Occam's Razor

by David Duncan

Science Fiction

Genres: Science Fiction

165 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name on GR

David Duncan (February 17, 1913 – December 26, 1999) was an American screenwriter and novelist.

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[palmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️
unnecessary romance sub-plot ruined it for me

[Andrewcharles420 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not find anything about this book to be particularly interesting. The characters were hard to like--the military types too strict in their thinking, the mad scientist too much a pompous ass, the women (all two of them) cliches. I like that the book included some mathematical speculation, though I thought the constant echoing of "parsimony" and "Occam's razor" pedantic. I also didn't think the focus on minimal surfaces was clever enough to invoke an interdimensional warp tunnel--via soap bubbles. Discrete steps of time is an interesting thought. Minimal surfaces can be interesting form studies... but that's it?

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Andrew's review below is a little harsh, but has some fair points. The book was written in the late 1950's and reflects the nuclear tensions of the time, and is worth reading just for that. The story has some interesting concepts and at under 160 small pages is a quick read. I first read it as a young teenager in the mid 1960's and have remembered the basic premise since that time, so that speaks something In its favor. This re-read was a step back down memory lane for me.

[Tony P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not to be confused with David J. Duncan, aka Dave Duncan. As others have said, overall this is a fairly typical "B" sf adventure of its time (1957). What I loved about it was the opening sequences of huge, complex soap-bubbles representing minimal surfaces. These images were what stuck in my mind, and I searched for it for years before finding it in a second-hand bookstore. Worth a read.

[S.D. Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two mysterious figures suddenly appear at a top secret military facility in the middle of an island, and cause several deaths. Their unforeseen appearance also coincides with an event that’s left the Luna Rocket delayed for another month, and the bases instruments out of synch. What’s going on? Who are they? And where the hell did they come from?

Occam’s Razor has an interesting mysterious premise and I think largely handled it well, especially as I liked the characters involved in the mystery. Staghorn, a top scientist, and a pain in the ass, was great. Hume felt like the heart of the story, while also searching for some meaning in his own life in all of this. While the authority figure Thorpe felt very relatable despite his position. He just wanted everything sorted with the minimum of fuss, while being very thorough at his job.

I loved the setting. And, the ‘alien threat’ unfolded in a great manner. As the reader you could see there was some kind of misunderstanding, and wanted the characters you liked to figure it out. That device can maybe be considered a little frustrating for some as it does feel like you’re ahead of the characters at times, but it’s part of these type of stories.

The weird science aspect was kind of awesome, but also got a little bogged down. The whole soap film thing was fascinating, but took up to much description overall. The book at times felt like a text book, while other moments were enjoyable pulp. The balance worked as a whole, but I could have done with a few less monologues about Soap Film.

The monsterous visitors were cool, especially the whole arch with the devil horns and therefore demon appearance. And I liked the woman’s story too, especially in the second half of the book when we began to learn what was going on. All the character stuff really was handled well from start to finish.

My favourite part was probably when Staghorn had partially recovered from his amnesia and went back to being a stubborn rude asshole. He was so rude, yet rarely did it feel like he was purposefully antagonising. Just a difficult personality, and I always enjoy that kind of writing. Unfortunately, that was the character who also took up too much room with science stuff, but I liked him nonetheless.

Occam’s Razor felt like a great Twilight Zone episode. A crazy interesting mysterious story that gets insane by the resolution (which by the way was a fantastic resolution and could have become its own thing) It got a little bogged down at times, but largely a good read. I enjoyed this one.

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