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The Syndic
A novel of a future age when organized crime legalized itself, and turned America into a utopia. There have been a thousand tales of future Utopias and possible civilizations. They have been ruled by benevolent dictatorships and pure democracies, every form of government from extreme right to absolute left. All over the world, financial and governmental systems have collapsed under the weight of their own red tape and bureaucracy. Most of the world had regressed into savagery. The hopelessly corrupt old North American government had been driven literally into the sea, but made occasional forays onto the mainland from bases on the coastal fringes of a Europe that had returned to the Dark Ages. In the U.S.A., it was a bit different, the dawning of a new age, due to the Syndic and the Mob.
East of the Mississippi, was the unique easy-going semi-anarchistic society ruled by the SYNDIC, that supplied liquor, gambling, women, loans, employment, and it's own harsh justice, in other words, everything the public needed, at prices everyone could afford. Here was a totally hedonistic society, moral inhibitions had gone the way of the horse. (Polo was played in jeeps with 50-caliber machine guns.) The Syndic operated as a sort of gigantic protective league. West of the Mississippi was Mob territory, a society whose entire system of values was totally opposed to the Syndic. Here morality ruled with an iron hand. The ever-resourceful Mob made America it's ultimate racket. It was, for awhile, the best of all possible worlds...until the bad old U.S. Government begins to re-emerge. Then, it was Syndic versus Mob!
When a wave of assassinations broke out in New York, it was clearly time to take action against the Mob! It was not until February 14th that the Government declared a state of unlimited emergency. The precipitating incident was the aerial bombardment and destruction of B Company, 27th Armored Regiment, on Fort George Hill in New York City. Local Syndic leaders had occupied and fortified George Washington High School, with the enthusiastic co-operation of students, faculty and neighborhood. Chief among them was Thomas 'Numbers' Cleveland, displaying the same coolness and organizational genius which had brought him to pre-eminence in the metropolitan policy-wheel organization by his thirty-fifth year.
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East of the Mississippi, was the unique easy-going semi-anarchistic society ruled by the SYNDIC, that supplied liquor, gambling, women, loans, employment, and it's own harsh justice, in other words, everything the public needed, at prices everyone could afford. Here was a totally hedonistic society, moral inhibitions had gone the way of the horse. (Polo was played in jeeps with 50-caliber machine guns.) The Syndic operated as a sort of gigantic protective league. West of the Mississippi was Mob territory, a society whose entire system of values was totally opposed to the Syndic. Here morality ruled with an iron hand. The ever-resourceful Mob made America it's ultimate racket. It was, for awhile, the best of all possible worlds...until the bad old U.S. Government begins to re-emerge. Then, it was Syndic versus Mob!
When a wave of assassinations broke out in New York, it was clearly time to take action against the Mob! It was not until February 14th that the Government declared a state of unlimited emergency. The precipitating incident was the aerial bombardment and destruction of B Company, 27th Armored Regiment, on Fort George Hill in New York City. Local Syndic leaders had occupied and fortified George Washington High School, with the enthusiastic co-operation of students, faculty and neighborhood. Chief among them was Thomas 'Numbers' Cleveland, displaying the same coolness and organizational genius which had brought him to pre-eminence in the metropolitan policy-wheel organization by his thirty-fifth year.
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256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1953
9 people are currently reading
409 people want to read
About the author
C.M. Kornbluth
359 books87 followers
Cyril M. Kornbluth
grew up in Inwood in New York City. As a teenager, he became a member of the Futurians, the influential group of science fiction fans and writers. While a member of the Futurians, he met and became friends with Isaac Asimov, Frederik Pohl, Donald A. Wollheim, Robert A. W. Lowndes, and his future wife Mary Byers. He also participated in the Fantasy Amateur Press Association.
Kornbluth served in the US Army during World War II (European Theatre). He received a Bronze Star for his service in the Battle of the Bulge, where he served as a member of a heavy machine gun crew. Upon his discharge, he returned to finish his education, which had been interrupted by the war, at the University of Chicago. While living in Chicago he also worked at Trans-Radio Press, a news wire service. In 1951 he started writing full time, returning to the East Coast where he collaborated on a number of novels with his old Futurian friends Frederik Pohl and Judith Merril (as Cyril Judd).
He used a variety of pen-names: Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, Walter C. Davies, Simon Eisner, Jordan Park, Arthur Cooke, Paul Dennis Lavond and Scott Mariner.
