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Tetrasomy Two
"HERCULES THIRTY-FOUR!"
Dr. Boyd did not know what to make of that short message from Ernest Peckham, the elderly human vegetable under his care, but he felt that it must mean something. Then a company named Hercules soared from thirty-four on the Stock Exchange. After that there were other messages, and some very strange things began to happen--for one thing, the highly desirable nurse on Dr. Boyd's ward suddenly became more amenable to his advances ... Dr. Boyd began to think twice about having Mr. Peckham removed to a nursing home ...
"A combination of Woody Allen and Michael Crichton ... Hilarious, informative ... Guaranteed to make you wonder." -- SCIENCE FICTION SURVEY
Dr. Boyd did not know what to make of that short message from Ernest Peckham, the elderly human vegetable under his care, but he felt that it must mean something. Then a company named Hercules soared from thirty-four on the Stock Exchange. After that there were other messages, and some very strange things began to happen--for one thing, the highly desirable nurse on Dr. Boyd's ward suddenly became more amenable to his advances ... Dr. Boyd began to think twice about having Mr. Peckham removed to a nursing home ...
"A combination of Woody Allen and Michael Crichton ... Hilarious, informative ... Guaranteed to make you wonder." -- SCIENCE FICTION SURVEY
196 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
47 people want to read
About the author
Oscar Rossiter
2 books1 follower"Oscar Rossiter" was the pseudonym of US physician and writer Vernon Harold Skeels (1918-2007), who received his MD in 1949 and whose sf novel,
Tetrasomy Two
(1974), is set in a hospital where a seemingly helpless human vegetable turns out to be an Antihero, an amoral Superman preparing to eliminate the solar system in order to accumulate the energy necessary to tour the Galaxy.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 8, 2018
Clever, twisty, hilariously funny, and at times a bit poignant. If you like unreliable but endearing narrators, you'll enjoy this one. For example, here is Dr. Boyd who, while having dinner with his fiancee's parents, has discovered that he can hear other people's thoughts:
Locked away in their bathroom, I began the process of learning to keep minds out. The answer I found was concentration. Where the reflection from the window softened the surface of the almost spherical brass doorknob, I made an entry and left them all behind. Thirteen minutes later Grace knocked on the door and said it was time to go.
When I came out they were waiting, but I kept ahead most of the time. From the doorknob to the bar of a towel rack and then into my watch. When I couldn't stand the crashing wheels any longer I shouted "Ho!" and made it almost untouched into the unopened bottle of champagne. I hadn't reckoned with the pressure, and just before I lost consciousness I tried for a prism on the chandelier. A mistake: it offered no protection at all and worse, I bounded about inside it. With another "Ho" I jumped straight up and landed flat-footed. It worked.
Hugely disappointed to discover that the author never wrote anything else.
Locked away in their bathroom, I began the process of learning to keep minds out. The answer I found was concentration. Where the reflection from the window softened the surface of the almost spherical brass doorknob, I made an entry and left them all behind. Thirteen minutes later Grace knocked on the door and said it was time to go.
When I came out they were waiting, but I kept ahead most of the time. From the doorknob to the bar of a towel rack and then into my watch. When I couldn't stand the crashing wheels any longer I shouted "Ho!" and made it almost untouched into the unopened bottle of champagne. I hadn't reckoned with the pressure, and just before I lost consciousness I tried for a prism on the chandelier. A mistake: it offered no protection at all and worse, I bounded about inside it. With another "Ho" I jumped straight up and landed flat-footed. It worked.
Hugely disappointed to discover that the author never wrote anything else.
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December 22, 2023My rating?
Oh yeah, that… hmm, still trying to figure out what I read. Once I’ve figured that out, I’ll probably leave a 3 star rating.
Or a 2.
Or 4 maybe.
Or a 1? 0.5?
I dunno, man.
Imagine a book that starts out as a mystery. A paranormal mystery. Biology, medicine, psychiatry; the guy knows his stuff (the author is a psychiatrist after all).
Ok, so you’re progressing through this medical mystery, and it starts shifting into an Ed Wood movie. One of his later, more erotic ones. Women written badly… or maybe that was on purpose??
Anyway, it takes a dive into Fear and Loathing territory, and ends up with a Scanner Darkly persona. Then you start wondering if this is all happening, or maybe the main character has just gone crazy.
It ends… um, in a way…..
Uh, no no.
Ok, it ends like….
Like…. Shit. No, that’s wrong. Ok, let’s try that again.
It ends like Neuromancer…?
Yeah, it ends like Neuromancer and… uh… dude, I dunno.
Wtf did I just read anyway!?
Oh yeah, that… hmm, still trying to figure out what I read. Once I’ve figured that out, I’ll probably leave a 3 star rating.
Or a 2.
Or 4 maybe.
Or a 1? 0.5?
I dunno, man.
Imagine a book that starts out as a mystery. A paranormal mystery. Biology, medicine, psychiatry; the guy knows his stuff (the author is a psychiatrist after all).
Ok, so you’re progressing through this medical mystery, and it starts shifting into an Ed Wood movie. One of his later, more erotic ones. Women written badly… or maybe that was on purpose??
Anyway, it takes a dive into Fear and Loathing territory, and ends up with a Scanner Darkly persona. Then you start wondering if this is all happening, or maybe the main character has just gone crazy.
It ends… um, in a way…..
Uh, no no.
Ok, it ends like….
Like…. Shit. No, that’s wrong. Ok, let’s try that again.
It ends like Neuromancer…?
