve to extricate himself from his legal troubles, Tom enlists Jack’s aid. years of free education, which is pretty pointless, as most people A boat trip to Bermuda—the Isle of Devils—uncovers an ancient graduate to idleness. artifact, the Lilitongue of Grefeda, one of the Seven Infernals lost Well, not quite idleness. Those with top test scores enjoy free col- to history. lege, then join the ever-diminishing ranks of engineers and manag- Tom believes the Lilitongue will remove him from his enemies ers. The less-brainy majority must choose between the Army or the so he can escape the consequences threatening to engulf him. Reconstruction & Reclamation Corps (aka, the Reeks & Wrecks), and He learns—too late—that a little bit of knowledge can be a very treacherous thing, indeed. —Continued on page 6 Because of what his brother has done, Jack is forced to deal with a challenge that is truly infernal: hellish, fiendish, and diabolical in the extreme. Inside Prometheus: With each new novel in this intriguing series, we see with increas- William H. Stoddard on celluloid’s Sin City; ing clarity that Repairman Jack stands not only at the nexus—the crossroads—between the supernatural Otherness and our own Bob Wallace studies the lessons of reality, but at the intersection between rationality and irrationality, Edgar Rice Burroughs; between legitimate and illegitimate violence, between principles Reviews of books by Michael Crichton, and pragmatism. Charles Stross, Jack Vance, In Infernal, these and other conflicts are examined through the persons of Jack and his brother Tom (named after their father). H. P. Lovecraft, Rex May, The focus on their personalities and the nature of their relationship Terry Goodkind, and John C. Wright; Hotel Rwanda, the movie; —Continued on page 4 Robert A. Heinlein: The Virginia Edition Prometheus Volume 23, Number 4, 2005 2005 Prometheus Awards Finalists

The newsletter of the Best Novel Libertarian Futurist Society State of Fear, Michael Crichton (Harper Collins) Editor Anarquia, Brad Linaweaver & J. Kent Hastings Anders Monsen (Sense of Wonder) Newton’s Wake, Ken MacLeod (Tor) Contributors Marque and Reprisal, Elizabeth Moon (Del Rey) Michael Grossberg The System of the World, Neal Stephenson Max Jahr (William Morrow) Russell Madden Charles Morrison Fred Moulton Hall of Fame Thomas M. Sipos William H. Stoddard It Can’t Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis (1936) Bob Wallace V for Vendetta, Alan Moore & David Lloyd (1991) A Time of Changes, Robert Silverberg (1971) The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien (1954) The Weapon Shops of Isher, A. E. Van Vogt (1951) Letters and Submissions: Anders Monsen 501 Abiso Ave Special Award San Antonio, TX 78209 [email protected] The Probability Broach: The Graphic Novel, L. Neil Smith and Scott Bieser Subscriptions & Advertisements Give Me Liberty/Visions of Liberty, Libertarian Futurist Society Edited by Mark Tier and Martin H. Greenberg 650 Castro St. Suite 120-433 Mountain View, CA 94041 [email protected]

Basic Membership: $25/yr. ($30 int'l) Robert A. Heinlein: The Virginia Edition Full Membership: $50/yr. Sponsors: $100/yr. Meisha Merlin Publishing, Inc. has been bound set of The Virginia Edition will be Benefactors: $200/yr. chosen by the Robert A. and Virginia Hein- $2,500.00. Subscriptions: $20/yr. ($25 int'l) lein Prize Trust and the Butler Library Foun- More information can be found at the All memberships include one-year dation to publish The Virginia Edition: publisher's web site: http://www.meishamerlin. subscriptions. The Definitive Collection of Robert com/RobertHeinleinTheVirginiaEdition.html or A. Heinlein. The project will consist of through email at [email protected]. Classified ads: 50 cents/word, 10 per- forty-six titles spanning Heinlein’s entire Meisha Merlin also announced that Bill cent off for multiple insertions. Display writing career, including all of Heinlein’s Patterson, editor of The Heinlein Journal, is ad rates available. All checks payable to novels and short stories. It will also contain writing a two-volume biography of Robert the Libertarian Futurist Society all of his non-fiction titles along with the Heinlein. majority of his interviews, social commentar- [Editor’s note: This complete set is Prometheus © 2005 the Libertarian Fu- ies, speeches and articles, as well as several reminiscient of the Vance Integral Edition, turist Society. The LFS retains a non- volumes of Heinlein’s letters and personal where volunteer Jack Vance fans compiled exclusive license to republish accepted authoratative texts of Vance’s work, forty- articles on its Web site; all other rights correspondence. revert to the contributor. Letters and The books will be sold only as a set, limited three volumes in all, for $1500. Perhaps one reviews are welcome. Bylined articles to 5000 copies. Illustrator Donato plans a day we will see a similar effort around the are strictly the opinion of the writer and series of murals that will be displayed both works of Poul Anderson.] do not necessarily reflect the opinion on the dust jack cover and spine. The first of the LFS members. book will be published in January 2006, followed every four weeks thereafter by the next title in the series. The price for the cloth

Page 2 Volume 23, Number 4, 2005 Prometheus Let’s be frank, balefully frank: Lovecraft of Cthulhu,” “The Colour Out of Space,” never saw an adjective he didn’t like. His “The Dunwich Horror” and other forbid- eviews houses are haunted; trees, terrible; families, ding tales in his Cthulhu Mythos about a R degenerate; ghouls, fiendish; and abomina- cosmic evil that predates mankind. These tions, unholy. and other signature titles are included in the From “The Horror at Red Hook,” here’s collection, although his letters, poetry, some H. P. Lovecraft: Tales a ripe-to-rotting example of Lovecraftian novels and many other stories must await a Edited by Peter Straub excess: “Here cosmic sin had entered, and second volume. The Library of America, $35 festered by unhallowed rites had commenced Many of his stories were published in Reviewed by Michael Grossberg the grinning march of death that was to rot Weird Tales, Amazing Stories and other pulp us all to fungous abnormalities too hideous magazines, but some of his best weren’t pub- The Library of America has embraced the for the grave’s holding.’’ lished until after his death in 1937. Although missing link in horror: H.P. Lovecraft. The horror, the horror. Lovecraft died before the horrors of World The reclusive Rhode Island writer, who Lovecraft, who often wrote about the miss- War II and Nazi concentration camps were lived from 1890 to 1937 while limiting his ing links in human evolution (and devolution), revealed, his best stories anticipate them. social contacts primarily to letters, bridged the defined many of the nightmarish archetypes Lovecraft never expected his stories gap between Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen that have influenced much of pop-culture, to endure or influence so many writers. King, arguably the two other great American for good and ill. Seen any bad horror mov- Among them: August Derleth (who founded masters of horror. ies or gore-filled video games lately? They Arkham House, an early reprint champion Lovecraft receives his belated due in the of Lovecraft), Colin Wilson, Robert Bloch, 155th volume of the Library’s prestigious Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell, Straub series. Editor Peter Straub, the horror nov- and King. elist, has chosen 22 of Lovecraft’s stories Nameless dread, thy name is Lovecraft. and novellas—a representative sample of (This review previously appeared in a slightly different his mysterious, melodramatic, arcane and antiquarian bent. If this collection doesn’t help salvage Chainfire Lovecraft’s long-underestimated reputation By Terry Goodkind as a pioneer in the Gothic style of horror, Tor Books 2005, $29.95 nothing can. Reviewed by Charles Morrison Where Poe’s 19th century horror reveled in dark romanticism and brooding poetry, Terry Goodkind has just recently released Lovecraft eschewed the poetic and the ro- Chainfire, the ninth novel in his Sword of mantic for the clinical, the lurid and the Truth series. His novels have evolved quite a menacingly alien. bit since Wizard’s First Rule, the genesis And where King’s fiction is grounded of the series, both in content and delivery. in the anxieties and fears of everyday life, While most fans agree that his writing style Lovecraft preferred to explore the fringes has changed for the better, with richer content of the insane, the isolated and the unreal. and more fully developed characters, some Most of his stories shrink from realism like have criticized what they consider a turn a vampire shrinks from the light. towards promoting a political agenda. With King has praised Lovecraft as the 20th probably include a few Lovecraftian touches Faith of the Fallen Terry Goodkind started century horror story’s “dark and baroque and tropes, from invasions by primordial being much more overt about his definition prince,’’ while Joyce Carol Oates hailed him alien intelligences to monsters emerging from of freedom and didn’t shy away from making as the King of Weird. decaying ruins. his lead character promote it. On the other hand, in his notorious essay, In his fiction about alternate dimensions, Personally, before Faith of the Fallen, “Tales of the Marvelous and Ridiculous,” suspended animation, devolution and invis- I had just about had enough of the series. critic Edmund Wilson dismissed Lovecraft as ibility, Lovecraft stretched the boundaries Although I saw the lessons in freedom the a hack and his genre as hopeless. (And Ayn of horror to touch the eccentric fringes of author provided, I also recognized a terrible Rand, in The Romantic Manifesto, mostly science fiction. trend in our main point of view character, disparaged horror fiction as the lower depths From ghost stories (“The Outsider”) to Richard Rahl. Early in the series, Richard of romantic fiction--- although the links to pulp melodrama (“Herbert West—Reanima- became the ruler of D’Hara and as the story dark romanticism are clear, from Poe to tor”), Lovecraft’s fiction exudes mystery, a developed he started trying to force people Victor Hugo.) sinister sense of the abnormal, metaphysical to fight the evil Emperor Jagang who was Although the strange truth probably lies pessimism about man’s place in the cosmos, invading from the Old World. Although it in between, Lovecraft is not to everyone’s and the cold sweat of prickly fear. taste. Lovecraft is best known for “The Call —Continued on page 8