Kornbluth served in the US Army during World War II (European Theatre). He received a Bronze Star for his service in the Battle of the Bulge, where he served as a member of a heavy machine gun crew. Upon his discharge, he returned to finish his education, which had been interrupted by the war, at the University of Chicago. While living in Chicago he also worked at Trans-Radio Press, a news wire service. In 1951 he started writing full time, returning to the East Coast where he collaborated on a number of novels with his old Futurian friends Frederik Pohl and Judith Merril (as Cyril Judd).
He used a variety of pen-names: Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, Walter C. Davies, Simon Eisner, Jordan Park, Arthur Cooke, Paul Dennis Lavond and Scott Mariner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
January 19, 2025
A future society splintered into factions and an unsuspecting character pushed into a James Bond-ish role. Espionage, action, political intrigue, and unlikely alliances. Enjoyed it, but not exactly what I look for in my SF. On a good note, Kornbluth is a superb writer and the last chapter is brilliant. Looking forward to reading more of his work.
November 4, 2025
Peak '50s pulp: Genial mafia, nasty mafia, repressed puritanical pirates, and psychic Irish pagan witches. Closes with a stirring historiographic manifesto that I found unexpectedly moving.
February 28, 2024
2.5 stars. Organized crime has taken over for our failed government, the government in exile has enslaved now primitive England and wants to team up with the Irish mob to smash our beloved Syndic civilization. Mix in some brainwashing, espionage, druidery, throat cancer and philosophy and you’ve got a fairly entertaining alt-future history cum governmental criticism.
This Berkeley edition has a Richard Powers cover that could ride on almost any SF novel of this period.
This Berkeley edition has a Richard Powers cover that could ride on almost any SF novel of this period.
December 18, 2020
Kornbluth is a forgotten giant of postwar SF, who is now best known for his collaborations with Frederick Pohl, which are uniformly excellent. On his own, though, he wrote a number of interesting short works (notably The Marching Morons) and this one eccentic, influential novel.
It's quite short and rushed, and some of his attitudes are all too obviously rooted in 1950s America, but the premise is unique, the development is always interesting, and he's an admirably clean, lucid stylist who sometimes reads as remarkably modern, especially in comparison with what his peers were producing at the same time.
He wrote this in his twenties, and died very young in 1958. Pohl flourished in the more liberal decades that followed, and it's fair to wonder whether Kornbluth might have followed the same upward path had he lived.
It's quite short and rushed, and some of his attitudes are all too obviously rooted in 1950s America, but the premise is unique, the development is always interesting, and he's an admirably clean, lucid stylist who sometimes reads as remarkably modern, especially in comparison with what his peers were producing at the same time.
He wrote this in his twenties, and died very young in 1958. Pohl flourished in the more liberal decades that followed, and it's fair to wonder whether Kornbluth might have followed the same upward path had he lived.
December 24, 2011
I was predisposed to like this novel as it was the first book published by my burgeoning publishing company. We were very lucky to get to work with Jeff Riggenbach in putting together the foreword and afterword. I only knew the premise and some of the interest in the book when I agreed we should publish it. It was a real treat when I actually sat down to read it.
It is a work of its time and it suffers slightly from it - for example, the female characters are not what we might expect today. Nits like those aside, it's a clever story and I was always wondering how the main character was ever going to make it out of his current predicament. It was quite a page-turner for me and I devoured it quickly.
It is a work of its time and it suffers slightly from it - for example, the female characters are not what we might expect today. Nits like those aside, it's a clever story and I was always wondering how the main character was ever going to make it out of his current predicament. It was quite a page-turner for me and I devoured it quickly.
June 5, 2022
Another book I read pretty much at random because it appeared in the 'science fiction mega pack' series on the kindle. It's a fairly interesting premise: what if organised crime took over running the US and the government were a bunch of rebels trying to reclaim their power and authority? Now you'd think that this kind of premise would lead to something that is mainly a political allegory (at worst, a heavy-handed Ayn Rand style diatribe about the evils of government) but actually this isn't the focus; instead it mostly plays out as an action thriller and the interesting central premise is all but ignored in favour of paper-thin romance sub-plots, the savage tribes of Ireland (yes, really) and submarines.
March 8, 2019
Leído en 2002.
7/10.
Novela creada en base a tres relatos dfundamentales unidos por otros de menos entidad para darlo consistencia como una novela única.
Distopía de un futuro en el que una organización mafiosa, EL Síndico, tutela a la sociedad americana para que todo vaya bien. Y todo va bien. ¿Utopía sin libertad?¿Régimen dictatorial?. Pues todo eso y lo que queráis.
Crítica social disfrazada de CF. No está mal.
7/10.
Novela creada en base a tres relatos dfundamentales unidos por otros de menos entidad para darlo consistencia como una novela única.
