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Night of Power
A futuristic, racially torn New York City is the scene of the Night of Power, a final confrontation between well-trained militant Black revolutionaries armed with technology's most advanced weapons and white society.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
6 people are currently reading
204 people want to read
About the author
Spider Robinson
197 books674 followersSpider Robinson is an American-born Canadian Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction author. He was born in the USA, but chose to live in Canada, and gained citizenship in his adopted country in 2002.
Robinson's writing career began in 1972 with a sale to Analog Science Fiction magazine of a story entitled, The Guy With The Eyes. His writing proved popular, and his first novel saw print in 1976, Telempath. Since then he has averaged a novel (or collection) a year. His most well known stories are the Callahan saloon series.
Robinson's writing career began in 1972 with a sale to Analog Science Fiction magazine of a story entitled, The Guy With The Eyes. His writing proved popular, and his first novel saw print in 1976, Telempath. Since then he has averaged a novel (or collection) a year. His most well known stories are the Callahan saloon series.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 28, 2021
Night of Power appeared in 1985, long before the topic of systemic racism got the attention of the media and the social conscious in general. Some of the details and technologies have become outdated in the interim, but his theme and message are more applicable now than they were then. I think it's interesting to note that the book was partially subsidized by Canadian arts councils. It's a violent and depressing book, even more hard-hitting to readers who were so used to jokes and puns providing much of the substance of his previous works, but at the same time a thought-provoking and important novel.
February 20, 2016
Thus far, it's my least favourite Spider Robinson novel. Yet I did like it alright, it was the over all theme that disturbed me not the writing so much. Spider did an alright job at telling this story and dealing with racism and such... It's just not what I read Spider's stuff for.
September 26, 2018
I'm not sure when I first read this book, but it was something on the order of 10 years ago, and it blew my mind a bit. It was nearly as good the second time around, though of course slightly more dated. I can't believe I never wrote a review! Or maybe I did but not on Goodreads. That seems more likely. Anyhoo....
This is the book that introduced me to the work of Spider Robinson, and to a more complex understanding of racism than I (having grown up in a nice little liberal white bubble) had previously. I wouldn't encounter some of those ideas again for several years, which makes it all the more impressive that Spider wrote this back in the 1980's. His understanding of race relations isn't perfect, of course, but it's one of the best portrayals I've seen by a white author.
This is something of a reverse dystopian novel. In most dystopian novels, the author imagines a grim future that is oppressed by the extreme of an idealist notion-- communism, fascism, enforced social strata, enforced social equality-- and the protagonist's role is to realize the possibility of a better option (i.e., the liberal democracy and personal freedom America enjoys now). This novel, though set in the "near future" of the 1990's, portrays a world that is an only slightly exaggerated version of what we had at the time, and imagines how it could be changed.
It's always fun to see what previous generations imagined as future technology. Apart from the continued existence of tapes as a popular recording medium, Robinson's view was remarkably prescient, anticipating, among other things, real-time GPS navigation in cars (and pornographic writing making its way into mainstream bookstores).
This is a beautiful story, a story in which the race war in America comes to a crisis point, told through the eyes of a racially mixed family. It's a story full of brutality and violence whose ultimate goal is to uphold the best of the human spirit-- love, loyalty, ingenuity, and determination-- in the most trying of times.
The message that you have to be willing to kill for what is right isn't a comfortable one for me personally, having been raised a pacifist, and I feel like it also plays somewhat differently in this age where an endless, smoldering, war has become an ever-present backdrop to American identity. But Robinson also makes the point that people need to consider very carefully what they are fighting for and determine at a personal level when violence is truly necessary.
His heroes are avenging angels, willing to right the world's wrongs by any and all means necessary, and fighting to win at any cost. They may grieve for the price they pay, but they pay it without hesitation. And they do so, in part, because there are other people who have no choice but to fight for their very survival, perhaps simply because of the color skin they were born with. It is, in some ways, a privilege to have the option of not fighting.
In addition to these philosophical depths, the book manages to be funny, clever, raunchy, and action-packed. It's a bold, brave novel. Robinson feared this future might be inevitable. I'm please to say I don't think it is.