Page 3 Prometheus Volume 23, Number 4, 2005

—Infernal, continued from page 1 that she and Jack are quite different in many During a holiday visit, the elder Tom ways yet are as close as two people can sees his son in a crowd and notes that he is peels away yet another layer of the complex- be. “...[W]e agree on the big things—the “Virtually invisible.” Despite his reservations, ity surrounding the rare individual that is things that matter. We agree on right and Tom accepts Jack’s “obsessive secretiveness” Repairman Jack. wrong, on being truthful, on value given for “as part of the package.” Reflecting on their Initially, Gia and others in the book are value received, on what’s straight and what’s recent adventures in Florida, Tom realizes amazed at the degree of physical similarity crooked. We both believe in doing the right he is curiously unaffected by an experience between Jack and Tom. “If Jack had told thing, even though we sometimes disagree that might have devastated others. He “had me he was an only child and you’d sat down on how to do it.” participated in the killing [of a murderous at the other end of the bar,” Gia tells Tom, While Tom abandons one wife—and set crew] and afterward had expected fits of guilt “I’d have thought you were his long-lost of children—after another, a pregnant (yet and remorse. They never came. Strangely, brother.” unmarried) Gia knows that “...Jack is a rock.... the killing didn’t bother him: The dead in But neither brother accepts these judg- Doesn’t matter what’s fashionable, what’s in, this case deserved it.” ments of external sameness. As Jack says, what’s out, what’s politically correct, what’s This matter-of-fact acceptance of a dis- “I don’t get it. We couldn’t be more differ- become legal, what’s become illegal, Jack tasteful yet moral action is not all the father ent.” Given who he is, Jack’s inability to see doesn’t budge... I can always depend on Jack shares with Jack. Though generally less overt himself in his brother’s features is hardly to do the right thing.” in his actions than his younger son, the elder surprising. Tom is also a man of principle in more Tom stands in mirror opposition to mundane situations. In his working life, Jack, everything about him reversed. he refused to accept affirmative action, What at first blush appears identical is, With each new novel in this intrigu- “a system that put ability second.” For in reality, incapable of being reconciled. ing series, we see with increasing him, affirmative action is yet another On a visceral level, each brother recog- clarity that Repairman Jack stands example of the kind of false front his nizes the vast chasm separating them. son Tom exemplifies: a pleasing exte- In the realm of what is most important not only at the nexus—the cross- rior presented for public consumption in defining a person—his values and roads—between the supernatural that is, at its heart, dishonest to those it his attitudes—Jack and Tom are at the Otherness and our own reality, but at purports to help; a program that cheats extremes of the spectrum. the intersection between rationality those who prefer principled action over Despite a smooth and socially adept following the path of least resistance. exterior, Tom is a twisted doppelganger and irrationality, between legitimate In a scene that echoes one in Wilson’s of Jack. Even the instant attraction to Gia and illegitimate violence, between Hosts that involved Jack, when con- he experiences is based upon a warped, principles and pragmatism. fronted with armed assailants, father superficial perspective. He wants Jack’s Tom thinks, “If only he had a gun...he lover less for who she is than for what could stop these arrogant murderous he (thinks) he can obtain from her. His shits. They knew no one could fight resentment of Jack’s status in Gia’s eyes arises Tom thinks he might be willing—and back.” Like Jack (and Jack’s friend, Abe, who from a complete misunderstanding of what able—to change for Gia, to become more runs the Isher Sports Shop), the seventy-one- a strong, healthy relationship requires: a like Jack, if he “had the right reason,” that year-old Tom would agree with the shop’s value-for-value exchange between individu- is, her. But Gia tells him that, “I’ve always motto that “the right to buy weapons is the als, each with his or her own character, goals, figured the reason for doing the right thing right to be free.” Criminals have little to fear and identity. is because it’s the right thing.” Unlike Tom, from legally disarmed civilians after ineffec- Tom responds strongly to Gia’s physical she thinks that “...you don’t do the right tual “guards”—who provide only a false sense beauty but has no ability to recognize what thing for anyone else, you do it for yourself. of safety—are eliminated. As the Founding makes her tick at the deepest levels. His Because doing anything less diminishes you.” Fathers knew, it is a body of armed civilians envy manifests itself in a kind of greed: an A person of more conventional morality that provides a society with real safety. overwhelming desire to possess what not might tsk-tsk at Gia’s words and claim they Though the elder Tom is uncomfortable only does not belong to him but which he were the essence of being “selfish.” I am sure because he suspects Jack’s career “...probably in no way can or ever will deserve. While he that Gia—and Jack—would answer simply wasn’t on the right side of the law”, he is tries to win Gia by pretending to be what he and confidently: “How true.” smart enough to know that far too frequently, falsely thinks she desires, his sham has not a Though Tom just “doesn’t get it” when a world of difference exists between what is chance of succeeding. Gia is not one to be it comes to his brother, their father (also legal and what is right. In a free society, of fooled by a con-artist, even one as smooth named Tom) has (after the events chronicled course, there would be no dichotomy: any and practiced as Jack’s brother. in Gateways) grown to admire his wayward law would be in accord with what is proper In contrast to Jack and Tom—who are offspring in a way he never could before. This (though not every unethical action would be superficially the same yet so emotionally acceptance does not mean full agreement or distant from one another—Gia tells Tom comprehension of Jack’s lifestyle. —Continued next page

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—Infernal, continued from previous page the embodiment of the State—literally a adhering consistently to who one is; of hav- part of the government—while Jack is the ing all the parts “fit together”; of believing a legal issue). Still, that ideal retreats farther quintessential individual, it is little wonder that “what you see is what you get.” Jack’s and farther as Jack attempts to wrestle with their relationship is alternately cool and integrity is an integral part of his very identity. both the intrusions of the Otherness and the contentious. Tom does come to recognize No wonder Tom is baffled by such an alien invasions of the State. his “arrogance and hubris,” his behavior outlook. He knows he is “an asshole” but Jack’s father is introduced to some of as “a king.” He knows he “...was into that claims that “law school teaches that the letter that tension during his Christmas visit. He sovereign mindset of being a judge, of hav- of the law is all that counts. Forget the spirit... notices that Jack’s “...gaze seemed to linger ing the power to decide the fates of people So if you find a loophole or an interpretation more on the security personnel than on the and companies...” But his primary regret is that lets you sidestep the spirit of the law, it’s Arabic-looking members of the crowd. Why? getting caught—of not keeping it local—not okay to exploit it. Right and wrong, just and What about them concerned him?” In a that he did something wrong. He has lived by unjust don’t play into it. The only thing that country that is rapidly becoming a surveil- the “pragmatist” credo: if an action works matters is what’s on the paper.” For Tom, lance State; that is creating a national principles are for saps. identification card via the REAL ID; Indeed, Tom’s “pragmatic” exploita- that is militarizing our police, gutting tion of others is inseparable from who he Constitutional protections for those is. He reveals this sordid side soon after targeted by authorities, and treating meeting Jack in New York. Without a citizens guilty-until-proven-innocent, thought of the consequences to his target, Jack is wise to distrust the actions of Tom tries to pass counterfeit money to an his own government more than the unsuspecting waitress. Jack is appalled. As potential threat of random, isolated a judge, Tom—like the State—presents a violence from terrorists. Both the State public image of probity and strength and and terrorists prey on people’s fears to rectitude, while in reality he (and the State) get what they want. But any group of rots from the inside out like a dying tree, terrorists can, at most, kill hundreds or recognizing his self-destruction only after thousands of innocents. Governments it is far too late to correct. destroy millions. Tom’s “integrity” is as counterfeit as Jack knows the terrorists he en- that of the State that joins him in op- counters aren’t “...the only irrational, posing his brother. The phony money unreasonable force impinging on him. Tom tries to pass is, in a very real way, no The Lilitongue was another.” But his more bogus than the unbacked currency description of the latter Infernal could the State forces on its citizens, a currency as easily apply to the “infernal” State the government has inflated until it has with its burgeoning supply of cameras, only five-percent of the value it enjoyed biometrics, scanners, trackers, and a century ago. Who is hurt most by this human-implantable chips that seek to subterfuge? The small guy. The average terminate Jack’s lifestyle: “But this...he Joe and Jane, the “working stiffs trying to had no moves, no choices, no decision, earn a living” that the State declares so no wiggle room. An iron jacket.” loudly it is there to “help.” The State does not want citizens— Just as it was the low-paid waitress who especially someone like Jack—to decide what to get you want you want, then it’s okay. was going to be stuck covering the bad bill should and should not be kept private. Indeed, For Tom, the ends always justify the means. Tom tricked her into accepting, the poorest Jack’s very intense devotion to maintaining His scheme unravels mostly because a thug in our society are the ones who suffer the his privacy is quite probably due to the simple even bigger than him—the Federal govern- most under the velvet-covered fist of the fact that the State declares—at the point of ment—gets involved. State’s suited agents. Tom feels no more a gun—that it has a right to demand any Tom is an exponent of realpolitik: “It’s remorse over his slimy, petty behavior than and every bit of information it wants about the way of the world. Two sets of rules out does the State he represents as it steals tril- anyone. What someone might willingly do or there. One is for public consumption, for the lions of hard-earned dollars from the citizens reveal if left to his own judgment, he might hoi poloi. But the other set, the real rules, it has sworn to protect. Even Jack’s protests well oppose surrendering when others try to are for those who know the game and how to fail to penetrate Tom’s habitual dishonesty. force him down the path they—rather than play it.” Tom accepts the “eat or be eaten” Indeed, Tom criticizes his brother for not he—decide he should follow...especially when weltanschauung: get them before they get you, being “tough”, falsely believing that “tough” such revelations will be used against him. a Hobbesian view that is diametrically op- means acknowledging that social interaction Jack is not the kind of individual to take posed to Jack’s credo. kindly to orders. From anyone. Jack asks Tom, “...without your integrity, —Continued on page 13 Given that Jack’s brother, the judge, is what are you? What’s left?” Integrity means