Distopía de un futuro en el que una organización mafiosa, EL Síndico, tutela a la sociedad americana para que todo vaya bien. Y todo va bien. ¿Utopía sin libertad?¿Régimen dictatorial?. Pues todo eso y lo que queráis.
Crítica social disfrazada de CF. No está mal.
October 7, 2016
"The Syndic" is clearly an essay on the absurdity of our governmental institutions. Mr. Kornbluth left us too soon, he was a creative, fluid and a very much competent writer. There is always a slight dark atmosphere in his books and I really enjoy his style.
October 30, 2012
review of
Cyril M. Korbluth's The Syndic
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - October 29, 2012
As I remarked in my last review of a Kornbluth novel (Takeoff: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/73... ): "I like the ones coauthored w/ [Frederik] Pohl the most". Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. As a person surrounded by piles of thick bks that'll take me mnths apiece to read, it was a joy & a relief to read this in a day & still find it worthwhile.
The Syndic is about a future world in wch the US government has been driven, literally, out to sea & in wch the US has been split into 2 territories: one run by THE MOB & one influenced by THE SYNDIC. At 1st the reader is 'allowed' to believe that these are probably basically the same thing - but Kornbluth develops these 2 societies quite differently - w/ his embracing the liberating aspects of the 'relaxed morals' of the Syndic & criticizing the 'madness' of the Mob.
Added to this are 2 other systems: the ousted government, now set-up outside of North America, & the pagans, the remnants of the Irish population in Ireland itself. All of these are well-developed & the main character(s) adventure thru them.
The observant reader will understand from the get-go that this is no shallow philosophical journey when the bk begins w/ a quote from one of the fictitious character's fictitious bks entitled Organization, Symbolism and Morale in wch the idea of people's diseases enters into the shaping of their personalities in ways generally underestimated or overlooked by historians:
"I cannot for the life of me fit the recurring facial carbuncles of Karl Marx into my manipulations - not even, though we know, well after the fact, that agonizing staphylococcus aureus infections behind that famous beard helped shape twentieth century totalitarianism. In pathology alone, the list could be prolonged indefinitely: Julius Caeser's epilepsy, Napoleon's gastritis, Wilson's paralysis, Grant's alcoholism, Wilhelm II's withered arm, Catherine's nymphomania, George III's paresis, Edison's deafness, Euler's blindness, Burke's stammer, and so on. Is there anybody silly enough to maintain that the world today would be what it is if Marx, Caeser, Napoleon, Wilson, Grant, Wilhelm, Catherine, George, Edison, Euler, and Burke - to take only these eleven - had been anything what they were?"
Take particular note that 18th century mathematician & physicist Leonhard Euler is in this not completely motley crew that consists mainly of political figures. It's also worth noting that Euler only went more or less totally blind when he was 59.
Until the adventures of the protagonist takes him thru government turf, it's hard for the reader to be sure where the philosophical lay of the land is - perhaps the government's to be rooted for? The character, F. W. Taylor, whose fictitious bk is above-quoted, says: "Let me point out what so-called government stands for: brutal 'taxation,' extirpation of gambling, denial of life's simple pleasures to the poor and severe limitation of them to all but the wealthy, sexual prudery viciously enforced by penal laws of appalling barbarity, endless regulation and coercion governing every waking minute of the day." Of course, these days government has taken gambling to its bosom as yet-another-way of engendering false hope in the poor & further robbing them.
& then there's mention of "topological psychology". I thought this was an invention of Kornbluth's but, Lo & Behold!, I find a bk listed online called The Principles of Topological Psychology from 1936 by Kurt Lewin! Now it looks like I'll have to add YET-ANOTHER bk to the to-be-read pile [aside: I DON'T do this on Goodreads].
It's not until Taylor's neat summing-up of his version of Syndic philosophy does it become clear that this is who the author's rooting for:
""I will not tolerate," Taylor went on, "a roundup or a registration, or mass treatment or any such violation of the Syndic's spirit."
"Charles exploded: "Damn it, this is a matter of life or death to the Syndic!"
""No, Charles. Nothing can be a matter of life or death to the Syndic. When anything becomes a matter of life or death to the Syndic, the Syndic is already dead, its morale is already disintegrated, its credit already gone. [..]"
[..]
""I can't back a fighting fleet. I can't back a regular army. I can't back any restrictive measure on the freedom of anybody but an apprehended criminal. Read history. It has taught me not to meddle, it has taught that no man should think himself clever enough or good enough to dare it."
