Revisiting the Hugos
John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar
Along with Lord of Light this was one of the books that sealed my permanent love for science fiction. At the time I read it, I had no knowledge of the techniques that had been exploited by John Dos Passos in his USA trilogy, and probably would have cared less. (Turns out, that I liked Zanzibar better than Dos Passos and his preaching at me--not that Zanzibar is all that much less preachy--I just like the cadence better--you know Jonathan Edwards v. William Jennings Bryan and his cross of Gold.)
The review points out that this is the year that the book is set in, and while many things have come to pass, many also have not--the problem with a predictive mode. But dipping into the book, there is still much about it that is lively, entertaining, and even a little exciting in terms of the prose and the patter.
Along with Lord of Light this was one of the books that sealed my permanent love for science fiction. At the time I read it, I had no knowledge of the techniques that had been exploited by John Dos Passos in his USA trilogy, and probably would have cared less. (Turns out, that I liked Zanzibar better than Dos Passos and his preaching at me--not that Zanzibar is all that much less preachy--I just like the cadence better--you know Jonathan Edwards v. William Jennings Bryan and his cross of Gold.)
The review points out that this is the year that the book is set in, and while many things have come to pass, many also have not--the problem with a predictive mode. But dipping into the book, there is still much about it that is lively, entertaining, and even a little exciting in terms of the prose and the patter.
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