Page 5 Prometheus Volume 23, Number 4, 2005

—Player Piano, continued from page 1 a big war, fought overseas with drones and conservative who was taken with Vonnegut’s nukes and Gamma rays. A real turkey shoot, midwestern family history in Palm Sunday. begin a life of menial make-work rather than except for the soldiers attending the high- Ralph Nader has praised such “true conser- real jobs. Yes, that includes the Army. Wars are tech weapons during a return fire. Young vatism,” distinguishing it from corporatism primarily fought with machines, so millions engineers and managers were exempt from or empire building. of soldiers remain idle in the US, training combat, their brain power too important to With a little updating, Player Piano with wooden guns. Only those stationed safely the home front. would make for a fine film satire of modern abroad are trusted with real guns. Vonnegut’s book was doubtless inspired America. Vonnegut’s never been adapted The less-gifted wealthy can go to private by America’s command economy during effectively, though he was reportedly pleased college, though I’m not sure what they’d World War Two, but libertarians have long with Slaughterhouse-Five. The problem become in this meritocratic society. Perhaps noted that “War is the health of the state.” is that his greatest strength is not his plots or politicians. Player Piano’s America enjoys Some conservatives may not like to hear it, characters, but his unique authorial voice. complete separation of politics and power. but even “good wars” invariably expand Although released in 1952, Kurt Von- Elections are free, but elected officials are government and diminish liberties. Just ask negut’s dystopian Player Piano can serve impotent PR shills. The President is a goofy Louis XVI what the American Revolution as a satire of modern America. That may dunderhead whose main job is telling ev- did for his treasury. Thus, true conservatives, not be readily apparent to those who focus eryone how great things are, while publicly like all true patriots, are always sceptical of only on its theme of technology obsoleting “ooooing” and “aaaahing” over the workers. Seemingly influenced by Fritz engineers’ latest computer. Lang’s Metropolis and foreshadowing Despite their safety net, men feel The Twilight Zone’s “The Brian Center at useless and miserable because they’re I’ve met many libertarians, conserva- tives, and objectivists who admire Whipple’s,” Player Piano paints a future paid for make-work. Women feel useless America where a technocratic oligarchy has because of all those kitchen appliances, Vonnegut’s work. Libertarians established a corporate command economy and miserable because they’re married admire him because he’s antiwar and cradle-to-grave socialism. The leaders to losers. (Yeah I know, but it’s a 1950s and distrusts government. Objectiv- think they’ve created a utopia but the proles book.) With few exceptions (entertainer, ists mostly enjoy his atheism and disagree. athlete, politician), it’s mostly engineers and One big problem is that advancing managers who enjoy meaningful work and Bokononist satire of religion. And technology makes more people useless its concomitant prestige. They also make conservatives discern a patriotic every day. Retraining is no answer; even more money, but that’s not the main gripe nostalgia for small town America in engineers are being replaced by comput- of the useless majority. Player Piano has some of his work. ers. Society has become a player piano, an anti-materialist theme. Despite calling creating flawless music without aid of hu- himself a socialist, Vonnegut has written man hands. However, this Darwinism a novel in which national health care is not untempered. The useless do not doesn’t bring happiness. war, and suspicious of those who say we must go homeless and hungry. On the contrary, So how does Player Piano parallel mod- not question or doubt our elected leaders in everyone’s basic needs are met: pre-fabricated ern America? There is the loss of good jobs; times of war. homes, washers, TV, even national health in the book through technology, in modern Player Piano’s neocons imagine that care. And twelve years of free education, America through outsourcing. Both Americas they’ve ended history. The last war is referred which is pretty pointless, as most people relegate ever more people to menial, gov- to as the Last War. America’s high-tech graduate to idleness. ernment-subsidized work (Wal-Mart reput- weapons and economy dominate the globe. Well, not quite idleness. Those with top edly advises employees how to obtain food Yet freedom does not abound, not even in test scores enjoy free college, then join the stamps to supplement their paychecks). Both the US. “Anti-machine” books are banned ever-diminishing ranks of engineers and Americas employ rising police surveillance for encouraging terrorism, the authors risk- managers. The less-brainy majority must to fight terrorism, and feel rising suspicion ing jail. Indeed, a visiting autocrat, hosted choose between the Army or the Recon- toward dissenters. In Player Piano, terror- by the State Department, mistakes average struction & Reclamation Corps (aka, the ists are also called “saboteurs,” the ugliest of Americans for slaves. Reeks & Wrecks), and begin a life of menial obscenities. Alleged saboteurs cannot appeal Vonnegut regards himself as a man of the make-work rather than real jobs. Yes, that to a judge. Judges have been replaced by left, but I’ve met many libertarians, conserva- includes the Army. Wars are primarily fought computers that analyze precedents and spit tives, and objectivists who admire Vonnegut’s with machines, so millions of soldiers remain out verdicts. work. Libertarians admire him because he’s idle in the US, training with wooden guns. Most importantly, in Player Piano the antiwar and distrusts government. Objectiv- Only those stationed safely abroad are trusted centralization of corporate/government ists mostly enjoy his atheism and Bokononist with real guns. power over the economy and security forces satire of religion. And conservatives discern The less-gifted wealthy can go to private is a legacy of the last war, which was largely a patriotic nostalgia for small town America college, though I’m not sure what they’d responsible for putting engineers and manag- in some of his work. While I think that’s es- ers in charge of a command economy. It was pecially true of his short stories, I’ve met one —Continued next page

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—Player Piano, continued from previous page World War Two, but libertarians have long we have today—a sort of statist crony noted that “War is the health of the state.” corporatism?—produces government favor- become in this meritocratic society. Perhaps Some conservatives may not like to hear it, itism and contracts for politically-connected politicians. Player Piano’s America enjoys but even “good wars” invariably expand insiders. But even an authentic free market complete separation of politics and power. government and diminish liberties. Just ask would drain good jobs to the lowest foreign Elections are free, but elected officials are Louis XVI what the American Revolution bidder. Good for foreign workers and con- impotent PR shills. The President is a did for his treasury. Thus, true conservatives, sumers, bad for domestic workers. goofy dunderhead whose main job is tell- like all true patriots, are always sceptical of Like many satirists, Vonnegut is better at ing everyone how great things are, while war, and suspicious of those who say we must identifying and ridiculing a problem than in publicly “ooooing” and “aaaahing” over the not question or doubt our elected leaders in offering a solution. Player Piano ends on a engineers’ latest computer. times of war. pessimistic note. That may be because some Despite their safety net, men feel use- Player Piano’s neocons imagine that problems have no solution. less and miserable because they’re paid for they’ve ended history. The last war is referred make-work. Women feel useless because of to as the Last War. America’s high-tech all those kitchen appliances, and miserable weapons and economy dominate the globe. because they’re married to losers. (Yeah I Yet freedom does not abound, not even in Thomas M. Sipos’s satires include know, but it’s a 1950s book.) With few ex- the US. “Anti-machine” books are banned Vampire Nation and Manhattan Sharks. ceptions (entertainer, athlete, politician), it’s for encouraging terrorism, the authors risk- His website: mostly engineers and managers who enjoy ing jail. Indeed, a visiting autocrat, hosted www.CommunistVampires.com meaningful work and its concomitant pres- by the State Department, mistakes average tige. They also make more money, but that’s Americans for slaves. not the main gripe of the useless majority. Vonnegut regards himself as a man of the Player Piano has an anti-materialist theme. left, but I’ve met many libertarians, conserva- Prometheus back issues sale Despite calling himself a socialist, Vonnegut tives, and objectivists who admire Vonnegut’s has written a novel in which national health work. Libertarians admire him because he’s Selected copies of Prometheus back is- care doesn’t bring happiness. antiwar and distrusts government. Objectiv- sues are available for sale while limited So how does Player Piano parallel mod- ists mostly enjoy his atheism and Bokononist quantities last. ern America? There is the loss of good jobs; satire of religion. And conservatives discern • Special Prometheus Award winner in the book through technology, in modern a patriotic nostalgia for small town America interviews set: Five preselected issues America through outsourcing. Both Americas in some of his work. While I think that’s es- for $15, plus $2 shipping. Includes is- relegate ever more people to menial, gov- pecially true of his short stories, I’ve met one sues containing the Robert A. Heinlein ernment-subsidized work (Wal-Mart reput- conservative who was taken with Vonnegut’s audio drama interview with Brad Lin- edly advises employees how to obtain food midwestern family history in Palm Sunday. aweaver and William Alan Ritch, the stamps to supplement their paychecks). Both Ralph Nader has praised such “true conser- Free Space anthology interview with Americas employ rising police surveillance vatism,” distinguishing it from corporatism co-editor Brad Linaweaver, the James to fight terrorism, and feel rising suspicion or empire building. P. Hogan interview, the Vernor Vinge toward dissenters. In Player Piano, terror- With a little updating, Player Piano interview, and J. Neil Schulman on the ists are also called “saboteurs,” the ugliest of would make for a fine film satire of modern 10 greatest pro-freedom novels. obscenities. Alleged saboteurs cannot appeal America. Vonnegut’s never been adapted • Special bulk “grab-bag” offer: Buy a to a judge. Judges have been replaced by effectively, though he was reportedly pleased dozen back issues for $15, postage paid. computers that analyze precedents and spit with Slaughterhouse-Five. The problem Our choice from a variety of back issues out verdicts. is that his greatest strength is not his plots or from late 1980s through 1990s. Most importantly, in Player Piano the characters, but his unique authorial voice. • Recent issues offer: Great for new centralization of corporate/government Mother Night was adapted with unusual members to catch up! Complete set of power over the economy and security forces faithfulness to the plot, yet the film was dreary 14 back issues from Vol. 16, No. 4 (Fall is a legacy of the last war, which was largely and grim, unlike the often hilarious book. 1998) through Vol. 20, No. 1 (March responsible for putting engineers and manag- Player Piano shouldn’t have this prob- 2002). Only $18, postage paid. ers in charge of a command economy. It was lem. It was Vonnegut’s first novel, his voice • Individual issues, by request (specific a big war, fought overseas with drones and still undeveloped and not yet evident, so the date/volume no.). $5 each, if available. nukes and Gamma rays. A real turkey shoot, book’s merits are not based on something Add $1 shipping for first 2 copies, $1 except for the soldiers attending the high- unfilmable. each additional 2 copies. Mail check, tech weapons during a return fire. Young Unfortunately, a critique is not a solu- made out to LFS, with specified choice engineers and managers were exempt from tion. I don’t know what can be done about and your name, address, email, and combat, their brain power too important to the outsourcing of jobs. Socialism breeds phone number to LFS Issues Offer, the home front. poverty, corruption, nepotism, and ethnic c/o Michael Grossberg, 3164 Plymouth Vonnegut’s book was doubtless inspired clashes. Protectionism leads to trade wars, Place, Columbus, OH 43213. by America’s command economy during and then, say some, to shooting wars. What