Too bad Kornbluth died at age 34, less than 5 yrs after this novel was published. I wd've loved to've read more mature & sophisticated philosophizing. Here, he was still in his twenties but still managing to put forth a fairly rich world.
Cyril M. Korbluth's The Syndic
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - October 29, 2012
As I remarked in my last review of a Kornbluth novel (Takeoff: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/73... ): "I like the ones coauthored w/ [Frederik] Pohl the most". Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. As a person surrounded by piles of thick bks that'll take me mnths apiece to read, it was a joy & a relief to read this in a day & still find it worthwhile.
The Syndic is about a future world in wch the US government has been driven, literally, out to sea & in wch the US has been split into 2 territories: one run by THE MOB & one influenced by THE SYNDIC. At 1st the reader is 'allowed' to believe that these are probably basically the same thing - but Kornbluth develops these 2 societies quite differently - w/ his embracing the liberating aspects of the 'relaxed morals' of the Syndic & criticizing the 'madness' of the Mob.
Added to this are 2 other systems: the ousted government, now set-up outside of North America, & the pagans, the remnants of the Irish population in Ireland itself. All of these are well-developed & the main character(s) adventure thru them.
The observant reader will understand from the get-go that this is no shallow philosophical journey when the bk begins w/ a quote from one of the fictitious character's fictitious bks entitled Organization, Symbolism and Morale in wch the idea of people's diseases enters into the shaping of their personalities in ways generally underestimated or overlooked by historians:
"I cannot for the life of me fit the recurring facial carbuncles of Karl Marx into my manipulations - not even, though we know, well after the fact, that agonizing staphylococcus aureus infections behind that famous beard helped shape twentieth century totalitarianism. In pathology alone, the list could be prolonged indefinitely: Julius Caeser's epilepsy, Napoleon's gastritis, Wilson's paralysis, Grant's alcoholism, Wilhelm II's withered arm, Catherine's nymphomania, George III's paresis, Edison's deafness, Euler's blindness, Burke's stammer, and so on. Is there anybody silly enough to maintain that the world today would be what it is if Marx, Caeser, Napoleon, Wilson, Grant, Wilhelm, Catherine, George, Edison, Euler, and Burke - to take only these eleven - had been anything what they were?"
Take particular note that 18th century mathematician & physicist Leonhard Euler is in this not completely motley crew that consists mainly of political figures. It's also worth noting that Euler only went more or less totally blind when he was 59.
Until the adventures of the protagonist takes him thru government turf, it's hard for the reader to be sure where the philosophical lay of the land is - perhaps the government's to be rooted for? The character, F. W. Taylor, whose fictitious bk is above-quoted, says: "Let me point out what so-called government stands for: brutal 'taxation,' extirpation of gambling, denial of life's simple pleasures to the poor and severe limitation of them to all but the wealthy, sexual prudery viciously enforced by penal laws of appalling barbarity, endless regulation and coercion governing every waking minute of the day." Of course, these days government has taken gambling to its bosom as yet-another-way of engendering false hope in the poor & further robbing them.
& then there's mention of "topological psychology". I thought this was an invention of Kornbluth's but, Lo & Behold!, I find a bk listed online called The Principles of Topological Psychology from 1936 by Kurt Lewin! Now it looks like I'll have to add YET-ANOTHER bk to the to-be-read pile [aside: I DON'T do this on Goodreads].
It's not until Taylor's neat summing-up of his version of Syndic philosophy does it become clear that this is who the author's rooting for:
""I will not tolerate," Taylor went on, "a roundup or a registration, or mass treatment or any such violation of the Syndic's spirit."
"Charles exploded: "Damn it, this is a matter of life or death to the Syndic!"
""No, Charles. Nothing can be a matter of life or death to the Syndic. When anything becomes a matter of life or death to the Syndic, the Syndic is already dead, its morale is already disintegrated, its credit already gone. [..]"
[..]
""I can't back a fighting fleet. I can't back a regular army. I can't back any restrictive measure on the freedom of anybody but an apprehended criminal. Read history. It has taught me not to meddle, it has taught that no man should think himself clever enough or good enough to dare it."
Too bad Kornbluth died at age 34, less than 5 yrs after this novel was published. I wd've loved to've read more mature & sophisticated philosophizing. Here, he was still in his twenties but still managing to put forth a fairly rich world.
July 12, 2020
Bu romanı da umutla güzelleşir diye bekledim. Ama bir türlü düzelmedi. Beklentimden kötü bir roman çıktı. Sonunu da getiremedim.