Quotes:
"I was in New York for almost two weeks before I saw my first knifing. But it picked up after that..." p 140
regarding a concert in Times Square: "But the general mood of the crowd was benign, benevolent; for its size and location it was an astonishingly well-behaved mob." p 185
Jose and Jennifer: "'Hey, look, you live in New York you gotta prejudge people. Only I don't do it by colour of ethnic. I'm prejudiced about size and money... most rich guys in this town, they don't think that nobody else is a human being that isn't rich.'"
'What about rich women?'
'They're the worst. They don't even believe theirselves is human beings.'" p 203
"I know that I am a most self-centered man. I want most for the world to go away and leave me alone. I have few friends and none I would die for." 355 (I like this quote because I think it honestly describes how many of us truly feel under our bluster and brag and dreams of heroism. And I think it's heroic to admit it.)
Quoted within the text:
From J. D. MacDonald's The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper: "Suspicion used to be on an individual basis. Now each one of us, black or white, is a symbol. The war is out in the open and the skin color is a uniform. All the deep and basic similarities of the human condition are forgotten so that we can exaggerate the few differences that exist."
This is the book that introduced me to the work of Spider Robinson, and to a more complex understanding of racism than I (having grown up in a nice little liberal white bubble) had previously. I wouldn't encounter some of those ideas again for several years, which makes it all the more impressive that Spider wrote this back in the 1980's. His understanding of race relations isn't perfect, of course, but it's one of the best portrayals I've seen by a white author.
This is something of a reverse dystopian novel. In most dystopian novels, the author imagines a grim future that is oppressed by the extreme of an idealist notion-- communism, fascism, enforced social strata, enforced social equality-- and the protagonist's role is to realize the possibility of a better option (i.e., the liberal democracy and personal freedom America enjoys now). This novel, though set in the "near future" of the 1990's, portrays a world that is an only slightly exaggerated version of what we had at the time, and imagines how it could be changed.
It's always fun to see what previous generations imagined as future technology. Apart from the continued existence of tapes as a popular recording medium, Robinson's view was remarkably prescient, anticipating, among other things, real-time GPS navigation in cars (and pornographic writing making its way into mainstream bookstores).
This is a beautiful story, a story in which the race war in America comes to a crisis point, told through the eyes of a racially mixed family. It's a story full of brutality and violence whose ultimate goal is to uphold the best of the human spirit-- love, loyalty, ingenuity, and determination-- in the most trying of times.
The message that you have to be willing to kill for what is right isn't a comfortable one for me personally, having been raised a pacifist, and I feel like it also plays somewhat differently in this age where an endless, smoldering, war has become an ever-present backdrop to American identity. But Robinson also makes the point that people need to consider very carefully what they are fighting for and determine at a personal level when violence is truly necessary.
His heroes are avenging angels, willing to right the world's wrongs by any and all means necessary, and fighting to win at any cost. They may grieve for the price they pay, but they pay it without hesitation. And they do so, in part, because there are other people who have no choice but to fight for their very survival, perhaps simply because of the color skin they were born with. It is, in some ways, a privilege to have the option of not fighting.
In addition to these philosophical depths, the book manages to be funny, clever, raunchy, and action-packed. It's a bold, brave novel. Robinson feared this future might be inevitable. I'm please to say I don't think it is.
Quotes:
"I was in New York for almost two weeks before I saw my first knifing. But it picked up after that..." p 140
regarding a concert in Times Square: "But the general mood of the crowd was benign, benevolent; for its size and location it was an astonishingly well-behaved mob." p 185
Jose and Jennifer: "'Hey, look, you live in New York you gotta prejudge people. Only I don't do it by colour of ethnic. I'm prejudiced about size and money... most rich guys in this town, they don't think that nobody else is a human being that isn't rich.'"
'What about rich women?'