Page 7 Prometheus Volume 23, Number 4, 2005

—Reviews, continued from page 3 In Chainfire we find the main point of to explain the Machiavellian reasoning she view character, Richard Rahl, in yet another used to justify her actions when she was an was quite obvious that Emperor Jagang was pickle. In the opening scene he has taken a agent for the evil Emperor Jagang. entirely evil, I was just plain tired of reading critical injury and his friends are doing every- The main plot culminates with the realiza- about Richard trying to establish “freedom” thing they can to save his life. When he has tion of the Wizard’s Ninth Rule, “Contradic- by force. recovered, he finds that nobody remembers tions don’t exist, in whole or in part.” The I learned that Terrry Goodkind takes the his wife Kahlan, or is willing to believe that author uses this rule to indicate that even “show, don’t tell” methodology to the extreme she even ever existed. Some magical force though anecdotal information and personal with some of his lessons. On several occa- has stripped her from Richard’s life as if they beliefs may point to a specific conclusion, sions he has had his characters learn lessons had never met, and he later finds that an that one solid fact can destroy it. regarding occurrences several novels back, alternate life and death has been created for Terry Goodkind himself claims to be an or about their own idiosyncrasies that they his one true love. The author uses this precept Ayn Rand Objectivist and his works prove have had since the to put the whole world that this is true. It is obvious that he took the very beginning. He against Richard in unwashed masses’ objections in mind when has often worked to one way or another. he wrote this. His freedom oriented theme emphasize the valid- His friends no longer was more subtle and the lessons more inno- ity of premises that believe in his sanity, cently developed. However, the extra work he he in later books de- and his enemies’ plans took to make Chainfire is not lost on those stroys without com- progress as Richard who understand the lessons of freedom that punction. chases the truth about are still at the foundation of this novel. Either Goodkind Kahlan. is decidedly wicked Some of the as- in his objectives, or pects of freedom that Sin City he has learned lessons Terry Goodkind ex- Directed by Frank Miller, Robert in life and is willing plores in Chainfire Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarrantino to explore these with are extremely overt Starring Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, his characters. At but many simply in- Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis this point, I’m bet- spire the reader to Dimension Films, 2005 ting on the former. make their own ratio- Reviewed by William H. Stoddard Either way, I admire what he has done with nal decisions about aspects of freedom. the anthology. I admit I did not give him One freedom oriented plot line simply Sin City started out as a comic book by enough credit early on. At about the same involves free will. Several of the main Frank Miller; the film version is one among time I was ready to put Soul of the Fire characters actively push Richard to forget many recent adaptations of comic books to down and walk away from his series for about his delusional wife and pick up the the screen. But this one has some differences. good, he made his character Richard Rahl good fight by leading his army into battle Unlike most such projects, it’s not about the realize that he had been wrong (over the last against the enemy. These characters have adventures of superheroes. Rather, it’s in the couple of novels) to try to force people to do previously established that they believe in genre of crime stories, done in a noir style. something, even if it was in their own best prophesy, and in Chainfire they actively There are some minor fantastic elements, interest. All of his books have explored some work against what Richard knows to be right but that’s not the point of the film. Rather, aspect of freedom however, the novels after in their efforts to make the desired prophesy as having Quentin Tarantino involved in Soul of the Fire have been very libertar- happen. These people are so wrapped up it might suggest, its focus is on action and ian in nature. The eighth book in the series, in their doctrine that they conspire to magi- combat, with the violence depicted in a Naked Empire, was even a finalist for the cally destroy Richard’s memory of Kahlan, cinematically exaggerated style. Prometheus Award. even with risks, so that he will conform to But it’s not a simple film; viewers who don’t Terry Goodkind received a lot of criti- their desires. They all do so supposedly with stay in focus are likely to get lost. The events cism for Naked Empire. The novel was Richard’s best interest in mind. of the film weave together three different too contrived for many people. The new Another subtle lesson is about the nature stories from the comic, with three different characters, dialog, and events that promoted of man. Terry Goodkind spends a little time protagonists. The different storylines share the author’s agenda were too convenient for contrasting the effects that government has some locations, supporting characters, and many readers, regardless of their beliefs. on how people act and what qualifies as right villains; as a result, the viewer gets a more Chainfire is much more subtle. Some of and wrong. The country of D’hara, once complete picture of each of these than the the points may even be too subtle, or make ruled by an evil dictator, produced a legion protagonists can have. The time sequence reference to past lessons in freedom that of people who committed various atrocities. doesn’t seem to be linear, and the connec- the uninitiated reader may not be aware Chainfire shows in several instances where tions among the three storylines aren’t always of, to make this a strong candidate for the these same people, now that they are living made explicit. Prometheus Award. Regardless, I think it free, question their previous actions. Some should be a candidate. effort is even taken with the sorceress Nicci —Continued next page

Page 8 Volume 23, Number 4, 2005 Prometheus

—Sin City, continued from previous page in Sin City, ready to cover up the rape of an planet Coro-Coro. Maloof, the captain of the eleven-year-old girl or frame the police officer Glicca, also seeks justice for a past wrong. The What does seem to connect them is a who saved her. other two members of the crew express deep common theme: personal integrity and its This isn’t intended to be a realistic film; yearnings of their own. Schwatzendale, the expression in battle. Sin City’s male heroes everything in it is exaggerated, larger than engineer, is more practical, hoping to gain each form relationships with a woman who is life, almost to the point of fantasy. But, like back money lost in a came of cards. The the victim of other men’s violence. To protect most good action/adventure films, it’s a story more sensitive Wingo looks to religion and those women, or in one case to avenge one about good and evil at war; and the line metaphysics to grant him inner peace. The of them, they use violence in return, and between good and evil is drawn with more term “lurulu,” coined by Vance through the they endure violence, injury, and suffering. subtlety than usual, and in a way readers mouth of Maloof, approximates a feeling Raymond Chandler famously wrote that of Prometheus are likely to find sympathetic. when yearnings are gratified. It’s been said the private eye hero of hard-boiled detec- And it’s filmed with a consistent visual style that the feeling of possessing something tive fiction must be a man of honor, without that perfectly conveys these qualities, as never surpasses the longing for that possess- ever saying so; the heroes of this film fit that consciously planned as the style of the Ger- sion. And yet Maloof believes “lurulu” can pattern—and, like warrior heroes of many man Expressionist films of the 1920s. Film be attained, like the fabled equilibrium of epics, their most important gift is the ability adaptations of comic books have ranged economic theory. to endure pain and injury and go on with from the good (as in X2) to the appalling (as Vance’s sequels tend to evolve from the their struggle. in The League of Extraordinary Gentle- original goal to something far different. In Not that all the women in this film wait men); Frank Miller’s work may have been Ports of Call, Myron sought justice against for men to rescue them. Two of the three adapted better than any other comic book his aunt and the scoundrel instrumental in storylines involve the red light district of that has ever been filmed. haing him kicked off the Glodwyn. In Lurulu, Basin City (nicknamed “Sin City”) and an Myron states this steadfastly as his constant extraordinary organization that operates goal, but the final confrontation is dealt with there: an alliance of prostitutes for mutual Lurulu swiftly, almost as an aside. defense. One of the three stories shows their By Jack Vance Instead, the point of this novel is not organization in action, from dealing with Tor Books, 2004, $22.95 something as simple as plot or resolution of customers who behave abusively to fighting Reviewed by Anders Monsen an outlined goal through a series of escalat- a small-scale war against an attempt to take ing events. Rather, reading this book is like over their territory and end their indepen- sitting on a porch in Africa, admiring the dence. The vision of weapons ownership Lurulu is Jack Vance’s sequel to his 1998 sunset while enjoying a good bottle of wine. as the root of freedom is as vivid here as novel, Ports of Call, a picaresque novel rife The pace is languid, though not without in anything L. Neil Smith ever wrote, and with mood and impression. Each word, each action. Vance employs droll humor to make libertarians ought to be cheering for it. phrase is etched with care and attention. Due his points, deflating Wingo’s religious aspira- And the other side is also one that will to the length of time between the two novels, tions by pointing out the harsh realities of make sense to libertarians. Turning up all Lurulu opens with a chapter summarizing a planetary pilgrimage. Shown to Wingo in through the connected stories are the Roarks, the events of the first book. a romantic light, the truth of the matter is two wealthy and powerful brothers, one a Since childhood Myron Tany imagined a far more taxing on the soul and flesh. This Catholic bishop, the other a senator, who life traveling the stars. His parents dismissed is often the case: we humans tend to ideal- are symbols of the corruption of power. this dream as impractical, telling him to study ize things (the grass is always greener, for Corrupt city government is the great enemy more grounded matters; Myron thus supple- example), but reality is far more complex mented his studies to include areas related and often tends to disappoint the dreamers. to space. During his university years he lived Poor Myron, too, find that his long-distance with his eccentric aunt, Dame Hester, who love from Ports of Call has moved on while through the fruits of a legal settlement won he kepts up his faithful correspondence with a spaceship, the Glodwyn. Seeking a promised her; Myron loved an idea, while his beloved fountain of youth on a distant planet, Hester took a more practical approach. departs into space, Myron functioning as As the four shipmates and friends discover captain. Sadly Hester falls under the spell of through their voyages and adventures, set- a con-artist, booting Myron off the ship. He tling down after achieving the states goals gains employment as the supercargo on the leads perhaps only to a temporary state of Glicca, a merchant ship traveling from port “lurulu.” Is the point of the novel then to to port in seek of goods. Myron’s yearns only shatter such a notion? Perhaps. And in this to locate the Glodwyn and exact justice upon process, readers will enjoy a superbly written the two individuals responsible for stranding novel of a kind rarely seen today. Jack Vance him on a distant planet. may be near the end of his career, but he has Lurulu thus picks up the tale of the Glicca lost none of the talents and skills honed over and its crew, now ambling toward the fabled 60 creative years.

Page 9 Prometheus Volume 23, Number 4, 2005

State of Fear Yet even if they are the secondary as- to manage. It is quite possible that Crich- By Michael Crichton pects of the novel, let us examine media ton could not step back to look at the work Harper Collins, 2005, $27.95 manipulation and the accuracy of media and improve it. The topics covered in the Reviewed by Fred C. Moulton reporting, possible bias, and lack of scientific novel are all certainly ripe for a good thriller integrity in grants and peer review. The ac- treatment. The range of topics may be one This novel fails to live up to the advance curacy of reporting and scientific integrity of the problems of the work. Attempting to hype. It fails as a thriller and as a work with is not uniquely libertarian issues since other cover global warming, media manipulation, much of anything to offer specifically for political traditions can also be in favor of scientific integrity and all of the rest may be libertarians. It also fails as a reasonable media accuracy and scientific integrity. I too much to cover in a thriller format. exploration of environmental issues, global have found that libertarians typically em- What of the heavy focus on global warm- warming, media manipulation or scientific brace honesty and thus would be in favor ing in the novel? Is a novel that focuses so integrity. of honest reporting and science. If media heavily on global warming of libertarian Looking first at State of Fear as a novel manipulation and inaccurate reporting are interest? Not particularly. Global warming we find a plot that is intended to excite, but libertarian issues then libertarians should be is not a libertarian issue, is a matter that instead generates only mild amusement at the equally concerned about an entire range of falls within the realms of climatology, atmo- contrived and weak actions of the characters. issues in which media reporting may not be spheric physics, and other fields. The validity A novel might survive paper-thin characters if entirely accurate. of claims about global warming and the it has other features such as a plot but State This raises the question whether media extent of human involvement are scientific of Fear does not have strong plot to rescue reporting ever is, or can be, fully accurate. questions about which there is much current it. The gratuitously shallow portrayal of a These are interesting questions, but Crich- interest. A reasonable level of interest would Hollywood actor is a perfect example of how ton’s work does not appear to be a useful be expected since the earth is our home; at reliance on stereotypes can suck any interest source of insight. There are a few pages least for the next few years until migration to out of a work. It is hard not to imagine the devoted to the topics of media and science space become a possibility. But let us be very characters as merely the anchor points for but they are weak and lost between the tales clear that the validity of claims about global the cut and paste of search engine results. of death by octopus and cannibals. Because warming is not within the realm of libertar- The novel does not even have consistently it structured as a thriller there are deaths and ian philosophy any more than are the various good dialog as a fall back. What passes for near deaths and crisis upon crisis but they interpretations of quantum mechanics. dialog too often appears to be more like the are not compelling and do not provide a It is too bad that this is not a better novel rantings of a radio talk show host who had useful backdrop for any of the issues in the both in its structure as well as its content. just a wee bit too much coffee. novel. There is no reason in principle that a Issues of media manipulation, academic Now let us consider what appears in ad- thriller cannot be the vehicle for examining dishonesty, and global warming are inter- dition to global warming to be other possible some of these issues but State of Fear does esting and important issues, but this novel themes of the book. Supposedly these are not deliver. does not improve the debate. At best it will media manipulation and lack of scientific Does Michael Crichton intend State of drop unnoticed into the remainder bins; at integrity within the environmental arena as Fear to be more than just a thriller? It is not worst it will only reinforce the most strident a whole and global warming in particular. clear to what extent Crichton really is inter- voices on all sides. There might be strident The novel portrays the media manipulation ested in global warming and other issues. Are voices that lump radical environmentalists leading to a “state of fear” in the public. But they merely the backdrop for a thriller or is with serious ecologists and thus will likely despite the title it is not the issue of fear that this work supposed to have a “message?” At trumpet State of Fear as a novel based on seems to be the main focus of the work. But the end of the work is an “Author’s Message,” reality. And there might be a strident chorus as we have already noted it is global warming which contains the author’s opinions on a which will claim that it is just one more piece that gets the graphs and seems to be most number of topics from global warming to of evidence that those who do not embrace argued topic in the novel. changes in the methods of funding scientific all aspects of some radical environmental research. Following this is one appendix on agenda are corporate stooges out to destroy the dangers of politicized science and another the earth. Let us hope not. Moving? listing the data sources used for graphs in the The issue which does have a libertarian body of the novel. The work concludes with aspect is the following: If the global warming a bibliography. This illustrates one of the is demonstrated as a actual phenomena and Please send any changes in your many problems with the work: the intent is if human activity is shown to be a significant mailing address to: unclear. It is not clear how seriously we are component in the growth of global warm- David Tuchman to take his “Author’s Message” since it is filled ing, then how would responsible libertarians 1364 Mapleton Ave with gems like “Everybody has an agenda. respond? On this point the book has virtu- Except me.” Does he really believe that or ally nothing to offer since it does not have a Suffield, CT 06078 is this a veer into a poor attempt at humor? libertarian viewpoint. There is no theoretical Email: [email protected] This does not mean that Crichton is a fool or a hypocrite; it may be that he was just too close to the work and too famous for an editor —Continued next page