January 13, 2023
“The Syndic” is marked by a dry irony, as it sets out to establish its dystopian(?) version of the future, in which North America is ruled by two warring gangster families – the Syndic on the West Coast and the Mob on the East Coast. The North American government has been reduced to a band of pirates with their base in Iceland. The rest of the world, we are told, has collapsed into barbarism.
Protagonist Charles Orsino is a low-ranking Syndic member who is tasked with infiltrating the North American government. But to reach the government, he must first pass through Mob territory. He escapes the Government base on Ireland, only to become the prisoner of the Irish natives, a primitive tribe with telepathic and telekinetic powers. Here he befriends an 11-year-old girl who helps him escape, before hooking up with another Syndic spy, the beautiful daughter of the head of the Syndic.
“The Syndic” is an ironic comment on both the welfare state and the arguments against a welfare state. The Syndic is basically a sort of anarcho-capitalist society, while the government has become a police state inhabited primarily by its own police.
The most poignant moment of the book comes at the very end, where Charles’ uncle, a notable Syndic member, explains that the Syndic’s reluctance to amass a standing army or tax the citizens will lead to the Mob and the Government destroying the Syndic. Still, he would rather have the Syndic fall than break its principles.
Unfortunately, moments like this are rather rare in the book, which follows a standard hard-boiled spy novel formula, with a dash of South Sea adventure and a trite romance. The writing is energetic and the book rides high on its sly matter-of-fact humour and irony. The damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t cynicism is one that was prevalent in American 50’s SF, and which stands in the way of a deeper social analysis.
Kornbluth was by all accounts a highly eccentric figure, who is best known for his short stories and collaborations with Frederick Pohl. He sadly passed away from a heart attack in 1958, only 34 years old.
Protagonist Charles Orsino is a low-ranking Syndic member who is tasked with infiltrating the North American government. But to reach the government, he must first pass through Mob territory. He escapes the Government base on Ireland, only to become the prisoner of the Irish natives, a primitive tribe with telepathic and telekinetic powers. Here he befriends an 11-year-old girl who helps him escape, before hooking up with another Syndic spy, the beautiful daughter of the head of the Syndic.
“The Syndic” is an ironic comment on both the welfare state and the arguments against a welfare state. The Syndic is basically a sort of anarcho-capitalist society, while the government has become a police state inhabited primarily by its own police.
The most poignant moment of the book comes at the very end, where Charles’ uncle, a notable Syndic member, explains that the Syndic’s reluctance to amass a standing army or tax the citizens will lead to the Mob and the Government destroying the Syndic. Still, he would rather have the Syndic fall than break its principles.
Unfortunately, moments like this are rather rare in the book, which follows a standard hard-boiled spy novel formula, with a dash of South Sea adventure and a trite romance. The writing is energetic and the book rides high on its sly matter-of-fact humour and irony. The damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t cynicism is one that was prevalent in American 50’s SF, and which stands in the way of a deeper social analysis.
Kornbluth was by all accounts a highly eccentric figure, who is best known for his short stories and collaborations with Frederick Pohl. He sadly passed away from a heart attack in 1958, only 34 years old.
January 27, 2014
This review contains both English and Turkish reviews of the book
English review
I’ve read this book during reading 50s-60s science fiction novels. Despite being and old book, it’s rated below 100 people in goodreads.
In the future United States of America divided into two regions and form of government. East side’s government is called Syndic and West side’s government is called Mob. Both sides philosophies are completely different than the other one’s, and both sides are thinking other side’s philosophy is not ethical. At the same time, Europe has returned back to the dark ages.
The book can be categorized as thriller-science fiction. Especially while I was reading the main subject reminds me the movie Departed.
Turkish review
1950-1960’lı yıllara ait bilimkurgu kitaplarını okuduğum bir süreçte okudum Teşkilat isimli kitabı. Eski bir kitap olmasına rağmen goodreads üzerinde 100 kişinin altında okunmuş olması ilginç geldi bana.
Konusuna gelince, gelecekte ABD bir şekilde iki farklı yönetime bölünmüş. Doğu bölgesini yönetenler Teşkilat, Batı bölgesini yönetenler ise Çete adı altında birleşmişler. Her iki tarafın birbirinin felsefelerini kötülediği ve kendilerinin daha iyi olduklarını savundukları kuralları var. Avrupa ise karanlık çağlara geri dönmüş bulunmakta.
Kitabın tarzı ise biraz polisiye-bilimkurgu tadında olmuş. Özellikle okurken 2006 yapımı Köstebek (Departed) filmindeki olayları anımsattı bana.
English review
I’ve read this book during reading 50s-60s science fiction novels. Despite being and old book, it’s rated below 100 people in goodreads.