'They're the worst. They don't even believe theirselves is human beings.'" p 203
"I know that I am a most self-centered man. I want most for the world to go away and leave me alone. I have few friends and none I would die for." 355 (I like this quote because I think it honestly describes how many of us truly feel under our bluster and brag and dreams of heroism. And I think it's heroic to admit it.)
Quoted within the text:
From J. D. MacDonald's The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper: "Suspicion used to be on an individual basis. Now each one of us, black or white, is a symbol. The war is out in the open and the skin color is a uniform. All the deep and basic similarities of the human condition are forgotten so that we can exaggerate the few differences that exist."
July 11, 2024
CW: The book is about racism and a race war, and includes lots of slurs, and both graphic physical and sexual violence
This is an unusual book for Spider Robinson. It's light on humour, and definitely more violent than the average Callahan's Story. To keep a long story short and talk about what this is, is *unfortunate*. Russell Grant (a clear stand-in for Robinson, like seemingly all of his protagonists) is unlikable, whether he's soulsearching to find out whether he's a racist or giving his daughter misogynistic "advice" about avoiding rape. Speaking of his daughter, she's 13 years old. The book won't let you forget it, because it and its characters are constantly making excuses to sexualize her. "She's comitted murder so she's a woman now!" "Lots of cultures consider thirteen-year-old girls grownup!" It's gross as can be and it pervades the book.
Its few redeeming features are the Black revolutionaries and their leader Michael; they're competent and while somewhat stereotypical, they're presented entirely sympathetically and not in the way a lot of the Baen covers would suggest. Also the scene where a rapist gets his just rewards.
None of that makes up the book's many issues. I'd rate it lower if I could.
This is an unusual book for Spider Robinson. It's light on humour, and definitely more violent than the average Callahan's Story. To keep a long story short and talk about what this is, is *unfortunate*. Russell Grant (a clear stand-in for Robinson, like seemingly all of his protagonists) is unlikable, whether he's soulsearching to find out whether he's a racist or giving his daughter misogynistic "advice" about avoiding rape. Speaking of his daughter, she's 13 years old. The book won't let you forget it, because it and its characters are constantly making excuses to sexualize her. "She's comitted murder so she's a woman now!" "Lots of cultures consider thirteen-year-old girls grownup!" It's gross as can be and it pervades the book.
Its few redeeming features are the Black revolutionaries and their leader Michael; they're competent and while somewhat stereotypical, they're presented entirely sympathetically and not in the way a lot of the Baen covers would suggest. Also the scene where a rapist gets his just rewards.
None of that makes up the book's many issues. I'd rate it lower if I could.
June 12, 2021
Spider doesn't shy away from thorny problems
I like this book a lot. Once again, the author gives us characters that we wish we'd known our entire lives. Then puts them in a situation in which they must question what they know, who they are and decide if they're up to the task at hand. His thorny problem, in this case, is race relations in America. And dropped into the middle of the solution offered is a mixed race Canadian family visiting NYC. A superb tale, well told.
I like this book a lot. Once again, the author gives us characters that we wish we'd known our entire lives. Then puts them in a situation in which they must question what they know, who they are and decide if they're up to the task at hand. His thorny problem, in this case, is race relations in America. And dropped into the middle of the solution offered is a mixed race Canadian family visiting NYC. A superb tale, well told.
April 21, 2024
Night of Power is a weird-ass libertarian fantasy novel. You can tell because there's a whole chapter near the END where a 13-year-old consents to sex with an adult. It's also about a successful takeover of NYC by a large contingent of black Americans. Some of the dumbest leaps in logic and one of the worst endings - "Michael, can you use me?" followed by "and then they went off to fight the army, the end" or somesuch. Ridiculous.
April 18, 2018
A bit dated feeling now (published in 1985), but Spider Robinson's books are well written and provocative. I especially enjoyed the very accurate Nova Scotia references as I'm from there, and Spider Robinson was living not too far from my home town when he wrote this (not that I knew it at the time).
