« That Life | Main | Parental Advisory CDs »
January 04, 2007
Rogue Moon - Algis Budrys
Sadly out of print it seems, this is a great science fiction book I read when I was still at school. I am a bit disillusioned with new fiction, and science fiction/fantasy has problems too I think. Every book in this genre seems to be at least 400 pages, and many are more like 700-1000. Sometimes I'd like an author to try and condense what he/she wants to say into a smaller and more managable chunk. At 178 pages, 'Rogue Moon' can be read in just a few short sittings, or even all at once.
This isn't really the book I remembered from over 20 years ago though, it's much more intense, much more people orientated than the hard science that I'd expected. I think I was mixing it up a bit in my head with another blast from the past I have just finished "The Stars My Destination" by Alfred Bester (also published under the title "Tiger, Tiger"). Both were first published in the early 1960s, though Rogue Moon is showing it's age a bit more.
The central premise of the story is gradually revealed, so explaining too much would spoil it. It involves a matter transmitter that can send a man to the moon, where a mysterious obelisk has been discovered. The big science idea that I rememembered was that if you transmitted a person, and actually ended up with two identical humans, how would their new experiences affect the way their minds developed. This isn't explored in quite as much depth as I hoped, but is considered enough to really get you thinking.
The thing that dates the book is the way the women are handled. One is just a beautiful parasite, living off her rich husband, and tormenting him by flirting with other men. The other is a pliant artist, who sits and waits by the phone for her man to maybe call when he gets a few minutes free from his busy, important life. There are Pinteresque scenes between these protagonists, some very long, but all seem to be trying to describe what it is to be a man. What makes a man strive to be the best? Why are successful men the way they are? How can some men face death doing dangerous tasks again and again? It's very intense, and never boring, though you do not quite feel that people like this could ever actually exist.
It's a very philosophical book about the nature of being, and the science fiction part, though really interesting, is a backdrop to this discussion between the two main strong-willed men. Well worth reading if you can get your hands on a copy, it shows that some science fiction really does tackle difficult problems.
[as an aside, I think Alistair Reynolds might well have read this - there are some distinct similarities to his short story Diamond Dogs)
Posted by se71 at January 4, 2007 06:14 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)