In the future United States of America divided into two regions and form of government. East side’s government is called Syndic and West side’s government is called Mob. Both sides philosophies are completely different than the other one’s, and both sides are thinking other side’s philosophy is not ethical. At the same time, Europe has returned back to the dark ages.
The book can be categorized as thriller-science fiction. Especially while I was reading the main subject reminds me the movie Departed.
Turkish review
1950-1960’lı yıllara ait bilimkurgu kitaplarını okuduğum bir süreçte okudum Teşkilat isimli kitabı. Eski bir kitap olmasına rağmen goodreads üzerinde 100 kişinin altında okunmuş olması ilginç geldi bana.
Konusuna gelince, gelecekte ABD bir şekilde iki farklı yönetime bölünmüş. Doğu bölgesini yönetenler Teşkilat, Batı bölgesini yönetenler ise Çete adı altında birleşmişler. Her iki tarafın birbirinin felsefelerini kötülediği ve kendilerinin daha iyi olduklarını savundukları kuralları var. Avrupa ise karanlık çağlara geri dönmüş bulunmakta.
Kitabın tarzı ise biraz polisiye-bilimkurgu tadında olmuş. Özellikle okurken 2006 yapımı Köstebek (Departed) filmindeki olayları anımsattı bana.
October 21, 2021
This 1953 science fiction novel is a great example of 1950s SF.
The novel is based on an interesting premise. The US Government has collapsed and has been replaced by two rival criminal gangs, The Syndic on the East and West Coasts, and The Mob in the Middle West and South.
Kornbluth paints a very sympathetic picture of the Syndic, a society controlled by organized crime. People can do what they want. No armies, low taxes and you can indulge as you wish in sex, drugs and booze. His picture is that most people are sensible and things work pretty well. he contrasts it with The Mob, which rules with fear and violence for the sole benefit of the bosses.
The story is a adventure chase tale. Someone is knocking off Syndic guys. They suspect it is the Mob. Charles Orsino, a low level guy in the Syndic, gets sent undercover to figure out what is going on. He has a bunch of exciting adventures.
The novel goes off on great tangents. There a long section of the novel set in a post-industrial Ireland where Celtic tribes have reverted to witchery. Orsino gets stuck between the bad guys and the witches. It is a quick picture of a fascinating world.
There is a love interest. In these books people always fall in love immediately so the plot can get rolling
We also get sections set in a "1984" type Chicago and a super secret submarine.
These days this book would be the outline for a six novel series. Writers like Kornbluth pumped out novel like this for four of five hundred bucks and then moved on to the next one.
Kornbluth was one of the better writers in that scene. He writes interesting characters. He can quickly get across a strange setting. He knows how to build suspense. He is bubbling over with interesting ideas.
This is still worth reading. The hook is that underneath the pulp story, Kornbluth has some intriguing ideas about organizing society and the difference between different types of criminal organizations. The book ends with a wonderful monologue by the head of the Syndic. He refuses to organize an army to go to war against the Mob. He explains that "when anything becomes a matter of life or death to the Syndic, the Syndic is already dead." Organized violence can't co-exist with a free society. Pretty heady stuff for a pulp paperback.
The novel is based on an interesting premise. The US Government has collapsed and has been replaced by two rival criminal gangs, The Syndic on the East and West Coasts, and The Mob in the Middle West and South.
Kornbluth paints a very sympathetic picture of the Syndic, a society controlled by organized crime. People can do what they want. No armies, low taxes and you can indulge as you wish in sex, drugs and booze. His picture is that most people are sensible and things work pretty well. he contrasts it with The Mob, which rules with fear and violence for the sole benefit of the bosses.
The story is a adventure chase tale. Someone is knocking off Syndic guys. They suspect it is the Mob. Charles Orsino, a low level guy in the Syndic, gets sent undercover to figure out what is going on. He has a bunch of exciting adventures.
The novel goes off on great tangents. There a long section of the novel set in a post-industrial Ireland where Celtic tribes have reverted to witchery. Orsino gets stuck between the bad guys and the witches. It is a quick picture of a fascinating world.
There is a love interest. In these books people always fall in love immediately so the plot can get rolling
We also get sections set in a "1984" type Chicago and a super secret submarine.
These days this book would be the outline for a six novel series. Writers like Kornbluth pumped out novel like this for four of five hundred bucks and then moved on to the next one.
Kornbluth was one of the better writers in that scene. He writes interesting characters. He can quickly get across a strange setting. He knows how to build suspense. He is bubbling over with interesting ideas.