October 12, 2013
I first read one of Spider's short short stories in either
an Analog or a Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine (my dad's hand-me-downs). I do remember it being a Callahan's Crosstime Saloon short, and I was instantly hooked. I couldn't get enough of his stories. Then, in 1986 I read Night Of Power, which was a nakedly ant-American diatribe. Yes, there were Spider's typically interesting thoughts out-loud (one was trying to produce a combination oven - which makes cold things hot - and a freezer - which makes hot things cold, as both do what they do by heat exchange. THAT has stuck in my mind for years).
I was dismayed about the main character's (I don't remember their names but I have never forgotten this novel) purchasing pornography for themselves and their teenage daughter. I remember Robinson's recommending that several states be emptied of whites and given to blacks (great idea, moron: The whites thrown out of their houses would do that with smiles upon their faces? Maybe in Canuck Land. We are allowed to own firearms. The black population would be reduced to near extinction level in this country if your bright idea had ever been adopted. You hate the nation of your birth, that much is evident.
I've an acquaintance, a Québécois Colonel in the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment. He owns a vehicle that is produced in the United States and is sold in both Canada and the USA. His version costs 10 thousand dollars (US) more than the identical vehicle sold here in order to feed Canada's ravenous socialist ideals. He is in awe of US military power, likes the US but without a doubt loves and is loyal to his nation. But I know from several discussions with him that he is unhappy with the path the US has taken since 2009, and is afraid that the US is the next Canada.
Spider is a terrific storyteller but he lost this voracious reader of all things Spider Robinson after I forced myself to finish his anti-American rant. Hey, dude, WE have a Black President (who, as you may or may not know is an incompetent, arrogant and thoroughly racialist Marxist asshole). When are YOU bozo's going to elect an Inuit Prime Minister?)
an Analog or a Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine (my dad's hand-me-downs). I do remember it being a Callahan's Crosstime Saloon short, and I was instantly hooked. I couldn't get enough of his stories. Then, in 1986 I read Night Of Power, which was a nakedly ant-American diatribe. Yes, there were Spider's typically interesting thoughts out-loud (one was trying to produce a combination oven - which makes cold things hot - and a freezer - which makes hot things cold, as both do what they do by heat exchange. THAT has stuck in my mind for years).
I was dismayed about the main character's (I don't remember their names but I have never forgotten this novel) purchasing pornography for themselves and their teenage daughter. I remember Robinson's recommending that several states be emptied of whites and given to blacks (great idea, moron: The whites thrown out of their houses would do that with smiles upon their faces? Maybe in Canuck Land. We are allowed to own firearms. The black population would be reduced to near extinction level in this country if your bright idea had ever been adopted. You hate the nation of your birth, that much is evident.
I've an acquaintance, a Québécois Colonel in the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment. He owns a vehicle that is produced in the United States and is sold in both Canada and the USA. His version costs 10 thousand dollars (US) more than the identical vehicle sold here in order to feed Canada's ravenous socialist ideals. He is in awe of US military power, likes the US but without a doubt loves and is loyal to his nation. But I know from several discussions with him that he is unhappy with the path the US has taken since 2009, and is afraid that the US is the next Canada.
Spider is a terrific storyteller but he lost this voracious reader of all things Spider Robinson after I forced myself to finish his anti-American rant. Hey, dude, WE have a Black President (who, as you may or may not know is an incompetent, arrogant and thoroughly racialist Marxist asshole). When are YOU bozo's going to elect an Inuit Prime Minister?)
August 29, 2010
Night of Power was a fast, but immensely fun read. Spider Robinson wrote some very entertaining action scenes, witty dialogue and interesting characters (especially Michael and Jennifer). However, I must confess that Night of Power felt somewhat dated and irrelevant. Furthermore, the idea of an armed revolution in New York City was too implausible to believe. Also, I felt that the ending was a disappointment because it felt rushed, didn't mention whether Micheal's rebellion ultimately succeeded and failed to wrap up the various sub-plots.
February 5, 2013
Outside the Callahan stories and the Stardance trilogy, this is perhaps my favourite Spider Robinson novel. It deals with some very tricky and difficult subject matter, from pornography and racial discrimination to teen sexuality and gun ownership with a degree of intelligence and sensitivity that I truly respect. Amid the backdrop of a gripping story, the author makes us look at where our own civilization is going and what we need to do to treat each other without passing judgment by looking at the outside....
