Limbo

Rating:
Summary: Little Known & One Of Science-Fiction's Best
Review: David Pringle's 100 Best Science-Fiction Novels is a decent resource and shopping list for well-read SF fans. I was rounding out my classic post-apocalyptic & distopian future books part of the list (i.e. 1984, Brave New World, We, Canticle For Leibowitz, etc.) when I came across Limbo. The fact that I'd never heard of Limbo or it's author, Bernard Wolfe, and that it was, apparently, the only SF novel he ever wrote, intrigued me. I wasn't disappointed.

This is a wonderful 50's era cautionary tale, Swiftian in many ways, all dressed up as science fiction. Wolfe writes quite well and with a depth not encountered in much of SF. It makes for a great read not to mention a great recommendation to friends because it is so little known. Though the book seems quaintly dated at some points, the various themes all regard fundamental questions of the human condition that are timeless and universal.

It is essentially a commentary on Cold War era America through the device of future projection. In the spirit of great satire, Wolfe extrapolates an extreme and ludicrous version of the present moment and places it far into the future. The statement is simple: This is what we're going to be like if we keep going this way. It's all there - WWIII, nuclear devastation, rebuilding what's left with the few that are left, but here's the kicker: since we obviously will never learn to control ourselves and to prevent future destruction, everyone will lay down their arms and legs, literally, via amputation, and replace them with nuclear powered, auto-controlled limbs. Absolutely absurd and that's precisely the point.

I don't want to give away any more specifics. I'm sure you can find more elsewhere if you need to. As far as SF goes, I'm a pretty harsh critic. To this day Limbo remains one of my favorites, and IMO, may be the best American contribution to the distopian novel genre. It's a great ride that'll have you aching for your own brand new set of nuclear powered limbs by the end.

Rating:
Summary: Little Known & One Of Science-Fiction's Best
Review: David Pringle's 100 Best Science-Fiction Novels is a decent resource and shopping list for well-read SF fans. I was rounding out my classic post-apocalyptic & distopian future books part of the list (i.e. 1984, Brave New World, We, Canticle For Leibowitz, etc.) when I came across Limbo. The fact that I'd never heard of Limbo or it's author, Bernard Wolfe, and that it was, apparently, the only SF novel he ever wrote, intrigued me. I wasn't disappointed.

This is a wonderful 50's era cautionary tale, Swiftian in many ways, all dressed up as science fiction. Wolfe writes quite well and with a depth not encountered in much of SF. It makes for a great read not to mention a great recommendation to friends because it is so little known. Though the book seems quaintly dated at some points, the various themes all regard fundamental questions of the human condition that are timeless and universal.

It is essentially a commentary on Cold War era America through the device of future projection. In the spirit of great satire, Wolfe extrapolates an extreme and ludicrous version of the present moment and places it far into the future. The statement is simple: This is what we're going to be like if we keep going this way. It's all there - WWIII, nuclear devastation, rebuilding what's left with the few that are left, but here's the kicker: since we obviously will never learn to control ourselves and to prevent future destruction, everyone will lay down their arms and legs, literally, via amputation, and replace them with nuclear powered, auto-controlled limbs. Absolutely absurd and that's precisely the point.

I don't want to give away any more specifics. I'm sure you can find more elsewhere if you need to. As far as SF goes, I'm a pretty harsh critic. To this day Limbo remains one of my favorites, and IMO, may be the best American contribution to the distopian novel genre. It's a great ride that'll have you aching for your own brand new set of nuclear powered limbs by the end.

Rating:
Summary: The Rule of the Quadriplegics
Review: Limbo is one of the forgotten classics of the SF field, a strong dystopian/post-apocalyptic work published in the same time frame as Orwell's 1984 and George Stewarts' Earth Abides, and very much belonging in that company.

Neurosurgeon Dr. Martine (pronounced like the drink - your first clue to the heavily satiric nature of this book) is happily ensconced on an idyllic tropical island, where there is no conflict and everyone is happy - and if they're not, the Doctor will merrily perform a lobotomy on the offending person to ensure that there are no wild cards that could upset the harmony of the islanders. But he himself is not quite happy, nagged by the feeling that this method of producing a utopia is not the best, and some memories he has of his part in the WWIII conflict. That conflict was one of two giant computers out to dominate the world, and eventually resulted in a rebellion by the people, a rebellion fueled by a certain notebook that Dr. Martine left lying around when he exited the normal world in favor of his island hideaway. Eventually Martine's doubts lead him to return to the outer world to see what has happened, only to find his old notebook has become the new bible, and people in following its maxims are deliberately having their limbs amputated and replaced by miracles of cybernetic prosthesis, as their method of proving the dominance of mind over machine. This portrayed society is fascinating both for its startling differences and its commonalties with our own.

The book obviously has a heavy philosophical component, as we follow the Doctor's thoughts and excerpts from his notebooks. But there is also a strong humorous undercurrent, with multiple (rather atrocious) puns (are puns ever anything else?), and a lot of laughing at itself for being so self-important. There is also a trend to treat sex as one of the most important actions of the human animal (one scene runs to a couple of pages as a single sentence), an item that inevitably gets folded into the philosophical discourse. The general prose style is quite readable, not overly descriptive and with reasonable dialogue, but it probably wouldn't win any style contests. Characterization is almost totally that of Martine, other characters have little development other than as foils for his development of a new philosophy - which naturally he records in another notebook.

There is much food for thought here, while Wolfe maintains a very interesting and dramatic story line, and keeps the whole thing all too believable. Is it the best thing ever written? No, but it is more than deserving of a contemplative read, and the thoughts and ideas presented will make you do a little thinking about just where our computerized world of today is headed.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

Rating:
Summary: Hardcover Edition is in Spanish
Review: Note that the Hardcover edition from Minotauro (ISBN: 8445072846) is a Spanish Translation. I can not comment on the quality of the translation. The Three stars is selected only because this is a required field.

Rating:
Summary: A forgotten masterpiece
Review: This long-forgotten dystopian novel is right up there with BRAVE NEW WORLD and 1984. It is interesting to note that Wolfe apparently never wrote another sci-fi novel, and I do not recall his name on any of the many thousands of sci-fi short stories I have read over the last five decades. I can even recall the cover of the original paperback edition of this strange and satirical classic, back in the days when a book like this might cost 50 or 75 cents. If you enjoy dystopian works, by all means pick this one up. I read it when it was first published, in the same timeframe as Harry Harrison's MASKE ROOM! MAKE ROOM! and Robert Heinlein's STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND. When you are young, these kinds of novels are guaranteed to rock your world.