The Bookian » Social Engineering

The Santaroga Barrier : Economic Genre Fiction

Bookian — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:54:17 +0000

The flurry (or slurry) of new, so-called Economic Genre Fiction books must… imperative here, must pay creed to its currently ignored origins. And, for many, Economic Genre fiction starts with the Santaroga Barrier by Frank Herbert. Sure sure sure.. Dune, we know. The Green Brain… excellent! but, off topic. No, in the Santaroga Barrier, Frank Herbert single handedly lay down the framework for all consumption critical economic genre fiction that will ever arise. Its about a small west coast town whose inhabitants are somehow able to maintain complete control over their local economy, much to the chagrin of multi-national corporations. I cant say much more except, dont drink the beer, because it is a must read for anyone who considers themselves currently alive. Alive, I say! – reviewed by jaspers eater

Memoirs Found in a Bathtub

Bookian — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:00:17 +0000

Stanislaw Lems Memoirs found in a Bathtub has got to be the best polish scifi of the middle century. Its like The Castle by Kafka but with technology, not crummy old villages. And its got confused people wandering around, trying to do stuff to the best of there ability, and failing miserably. But hey, thats life.. or at least, it soon will be. Once our hidden masters assert their reason, we will be able to break free. The writing is dense and paranoid. A lotta people say they are confused by the book, but thats ridiculous. its all about confusion. It a central tenet of good science fiction. All those hard-sf readers are like structuralist freaks, pedantic technocrats with circuits for brains. Go read your heinlein, puny creatures. Leave me with my bathwater. – reviewed by boop

The Mother and Other Unsavory Plays: Including The Shoemakers and They

Bookian — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:34:17 +0000

Daniel Gerould is a God. Who else is a proponent of Witkiewicz, one of the greatest modern artists, to Western-Western culture? None. Who else provides insight and commentary, erudite and fascination, or examines the small scraps of leavenings upon which his history has been writ small? None, on this side of the Atlantic. (the side that left the other side a couple hundred years ago.) In a visit to Poland once, I was in ecstasy over the way in which he was presented… although, of course, tinged with strong Polish Nationalism. Not a bad thing, especially without nuclear weapons. So far. Back to Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz… its strange that in our contemporary era of polymathic personalities, which may just be a structuralist extension of a smaller group of people controlling a larger amount of resources, thus by definition, polymathic relative to earlier measurements, (because measurements get larger as the axis of time spreads), a person such as the many people Witkiewicz shared his automaton, an automaton designed with the nefarious attempt to destroy automation in human society, with, may become to be seen as a non-person, due to the exploration of the modern reality of fracture, individual ratiocination of ontological worldviews, over and above the hazy fog of dementia obscuring the tired eyes of plodding citizens, and in the end, by being the most human of all, being marked by the wheels, nay, the heavy tank treads of history rushing through the flower gardens of delicate life, come to be marked as the most extreme case of a non-person? It will not stand! This collection of plays by Witcacy furthers the glorious mission, although we are not exactly sure these were not printed in China. Thank you, Mr. Gerould. – reviewed by Genezip