March 25, 2009
Spider Robinson's heart is in the right place, but the thought experiment he creates with this novel is not sane. Black people seceding from the United States--by seizing New York state--would not help black people. Also, I see little evidence that black Americans at the time of the writing of the novel were significantly being held back by racism, the proximate cause of the secession.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2009
Another of my Spider Robinson favorites. This is a world in chaos, and a family must fight to stay together, and to stay alive. The world feels very real, and the danger quite immediate. This is another book that I have read again and again.
February 9, 2008
Brilliant!
November 17, 2009
I appreciate the story, but I disagree with the conclusion/message and they're not getting NY or PA.
March 1, 2014
A little dated, but still great.
March 26, 2017
5.5/10, or 3/5. I'm honestly wavering on how I feel about this novel. I LOVED Mindkiller, really liked Time Pressure, and enjoyed Lifehouse. This book was overall somewhat entertaining, but not his best by a long shot.
This book did make me think. It made me ask questions. It unfortunately brought out some of my English Major analytical pontification, so excuse my long-windedness.
There will be some SPOILERS, so be warned.
It was an odd idea that black people might rise up in America and claim two states as their own black nation, albeit incredibly implausible at the time of its writing or even today for that matter. I do not regret reading this, but I cannot highly recommend it either when his aforementioned books are so much better than this, especially Mindkiller!!
Since Spider Robinson tends to linger on the sex scenes I am going to linger there a bit in this review.
No other reviewers commented on the 13 year old girl losing her virginity during menstrual sex (during her first period, at that), or the other vast assortment of odd sex scenes or sex related scenes. This particular sex scene also took place very near the end, second last chapter, so it tends to stick in ones head being one of the last scenes.
I have no problem with sex being in a book, if the writing fits, but it seems Spider Robinson gets a bit caught up and lingers on the sex at times and sometimes it doesn't meld well with the flow of story. Some times it seems a bit exaggerated, or over emphasised, other times a bit cheesy or intentionally inserted just because, which is fine... if it fits. Some scenes do, some I don't. The sex shop scene was a long and drawn out description of sex magazines and fetish, sexual preferences and appetites, and detracts from the main plot at it's time of insertion (pun not originally intended). It fits in with the themes of sex overall, true, but is inconveniently placed in the book. And the scene near the end,where Jennifer loses her virginity, while on her first period, was rather detailed to the point of excess, given all that was going on outside that scene. It took us a bit far from the overall plot I felt. I'd have liked more scenes involving the world itself in such times of strife. There is a lot of talk about how she is no longer 13, but an adult, and how, many girls get married and have children at age 13... and I must say nowadays you probably would not find a lot of people openly okay with the idea of a 13 year old girl having sex with an older boy etc. Where do I stand? I really do not know. On that note, why does Spider emphasized this scene so intensely is a curiosity. He put a lot of work into making this 13 year old seem like a tough, intelligent, empowered woman and in many ways it was a central theme worked at throughout the entire novel, alongside the more prominent theme of racism, racial equality and mixed race relationships.
The double murders during the attemptes rape scene, albeit defensive, were at times amusing (I mean... she superglued his hand to his penis... ), disturbing and intriguing. The world is a fucked up place. Perhaps that was the point with the murder of Shaw and his nephew, that they are examples of the danger, the abhorrent horror that can be drawn out in the seeming absence of civilized organized, regulated society. Predators come out when the risk of retribution or punishment seems to have vacated. Shaw got what was coming to him (pun intended... sorry), and so did his nephew. The attempted rape of Jennifer by the nephew, and the intention of rape by Shaw, reveal a world out of order, one in which kill or be killed is the rule of law. The scenes were interesting and thought provoking. (But... did you really need to describe in detail the size shape and veins etc of a man's penis... I could have done without that, *groan*) haha.
