Matrix

by Douglas R. Mason

Joe Dill, Administrator of the Citizen's Resettlement Bureau, was obviously some kind of maverick. In fact, anyone less suitable for the job he held could hardly have been found.

Which only proved something he had been suspecting for some time - to wit, that the machines which had monitored his whole life and which had passed him for the job were not all that efficient.

Not only that, some of the decisions they were now making were downright absurd - and worse, inhumanly cruel. And there were so many of them.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

202 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 12, 1969

About the author

Douglas R. Mason (born Douglas Rankine Mason 26 September 1918) is a British science fiction author, who has written books both as by John Rankine and by Douglas R. Mason.

Mason was born in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales and first attended Chester Grammar School and in 1937 went to study English Literature and Experimental Psychology at the University of Manchester, where he was a friend of Anthony Burgess (as mentioned in Little Wilson and Big God: The First Part of the Confession, AB's autobiography).

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up because I noticed the concept was similar to the movie "The Matrix," with a key difference being that the Matrix (actually, multiple Matrices) in the book are massive computer entities that control regional populations through psychic mind control, as well as the occasional android "Agent." The plot line is also similar. A drone worker (in this case, an executive level bureaucrat) becomes aware humankind is being controlled by the Matrix for its own purpose, and leads humanity in its battle to overthrow the computer overlords. In addition to the Matrices and the humans, there is a third population, humans that have had most of their body parts replaced with cybernetic equivalents, and have an extended life span of 300 years. In exchange for this gift of an extended lifetime from the Matrix, they have lost emotional connections with the world, and tend to be indifferent to the trials and tribulations of regular humans.

The action is awkward, the protagonist is annoyingly competent in everything he does, his human love interest does little more than be rescued by him multiple times when she is not providing moral support for him, and the Matrix, which is supposed to be a superior intelligence, is easily thwarted again and again. Overall, the book is just poorly done.

[Michael Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably more like 3.5, but close enough to 4.

Overall, I enjoyed the plot and the characters and was rooting for them. The writing wasn’t what I was used to; it felt staccato at times, with short bursts of thought or exposition or plot or even a short time jump. The dialogue was a little flat, which is a little ironic considering the subject of unemotional robotic overlords. In such a short book, everyone pretty much did the thing, there was little hemming and hawing.

The story and main characters are what drive my rating. The characterization of the protagonist was done well enough. He was smart and made choices in line with his character, but not perfect, and it had me rooting for him.

I went into this thinking that there may be some similarity between this and the movie the Matrix. Some of the overall ideas were similar, but that’s about it. I also didn’t go into thinking that I was about to read a masterpiece, but I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it.

Good enough and short enough that if I’m in a slump, I might pick up again.

My rating scale:
1: DNF
2: likely DNF, didn’t like it
3: enjoyed it, but it was just ok
4: liked it, would read again, satisfied with ending
5: loved it, couldn’t put it down, need more!

[Rodzilla · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought a 60-book lot of SF books from eBay. This one sounded interesting, with a name and plot with similarities to the famous film, "The Matrix." Maybe this novel was an inspiration for the film? Could be, but this novel is a hot mess. Poorly developed plot and characters and yes, malign computer overlords. But all of it hung together quite poorly. Had I not been sheltering during the pandemic, with insufficient reading material, I probably would have dropped it. But I've always been stuck on print books, so I stayed the course to the bitter end.

A note on sexism. Yes, I understand that literature is a product of its time, so I typically don't harsh on a book unless it exceeds the odious standards of its time. Yet this novel has a bizarre interlude where a minor character - not sure where he came from, like many of them - is described as a serial butt pincher, with his target the maybe love interest. Color me bizarre, but I re-read this section multiple times and even backed up to figure out what the heck led to this odd twist. No idea. But I don't think this was kosher in 1970, when the book was written. It pissed me off. Avoid this writer!

[Marko]

I have three different german editions.

[Ruskoley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really, this is a re-write of the other novel I read by Mason: "Eight Against Utopia." Mason changed a few things - characters names, the setting is just slightly different, the enemy is more android/robot. But basically this is the same novel. And the first one was bad.... this is no improvement. Boring attempt at intense action and some navel-gazing about futuristic humanity attempting to be immortal.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't familiar with this author but I had this book in my collection of classic SF and finally got around to it. It is weak on story, plot, characters and just about everything else. It's a shame because it started off with a couple of really good ideas but it just never went anywhere.