One Million Tomorrows

by Bob Shaw

People born into the complacent bitch society of the 22nd Century regard indefinitely prolonged life as a birthright. But to get their one million tomorrows men have to make the transition from FUNKIE to COOL. FUNKIE is a slang for `functional male`. Immortality can only be achieved at the expense of male sexuality. So when Will Carewe is offered one million tomorrows without the side effects, he is being offered something very valuable. Something people would kill for.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Modern, Fantasy

176 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Bob Shaw was born in Northern Ireland. After working in structural engineering, industrial public relations, and journalism he became a full time science fiction writer in 1975.

Shaw was noted for his originality and wit. He was two-time recipient (in 1979 and 1980) of the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer. His short story Light of Other Days was a Hugo Award nominee in 1967, as was his novel The Ragged Astronauts in 1987.

Reviews

[Perry Whitford · Rating 3 out of 5]

By the norms of the last years of the 22nd century Will Carewe is an unusual 'funkie' - or functional male - in that he has turned forty, has been in a monogamous relationship for ten years to his wife Athene, and has given no indication yet that he intends to 'tie off'.

Science has found a way to slow down the decay of the body, ensuring that humans have become, in theory, immortal. The only problem is, while females retain their sexual potency, males become effectively impotent as a result.

Then Carewe is offered the opportunity to become the first man to try the drug E.80, designed to overcome that flaw. He and Athene could tie off and become 'coolies' yet continue to have an active sexual life together. What could be more perfect?

But such a drug is bound to stir up powerful interest. Carewe the guinea pig soon finds himself on the run, convinced that somebody is trying to murder him. What's worse, Athene doesn't seem to want him anymore and his marriage is in tatters.

I don't know if he has been called this before or not, but to me Bob Shaw is something of a British Philip K Dick. He has the ideas, covers a wide breadth of philosophical and theological themes, and his male and female characters are often intensely hostile towards each other.

There are some great ideas here, such as weather control and psychological complexes leading to the creation of underage 'coolies', but the plotting was less than convincing, the underlying bitterness in Shaw's 'bitch society' a little too unpleasant.

Not bad though, by any means.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this back in 1970 when it was first published. After reading a couple of scathing reviews below, I decided to reread it and see if I still like it. I'm a big fan of Bob Shaw --- especially Orbitsville and The Ragged Astronauts. So far this one is pretty good.

OK, so now I've read it. I really enjoyed it, although it's mostly a standard runaround action story that could have been told with or without the SF background. It's a shame, because the premise is fascinating: immortality is available to everyone, but the drug makes men impotent (women still get to party).

The hero of the story is offered a shot that will give him immortality without losing sexual potency. So far, so good.

But then, someone is trying to kill him (and they must be inept, because they blow a lot of good opportunities). It's good old fashioned chase-and-escape action, but I would have liked it better if it has explored the changed society governed by "cools" (men without sexual potency). I can't help but think of how differently Robert Silverberg would have handled this material.

Good, but not up to the standard of Shaw's best work (Orbitsville and The Ragged Astronauts).

[Jason Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's the 22nd-century and anyone who takes the injection will live indefinitely with their physical age fixed. The downside is that in men the shot causes both sterility and impotence. Our protagonist, Will Carewe, works for a manufacturer of the drug, and the firm offers him an experimental version that won't destroy his sex life. Thinking this will save his 'old-fashioned' marriage, Will agrees - and quickly finds his marriage going sour and somebody trying to kill him.

The narrative is lean and compelling, as always in Shaw's work, and the naive-but-resourceful hero is easy to care about, making for an addictive read. The adventures display Shaw's usual approval of reason and self-reliance - his books are a celebration of Man the Toolmaker. There's also the trademark screwed-up relationship and the expansion of the story from a single SF what-if gimmick.

But this is an early effort by Bob Shaw and it does show. The society resulting from this unlikely drug, with sexually active women vastly outnumbering sexually active men, feels a little cardboard. And though the drug launches the narrative, it doesn't drive it: essentially this is a thriller after the first act, rather than a working through of the effect of the drug on the individual and society. And, alas, the climactic confrontation is more than a little silly.

Nonetheless the elements of classic Shaw are all there, making this a flawed but thoroughly enjoyable read.

