Utopia 239

by Rex Gordon

Presentiamo per la prima volta ai nostri lettori lo scrittore inglese Rex Gordon, con uno dei suoi migliori romanzi di fantascienza. I protagonisti di «Utopia 239» compiono un balzo nel tempo e vengono lanciati… nel futuro. Non vogliamo anticipare al lettore come è reso possibile tale viaggio straordinario. Naturalmente ne sorgono i più stupefacenti paradossi che l’Autore risolve con grande maestria e ingegnosità. Il mondo futuro dove si vengono a trovare i protagonisti è del tutto sorprendente, alquanto pauroso ma completamente accettabile per la nostra mentalità. In questo romanzo i personaggi si lanciano nell’ignoto del futuro soprattutto per sfuggire gli attuali problemi relativi ai doveri sociali e di convivenza in questo mondo carico di bombe atomiche pronte ad esplodere, in clima di paura e di instabilità politica. Ma anche nel futuro essi constatano con legittima sorpresa che tali doveri sono rimasti pressoché gli stessi. Essi dovranno risolverli realisticamente e qualunque sia «la realtà» cui si troveranno di fronte. Le avventure narrate sono strane oltre ogni immaginazione ma possibili e soprattutto psicologicamente vere. Questo interessante romanzo ci dà una sola «che il futuro dell’umanità sarà molto più vario e sorprendente di quanto non lo sia mai stato il passato». E soltanto le «fantasie scientifiche» sul tipo di «Utopia 239» possono darci una possibile visione del tempo futuro. Le anticipazioni di Giulio Verne sono la realtà di oggi e nulla ci vieta di pensare che quelle di Rex Gordon siano la realtà di domani.
Completano questo interessante numero dei Romanzi del Cosmo l’avvincente racconto «Gli Smeraldini» di F. D’Alessio, le Avventure della Scienza e la consueta Posta del Cosmo.

Genres: Fiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Pseudonym of Stanley Bennett Hough, son of Simeon and Eva (Bennett) Hough. Married Justa Elisabeth Cecilia Wodschow on June 25, 1938. (No children.)
Attended Radio Technical College, Prestion (1935-36).
Also wrote as S.B. Hough

Occupations:
Radio operator 1936-1945.
Yachting business 1946-1951.
Freelance writer.

For the 1955 born US author of the same name see Rex Gordon

Reviews

[Ian Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Utopia 239” by Rex Gordon (1955) First Edition

Overall Rating 7/10 – Temporally Good

Point of View
Written in the 3rd person / Past Tense (standard convention)

Plot
Set in a somewhat dystopian 1958, a scientist is dismissed from his work with the government for meeting a scientist from the side of the “enemy”. His future son-in-law, who is also a scientist and colleague, conspires against the wishes of the authorities to continue to meet with him (and his daughter to whom he is engaged) at his home. Forced out of his workplace, and in secret, the father develops a time machine and the three protagonists escape to the future.

Here they find the expected and the unexpected. Before their departure from 1958, atomic war seemed imminent. After their arrival it was evident it had occurred. But, the “Utopia” they find and the way of life was most certainly an unexpected surprise.

The questions they face are; Is this the Utopia that it appears to be, and, can the time travellers (with a 1958 set of moral values and standards) accept a new way of life that is enveloped with extreme social liberalism?

Writing Style
Actually, for a book written in 1955, it’s not bad at all. The writing flows easily and is not sunk within “yesterday’s” style. There is no hint of the Dicken’s complexities and, mostly, the sentences are short. I did have some difficulty with some meandering moments where the author endured phases of double words (for instance, “he had had enough”) and times when there was an irritating extraneous use of the word “for” (Example, “FOR he was too old ….”). These occurrences seemed to appear randomly and in blips as though they had been edited out of the entire book, but the proof-reader has dozed off for a few pages at a time.

There were, however, some strong hints that it was written in 1955 because of the word usages. Nevertheless, it has certainly been one of the easier styles of yesteryear to abide with.

General Thoughts
I loved the idea of time travel and was certainly looking forward to meeting a future where I knew (from the write ups) that I would find a Utopian society which excels in sexual liberation. The conflict between the protagonist’s moral values and 1958 social standards was always going to produce an exciting read – and that didn’t disappoint.

Of course, when we think of an apocalypse (in this case, atomic war), we now generally think of an uninhabited wasteland or a zombie invasion. It was refreshing to see neither but, instead, a lush land with no oil, very little metal and electricity that comes only from wind or water (pretty forward that for someone writing in 1955). Add to that, fuel for vehicles that comes only from the farming of crops (also very forward thinking).

Not too shabby at all and a good worthy read.