Page 10 Volume 23, Number 4, 2005 Prometheus

—State of Fear, continued from previous page Hotel Rwanda comes through a Canadian UN officer played Directed by Terry George by Nolte, who struggles to bring Paul and development of how to handle the issue. Starring Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, other Tutsis to refugee camps and ultimately There is not even a coherent practical set Nick Nolte out of the country. of heuristics. The novel definitely gives us a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2005, $26.98 When the Hutus begin the slaughter, government secret agent out to fight some Reviewed by Anders Monsen events ramp up quickly. Paul struggles to really bad people. It may be trying to give retain control of the situation. Slightly over us more but if so it is not clear what that In 1994 members of the Hutu tribe in 1200 Tutsi refugees shelter inside the hotel. may be. Rwanda murdered one million of their Tusti The white guests leave the country, escorted neighbors as the United Nations forces within by French and Belgian forces. The hotel that country, and world public opinion out- becomes a fragile oasis amid the slaughter, Gesundheit, Dummy: side, stood by and did nothing. The event is though not ignored by the Hutus, who at- The Best of Baloo a horrific yet far from isolated case of mass tempt time and again to remove and kill the By Rex F. May madness and slaughter, often perpetrated Tutsi sheltered there. The seige lasts around JoNa Books, 2000: $7.95 with the explicit consent or orders of the eleven weeks, though feels much shorter. Reviewed by Max Jahr State. 2004’s Hotel Rwanda, depicting the Paul’s impecably calm demeanor shatters courageous acts of one man working to save toward the end, exploding in rage and fear I stumbled across this small gem recently. hundreds of Tutsis, drew wide acclaim. for his family when all seems lost. In one Libertarians may know Rex May as the car- The similarities between the events in scene Paul returns from buying supplies toonist, Baloo, whose work has appeared in Rwanda and the plight of the Jews trying from a Tutsi-hating businessman and long- The Wall Street Journal, Liberty, The Voluntaryist, to escape Nazi Germany evince a chilling time supplier for the hotel. “Take the river and other publications. This slim volume and continuing lack of compassion for hu- road,” he says. “It’s clear.” The gruesome (around 60 pages) gathers slightly over 150 man life, as well as the effects of abrogating implications of that phrase become clear cartoons, each a single panel in length. The responsibility to governments and so-called only when Paul’s driver hits a bump in the humor in the cartoons, like the editorial world organizations like the UN. Listening fog. As Paul steps out of the car to see if woodcuts of old, often aim unflinchingly at to American officials splitting hairs over they’ve driven off the road, he literally falls government and its functionaries, but also genocide and acts of genocide sound all too over rows of corpses. The fog lifts, we see an skewers relationship issues, self-doubt, and familiar ten years later in a different region endless row of bodies. The road has indeed other vagaries of life. of Africa—Darfur. been cleared—of Tutsis. There are no storylines in these comics. In- Don Cheadle won an Oscar nomination The supporting cast shines. Sophie stead, we get witty snapshots drawn in quick, for his lead role in Hotel Rwanda, play- Okonedo (Dirty Pretty Things) barely yet effective strokes. As William Shakespeare’s ing Paul Rusesabagina, the personable and hides an undercurrent of fear as Paul’s Tutsi Hamlet once sardonically remarked, “Brevity well-connected Hutu manager of Hotel des wife. Jean Reno appears in a brief role as the is the soul of wit.” Some favorites include Milles Collines in Kigali. We meet Paul on president of Sabine, the company that owns the “L’etat c’est moi” themed cartoons, such the eve of the start of the massacres. He Paul’s hotel; his horror at being told over the as the king staring down at a peasant and knows people in high places, providing small phone that guests are being murdered sears stating, “This isn’t either a free country!” favors to army generals and a virulently the viewer. Joaquin Phoenix gutsy camera- I’ve personally experienced the one where prejudiced businessman through touches of man catches footage of massacres. a judge sentences a person to punishment smooth customer service; he also is building Through his actions Paul Rusesabagina by bureaucracy: “The prisons are full, so favors for a day when he may need help for joins the ranks of other individuals who re- I’ll just have the City Engineers tear up the his family since his wife is Tutsi. fused to turn aside as governing authorities at- street in front of your house.” Talk about The Tutsi represent the hated minority temped mass murder: Oscar Schindler (Nazi cruel and unusual punishment. There are among the Hutu majority. Radio broadcasts Germany), John Rabe and Minnie Vautrin a few clunkers, but the vast majority of the detail the hatred toward the Tutsi, calling (Nanking during the Japanese massacres), cartoons made me laugh out loud. My main them cockroaches, agitating for their total Raoul Wallenberg (saving several thousand complaint is the slimness of this volume. destruction. When the death of the Rwandan Hungarian Jews from extermination dur- Many excellent cartoons are missing. Future president torpedoes a fragile peace accord, ing WWII). In the midst of untold millions collections might rectify this, for the world the night of tall trees begins. Like Nazi state-murdered individuals through the 20th needs more of Baloo. Germany’s Night of Bloken Glass, Kristall- century, the numbers saved are mere grains One should also note that one of May’s nacht, which began the slaughter of Jews on of sand in the vast deserts of death. forthcoming works is a collaboration with November 9 and 10, 1938, the violence is Hotel Rwanda ranks as one of the most writer L. Neil Smith, in the form of a novel swift and brutal. Seeking at first to protect intense movies I’ve ever watched. In this entitled Roswell, Texas. A combination his family, Paul ends up bringing a score of movie you will feel grief and rage, yet also of their humor and sense of satire should other Tutsis into the hotel. Here he begins hope that even in the midst of madness and be devastating. a concentrated effort to save as many other good men who do nothing, some people will Tutsi’s as he can. His only UN assistance act against evil.

Page 11 Prometheus Volume 23, Number 4, 2005 Everything I Needed to Know, I learned from Edgar Rice Burroughs By Bob Wallace I never needed any self-help books about fell into the natural, proper ones. don’t murder, you don’t steal. Otherwise, you men being from Mars and women from Ve- At 11 I was immensely impressed by these could do as you pleased. nus, or how I learned everything I needed to saber-wielding, pistol-blasting heroines. I But there’s not a word in any of his know in kindergarten. All I ever needed was suspect a lot of guys were, and are. A woman novels about mob rule. Most of them read Edgar Rice Burroughs, whom I encountered I know wrote one article about how she was as if they could have been partly based on when I was 11. planning on shooting a pistol for the first Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s Democracy: the Burroughs, who isn’t really that well- time, and got 300 emails from guys willing God that Failed. In fact, Burroughs doesn’t known anymore, is best-known as the creator to instruct her. So, girls, if you want to be have a good word to say about mobs. In of Tarzan (who in the books spoke as if he popular, become proficient with a firearm. The Gods of Mars he does a hatchet-job was quoting Shakespeare, a far cry from the Learning to hurl a dagger is not such a bad on the blind fanatical mobs that fall for that “me Tarzan, you Jane” in the movies). But in idea, either. Men will get on their knees and combination of the State, corrupt religion, his day ERB (as he is commonly known) was salaam before you the way Wayne and Garth and Big Business. as popular as Stephen King is now, and was, did before Alice Cooper. What else? There are at least two kinds and still is, hugely influential. Carl Sagan, for Neither were the women always beautiful, of villains. The least bad are the sniveling, example, credited him with interesting him the way they invariably are in the movies. back-stabbing, lying cowards who are just in space exploration and science. Tavia was described as “boyish,” and in the great at running their mouths but have noth- Writers such as F. Paul Wilson, Philip José long run the hero, Tan Hadron, preferred ing to back it up. I guess junior high existed Farmer and John Norman have been influ- her to the beautiful but haughty and shallow during Burroughs’ school years, too. enced by Burroughs’ novels about Tarzan, Sanoma Tora. Although, to be honest, on the The worst villains, however, are those who Barsoom (Mars), Pellucidar (the inhabited covers of most of the books the physiques of want to conquer and rule the world. Bur- interior of the Earth) and Venus. both the men and women look as if they’ve roughs portrayed such people as practically Perhaps the first thing I noticed about been inflated with an air hose. But then, the insane with the lust for power. They’re the Burroughs is that, much like Robert Heinlein, publishers were trying to sell copies to boys ones who wanted to impose a State on all of none of his women characters are victims. in their early teens. Barsoom, and con armies into fighting for And he was writing in the early 1900s. Were The second thing I learned is that I was them. And in Burroughs’ worlds, they always he alive today, I suspect he would hold Stalin- being conned in school. The Warlord of failed, just as in do in our world, although ist fruitcakes like Betty Friedan and Andrea Mars was the Earthman John Carter, a often at a horrendous cost in slaughter and Dworkin in contempt. Such whiney, self-pity- southerner from Virginia who had fought destruction and misery. ing women, who think everything would be in the Civil War (don’t ask me how he got Burroughs’ worlds are not a libertarian just fine if society was destroyed (and men’s on Mars). Hey, wait a minute—I had been paradise. His novels are basically for boys 11 characters, too) and remade according to taught in school the South was an ignoble, to 14 years old. They’re filled with sword fights the crackpot fantasies infesting their heads, maybe even evil society that fought a long, and big apes with fangs (and big spiders with can’t even begin to compare with a brave, bloody war to defend slavery. Yet Carter was fangs, too). But there’s not a good word in any smart, resourceful woman like Tavia in A a noble and honorable man, protector of of his novels for the State, or for politics, or Fighting Man of Mars, who hacked off the oppressed, upholder of justice. Carter for politicians, or corrupt religion. There is, the arms of a couple of 15-feet-tall six-armed was always against slavery and oppression. however, true love between men and women Martian apes. Who was I supposed to believe? What I was as one of the highest values, and the desire Not only were Burroughs’ women not taught in the government-run prison/school for justice and freedom. victims, they were handy not only with swords I despised, or a writer who bought me fasci- Burroughs wasn’t the most stylish writer but also with pistols, although they were nation and awe? in the world. His style was workman-like “radium” pistols, a weapon whose workings Burroughs, like Hemingway, was origi- more than anything else. But he could tell still puzzle me. Dejah Thoris, the Princess nally from the heavily residential Oak Park, a heck of a story, a far better one than cur- of Mars, once skewered a villain several a medium-sized suburb stuck right up against rent writers who are far more stylish than times, then she kicked his worthless carcass Chicago. I’ve been there several times. Ap- he was. If I had my way, I’d close down the over a cliff. Maybe Barsoomian females did parently he found a better area to write about government schools, salt the ground (and give birth by laying eggs, but they were no than the one he was from. pepper the teachers), then open up private chickens. The third thing I learned is that maybe ones and create a better world by teaching Yet, Burroughs’ women were still femi- kings and queens are better than democracy. my hero, ERB. nine. There was no competition with men, Barsoom was ruled—and ruled justly—by and each sex got along just fine with the John Carter and Dejah Thoris. They barely Bob Wallace is the author of I Write What I other. The main reason, I’m sure, is that appeared to rule at all. I really don’t remem- See. This article is reprinted with permission from the Barsoomian State didn’t interfere in the ber a list of laws in any of Burroughs’ novels, the author. relationships between the sexes, and so they other than the simple ones we all know—you