I do not dislike Spider Robinson on these accounts, but merely seek to explore the "why". I have my own theories about this and will elaborate. At one point he mentions all the black music playing on the radio and has Russel reminisce about how Frank Zappa and the Beatles he'd miss but could live without if he had to, on account of much of his musical interests being of black artists.
Frank Zappa has a very liberal approach to sex and has enforced that with his daughter, Moon (yup he named her Moon). Zappa, in what I've read and watched has a similar outlook on sex and sexuality as Spider Robinson seems to convey himself as having via his literary works. Freedom of choice. Freedom of action. Sexual freedom.
This one sentence having mentioning Frank Zappa made me pause and think about all these sex scenes. At first I wondered what perverse fantasies must be lingering in the mind of Spider Robinson, to have such extensive focus on sex with what many would call a child. I for a moment considered the word pedophile in contextual association with Jose and Jennifer's sex scene.
It has since come to mind that it is, in all likelihood, sexual liberalism, not some perverse pedophiliac fantasy that drives such sexual profundity. I think this is something that could however be easily misinterpreted, unjustly so. Spider Robinson has a very sexually open attitude, like Frank Zappa and so many others. I personally do not know where I stand. It is a grey area. I think if I had a daughter I wouldn't be quite as liberal as Spider or Zappa. I would be upset to hear she'd had sex at so young an age as 13. The age of consent in Canada was 14 some time back, but was raised to 16. I feel that the latter, 16, is a more justified age for consenting young people to engage in sexual intercourse, but for some liberalism has not seemingly posed any debilitating problems or traumas.
Spider Robinson writes about hippy communes and sexual freedom in other novels, and I think that is what's behind this, not some perverse desire for intercourse with young girls.
FINAL THOUGHTS?
I think the Racewar was doomed to fail. No way the US would let itself be held hostage. I am intrigued he left the ending open. I was kind of hoping it would have a definitive conclusion. It certainly suggests they might win. But he really does not say.
The book was pretty fast paced. It was an easy read. It was thought provoking and even a fair bit controversial in many aspects. It dealt with many themes: sex, race, intermarriage, military coup, morals and ethics, life and death. Pretty packed full if you ask me. But it still only pulls a 5.5/10 for me. It was a valiant effort. Some scenes were amazing, visceral, while others were implausible, unrealistic, or simply ridiculous.
CONCLUSION:
Read Mindkiller!!!!. Read Time Pressure. Maybe read Lifehouse. (They're a trilogy but you can stop at any book, albeit without getting the full overarching story)
Only read this if you're a huge fan, or a completist. There are probably a lot of better books you could read, but if you must, this one isn't too terrible, just not that great.
This book did make me think. It made me ask questions. It unfortunately brought out some of my English Major analytical pontification, so excuse my long-windedness.
There will be some SPOILERS, so be warned.
It was an odd idea that black people might rise up in America and claim two states as their own black nation, albeit incredibly implausible at the time of its writing or even today for that matter. I do not regret reading this, but I cannot highly recommend it either when his aforementioned books are so much better than this, especially Mindkiller!!
Since Spider Robinson tends to linger on the sex scenes I am going to linger there a bit in this review.
No other reviewers commented on the 13 year old girl losing her virginity during menstrual sex (during her first period, at that), or the other vast assortment of odd sex scenes or sex related scenes. This particular sex scene also took place very near the end, second last chapter, so it tends to stick in ones head being one of the last scenes.
I have no problem with sex being in a book, if the writing fits, but it seems Spider Robinson gets a bit caught up and lingers on the sex at times and sometimes it doesn't meld well with the flow of story. Some times it seems a bit exaggerated, or over emphasised, other times a bit cheesy or intentionally inserted just because, which is fine... if it fits. Some scenes do, some I don't. The sex shop scene was a long and drawn out description of sex magazines and fetish, sexual preferences and appetites, and detracts from the main plot at it's time of insertion (pun not originally intended). It fits in with the themes of sex overall, true, but is inconveniently placed in the book. And the scene near the end,where Jennifer loses her virginity, while on her first period, was rather detailed to the point of excess, given all that was going on outside that scene. It took us a bit far from the overall plot I felt. I'd have liked more scenes involving the world itself in such times of strife. There is a lot of talk about how she is no longer 13, but an adult, and how, many girls get married and have children at age 13... and I must say nowadays you probably would not find a lot of people openly okay with the idea of a 13 year old girl having sex with an older boy etc. Where do I stand? I really do not know. On that note, why does Spider emphasized this scene so intensely is a curiosity. He put a lot of work into making this 13 year old seem like a tough, intelligent, empowered woman and in many ways it was a central theme worked at throughout the entire novel, alongside the more prominent theme of racism, racial equality and mixed race relationships.