This is still worth reading. The hook is that underneath the pulp story, Kornbluth has some intriguing ideas about organizing society and the difference between different types of criminal organizations. The book ends with a wonderful monologue by the head of the Syndic. He refuses to organize an army to go to war against the Mob. He explains that "when anything becomes a matter of life or death to the Syndic, the Syndic is already dead." Organized violence can't co-exist with a free society. Pretty heady stuff for a pulp paperback.
April 28, 2023
This was a strange sort of a shaggy dog story. Ostensibly, it’s a spy thriller, with a member of the Syndic—the semi-rulers of what remains of the United States of America in the East—trying to infiltrate the remnants of the old Federal Government, which appears to consist mostly of the Navy and has fled to Iceland, Ireland, and England. England and Ireland were easy picking because the entire world collapsed, and only the Syndic on the East coast and the Mob in the midwest saved that part of the United States from a return to barbarism.
And it was a serious fall: the entire “indigenous” population of Ireland and England is estimated to be in the hundreds. Slavery has returned everywhere except within Syndic territory.
The triggering event for the end of the world appears to have been a monetary crisis.
Where the Mob instituted autocratic rule to survive, the Syndic (which appears to be descended from East coast mafia families?) instituted a libertarian semi-rule. It is, thus, the most advanced place on Earth and is the only place that retains most if not all of the comforts of life circa 1953.
Much of the book is about how hard it is for the protagonists, or anyone living in Syndic territory, to comprehend just how bad life is outside of Syndic territory. It shocks them out of their complacency. War, it seems, is imminent, and there are hints throughout the book that war might come from either or both of the Government and the Mob.
Wherein comes the shaggy dogness of the story, which encapsulates both the promise and the danger of freedom: protecting it risks losing the freedom you’re protecting. How much are you willing to destroy your way of life to save your way of life?
And it was a serious fall: the entire “indigenous” population of Ireland and England is estimated to be in the hundreds. Slavery has returned everywhere except within Syndic territory.
The triggering event for the end of the world appears to have been a monetary crisis.
Where the Mob instituted autocratic rule to survive, the Syndic (which appears to be descended from East coast mafia families?) instituted a libertarian semi-rule. It is, thus, the most advanced place on Earth and is the only place that retains most if not all of the comforts of life circa 1953.
Much of the book is about how hard it is for the protagonists, or anyone living in Syndic territory, to comprehend just how bad life is outside of Syndic territory. It shocks them out of their complacency. War, it seems, is imminent, and there are hints throughout the book that war might come from either or both of the Government and the Mob.
Wherein comes the shaggy dogness of the story, which encapsulates both the promise and the danger of freedom: protecting it risks losing the freedom you’re protecting. How much are you willing to destroy your way of life to save your way of life?
November 7, 2025
In the near future, the USA is governed—after a fashion—by organized crime. The Syndic rules the east, while The Mob is in the West. The US Government, now largely a military organization, has been pushed out and is headquartered in Iceland.
Our protagonist, Charles Orsino, is tasked with going undercover and joins the remnant that makes up the US Government. He is programmed with an alternative personality by the story’s love interest, beautiful psychologist Lee Falcaro, daughter of the Syndic boss. I pretty much forget why he had to do that, which is an indication of how important the plot was to the story, or how much it kept my attention.
Along the way Orsino lands in Ireland, which is now populated by savages. (So nothing has changed! Hee Hee. Sorry.) He befriends a young psychic girl, who was destined to become a village wise woman, and they have adventures together. Then he meets up with Lee Falcaro and they have more adventures.
It was somewhat fun, and I never got frustrated enough to throw the book across the room, but it doesn’t make me want to run out the door and buy more Kornbluth.
Our protagonist, Charles Orsino, is tasked with going undercover and joins the remnant that makes up the US Government. He is programmed with an alternative personality by the story’s love interest, beautiful psychologist Lee Falcaro, daughter of the Syndic boss. I pretty much forget why he had to do that, which is an indication of how important the plot was to the story, or how much it kept my attention.
Along the way Orsino lands in Ireland, which is now populated by savages. (So nothing has changed! Hee Hee. Sorry.) He befriends a young psychic girl, who was destined to become a village wise woman, and they have adventures together. Then he meets up with Lee Falcaro and they have more adventures.
It was somewhat fun, and I never got frustrated enough to throw the book across the room, but it doesn’t make me want to run out the door and buy more Kornbluth.
April 16, 2023
Civilisation as we know it has essentially ended in much of the world, but two mafia-like organisations rule over North America. The story seems to be set somewhere after 2150 AD based on some fictional quotes at the beginning of the book.
After a series of assassinations, a mid-level member of the ruling family is sent into Government territory to work out what's going on. The US Government is based in Iceland and operates out of the Atlantic by this point, as not much more than organised pirates.
It gets a bit silly, to be honest. This book was recommended to me as some sort of future dystopian book, but really it's an action thriller against a sort-of science fiction background. It's not a bad book as some of the ideas are interesting and it's not bad in any way, but it's not brilliant either.
After a series of assassinations, a mid-level member of the ruling family is sent into Government territory to work out what's going on. The US Government is based in Iceland and operates out of the Atlantic by this point, as not much more than organised pirates.
It gets a bit silly, to be honest. This book was recommended to me as some sort of future dystopian book, but really it's an action thriller against a sort-of science fiction background. It's not a bad book as some of the ideas are interesting and it's not bad in any way, but it's not brilliant either.
December 8, 2017
i wish it was a series
couldnt get enough
mob and syndic pushed us govt inot the atlantic?
not offensive to ask a girl for you know and fine for her to say what in it for me?
bag man
no principles, son thats how we had the american gov we dont want to become
triumph of reasonableness over theory n politics
after he sabotage sthe wheel the workers came back said what kid punks did this, fixed it in few hours and worked on untilquit time unditrurbed
the girl had witch pwoers
one part i didnt liek is girl not getting the guy sort of
that suckd
couldnt get enough
mob and syndic pushed us govt inot the atlantic?
not offensive to ask a girl for you know and fine for her to say what in it for me?
bag man
no principles, son thats how we had the american gov we dont want to become
triumph of reasonableness over theory n politics
after he sabotage sthe wheel the workers came back said what kid punks did this, fixed it in few hours and worked on untilquit time unditrurbed
the girl had witch pwoers
one part i didnt liek is girl not getting the guy sort of
that suckd
August 18, 2019
A bit of an uneven read. Kornbluth's writing can be difficult to penetrate at times and had me looking up words quite often. The book was a slog to read at various points. The last third of the book keep me swiping page after page, however. The mind-reading girl seemed out of place in a story that focused on the failings and excesses of government. Kornbluth's warning about the tendency of people in power to (over-)engineer society without regard for the unintended consequences is more timely than ever.
Read
August 31, 2020“I am expressing my distaste for holders of extreme positions, for possessors of eternal truths, for keepers of the flame. Keepers of the flame have no trouble with the questions of ends and means which plague the rest of us. They are quite certain that their ends are good and that therefore choice of means is a trivial matter. The rest of us, far from certain that we have a general solution of the two-billion body problem that is history, are far more likely to ponder on our means . . . .”
January 5, 2021
An interesting and good story, but also an odd one. I picked it up simply because of its connection to Star Trek's "A Piece of the Action" and expected some similarity. Other than the framing device of organized crime becoming the government, though, they couldn't be more different in tone. Kornbluth uses the device to look at society through a different and savagely critical lens, pushed along by an adventure story. I quite enjoyed it but is isn't much like anything I can think of in structure except perhaps Gulliver's Travels
January 21, 2021
AWESOME book that shows that Syndicate would be more moral than US government esp since 1940.
Real science fiction in that is shows unlike most books a real critique of the current government. The ending is a little tragic but funny. Bankers are not taken seriously and are scolded perhaps ganked fi they misbehave and that is UNIQUE in literature that I have seen. Remember banking is the problem. Timeless story. Trump won 2020 but bankers did fraud to steal eelction.
Real science fiction in that is shows unlike most books a real critique of the current government. The ending is a little tragic but funny. Bankers are not taken seriously and are scolded perhaps ganked fi they misbehave and that is UNIQUE in literature that I have seen. Remember banking is the problem. Timeless story. Trump won 2020 but bankers did fraud to steal eelction.
January 9, 2025
I loved this strange short novel. It reminded me of the absurdness of those early PKD novels from the fifties. Kornbluth was 29 or so years old when this was published. A heart attack took him from the world at the age of 34. To imagine what he could have produced if he has lived as long as his part-time writing partner Frederick Pohl who published into his 90’s.
November 26, 2017
Densely written jumper; obscure; purposefully so, perhaps, like a consciously bad novel.
August 11, 2019
Worth it for those into antiquated alternate reality scenarios.
November 29, 2019
Возможно проблема в моих завышенных ожиданиях после этого твита, но того же восторга я не испытал. Все на уровне "ну окей".
March 9, 2020
This started off as an interesting piece of world-building but quickly descended into a buy-the-numbers adventure story interspersed with long philosophical monologues. A disappointment for me.
August 7, 2020
Classic science fiction.
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