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smiorganbaldhead's review
3.0
2.5/5. This is an interesting what-if story about the societal implications of a free replicator technology. However, while the premise is interesting to ponder, I don’t buy the conclusions. For one thing, anything like the gizmo would have massive energy requirements (ignored by the book), so energy would still be scarce. Moreover, using the gizmo to duplicate something like eggs for breakfast would be highly impractical given the energy costs. I could only accept the premise by thinking of the gizmo as magic, and thus fantasy rather than science fiction. Even then, however, I don’t buy that such a technology would necessarily lead to slavery rather than, say, bartering in services. Still, is it interesting to think about how trade would function if any physical item (including cash) could be freely duplicated and thus lost its value in trade.
The plot is mostly less interesting than the premise. Several plot threads feel like filler, and not much very important seems to happen until near the end. The ending itself also surprised me negatively at least, but on reflection it does seem consistent with the themes of the book.
The plot is mostly less interesting than the premise. Several plot threads feel like filler, and not much very important seems to happen until near the end. The ending itself also surprised me negatively at least, but on reflection it does seem consistent with the themes of the book.
jameseckman's review
3.0
An interesting premise, it causes the total disintegration of society. Fun old school SF.
lordofthemoon's review
2.0
This was an intensely irritating book for me. It starts with the invention of the 'gismo', a device that can duplicate anything placed on it, with no expenditure of energy. From this, it would seem that a Paradise for mankind should arise, but within two or three chapters, we see that the book decides to take a very different line with this idea. With material possessions now no longer an issue, there still needs to be some way of differentiating 'grades' of people: so slavery returns.
This came completely out of left-field for me, but after thinking about it, it sort of makes a kind of sense. If all that is left of value is labour, then who controls it controls the society. I think this is a very American attitude, well, a certain sort of extreme right-wing American, a European book with a similar premise would probably have gone along very different lines.
The majority of the book is set about 70 years after the invention of the gismo, when the new slave society is established as we follow a young freeman sent off by his family to spend a year as an officer in the army of the local 'baron' in an almost Gormenghastian mountain castle/estate.
There were some interesting ideas, especially later in the book following a slave revolt, but I just couldn't get past the opening premise and failed to really enjoy this book. Particularly the rather bleak ending.
This came completely out of left-field for me, but after thinking about it, it sort of makes a kind of sense. If all that is left of value is labour, then who controls it controls the society. I think this is a very American attitude, well, a certain sort of extreme right-wing American, a European book with a similar premise would probably have gone along very different lines.
The majority of the book is set about 70 years after the invention of the gismo, when the new slave society is established as we follow a young freeman sent off by his family to spend a year as an officer in the army of the local 'baron' in an almost Gormenghastian mountain castle/estate.
There were some interesting ideas, especially later in the book following a slave revolt, but I just couldn't get past the opening premise and failed to really enjoy this book. Particularly the rather bleak ending.
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