The double murders during the attemptes rape scene, albeit defensive, were at times amusing (I mean... she superglued his hand to his penis... ), disturbing and intriguing. The world is a fucked up place. Perhaps that was the point with the murder of Shaw and his nephew, that they are examples of the danger, the abhorrent horror that can be drawn out in the seeming absence of civilized organized, regulated society. Predators come out when the risk of retribution or punishment seems to have vacated. Shaw got what was coming to him (pun intended... sorry), and so did his nephew. The attempted rape of Jennifer by the nephew, and the intention of rape by Shaw, reveal a world out of order, one in which kill or be killed is the rule of law. The scenes were interesting and thought provoking. (But... did you really need to describe in detail the size shape and veins etc of a man's penis... I could have done without that, *groan*) haha.
I do not dislike Spider Robinson on these accounts, but merely seek to explore the "why". I have my own theories about this and will elaborate. At one point he mentions all the black music playing on the radio and has Russel reminisce about how Frank Zappa and the Beatles he'd miss but could live without if he had to, on account of much of his musical interests being of black artists.
Frank Zappa has a very liberal approach to sex and has enforced that with his daughter, Moon (yup he named her Moon). Zappa, in what I've read and watched has a similar outlook on sex and sexuality as Spider Robinson seems to convey himself as having via his literary works. Freedom of choice. Freedom of action. Sexual freedom.
This one sentence having mentioning Frank Zappa made me pause and think about all these sex scenes. At first I wondered what perverse fantasies must be lingering in the mind of Spider Robinson, to have such extensive focus on sex with what many would call a child. I for a moment considered the word pedophile in contextual association with Jose and Jennifer's sex scene.
It has since come to mind that it is, in all likelihood, sexual liberalism, not some perverse pedophiliac fantasy that drives such sexual profundity. I think this is something that could however be easily misinterpreted, unjustly so. Spider Robinson has a very sexually open attitude, like Frank Zappa and so many others. I personally do not know where I stand. It is a grey area. I think if I had a daughter I wouldn't be quite as liberal as Spider or Zappa. I would be upset to hear she'd had sex at so young an age as 13. The age of consent in Canada was 14 some time back, but was raised to 16. I feel that the latter, 16, is a more justified age for consenting young people to engage in sexual intercourse, but for some liberalism has not seemingly posed any debilitating problems or traumas.
Spider Robinson writes about hippy communes and sexual freedom in other novels, and I think that is what's behind this, not some perverse desire for intercourse with young girls.
FINAL THOUGHTS?
I think the Racewar was doomed to fail. No way the US would let itself be held hostage. I am intrigued he left the ending open. I was kind of hoping it would have a definitive conclusion. It certainly suggests they might win. But he really does not say.
The book was pretty fast paced. It was an easy read. It was thought provoking and even a fair bit controversial in many aspects. It dealt with many themes: sex, race, intermarriage, military coup, morals and ethics, life and death. Pretty packed full if you ask me. But it still only pulls a 5.5/10 for me. It was a valiant effort. Some scenes were amazing, visceral, while others were implausible, unrealistic, or simply ridiculous.
CONCLUSION:
Read Mindkiller!!!!. Read Time Pressure. Maybe read Lifehouse. (They're a trilogy but you can stop at any book, albeit without getting the full overarching story)
Only read this if you're a huge fan, or a completist. There are probably a lot of better books you could read, but if you must, this one isn't too terrible, just not that great.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews