Super-State: A Novel of a Future Europe

by Brian W. Aldiss

Book by Brian Aldiss

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks, Dystopia

230 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2002

About the author

Pseudonyms: Jael Cracken, Peter Pica, John Runciman, C.C. Shackleton, Arch Mendicant, & "Doc" Peristyle.

Brian Wilson Aldiss was one of the most important voices in science fiction writing today. He wrote his first novel while working as a bookseller in Oxford. Shortly afterwards he wrote his first work of science fiction and soon gained international recognition. Adored for his innovative literary techniques, evocative plots and irresistible characters, he became a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 1999.
Brian Aldiss died on August 19, 2017, just after celebrating his 92nd birthday with his family and closest friends.

Brian W. Aldiss Group on Good Reads

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a commemorative read since Brian Aldiss has recently passed away at the age of 92, leaving behind a prodigious oeuvre of science fiction. I've read him before, having quite a few of his titles on my kindle, this is my third read and they seem to all be of a comparable quality, diverting, well liked if not loved. Always intellectually stimulating, which is a huge bonus and elevates the stories above mere entertainment into the realm of speculation, which is what good scifi ought to do. This novel is somewhat different in that it's intended as a satire and it's construction. I've checked out some reviews (usually a definite no no) prior to reading this one and in this case it absolutely helped to adjust the expectation, otherwise the narrative style would have been positively dizzying. It's a mosaic of a novel with a myriad of characters and their intersecting lives set in the (as the name advertises) Europe of the future, one that has made certain advances technologically and otherwise, but then again all too familiar. There's a refugee crisis, impending war with an (made up) Asian nation, political turmoil... and this book is 25 years old. Ok, there's also life on Ganymede...and it's delicious. So yes, eerily prescient...check. Fun read...check. Occasionally overwhelming and confusing due to its structure....yes, but nevertheless well worth a read. And it's a quick one too, just an evening's worth of time. Read and discover this great author for yourself. RIP Mr. Aldiss. Thanks for the stories.

[Graham Crawford · Rating 2 out of 5]

An odd book- its parts work work better than its whole - and there are plenty of brilliant parts. In some ways it's closer to a Samuel Beckett play than a sci fi novel. This would make a very trippy art-house movie that would bomb at the box office and live forever as a cult DVD. I loved the conversations between androids in a dark cupboard (totally Waiting for Godot!) - and the INSANATICS inserts could stand alone as a collection of sharp philosophical essays.

The "unsane" antics and absurd dialogues of the main characters didn't connect with with me. The comic tone was odd- a bit gritty Mad Magazine, perhaps "2000 AD" with a touch of the Peter Sellers doing Dr Strangeglove. Thankfully it's a short book and Aldiss is always technically adept, even when this literary lab experiment starts to self combust.

I gather from the dedication and the year of publication, Super-State is a dark homage to Kubrick's "2001 a Space Odyssey" , and cleverly Aldiss sets his story the same distance in the future that the movie was from it's setting, when "2001" came out. The structure loosely parallels the original, but the new version is much more pessimistic and twisted (Space - meet new and interesting aliens - and eat them! BTW - ET tastes like mushrooms). Obviously Kubrick/Clarke got it mostly wrong. I certainly hope for our sake, Aldiss does too! I really don't want to live in that future but every time I turn on the TV, I have to fear Aldiss' mad vision is closer to the truth.

[Andy McCarthy · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books I have ever read. It started off ok but then quickly went downhill. There were too many characters and too many storylines. There were no chapters so each paragraph might skip to a different storyline. I never felt invested in any of the characters. There was not really any plot either. And then the book just ends.

[Cliff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read any Brian Aldiss for many years, although I devoured his works when I first started red sci fi 69 years ago. The author passed away in 2017, aged 92. This book was written in 2002 and was by no means his last. He sets the book in a Europe some years in the future when there is a single government (and no Brexit). There is no single narrative thread, but several different but related stories. A war between Europe and some minor eastern state, a journey to Jupiter, the posting of the thoughts of a character which are seen as seditious particularly having regard to the pending war, global warming, the love life of some of the characters. The book opens with a beautifully written description of a society wedding. Throughout there are interruptions where the author takes a pot a some of what must be his aunt salleys - a priest who appears during a popular broadcast to give meaningless and totally inane comments on matters in the news which are followed by equally inane and mostly totally irrelevant vox pops. The author introduces something called 'the ambient' which seems little more than the internet writ slightly larger. I have to ask why? Surely he knew of that back in 2002. Some of the threads introduced as the narrative proceeds are resolved. Others are just left hanging.

