These “classics” are mediocre at bestI’ve always been a big fan of the Library of America. Mostly I’m familiar with their volumes of classic literature in the black and white dustjackets. When it comes to that sphere of publishing, they put together the best-edited and best-produced books in the business. When I saw that this volume on American Science Fiction was being offered as a Kindle Daily Deal, I snatched it up, expecting that it would reflect the smart editorial choices and general excellence I’ve come to expect from the Library of America. American Science Fiction: Four Classic Novels 1968–1969, however, proved to be a major disappointment. Although I enjoy reading vintage science fiction from this era, these selections did not impress me at all. Two of the books were terrible, and two were mediocre at best. The four authors featured are all well-respected in the genre, and these books have maybe won Nebula or Hugo Awards, but I don’t always agree with the arbiters of taste who hand out such accolades. If these four books are indeed regarded as “classics” of the genre, then they are vastly overrated.
Past Master is the debut novel by R. A. Lafferty. In the 26th century, an Earth colony on a far-off planet is facing unrest in their utopian community, so they reach back in time to abduct Sir Thomas More, author of the original Utopia, to rescue their government. The book is filled with bad ideas, nonsensical language, meaningless dialog, and silly attempts at humor that aren’t funny. Even worse is Picnic on Paradise by Joanna Russ. This novel is ostensibly a wilderness adventure, devoid of adventure, in which Alyx of Tyre (a recurring character for Russ) leads a band of frequently weeping idiots on a pointless trek through the mountainous terrain of a planet ironically named Paradise. Like Lafferty, Russ takes so many liberties with the English language that her prose reads like fruitless nonsense.
The other two selections in the volume fare better by at least being readable. Like the two aforementioned, both take place in a distant future after mankind has populated many worlds. Samuel R. Delany’s novel Nova has a decent story about interstellar voyagers aiming to fly through a star as it goes nova. It just gets too bogged down in an overly melodramatic space opera and a bunch of tangential digressions about Delany’s pet interests (tarot cards, for example) that in no way contribute to the main plot of the narrative. The best novel in the collection, and that’s not saying much, is Jack Vance’s Emphyrio. Man’s interstellar colonies are governed by a sort of medieval feudalism, which Vance uses to advance his libertarian theories of economics. Inspired by the legend of a Christ-like martyr named Emphyrio, a young hero decides to resist the ruling empire. Unlike the other showings in this collection, Vance is at least a good craftsman of the English language and a thoughtful storyteller who can write science fiction that doesn’t defy logic.
The Library of America has published at least three other volumes in this series of American Science Fiction collections, all edited by Gary K. Wolfe. I am familiar with a few of the novels included in those other volumes, such as the excellent Way Station by Clifford D. Simak in the 1960–1966 collection. After being disappointed by Wolfe’s selections in this 1968–1969 volume, however, I don’t have confidence that another volume of science fiction from the LOA would be worth my money or time.
Novels in this collection (all previously reviewed at Old Books by Dead Guys)
Past Master by R. A. Lafferty
Picnic on Paradise by Joanna Russ
Nova by Samuel R. Delany
Emphyrio by Jack Vance
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Imagining the ideal society
Sir Thomas More’s book Utopia was originally published in Latin in 1516. This was during the reign of King Henry VIII, under whom More served as a councillor and diplomat. The book was first translated into English in 1551. This review is based on the English translation of 1684 by Gilbert Burnet. On a diplomatic mission to Flanders, More and his fellow officers of the King meet Raphael Hythloday (English spellings my differ in different editions), a learned raconteur who has traveled the world and explored many of its civilizations. After some heated debate over the policies of European governments, Hythloday tells his listeners of a perfect commonwealth which sets an example of good and virtuous governance that all nations should follow. This ideal nation, a crescent-shaped island in the South Atlantic, is named Utopia.
Though this may be the book that named the genre, Utopia is not the first utopian narrative. That distinction would likely go to Plato’s Republic. More was obviously familiar with Plato’s work and in many ways used The Republic as a template for how he describes his ideal society. Nowadays, we expect our utopias to be accompanied by science fiction or adventure stories, like Aldous Huxley’s Island, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, or James Hilton’s Lost Horizon, but prior to the 20th century, utopian writing, though fictitious, had more in common with political or philosophical treatises. Hythloday’s discourse on Utopia is divided into categories such as Of Their Trades, and Manner of Life; Of Their Traffic (i.e. commerce); and Of the Religions of the Utopians.
In Utopia, More critiques the disparity between the profligacy of wealthy aristocrats and the abysmal living conditions of the laboring poor that existed in Europe in general and England in particular at the time the book was written. The political and economic system in practice on the island of Utopia is essentially a simple form of socialism in which private property does not exist and all the productions of agriculture and industry are held communally and distributed equally. More’s description of the legal code, health care system, and a sort of primitive form of social security are remarkably modern for their time. One institution of Utopia that’s not so progressive, however, is slavery. The marriage customs of Utopia are particularly interesting. Though premarital sex is punished severely, the bride and groom are allowed to see each other naked before committing to the nuptials, just as if they were each buying a horse. The general moral code of the Utopians resembles that of the ancient Stoics or Epicureans. They live for beneficial pleasures like health and knowledge, but hold no store in frivolous pleasure like gold, luxurious clothes, gambling, or hunting for sport. The Utopians tolerate all monotheistic religions. As long as a faith is devoted to the one true God, whom they call Mithras, the means of worship is unimportant.
Reading Utopia almost five hundred years after its publication, I wouldn’t call it a fun book, but for the most part it’s still quite interesting. The Burnet translation is a pretty smooth and effortless read, though More does get monotonous at times. One can’t help but admire how forward-thinking More was, by 16th century standards, and how brave, for literally risking his head to publish this book. There’s no nobler purpose to literature than calling for a better world. Guys like Plato, More, and Sir Francis Bacon (New Atlantis) blazed the trail for countless others to follow. Whether you consider Utopia a work of criticism, satire, or simply a glorious pipe dream, it’s an important work that still resonates to this day.
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