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badseedgirl's review
3.0
When I first started reading Space Merchants by Frederick Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth, I just assumed it was their attempt to cash in on the “Mad Men craze”. I mean what was I to think a story about a futuristic society where advertisers rule the world, literally. The little voice in my head, which has helped me write other reviews said, “Well this is a good Mad Men rip off, but I mean I would expect more from a supposed ‘Grand Master’ of Science fiction.” (What can I say that little voice can be pretty bitchy at times.) It was only when I was 90% through with the novel that I realized that although the edition of the novel I was reading was published in 2011, the original novel was actually published in 1952! This took what my inner voice assumed was a novel about the natural extension of today’s “Native Ads” ,where a paid advertisement is written up as a legitimate news article, to its dark and sinister conclusion, and turns it into a prophetic vision of the future.
Hello, this is Badseedgirl’s little voice in her head. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize sincerely to Mr. Pohl (yes I know he is dead, but still), and Mr. Kornbluth (Yes I know he is also dead). I should have known better than to doubt you skills and consider you just one more in a series of hack writers jumping on the band wagon of a famous TV series just to make some quick scratch (I’m talking to you Walking Dead clones on paper.)
Hello, this is Badseedgirl’s little voice in her head. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize sincerely to Mr. Pohl (yes I know he is dead, but still), and Mr. Kornbluth (Yes I know he is also dead). I should have known better than to doubt you skills and consider you just one more in a series of hack writers jumping on the band wagon of a famous TV series just to make some quick scratch (I’m talking to you Walking Dead clones on paper.)
tedpikul's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
elijahbit's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Like mad men in the space future but I can't tell if I think it's self aware. I don't think so. Also like cats cradle
xeyra1's review
3.0
I didn't much know what to expect from this book. I sure expected more hardcore science-fiction than what I got, but it's actually a good thing I got something else, to feed my fascination with dystopian societies. The story is a very interesting look at a future where the great god of Sales rules over the life of all individuals, to the point the world is divided between the executives... and the consumers, second-class citizens whose only purpose, according to those higher up in the social hierarchy, is to buy and keep on feeding commerce.
Moreover, it seems commercial assassinations are game in this world, as long as you warn beforehand... a vision of the future that can be quite frighteningly convincing. As a reviewer of this book said, this is a terribly timely dystopian satire, dealing with capitalism and consumist culture taken into extremes. An incredible book that will make you think, long after you've read it. A complete page-turner. I recommend it.
Moreover, it seems commercial assassinations are game in this world, as long as you warn beforehand... a vision of the future that can be quite frighteningly convincing. As a reviewer of this book said, this is a terribly timely dystopian satire, dealing with capitalism and consumist culture taken into extremes. An incredible book that will make you think, long after you've read it. A complete page-turner. I recommend it.
aoc's review
4.0
Checking out Pohl's writings has been on my to-read list for a while now and though he didn't single-handedly pen The Space Merchants, having co-written it with Kornbluth, it was absolutely a worthwhile read with its satirical take on overt consumerism taken to the extreme in a society with uncomfortable parallels to our own contemporary world. But let's find out how much of an enjoyable read it really was.
As mentioned above it is the future and consumerism has taken over the world. Not only consumerism in its most virulent form, but also one where advertisements and companies who create them are de facto kings of the world, second only to corporations running the world proper with even governments being little than their puppets. It is such a sorry state of affairs that doing things like putting actually addicting additives into foods and drinks is considered perfectly normal and constant aggressive marketing campaigns push it as such to popular who really are little more than literal “consumers” to people making such ads. Necessities like water have become increasingly scarce and are often priced on by-gulp basis, for example. Yet, there is hope that humanity could find new virgin ground to exploit with the possibility that Venus could be colonized. Having confirmed such an opportunity exists it spurs couple of advertising companies to make the idea appealing to population at large in order to justify the costs such a great endeavor would require.
It is in such a world that we see our main character Mitch Courtenay working as a star-class copywriter for Fowler Schocken advertising agency, one that ultimately wins the contract to sell Venus to the public, so to speak. He's very loyal to the idea of Sales and full-heartedly believes his boss Fowler Schocken has the right ideas. Unbeknownst to him, though, a lot is going on behind the scenes – from Fowler Shocken's rival company looking to circumvent corporate rules of “targeted executive hits” on rival companies, ever-growing and seemingly sensible revolutionary movement that's so utterly incomprehensible to corporate world, to ultimately his own life packing a surprise or two.
I'm not sure why it keeps happening in my recent book reviews, but I find myself thinking settings always end up being far more interesting than the characters. Such is the case in The Space Merchants. Courtenay himself is rather well fleshed out, but that's sort of expected from the protagonist – problem is this comes at the expense of pretty much all other characters being tokens and never seeing much development. Hell, some even ingloriously “snap” and are promptly taken out of the story just as you grow attached to them. But to be balanced this is not all horrible bad because, and I'm not spoiling anything when I say this, The Space Merchants is a Mitch Courtenay story as much as it happens to be a commentary of a rather ridiculous world. There is certain charm and dread to a world where most of the foodstuff is regenerated, meat comes from a growing tumor of flesh dubbed “Chicken Little” and your everyday coffee has addictive properties where you need to drink two liters a day to with recommended jug on your nightstand just in case you can't get enough of it. Mmmm-mmmm.