[Jarosław Loretz · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Powieść" pozbawiona ładu, składu i pomysłu, rozepchana absurdalnie pustymi dialogami i pełna wątpliwych logicznie fragmentów (raz wrogie państwo jest "po drugiej stronie Morza Śródziemnego", a raz w sąsiedztwie Laosu; komandosi wykonujący atak z zaskoczenia maszerują na miejsce szturmu z pieśnią na ustach; tsunami doszczętnie niszczące atlantyckie wybrzeża Europy zostaje spowodowane odpadnięciem z Grenlandii kawałka lodowca; w Rumunii - i to Rumunii PRZYSZŁOŚCI - na drogach jest więcej wozów zaprzężonych w woły niż zwykłych samochodów, etc). W dodatku tak naprawdę za całe sf robi kilka gadżetów - m.in. androidy - nie odgrywających w fabule ŻADNEJ roli.
Gdyby książkę napisał polski autor, z czystym sumieniem powiedziałbym, że to ordynarna grafomania. Ale że napisał to Aldiss, słowa więzną w gardle...

[Clive · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

Wild take on media, war, religion, economics and the environment. With an interplanetary exploration thrown in also. Almost stream of consciousness so a little difficult to read at times. Ends with a bad joke.

[Robert (NurseBob) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shallow characters are little more than props, a disjointed narrative jumps about with no ballast to keep it focused, and a satirical bent that too often comes across as mere sarcasm. Couldn't finish it.

[Profundus Librum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ez a könyv klasszikus értelembe véve nem egy „jó regény”. A rövid felvillanások alig-alig kapcsolódnak egymáshoz – ami persze így nem igaz, hiszen a végén egy tűéles, fekete humorral megfestett, könyörtelen képet kapunk a jövő Európájáról. Alig van benne valami konkrét – egybefüggő – történet, sőt személyiségfejlődés sincs (jellemfejlődés sem), vagy csak ugrásszerű, ad hoc módon bekövetkező. Sci-finek is annyira sci-fi csak, hogy a közeli jövőben játszódik, de szerintem direkt nem mélyült el jobban az újabbnál-újabb high-tech technikák felsorolásában, mert egyszerűen nem azokról akart írni, hanem a szociológiai törvényszerűségekről, az ember önön nagyságába vetett hitéről, a butaságról, a makacsságról. Egy „őrült író hagymázas jövővíziójának” tűnik az egész könyv, ám – egyes részleteiből – az is könnyedén kiderülhet, hogy profetikus is. Egy könyvhöz tudnám hasonlítani csak, méghozzá Stanislaw Lem Az Úr Hangjához. Abban volt még ennyi nehéz, komoly filozófiai, vallási és társadalomtudományi téma fajsúlyosan megpendítve és furcsa, groteszk humorba ágyazva.

Bővebben a blogon:
http://profunduslibrum.blogspot.hu/20...

[Andrew Frolov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Что можно сказать об этой книге?
Огромное количество персонажей для такой маленькой (220 страниц) книги. Без закладок или блокнота никуда, начинаешь теряться в них, как и в сюжетных линиях которых ненамного меньше и которые тем не менее помогают вспомнить того или иного персонажа, хотя некоторые из этих линий ведут в никуда. В каком-то смысле пророческая книга так как многие вещи уже начинают сбываться. Много философских размышлений которые ведутся от совершенно разных героев и персонажей с совершенно различными убеждением и мировоззрением. Многим, как и мне, может показаться скучноватой. Больше всего понравились диалоги запертых в шкафу андроидов, которые обсуждают и пытаются понять человеческую природу.
В целом довольно неплохая книга, но абсолютно всем её не порекомендуешь.

[Alice Florence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Update: accidentally started reading it again and very surprised I gave it 3 stars. The humour can be very tedious. Downgrading to 2 stars so I don't accidentally try to read it again!

Original Review:
A future where androids aren't quite as useful as hoped but do provide entertaining dialogue when they're packed away for the night. All the ideas and chat in this book are interesting but not good enough to stand on their own without a decent story and the story isn't good enough. The humour pulls it up from a 2.5 to 3 stars.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting, and good case for our world today, and the self-made disasters we humans invite as a race.

[Lysergius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm, quite prophetic.

[Kerry Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disjointed and disappointing - really like Brian Aldiss but not this one

[Constantine Melios · Rating 2 out of 5]

Καταχώρησα ένα βιβλίο στο BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12359617