Yeah, it ends like Neuromancer and… uh… dude, I dunno.
Wtf did I just read anyway!?
December 29, 2015
Sometimes a book just jumps out at you. That was the case with this book. I was checking out at a used book store when I saw a table of discounted books. As I scanned the table I saw the name "Tetrasomy Two". The name catches your attention. Reading the back cover made me think of a Philip K. Dick novel.
The mind that runs the universe is locked in the body of a person in an asylum. What better place to hide?
The author naturally reveals the personality of the various characters until you start thinking of them as real people. The main character is Dr. Boyd. He reminds me of Monk on the USA Network TV show. It is obvious that he has numerous problems. As the story progresses the reader starts thinking that the doctor might be going insane. Are any of the things described by the doctor happening or is he suffering a breakdown? The reader is not sure until the final two pages.
I must also admit to being surprised by the revelation near the end. I will not spoil it for you but you will know what I mean when you read it. It was one of those great moments that made sense after you read it.
If you are a fan of Philip K. Dick or Barry Malzberg, hunt down this book. You will enjoy it.
After finishing it, I went in search of more books by Oscar Rossiter. Why did I not hear of him before? Probably because this is his only novel. The author, whose real name was Vernon Skeels, quit writing after completing this novel. Between his professional career and writing Tetrasomy Two, it left no time for his family. The choice was simple for Skeels, family came first.
In the final days of his life, his children would read this novel to him as he lay in a rest home. He was proud to tell people that he wrote a novel.
Why did he use a pen name? Because of his work as a psychiatrist in Seattle. He worried that people would get upset if they thought he used their personality and cases in a novel. Like most good novelists, he used real life as inspiration but did not copy specific cases.
A month after finishing this book, I still wonder what he would have produced if he had continued writing
The mind that runs the universe is locked in the body of a person in an asylum. What better place to hide?
The author naturally reveals the personality of the various characters until you start thinking of them as real people. The main character is Dr. Boyd. He reminds me of Monk on the USA Network TV show. It is obvious that he has numerous problems. As the story progresses the reader starts thinking that the doctor might be going insane. Are any of the things described by the doctor happening or is he suffering a breakdown? The reader is not sure until the final two pages.
I must also admit to being surprised by the revelation near the end. I will not spoil it for you but you will know what I mean when you read it. It was one of those great moments that made sense after you read it.
If you are a fan of Philip K. Dick or Barry Malzberg, hunt down this book. You will enjoy it.
After finishing it, I went in search of more books by Oscar Rossiter. Why did I not hear of him before? Probably because this is his only novel. The author, whose real name was Vernon Skeels, quit writing after completing this novel. Between his professional career and writing Tetrasomy Two, it left no time for his family. The choice was simple for Skeels, family came first.
In the final days of his life, his children would read this novel to him as he lay in a rest home. He was proud to tell people that he wrote a novel.
Why did he use a pen name? Because of his work as a psychiatrist in Seattle. He worried that people would get upset if they thought he used their personality and cases in a novel. Like most good novelists, he used real life as inspiration but did not copy specific cases.
A month after finishing this book, I still wonder what he would have produced if he had continued writing
July 31, 2016
I read this book many years ago when it was first published. I'd given it high marks, and it certainly did not disappoint when I read it again.
It's the story of a bumbling, inexperienced psychiatric resident who encounters a most unusual patient. Nothing about him ever changes; even his eyeblinks are exactly timed; lab tests from years ago never vary. Curiosity drives Dr. Stephen Boyd to understand more about Mr. Peckham and he learns that Mr. Peckham is far more than anyone could ever imagine.
A fascinating story with interesting twists and turns throughout. I rarely re-read a book, and this was one well worth the time.
It's the story of a bumbling, inexperienced psychiatric resident who encounters a most unusual patient. Nothing about him ever changes; even his eyeblinks are exactly timed; lab tests from years ago never vary. Curiosity drives Dr. Stephen Boyd to understand more about Mr. Peckham and he learns that Mr. Peckham is far more than anyone could ever imagine.
A fascinating story with interesting twists and turns throughout. I rarely re-read a book, and this was one well worth the time.
November 1, 2013
Disappointing end. Had the potential to be a really great Faustian story, but became self-indulgent and middle class.
February 10, 2010
Mr. Peckam seems like a withdrawn schizophrenic to all of his doctors until a mildly psychotic resident makes a psychic connection. A strong example of classic sci-fi, with good world-building, character development, and voice, but gets a bit strange and even hard to follow at times.
April 28, 2015
1978 grade D+
April 27, 2017
Two things stand out in Tetrasomy Two:
- The direct first person style of writing that shamelessly reveals the moral inadequacy of the main character a doctor at a hospital. I found myself disliking him as well as being fascinated by him. The author, a US physician used a pen name to write this book.
- The slowly reveal of the plot that very subtly mixes—or should I say confuses—science fiction fantasy with psychological drama. Even after the book ends the reader doesn't' fully know what they just read.
The book feels like an exercise in narrative challenging the conventions of voice and genre.
- The direct first person style of writing that shamelessly reveals the moral inadequacy of the main character a doctor at a hospital. I found myself disliking him as well as being fascinated by him. The author, a US physician used a pen name to write this book.
- The slowly reveal of the plot that very subtly mixes—or should I say confuses—science fiction fantasy with psychological drama. Even after the book ends the reader doesn't' fully know what they just read.
The book feels like an exercise in narrative challenging the conventions of voice and genre.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews