Rating: 
Summary: A pardox beset with paradoxes
Review: "Camp Concentration" plays on some familiar themes: government subverting the will of the people, technology as mechanism of human downfall, to name two. As such, one might be tempted to pass it by, which would be a terrible mistake. Thomas Disch has produced a novel that is perhaps unique in Cold War fiction, for even as it decries the folly of military adventurism (in the form of a war in Malaysia which has presumably spread from Vietnam) it also considers the individual's culpability in national mistakes. Ultimately, he questions whether principled, but passive, opposition is just that, or if it is a form of ego not far removed from the motivations of those who are being protested.Set in a secret government installation, "Camp Concentration" consists of the journal of Louis Sacchetti, a conscientious objector and prisoner, not to mention poet, who has been brought in to document the installation with a critical, but unscientific eye. The reason for this is that the population of this installation (except for administrators and staff) have been injected with Pallidine, a substance derived from syphilis that grants vastly expanded mental capabilities even as it ultimately kills the recipient.. Needless to say, those who receive it are being used to develop super-weapons, although they have other ideas. To offer any more than this brief sketch would surely spoil the plot, but it is the subtext that makes this a superb novel. First is the fascinating, and entirely unexpected, consideration of religion. Sacchetti, who is something of a born again Catholic, suffuses his journal with religious references. Moreover, the Pallidine is clearly and allegory for the Forbidden Fruit, the source of both enlightenment and death. However, the consideration of religion is far more free-ranging than simple metaphor, as Disch lays out a compelling, if oblique argument, that if God is dead or absent, it is because we offer no opportunity for Him to act through us. Hence, it isn't enough to decry injustice, one must actively subvert it. At the same time, there is a countervailing theme of the question of motivation: do the ends justify the means? Normally, this is an intriguing, if somewhat shopworn, focal point for a novel, but when set as a dichotomy with religion, it makes for fascinating reading. Finally, several reviewers question the ending of the book. While I empathize with their reaction, I think there is a point, a denouement in the literal sense of the word, which is being missed. This is because Sacchetti's fate (with out giving anything away) joins the two threads of the book, morality and expediency, as it were, in a conclusion that is satisfying, but also open to discussion or even rebuttal. I frequently struggle with fiction from the Cold War era (that deals with it explicitly) because it is almost always black and white: one is in favor of nuking Russia or totally against the "illegal" war in Vietnam. There is never any middle ground, any room for debate, and intelligent conversation is stifled as a result. Fortunately, in "Camp Concentration" Disch followed his own path and created a novel that revels in the gray. Entertaining on the surface, nuanced and subtle underneath, this is a novel that is not to be missed. Jake Mohlman
Rating:
Summary: A pardox beset with paradoxes
Review: "Camp Concentration" plays on some familiar themes: government subverting the will of the people, technology as mechanism of human downfall, to name two. As such, one might be tempted to pass it by, which would be a terrible mistake. Thomas Disch has produced a novel that is perhaps unique in Cold War fiction, for even as it decries the folly of military adventurism (in the form of a war in Malaysia which has presumably spread from Vietnam) it also considers the individual's culpability in national mistakes. Ultimately, he questions whether principled, but passive, opposition is just that, or if it is a form of ego not far removed from the motivations of those who are being protested. Set in a secret government installation, "Camp Concentration" consists of the journal of Louis Sacchetti, a conscientious objector and prisoner, not to mention poet, who has been brought in to document the installation with a critical, but unscientific eye. The reason for this is that the population of this installation (except for administrators and staff) have been injected with Pallidine, a substance derived from syphilis that grants vastly expanded mental capabilities even as it ultimately kills the recipient.. Needless to say, those who receive it are being used to develop super-weapons, although they have other ideas. To offer any more than this brief sketch would surely spoil the plot, but it is the subtext that makes this a superb novel. First is the fascinating, and entirely unexpected, consideration of religion. Sacchetti, who is something of a born again Catholic, suffuses his journal with religious references. Moreover, the Pallidine is clearly and allegory for the Forbidden Fruit, the source of both enlightenment and death. However, the consideration of religion is far more free-ranging than simple metaphor, as Disch lays out a compelling, if oblique argument, that if God is dead or absent, it is because we offer no opportunity for Him to act through us. Hence, it isn't enough to decry injustice, one must actively subvert it. At the same time, there is a countervailing theme of the question of motivation: do the ends justify the means? Normally, this is an intriguing, if somewhat shopworn, focal point for a novel, but when set as a dichotomy with religion, it makes for fascinating reading. Finally, several reviewers question the ending of the book. While I empathize with their reaction, I think there is a point, a denouement in the literal sense of the word, which is being missed. This is because Sacchetti's fate (with out giving anything away) joins the two threads of the book, morality and expediency, as it were, in a conclusion that is satisfying, but also open to discussion or even rebuttal. I frequently struggle with fiction from the Cold War era (that deals with it explicitly) because it is almost always black and white: one is in favor of nuking Russia or totally against the "illegal" war in Vietnam. There is never any middle ground, any room for debate, and intelligent conversation is stifled as a result. Fortunately, in "Camp Concentration" Disch followed his own path and created a novel that revels in the gray. Entertaining on the surface, nuanced and subtle underneath, this is a novel that is not to be missed. Jake Mohlman
Rating: 
Summary: a startling work of art, allegory and, well, poetry too
Review: (1.) Disch's prose power is amazing. His gift for words breathes life into his characters, and he is probably along w/ perhaps John Brunner the most underappreciated author of the SF New Wave. His literary voice astonishes. (2.) The ending to this book is so damn amazing! Disch adamantly refuses the despair that terminated "334," and the book, in the sterility and slow decay that comes before, provides an affirmation of life and of intelligence. (3.) The premise is brought to life, much like in "334", with very convincing reality -- a slowly collapsing civilization under the burden of an oppressive government of the alternate yesteryear. Disch's fusion of genius and death is incredibly moving and powerful, and fairly well fleshed out, and Genius' archetype truly astonishes in all of its incarnations throughout the book -- in wisdom, illness, detachment and massive learning ability. (4.) The allegorical nature of this book is extremely multi-leveled and quite challenging (give it a few rereads) -- everything from Faust to all of modern society. Oh hell, I'm not gonna preach. Just read it!
Rating:
Summary: The godlike Disch.
Review: A noteworthy piece of literature, comparable I think with both Eco and Pynchon. This is written from the point of view of an intellectual - high on the mental equivalent of killer steroids, living in a commune of likewise mentally enhanced political prisoners. What I think is paticularly at issue, is the fact that Disch to some extent ( I think anyway ) satirises intellectualism, and knowledge's more exigent demands upon the human spirit ( as he did in 'the squirrel cage'). Hence the inmates scholarliness is synonymous with the drug / disease palladium. It is a book tinged with an inimicable sadness, and Sachetti's triumph when it comes, is realised at a price - does his 'transcendence' violate his conception of his own humanity?. Whatever. This is a very good book by a master of dark, dark parody. READ!.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent SF thrills, with vocabulary tougher than GMAT!
Review: A wonderfully absorbing book about a group of men caught in a fascinating experiment. Disch gets into the mind of a prisoner determined to escape the fiendish confines of this prison. His vocabulary is astounding: a feast of words guaranteed to elevate cocktail-party chatter to atmospheric heights.
Laced with the very sexual frustrations of a male prisoner with a female warden, Disch transforms a plausible SF premise into a horrifyingly believable story.
Rating: 
Summary: Unrealized potential.
Review: After recently reading numerous classic sci-fi books penned in the 1960s I've come to the realization that many of the works of that era suffered from too much agenda and too little story. _Camp Concentration_ had the correct formula to be a greatly entertaining book, but instead the story gets mired down in blatant social finger pointing and preaching. I appreciate authors who can hide their agenda WITHIN the story without having their main character(s) railing out loud (unendingly) against the establishment. I found it fairly entertaining, and the ending took me a bit by surprise...but other than that it's Disch's self indulgent pose, through the main character Sacchetti, that may turn off the average reader. This really isn't even sci-fi...but who's keeping track? ;-)
Rating:
Summary: Unrealized potential.
Review: After recently reading numerous classic sci-fi books penned in the 1960s I've come to the realization that many of the works of that era suffered from too much agenda and too little story. _Camp Concentration_ had the correct formula to be a greatly entertaining book, but instead the story gets mired down in blatant social finger pointing and preaching. I appreciate authors who can hide their agenda WITHIN the story without having their main character(s) railing out loud (unendingly) against the establishment. I found it fairly entertaining, and the ending took me a bit by surprise...but other than that it's Disch's self indulgent pose, through the main character Sacchetti, that may turn off the average reader. This really isn't even sci-fi...but who's keeping track? ;-)
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Excellent, Excellent
Review: Camp Concentration is one of my favorite books. You know the story: I read it years ago, and I loved it. Unfortunately old books fall apart eventually (especially cheap paperbacks) and I lost one of the great treasures of SF. Standard cliched SF lover experience. Well, way to go Vintage Books (who put Bester's work back into print by the way) for getting this classic novel back into print. This is undoubtedly Disch's most entertaining novel, but Disch will certainly make you think. Imagine what happens when the Government secretly takes a couple dozen prisoners and injects a drug (actually a bacteria related to syphillis) into them. Their intellect skyrockets, but their bodies are ravaged. There is no cure, and thus all of the prisoners die after a few months of God-like intelligence. Camp Concentration is the extraordinary tale of one such patient/prisoner. Certainly easier to get through than Disch's later works like 334 and On Wings of Song, yet just as intellectually sound, it's the perfect introduction to one of the genre's finest authors.
Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary
Review: Disch is probably the most underappreciated science-fiction author in the world. His novels have a power and a scope which is almost impossible to find in science-fiction. In England, apparently, he is condsidered to be one of the U.S.'s finest poets, as well as one of our best SF writers (kind of a strange combination, huh?). In Camp Concentration, Disch shows us insights into the world of Louis Sachetti. Torn by disease, posessed by brilliance, this is a character never before seen in science fiction. Brilliant new ideas, engrossing style, extraordinary characters, and one heck of a plot make this novel what it is. Extraordinary. Pringle said it was one of the 100 best of all time. Samuel R. Delany said it was one of the 3 best speculative novels of the 1960's. I'd say its the best to come out of the 60's, and I've read my fair share of New Wave SF (Aldiss, Ballard, Zelazny, Delany, etc.) I'd put it at number 3 all-time, behind The Stars My Destination and Mo! re than Human.
Rating:
Summary: A thinking man's dystopia
Review: Disch's "Camp Concentration" is my favorite sci-fi novel that I had never heard of before I read it. Blending ideas from Keyes, Orwell, and Mann with such erudite topics as alchemy and poetry, Disch creates a haunting dystopia. Imprisoned for his unwillingness to fight in an undescribed war, the central character, Louis, is recruited to chronical the events in the underground Camp Archimedes - where a new test drug makes geniuses out of its recipients, as it slowly kills them. The interplay between the doomed geniuses and their captors is beautifully done, as the former become more desparate - and smarter - every day. The ending is marvellous, causing one to re-evaluate the entire book in a new light. "Camp Concentration" is a work of art. But be forwarned - it is every bit as intellectual as the tragic people it portrays, and is as challenging as any sci-fi book you will find. Highly recommended.
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