One drawback I could level against the book is that it was too short for my liking. I wanted to see more of this world where merely going outside means packing nose plugs for the unbearable levels of smog, but you do get a very different reversal as far as POV is concerned because all we get for about half a book is the high and mighty inner advertisement company's take. Second half reveals just how utterly ridiculous and naive, to us at least, such a mindset is... not so much to people on the other side of the yoke, though. There is humor in The Space Merchants, but it's definitely rooted in satire and self-realization our protagonist goes through. Sadly, this also reflects itself in Courtenay kinda undergoing radical changes that could be justified and gradually eased into if only authors dedicated more time to them. At one point it seemingly comes off as someone turned the switch and things change simply because it's convenient for the story. That's not really a major negative and I don't phrase it as such on purpose, but I definitely felt something lacking in the characterization department for everyone involved.
Let's get to final words because I can't really talk about the book without spoilers considering much of it is a personal journey. I rather liked The Space Merchants and positives definitely outweigh the few negatives I've listed. Fascinating world , flat characters and future we can only pray never comes to fruition.
As mentioned above it is the future and consumerism has taken over the world. Not only consumerism in its most virulent form, but also one where advertisements and companies who create them are de facto kings of the world, second only to corporations running the world proper with even governments being little than their puppets. It is such a sorry state of affairs that doing things like putting actually addicting additives into foods and drinks is considered perfectly normal and constant aggressive marketing campaigns push it as such to popular who really are little more than literal “consumers” to people making such ads. Necessities like water have become increasingly scarce and are often priced on by-gulp basis, for example. Yet, there is hope that humanity could find new virgin ground to exploit with the possibility that Venus could be colonized. Having confirmed such an opportunity exists it spurs couple of advertising companies to make the idea appealing to population at large in order to justify the costs such a great endeavor would require.
It is in such a world that we see our main character Mitch Courtenay working as a star-class copywriter for Fowler Schocken advertising agency, one that ultimately wins the contract to sell Venus to the public, so to speak. He's very loyal to the idea of Sales and full-heartedly believes his boss Fowler Schocken has the right ideas. Unbeknownst to him, though, a lot is going on behind the scenes – from Fowler Shocken's rival company looking to circumvent corporate rules of “targeted executive hits” on rival companies, ever-growing and seemingly sensible revolutionary movement that's so utterly incomprehensible to corporate world, to ultimately his own life packing a surprise or two.
I'm not sure why it keeps happening in my recent book reviews, but I find myself thinking settings always end up being far more interesting than the characters. Such is the case in The Space Merchants. Courtenay himself is rather well fleshed out, but that's sort of expected from the protagonist – problem is this comes at the expense of pretty much all other characters being tokens and never seeing much development. Hell, some even ingloriously “snap” and are promptly taken out of the story just as you grow attached to them. But to be balanced this is not all horrible bad because, and I'm not spoiling anything when I say this, The Space Merchants is a Mitch Courtenay story as much as it happens to be a commentary of a rather ridiculous world. There is certain charm and dread to a world where most of the foodstuff is regenerated, meat comes from a growing tumor of flesh dubbed “Chicken Little” and your everyday coffee has addictive properties where you need to drink two liters a day to with recommended jug on your nightstand just in case you can't get enough of it. Mmmm-mmmm.
One drawback I could level against the book is that it was too short for my liking. I wanted to see more of this world where merely going outside means packing nose plugs for the unbearable levels of smog, but you do get a very different reversal as far as POV is concerned because all we get for about half a book is the high and mighty inner advertisement company's take. Second half reveals just how utterly ridiculous and naive, to us at least, such a mindset is... not so much to people on the other side of the yoke, though. There is humor in The Space Merchants, but it's definitely rooted in satire and self-realization our protagonist goes through. Sadly, this also reflects itself in Courtenay kinda undergoing radical changes that could be justified and gradually eased into if only authors dedicated more time to them. At one point it seemingly comes off as someone turned the switch and things change simply because it's convenient for the story. That's not really a major negative and I don't phrase it as such on purpose, but I definitely felt something lacking in the characterization department for everyone involved.
Let's get to final words because I can't really talk about the book without spoilers considering much of it is a personal journey. I rather liked The Space Merchants and positives definitely outweigh the few negatives I've listed. Fascinating world , flat characters and future we can only pray never comes to fruition.
socialamoebaemily's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book was amazing!!! It's Mad Men in space where corporations rule the world. Both terrifying and exhilarating. Highly highly recommend this novel!!! The only reason I'm not giving it 5 starts is because I don't think I could read it over and over and over but it was wonderful!!!
electrozombie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jnavbar's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
arf88's review against another edition
3.0
I think I like the ideas of this book, more than the actual book itself. Great world building, entertaining story, although the blight of a narrator "too stupid to live" was annoying. Like so much sci-fi the main theme of this book was thought provoking, but I in the end I had little sympathy for the "good guys". Maybe it's because we live a in world where ridiculous companies like PETA exist and where twitter armies will descend on randoms they disagree with, but I have little sympathy for a group of people who will happily ruining a man's life because he had the "wrong" sort of politics.