[Benjamin Duncan · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it has some interesting central themes about memory and infinity, this is a rushed narrative with one-dimensional, fundamentally unlikeable characters and lazy world-building

[Ajeje Brazov · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Dopo aver letto un libro di qualsiasi argomento, anche se te ne dimentichi ogni parola, ti resta sempre un'ignoranza di tipo diverso."
"Non è facile spiegartelo. Direi che ti accorgi di quante cose non sai."

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the premise but gets meh when the action kicks in. Interesting enough that years later I can still recall the title and plot.

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ještě jsem našel v poličce jednu knihu od Boba Shawa. A jelikož kniha pochází ještě z doby, kdy slušní autoři psali knížky pod dvě stě stránek, sáhl jsem po ní.
A on je to spíš thriller než sci-fi. Ano, točí se to kolem sci-fi vynálezu, ale v knize jde spíš o to, že hrdinu se ustavičně snaží někdo zabít. Pachatel je tak minimálně od poloviny zcela jasný, ale i tak je to příjemné svižné čtivo a určité scény (souboj v továrně na speciální kuličková ložiska) jsou vážně sugestivní.
To sci-fi je tam spíš kulisa. Příběh drží hlavně akce a Shaw sci-fi motiv využívá hlavně k drobným detailům, vedlejším nápadům, minipříběhům a zajímavým úvahám. Což mu sedne.
Ten sci-fi motiv se točí kolem léku na nesmrtelnost. Ne, to není nic nového, ten v tom světě existuje už dávno, jen měl vždycky jednu podstatnou nevýhodu. Z chlapa, který si ho píchnul, se okamžitě stal impotent. Mohli jste žít věčně, ale už se vám nepostavil. (Nehledě na to, že vás konzervuje ve věku, ve kterém jste, takže když ho píchnete miminu, máte postaráno, že budete další stovky let jezdit s kočárkem.) A teď se přišlo na způsob, jak si kromě věčnosti zajistit i mužskou výkonnost - a hlavní hrdina je právě pokusným králíkem. Což má ovšem za následek to, že se ho někdo chystá zabít.
Jasně, spousta věcí je už zastaralých, ale Shaw má lehkou ruku a občas i překvapí zajímavým nápadem či scénou.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nearly gave this 4 stars, but this novel is not quite as good as The Two-Timers, Palace of Eternity or Orbitsville. Bob Shaw was an idea-oriented SF author like many of the authors from the Golden Age of SF. However, Shaw had brought a greater depth of characerization to even his brief works that is consistent with the New Wave of the sixties. This short novel about immortality also displays a kinship with Philip K Dick, although Shaw is a more conventional author. Clever thinking is let down a bit by the largely conventional plot.

[Joachim Boaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...

"One Million Tomorrows (1971) is the second of Bob Shaw’s science fiction novels I’ve read. The first, Ground Zero Man (1971), suffered from an extreme case of grating melodrama which weakened the insightful central message — the ever evolving danger (and nature) of nuclear war.

One Million Tomorrows attempts, in a dubious [...]"

[Paul Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Pan Books Ltd] (1973). SB. 157 Pages. Purchased from G.D. Price.

An examination of identity, memory, masculinity and mortality - explored via a thin narrative.

Set in the 22nd century - the environment is deftly established.

Shaw’s prescience, creativity and writing skills are well demonstrated.

Interesting themes offset a weak story.

[Adam Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads like a modern thriller within the new wave sci-fi structure. Trades action for insight maybe, but not a bad trade-off when the premise is as well-worn as “eternal life”.

[Manny · Rating 1 out of 5]

You can take this drug that makes you immortal, but then, at least if you're male, you can't have sex any more. The hero is offered a trial of a new drug which allows him both to be immortal and to have sex! He takes it, and celebrates by having a lot of sex.

It turns out in the end that they were lying to him, and he just got the placebo. In fact, he isn't immortal after all. So he takes the real drug, and says goodbye to sex.

That's about it. Perhaps the moral is some version of "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch". To be honest, I'm not even sure the author knew.

[Brian Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a future that I would care for, to say the least. You can take a shot to become immortal but have all the lead taken out of your pencil if you're a man, so to speak. Also, being immortal doesn't mean that you are invincible. You can still die from a satellite dhish falling off your dhome as you're walking out the dhoor. So, let's think about that. Okay, yeah. I think I'd elect to stay a "funkie" and funk all those still sexually active immortal women. But that's just me.

[SciFiOne · Rating 3 out of 5]

1979 grade C-