"The Rediscovery of Man" is a collection of short stories (all set in the same universe at different time periods) by Cortwainer Smith. This universe is largely ordered by the Instrumentality, a governing body spanning centuries and controlling in fine detail the lives of almost every living human.
Like Huxley before him, Smith imagines a world in which genetics and behavioral conditioning sanitize life to the point where individual achievement is nearly meaningless. Smith's Instrumentality extends the control of science over nature somewhat further than Huxley, to the point where everyone is allocated 400 years of life (instead of the roughly 80 years of youth the denizens of Huxley's "Brave New World" lived). They live without fear of disease, weather, aging, hunger or the lack of material goods. Access to history is tightly controlled, and all divisions of language and culture have been more or less erased. At the height of the Instrumentality, the only human individuals not perfectly adjusted to the needs of their society and their own ability to fulfill those needs are extreme aberrations (and extremely rare).
The title "The Rediscovery of Man" refers to the reemergence of chance and diversity as means of allowing the human race continued growth. This relaxation of some of the controls on their society arises in no small part from the study of undermen, animals modified to resemble, interact with, and serve humans. Early in the timeline of the Instrumentality, undermen are slaves, less than human, destroyed when they fail or become inconvenient. They are utterly disposable labor, and only those who are strong, witty, and lucky survive. Thus it is that the various species of underpeople grow while the human race in its perfect control over heredity and environment stagnates.
The reemergence of human progress and the rise of the underpeople are two of the major themes. Minor themes include telepathy, the mob mentality and the progress of societies and technologies over millenia. Like Tolkien's Middle Earth, you get the sense that Smith had a full vision of this universe stretching over millenia, and that each story was just a window into a fully-realized world.
This is a great collection of stories, well worth reading and rereading. I look forward to reading the small collection of additional fiction works by the author.
Sunday, 13 April 2008
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
Review: "Jem" by Frederick Pohl
I just finished another in the excellent SF Masterworks series, "Jem" by Frederick Pohl. I had previously read all four books (are there more now?) in Pohl's Heechee saga (although I enjoyed the later ones in the kind of way you enjoy the fifth series of a television show, more because you enjoy the characters and less because of the novelty or originality).
Anyway, back to "Jem". "Jem" is a well-crafted story of space colonization from the ground floor up. The three main political blocs on Earth (countries which export fuel, countries which export food, and countries which export labor) each hope to exploit a newly discovered world to give them an advantage over their rivals. They each ally themselves with one of the three sentient races on the new world, and very nearly complete the cycle of arms race and then mutually assured destruction on two worlds.
A good book, a quick read, with some nice characters and excellent descriptions of the culture of the alien races. Highly recommended.
Anyway, back to "Jem". "Jem" is a well-crafted story of space colonization from the ground floor up. The three main political blocs on Earth (countries which export fuel, countries which export food, and countries which export labor) each hope to exploit a newly discovered world to give them an advantage over their rivals. They each ally themselves with one of the three sentient races on the new world, and very nearly complete the cycle of arms race and then mutually assured destruction on two worlds.
A good book, a quick read, with some nice characters and excellent descriptions of the culture of the alien races. Highly recommended.
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Recipe: Marmite Tofu
Currently I can only buy small quantities of silken tofu on the island where I live, so I've been learning to make my own extra firm tofu. For my third batch, I tried an idea I'd been mulling over, and made Marmite tofu. Obviously this is only for the rare enlightened individual who loves both tofu and Marmite, all others should stick to less adventurous fare...
Although you can make your own soy milk, I usually start with a generic store brand that contains as few additional ingredients as possible (some use apple juice or other sweeteners, which is a no-no for good tofu). The only other thing you need is a coagulant, epsom salt works if you don't have any nigari (available online). Anyway, here are the steps I used:
My recipe is based on my own experience, the instructions for my tofu press, and on a few other recipes I've read online:
Although you can make your own soy milk, I usually start with a generic store brand that contains as few additional ingredients as possible (some use apple juice or other sweeteners, which is a no-no for good tofu). The only other thing you need is a coagulant, epsom salt works if you don't have any nigari (available online). Anyway, here are the steps I used:
- Start heating one container (one liter) of soy milk in a pan.
- While the soy milk is coming to temperature, put 2-3 tablespoons of warm soy milk in a ramekin or small bowl and dissolve 1 tablespoon marmite per liter of soy milk.
- Stir the dissolved marmite into the rest of the soy milk.
- When the mixture reaches about 180 degrees Fahrenheit or about 75 degrees Celsius, take it off the heat.
- Introduce the coagulant (nigari or epsom salt) and let the soy milk sit covered for 10-15 minutes
- While the soy milk is cooling, prepare the strainer that will remove the excess water from the curds. I use a small tofu press, but you can also line a sieve or steamer insert with cheese cloth.
- Pour the curdled soy milk slowly into the strainer or tofu press.
- When all the curds have been added, fold the cheesecloth over the top of the curds.
- If you're using a tofu press, you should have a lid that goes over the top of the wrapped curds. If you're using a sieve or steamer insert, you'll have to improvise something using a plate or pan or anything that's slightly smaller than the strainer.
- If you want anything beyond soft tofu, you'll need to apply weight to the lid, a pot full of water should be adequate.
- Let the water press out of the tofu in proportion to how firm you like it. For extra firm tofu, leave 15-20 pounds on top of the curds for an hour. For softer tofu, use smaller weight and/or decrease the time.
- When the tofu is at the desired firmness, you can use it immediately or store in water for up to seven days before using.
My recipe is based on my own experience, the instructions for my tofu press, and on a few other recipes I've read online:
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Review: "Behold the Man" by Michael Moorcock
Although Michael Moorcock is so prolific that I can't claim to have read even a tenth of his work, the works I've read have been those dealing with time travel ("The Dancers at the End of Time" series) and alternate realities (The "Oswald Bastable" series). "Behold the Man" is a time travel story, to be sure, but it transcends that conceit to become a fractured reflection on the nature of belief and on the history of Christianity.
Karl Glogauer is a complex and deeply troubled former psychology student with a strong interest in both Jung and Christianity. Glogauer has been degraded by the world and yet is still a brilliant and independent thinker. He is full of self-loathing, so much so that his self shifts almost completely (and at times uncontrollably) to please those around him. He is obsessed with Christianity intellectually, emotionally, and even sexually.
At a point of crisis in his personal life, he is given the opportunity to go back in time. He wants to witness the crucifixion, to see just how much of the New Testament is history and how much is myth (in other words, how much of the New Testament is scripture, truth that comes from God and how much is doctrine, the imperfect interpretation imposed by man). Instead of simply observing and having his questions answered, Glogauer finds that history is not as recorded in the Bible. Ultimately, he decides to correct the discrepancies, to build up the myth of Christ by taking on the role himself.
On the surface, the plot reminded me of the excellent (but very different) "Past Watch" by Orson Scott Card, in which time travelers correct the brutality that followed Columbus' discovery of the new world. "Past Watch" was an intellectual work, a reimagining of society. However well rendered, the characters of history were ultimately pawns to be repositioned to change the outcome of the game.
"Behold the Man" is about belief instead. Robbed of comfort of the supposed historical truth of the Bible, Glogauer sets out to ensure that future Christians will not have to face a similar dilemma. Far from being a selfless martyr, he does this in part because his own obsessions require him to do so. Sacrificing himself for the world becomes on some level a selfish act, one of the many astonishing contradictions in his character.
This is a brilliant and outstandingly complex book, but perhaps not for everyone. Numerous and compound blasphemies and heresies fill the work. The last paragraphs are reminiscent of the Jefferson Bible (which removed all references to Christ's miracles), and are a final narrative rebuttal of the story of the Gospels.
This book will probably only appeal to the type of reader who can see the brilliance (and perhaps even humor) of a story like Three Versions of Judas by Jorge Luis Borges, in which a theologian convinces himself through tortured logic that Christ was in fact Judas. I would love to hear from anyone else who has also read the book, as there is much to discuss.
Karl Glogauer is a complex and deeply troubled former psychology student with a strong interest in both Jung and Christianity. Glogauer has been degraded by the world and yet is still a brilliant and independent thinker. He is full of self-loathing, so much so that his self shifts almost completely (and at times uncontrollably) to please those around him. He is obsessed with Christianity intellectually, emotionally, and even sexually.
At a point of crisis in his personal life, he is given the opportunity to go back in time. He wants to witness the crucifixion, to see just how much of the New Testament is history and how much is myth (in other words, how much of the New Testament is scripture, truth that comes from God and how much is doctrine, the imperfect interpretation imposed by man). Instead of simply observing and having his questions answered, Glogauer finds that history is not as recorded in the Bible. Ultimately, he decides to correct the discrepancies, to build up the myth of Christ by taking on the role himself.
On the surface, the plot reminded me of the excellent (but very different) "Past Watch" by Orson Scott Card, in which time travelers correct the brutality that followed Columbus' discovery of the new world. "Past Watch" was an intellectual work, a reimagining of society. However well rendered, the characters of history were ultimately pawns to be repositioned to change the outcome of the game.
"Behold the Man" is about belief instead. Robbed of comfort of the supposed historical truth of the Bible, Glogauer sets out to ensure that future Christians will not have to face a similar dilemma. Far from being a selfless martyr, he does this in part because his own obsessions require him to do so. Sacrificing himself for the world becomes on some level a selfish act, one of the many astonishing contradictions in his character.
This is a brilliant and outstandingly complex book, but perhaps not for everyone. Numerous and compound blasphemies and heresies fill the work. The last paragraphs are reminiscent of the Jefferson Bible (which removed all references to Christ's miracles), and are a final narrative rebuttal of the story of the Gospels.
This book will probably only appeal to the type of reader who can see the brilliance (and perhaps even humor) of a story like Three Versions of Judas by Jorge Luis Borges, in which a theologian convinces himself through tortured logic that Christ was in fact Judas. I would love to hear from anyone else who has also read the book, as there is much to discuss.
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Review: "The Fifth Head of Cerberus" by Gene Wolf
I bought a half dozen or so books in the SF Masterworks series the other day, and am about half way through the set now that I have a little time off. I just finished "The Fifth Head of Cerberus" by Gene Wolf.
The book is composed of three long stories involving the same pair of planets, which were colonized by Earth men, but which may or may not still be inhabited by their aboriginal people, who can change shape, and who may in fact be perfectly emulating and entirely replacing Earth men.
The third story in particular is an amazing narrative, cutting back and forth in time, seamlessly moving between diaries, third person narration, and transcripts of dialogues. The narrator of the third story sits in prison, and (shades of Kafka), his captors refuse to even tell him what he is accused of, because telling him would be a kind of admission that he might not already know what he had done, that he might actually be innocent. The dialogue is wonderfully executed, the interrogations remind me of the verbal thrust and parry of "Eternal Curse on the Reader of these Pages".
I suspect I'll need to reread the work at least once to start making sense of some of the subtleties. It's a brilliant and challenging work, and is highly recommended.
The book is composed of three long stories involving the same pair of planets, which were colonized by Earth men, but which may or may not still be inhabited by their aboriginal people, who can change shape, and who may in fact be perfectly emulating and entirely replacing Earth men.
The third story in particular is an amazing narrative, cutting back and forth in time, seamlessly moving between diaries, third person narration, and transcripts of dialogues. The narrator of the third story sits in prison, and (shades of Kafka), his captors refuse to even tell him what he is accused of, because telling him would be a kind of admission that he might not already know what he had done, that he might actually be innocent. The dialogue is wonderfully executed, the interrogations remind me of the verbal thrust and parry of "Eternal Curse on the Reader of these Pages".
I suspect I'll need to reread the work at least once to start making sense of some of the subtleties. It's a brilliant and challenging work, and is highly recommended.
Sunday, 23 March 2008
Review: "Non-stop" by Brian Aldiss
"Non-stop" is a classic of science fiction, and stands the test of time amazingly well. Like "Learning the World" by Ken MacLeod, "Non-stop" deals with a massive ship (and self-sustaining ecosystem) traveling between stars over the course of generations. Unlike "Learning the World", the society of the ship that is the focus of "Non-stop" has broken down in a fundamental way, devolving in some ways, evolving in others.
One thing that makes this book remarkable is how wonderfully constructed the narrative is. The origins of society and of the inhabitants themselves are revealed in a way that keeps the reader engrossed. The plot twists, and there are many, all emerge naturally, and hold up to close scrutiny when rereading the book. None of the twists or revelations seem cheap or contrived, which is refreshing if you've seen one too many Hollywood blockbusters or episodic TV series (I love "Heroes" and all, but seriously, the strain of having to come up with the next plot twist that fits the prior narrative must be just exhausting).
Another thing that amazed me when leafing back through the book was just how short each seminal section of the book turned out to be. The major revelations seldom take more than a few paragraphs. It's as thought the economy of a brilliant short story author (Borges, for example) were turned towards creating a novel as a series of linear vignettes. I'd imagine the work would have worked well serialized, and I'm sure it also will fit the attention span of the traveling reader as well.
At any rate, the book is a quick read (and reread), and is highly recommended. I look forward to picking up Aldiss's history of Science Fiction as well as further of his fiction works in the future.
One thing that makes this book remarkable is how wonderfully constructed the narrative is. The origins of society and of the inhabitants themselves are revealed in a way that keeps the reader engrossed. The plot twists, and there are many, all emerge naturally, and hold up to close scrutiny when rereading the book. None of the twists or revelations seem cheap or contrived, which is refreshing if you've seen one too many Hollywood blockbusters or episodic TV series (I love "Heroes" and all, but seriously, the strain of having to come up with the next plot twist that fits the prior narrative must be just exhausting).
Another thing that amazed me when leafing back through the book was just how short each seminal section of the book turned out to be. The major revelations seldom take more than a few paragraphs. It's as thought the economy of a brilliant short story author (Borges, for example) were turned towards creating a novel as a series of linear vignettes. I'd imagine the work would have worked well serialized, and I'm sure it also will fit the attention span of the traveling reader as well.
At any rate, the book is a quick read (and reread), and is highly recommended. I look forward to picking up Aldiss's history of Science Fiction as well as further of his fiction works in the future.
Thursday, 20 March 2008
Review: "Babel-17" by Samuel R. Delany
Although "Babel-17" is set in a future with starships, reanimated consciousnesses, extreme body modifications, advanced weapons, and interstellar conflict with alien cultures, it is not so much a story about any of these things as it is a story about language and understanding.
Rydra Wong, the main character, is a genius at understanding spoken languages. She can also read attitudes and at times entire trains of thought from body language. She is enlisted to decipher a new language (Babel-17), and her journey to understand the language and the mindset it implies takes her far in both space and understanding.
It's a short book, and has a nice focus to it. Delany gives a lot of detail about the characters and their communication to give the book a nice depth, but goes light enough on the details about the technology and environments that the reader's imagination can fill in the details. With very few exceptions, the low level of tecnnical detail helps avoid dating the book, which stands the test of time quite well.
Very enjoyable and a quick read, highly recommended.
Rydra Wong, the main character, is a genius at understanding spoken languages. She can also read attitudes and at times entire trains of thought from body language. She is enlisted to decipher a new language (Babel-17), and her journey to understand the language and the mindset it implies takes her far in both space and understanding.
It's a short book, and has a nice focus to it. Delany gives a lot of detail about the characters and their communication to give the book a nice depth, but goes light enough on the details about the technology and environments that the reader's imagination can fill in the details. With very few exceptions, the low level of tecnnical detail helps avoid dating the book, which stands the test of time quite well.
Very enjoyable and a quick read, highly recommended.
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