Page 12 Volume 23, Number 4, 2005 Prometheus

—Infernal, continued from page 4 The sad fact is, we are all criminals. Illegal Magic in Oz The tangle of self-contradictory laws that is all a game consisting of what one can get Jack disagrees with ensures that each of us With the 2005 publication of The away with, of having no concern for whom has—at one time or another—broken a legal Living House of Oz (illustrated by is damaged by one’s actions. requirement or prohibition. It’s an infernal Eric Shanower), Edward Einhorn Some people believe that the type of po- position to be placed in, but, like Jack, we have returns to the Land of Oz in a sequel litical hypocrisy Tom demonstrates is simply a choice in how to deal with that perverted to his critically acclaimed Oz novel the result of a weak person succumbing to reality: we can do what “works”...or we can Paradox in Oz. temptation. But as Lord Acton wrote so long do what is right. Thirteen-year-old Buddy’s mother ago, it is the system of political power itself Infernal hooks the reader quickly and is arrested for practicing witchcraft, that is the corrupting influence. Without sends him along on a journey he does not want so he heads off to rescue her from strong chains binding them, politicians will to end. Immersing oneself in Jack’s universe imprisonment in the Emerald City of almost inevitably abuse their power and ben- is a refreshing antidote to a world that, like Oz. Once there he must challenge the efit personally from their position. Whether brother Tom to brother Jack, is the flip side most powerful magic-workers in Oz, financially or in terms of prestige or just the of the “way things ought to be.” Learning and face the secrets of his past. emotional high some people experience when more about Gia and Jack’s relationship sets Available from Hungry Tiger Press in forcing their will on helpless others, power up the day when Jack will have to confront the three editions (trade, collectors, deluxe tends to corrupt. conundrum of becoming a father and how limited) at http://www.hungrytiger- Tom erroneously thinks Jack reached his to mesh that with his career as a repairman. press.com/books/livinghouse.shtml “life of crime” by the same avenue he did. The book also strengthens the theme that in Tom’s incremental descent into the depths Jack’s life, there “are no more coincidences.” of corruption as a judge parallels the small Questions are raised that will hopefully be Submission Guidelines but ever-increasing steps the State has used answered in coming sequels. to extend its tentacles into all areas of our Readers of the ultimate book in this series, Prometheus is always looking for lives. Whether smoking regulations or taxes Nightworld, will find some of the tension reviews, esssys, articles, and columns or safety programs, every law or rule that sup- in these prequels diminished knowing that of interest to libertarian science fic- posedly applies in only limited circumstances Jack will overcome any mortal threats he tion fans. Prometheus, as the newsletter is expanded and added to until everyone is encounters. But there is more than one way of the Libertarian Futurist Society, caught in the net. The Otherness is a power to hurt someone, and Jack knows only too focuses on books nominated for the Tom would have an affinity for (and which well that there is “pain to come.” Prometheus Award, but as a publica- may explain a key moment in Infernal), a I’m looking forward to joining Repairman tion on liberty and culture, Prometheus power that ensnares the unsuspecting in its Jack again as he moves towards the ultimate will publish reviews and articles beyond claws, a power wielded solely for evil ends repair job ever: (literally) saving the world. the Prometheus Award. that destroys the innocent, a power that Reviews of books, movies, and seeks eventually to exert its control over all For reviews of other F. Paul Wilson books by TV series are welcome. For books, of mankind. the same author, and an interview with F. Paul include author’s name, complete title, Jack wields great power, too, of course, but Wilson, please visit Russell Madden’s home page publisher, date of publication, and his brand of power emerges from his deep- director, studio, release date, and main willingness to use physical violence in the cast. If released on DVD also include defense of the good against their uncaring the price. exploiters. Jack knows that the kind of short- Submissions can be of any length, term, “easy” way out practiced by his brother from critical reviews or essays on par- will, in reality, become incredibly difficult and ticular writers or books, to brief two destructive in the long-run. Classified or three paragraph notes on books or In contrast to his brother, Jack started movies of interest. Now unreduced print in where he wanted to go: “No increments The Contact the editor at lfseditor@mac. for me... No excuses.” He entered into his (Libertarian) Connection, com or [email protected] about your ma- unconventional existence as a complete open-forum magazine since terial. If you include your submission outsider open-eyed and ready for whatever 1968. Subscribers may insert in the text of your email, also include transpired. His pariah status in the eyes of two pages/issue free, unedited. an attachment formatted in Rich Text the law hardly bothers him, however. “Maybe Format. All submissions may be edited I am a criminal. Maybe I could even be Lots of stimulating conversa- for grammar, spelling, and style. considered a career criminal. But I’m not a tion. Eight issues (year) $20. If you would like additional crook. When I say I’m going to do something, Strauss, 10 Hill #22-L, Newark contributor’s copies of the issue of I do it. Ironclad.” NJ 01702 Prometheus, contact the editor.

Page 13 Prometheus Volume 23, Number 4, 2005

Iron Sunrise face of the oncoming neutrino wave from flee. Guided by Herman, she catches a ride By Charles Stross the nova, Wednesday Stowger, a young girl, aboard the Romanov, a vast passenger ship Ace Books, 2004, $25.95 becomes a potential target when she discovers winging its way toward New Dresden. Here Reviewed by Anders Monsen a deep secret that may be connected to the she befriends Frank “the Nose” Johnson, a iron bombing. bitter and angry warblogger, who is cover- Yet Wednesday carries another secret. ing the murder of Moscow. In due course, In the past couple of years Charles Stross Like Martin Springfield from Singular- Rachel and her crew, including Martin, arrive has emerged as one sf’s brightest and freshest ity Sky, Wednesday communicates with a on the Romanov, which appears to be tracing voices. Iron Sunrise follows in the uni- special friend that no one else knows about, the killing route, having stopped at several verse of Singularity Sky, a dazzling tour called Herman. Herman appears to be an points where the murdered ambassadors de force of invention and ideas. While the agent of the eschaton, the god-like super were taken out. former book showed the brash approach of AI that appeared years ago when a human In a race against time, Rachel, Wednesday, a violin virtuoso performing complex tunes creation became self-aware. Herman was and the others discover an enemy far deadlier and madcap jigs in quick succession, Iron the one who sent Wednesday on the mission than they had imagined, with a dark purpose Sunrise broadens the scope and increases that blipped someone’s radar, the effects of and design that reaches throughout the uni- the depth of ideas, hints a more mature and which do not become clear until a few years verse. Moscow may have been only the first comfortable writer. after the event. step. Can Earth be far behind? And where Moscow, a planet with several million In the meantime, UN agent Rachel does the eschaton fit into all this? For a near inhabitants, dies in an instant when its sun Mansour, who we also met in Singular- god-like being, it seems at times powerless or goes nova, murdered via iron bombing ity Sky, now the wife of Springfield, finds unwilling to interfere. Herman turns out to directly in the core of the sun. Engaged in herself thrust into a new mission. It appears be but a small extension of the eschaton, and a trade dispute with another system, New that the deterrent fleet sent towards New must act through sympathetic humans like Dresden, the dying planet manages to send Dresden can be recalled using special codes. Martin and Wednesday, who in turn show all off a deterrent fleet, an action of revenge However, someone is busily taking care of the frailties of humanity. When faced with a that will take years to complete, as the ves- the small group of ambassadors who possess relentless threat like the ReMastered, a blend sels slowly accelerate from deep space along the codes, assassinating them one by one. of super-nazi jihadists capable of controlling a hidden trajectory. Meanwhile, aboard an Rachel’s task, along with a team of UN other people like puppets, what recourse is outer space station being evacuated in the specialists, is to ensure the survival of the left for a free society? remaining ambassadors in order to issue the These very questions are one we grapple recall codes, and also discover who’s behind with today, as the world wakes each day to V for Vendetta Movie Update the assasinations. new actions of seemingly mindless acts of Stross’ universe clearly sympathizes with terror disguised as acts of religious war. I In the Spring Issue of Prometheus, report- some sort of libertarian ideals, although doubt Stross had this in mind when writing ing on the V for Vendetta movie, I offered probably nowhere near the hard-core anar- Iron Sunrise, as there have been enough some wary comments about the quality and cho-capitalist wing of the movement. The such similar acts of mass terror throughout intent of the movie adaptation. On May 23, UN still exists, but on a much smaller scale human history, more often than not perpe- www.comicbookresources.com reported that than today’s world-government wanna-be. trated by governments and humans quite creator Alan Moore slammed the screenplay Private law enforcement is standard on Earth, similar to the ReMastered. and publically disassociated himself from the while in the universe the eschaton has scat- As a work of fiction and sf, Iron Sunrise upcoming movie based on his work. tered humans on hundreds of planets and ranks as one of the best novels of 2004. The Some early screenplay reviews also have let them evolve into strange mixes. Some of pacing is tight and tense, the characters intimated at major changes to the novel, hint- these mixes are benign, others caused the superbly drawn. My only quibble with this ing at a strange and bizarre ending at odds Moscow mass murder. Eventually the source book is the ending, which leaves the story with the book. There’s been a major character of this crime steps forward. Known as the wide open for another sequel, nay demands change with regards to the character of V; ReMastered, their very nature is so antitheti- a sequel. The fact that we’ll probably have to orginal actor James Purefoy was dropped and cal to liberty it makes one’s skin crawl. wait a couple of years for such a sequel seems the role assumed by Hugo Weaving. The present situation finds us around almost a crime. Charles Stross stands as one However, an early poster available at three years removed from the Moscow ac- of the most original and bravest writers of sf tion. Wednesday, now a surly and isolated today, writing with an unflinching vision, his looks quite promising, featuring the quote, near-adult, inhabits a different station with literary arms buried in the scientific guts of “People should not be afraid of their gov- her family. One night, en route to a party, ideas and direction that power this literature ernments. Governments should be afraid she encounters professional hitmen trying to of ideas. In terms of entertainment and ideas, of their people.” In other words, like with kill her. It turns out that the import of what you can’t get closer to the ideal of science all major motion picture adaptions, expect she learned years ago only now has become fiction today than Iron Sunrise. variations from the original material and the clear to the people involved with Moscow. completed product. Wednesday survives, but in the aftermath —Anders Monsen her family is wiped out, and she is forced to

Page 14 Volume 23, Number 4, 2005 Prometheus

The Golden Age The Phoenix Exultant The Golden Transcendence By John C. Wright By John C. Wright By John C. Wright Tor, 2002, $25.95 Tor, 2003, $25.95 Tor, 2003, $25.95 Reviewed by Anders Monsen

Brian W. Aldiss writes of space opera that controls, filters, computer assisted memory appears enough of a deterrent of crime, or “the Earth must be in peril, there must be a and input, all managed by a Sophotech, an the enforcement of law, to handle millions of quest and a man to match the mighty hour. Artificial Intelligence created by humans to citizens. Arriving at the scene of the intruder That man must confront aliens and exotic manage their affairs. In turn these Sophotechs who informed Phaethon of his memory loss, creatures. Space must flow past the ports like have grown vast and powerful—god-like, Atkins remains a thorn in Phaethon’s side wine from a pitcher. Blood must run down the almost. Now, imbued with autonomous throughout the novels, yet also later becomes palace steps, and ships launch into the louring motives sometimes at odds with humanity, a valuable ally. Phaethon alludes several times dark. There must be a woman fairer than the they have become integral to society, which to the free nature of his society, which values skies and a villain darker than a Black Hole. depends on them to grant almost immortal- reason and individual property rights to the And all must come right at the end.” ity to humans. extent that people own planets and planetary The human relationships extend beyond rings, and attempt engineering feats that John C. Wright’s space opera trilogy is our current conceptions. For Phaethon is would horrify any preservationist. stunning achievement of imagination and not Helion’s son by traditional means. He is When in the course of The Golden Age ideas. These three books literally overflow virtually a clone, although they maintain a Phaethon finally uncovers his crime, he is with discourse and design, but in the end father-son relationship and bond. And He- in fact exiled. Cast out from the vast space this ambition also burdens them down and lion? Is he really Helion, since the primary elevator that houses his flesh while he lives weakens some of their power. Set several body and mind were destroyed by a solar in the virtual spaces created and maintained millennia in the future, in a society that can flare, and the current “version” lacks some of by the Sophotechs. He discovers that he pos- perhaps be classed as a Randian utopia, we a Helion’s most recent memories and thoughts? sesses a golden armor capable of sustaining thrust, in media res, into the life of a “young” In addition, Phaethon’s original wife, a true- him, quite vital when every citizen refuses his member of the elite, Phaethon. We realize at born human in the conventional sense, has aid. His crime? He had built a vast spacecraft once here are grander things at play. Short locked herself away in a deep sleep due to and sought to travel the reaches of space. of naming his protagonist “Prometheus,” his vast and unknown crime. There is no For it seems that the Sophotechs and hu- Wright immediately invests the weight of way for him to contact her, though she has man governors favor a closed society, fearing allusion into his novel and character. More left behind a copy, with her own feelings for humanity will scatter and divide, then turn of the same is yet to come. Phaethon, and quite a strong will. back on itself through war and envy. Phaethon’s world, the Golden Oecumene, From within this world, where everyone’s There is a certain history behind this stands on the eve of a golden transcendence, memories of his grand crime appear erased view. Several centuries in the past, a group where minds will merge and form the basis or hidden, Phaethon faces an harsher threat: of humans had pushed beyond known space, of new social ideas and directions. Major should he recover his memories his society establishing another Oecumene. Isolated, on celebrations lasting an entire year mark this would banish him forever, strip away his the edge of a black hole with infinite power, event, and Phaethon takes a break from one immortality, and refuse any assistance. Com- this Oecumene became twisted and evil. celebration and stumbles upon a chance en- putation time is the new currency; he has no Phaethon now believes they are the source counter that changes his life forever. A space money and lives on his father’s generosity. of his woes, that this polar opposite culture traveler informs him that his memories have His gorgeous world is in fact a simulation. stands poised to invade and destroy his own been erased to atone for and forget a most His rude body, stripped of all interfaces and Oecumene. No one, of course, believes him. memorable and horrific crime. Instantly computer access, will be his only home. Instead, they see Phaethon, like his namesake, the lone enforcement arm of Phaethon’s Despite this threat, Phaethon seeks to intent on controlling that which he cannot universe appears at the scene, treating the find a way to both recover his memories and control, and in the process become the de- manifestation of the space traveler as a remain within his world. This quest drives stroyer of his own society. hostile act of incursion, and sending away the events of the first novel in the trilogy, The Golden Age concludes with Phaeth- the now confused Phaethon. What manner The Golden Age, which in itself stands as on taking his first steps into exile. The second of crime could he have committed, since he a remarkable first novel. The book is filled volume, The Phoenix Exultant, focuses still lives, yet suffers a slice of memory not with a sense of wonder, desire, individual- on this exile, which takes place on Earth. of days, but centuries? ity, and hymn to the human mind. I alluded Amid other exiled humans and machines, As the scion of the House of Radaman- earlier to a Randian utopia. Phaethon's world even lower in status than himself, Phaethon thus, one of the foremost family manors, is on the surface quite free: government is struggles to win back his wealth. He does not Phaethon oozes privilege. His “father,” He- limited, but firmly in place, enforced with a seek as much to return to his former status lion, controls the Solar Array, a vast source super-soldier/policeman known as Atkins. of energy. At Phaethon’s mental fingertips are With every cell a weapon, Atkins by himself —Continued on page 16

Page 15 Prometheus Volume 23, Number 4, 2005

—Golden Transcendence, continued from page 15 as he does to re-attain possession of his star- Phaethon be able to save his wife or accept pranks on each other by sending Trojan horse ship, The Phoenix Exultant. Were he to posses instead the copy of his wife, alive and in viruses, citizens spend much of their time in this vessel, nothing would prevent him from love with him. How will Phaethon deal with various states of virtual reality. Sophisticated heading out into space; he is, initially, resigned the copy of his father, and can he return to AIs act as governors, yet behave much like to life outside his former society. his former life? Unfortunately, in the final Greek gods, petty and peevish at times, cold Unbidden, he finds allies who dare go volume, the action bogs down into lengthy and cynical otherwise. One does get the im- against the edicts preventing offering him debates, dialogs, philosophical discussions, pression that Wright has a great deal of skill aid. His wife’s duplicate, who appears in and second guessing. at painting a vast canvass. Due to its scope, love with Phaethon, travels into exile to find The novels are rife with moments of such a canvass won’t fit everywhere, might him. Aktins, the enforcer, appears at dire literary delight, especially in conversation not suit everyone, and there are pieces that moments to thwart his enemies, who begin and observation of actions and motives, that one might feel would be better off muted or to show themselves when they realize that mirror the style of Jack Vance. Wright clearly left out altogether. Phaethon might prove a strong opponent admires Vance, as well as Poul Anderson, Much like the recent Matrix trilogy, to their plans. Through great effort and but he does not imitate these writers slav- the Golden Age trilogy rises fast then falls perseverance, Phaethon surges back into his ishly. As the trilogy progresses, we witness under its own weight and pretensions. The former life, and sneaks aboard his ship to as- Wright struggling to find his own voice. first volume stands as the strongest work, sume control. The second volume concludes The downside of this development is that blazing the sky with breadth and imagina- as the ship readies for departure into space, all too often the dialog dominates, and we tion. The second dims sightly, taking a more seeking to take the battle to his enemies, the sit through endless discourses of doubt, like contemplative turn. The third veers off into visitors from that other Oecumene. John Galt channeling Hamlet. metaphysics of a confusing and distracting The final volume of the trilogy, The However, part of the trouble with The sort. Yet despite the flaws from such a path, Golden Transcendence, seeks to answer Golden Age trilogy is that so much of the John C. Wright has written a fascinating work many questions. On the macro scale: Who metaphors and images of this far-future so- of speculation that goes to the heart of sf, are Phaethon’s enemies, and what lies behind ciety resemble in great detail our very own dealing unflinchingly with ideas, imagination, this invading force? On the personal side: Will 20th century geek-speak. The Neptunians play and the human condition.

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