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The Prisoner (Powys Media) #1
The Prisoner: The Prisoner's Dilemma
THE PRISONER'S DILEMMA is the first in Powys Media's new line of novels based on the classic television series, THE PRISONER. Things are changing in the Village--the charming holiday camp for the disappeared, the civilized prison for those who know too much. The authorities have found new ways of exploiting community spirit... using a lost pioneer of computer science to put their stamp on the coming Information Age. But then there's Number 18. She's a murderer... for the best of reasons. She's a bit of a collaborator, for reasons of her own. She's fiercely protective of herself. And she may be Number 6's best chance of out-thinking the authorities' newest attempt at control. But it all depends on what the Village's masters are really aiming for. Do they expect him to trust her... or destroy her? THE PRISONER'S DILEMMA features a foreword by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI, the multiple Hugo-Award-winning creator of BABYLON 5.
327 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2005
40 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Blum
31 books24 followersJonathan Blum is the author of several Doctor Who novels and Big Finish audios. He currently lives in Australia with his wife Kate Orman.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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June 27, 2024The first half of this is far and away the best Prisoner tie-in I've ever read, succeeding admirably in expanding the programme's world without attempting to explain it, pulling at threads the series implied without trying to unravel the whole. In a destabilising environment such as the Village, when does trying to keep control of your own mind tip into another form of madness? Indeed, what exactly is the point of Number 6's much-vaunted individuality when it seems to be defined so totally as opposition? Might the Village have other, quieter forms of rebellion underway? How co-opted might they be? And how could that intersect with the counterculture that grew out of the same decade as The Prisoner but took a very different look and mood?
On top of all that, Blum and Booth further anchor the Village - though never at the expense of its strangeness (I still shake my head remembering the damn fool audacity of another spin-off's attempt to explain Rover) - with a couple of well-chosen celebrity inmates - one of whom proceeds to predict the internet in a way which, for anyone else, would require a 2005 book's hindsight on the sixties. Or so you'd think, before Blum and Booth move past that noughties techno-optimism to something more like the horrified realisations the rest of us have come to in the subsequent decades.
Alas, they're not content leaving it there, proceeding to stuff in various other noughties phenomena, where the treatment is sometimes a little less sure-footed - or maybe it's just that they're trying to ride too many horses at once. The links back to the show are still there, and it's hard to argue with the overarching sentiment that the intervening years only moved us closer to a global Village, but taken all together it ends up feeling merely overwhelming, compared to the sparking insights of the first half. In particular, there's one series of gruelling challenges that got so exhausting to read I started to wonder if it was deliberate method writing. But as much as this might have made more sense as two (or more) books, you can hardly blame them for stuffing it all in when they didn't know if they'd get another chance. And indeed, they didn't; much like the recent comic, this range was cut short, an ad in the back now the only trace of another lost novel by the great Lance Parkin (how I'd love to get a look at that man's hard drive). But even at its least impressive it still dodges the pitfalls into which its fellows merrily skipped, painting a powerful picture of the paralysis attendant on ultra-scepticism, the paradoxes of trying to resist a foe that can assimilate obstacles, and of course the issues around the eponymous problem. And how perfect is the notion that 6 being so loudly rebellious, other inmates with their doubts about the system would take him for an obvious plant?
On top of all that, Blum and Booth further anchor the Village - though never at the expense of its strangeness (I still shake my head remembering the damn fool audacity of another spin-off's attempt to explain Rover) - with a couple of well-chosen celebrity inmates - one of whom proceeds to predict the internet in a way which, for anyone else, would require a 2005 book's hindsight on the sixties. Or so you'd think, before Blum and Booth move past that noughties techno-optimism to something more like the horrified realisations the rest of us have come to in the subsequent decades.
Alas, they're not content leaving it there, proceeding to stuff in various other noughties phenomena, where the treatment is sometimes a little less sure-footed - or maybe it's just that they're trying to ride too many horses at once. The links back to the show are still there, and it's hard to argue with the overarching sentiment that the intervening years only moved us closer to a global Village, but taken all together it ends up feeling merely overwhelming, compared to the sparking insights of the first half. In particular, there's one series of gruelling challenges that got so exhausting to read I started to wonder if it was deliberate method writing. But as much as this might have made more sense as two (or more) books, you can hardly blame them for stuffing it all in when they didn't know if they'd get another chance. And indeed, they didn't; much like the recent comic, this range was cut short, an ad in the back now the only trace of another lost novel by the great Lance Parkin (how I'd love to get a look at that man's hard drive). But even at its least impressive it still dodges the pitfalls into which its fellows merrily skipped, painting a powerful picture of the paralysis attendant on ultra-scepticism, the paradoxes of trying to resist a foe that can assimilate obstacles, and of course the issues around the eponymous problem. And how perfect is the notion that 6 being so loudly rebellious, other inmates with their doubts about the system would take him for an obvious plant?
November 12, 2019
Only fans of the show would enjoy this book, or fully appreciate it, as there are multiple references to episodes of the show (none overt) and several characters (besides the Butler) make brief appearances. The action takes place before the final episode and focuses especially on the use of psychological game theory by the Village authorities against the prisoners, and a new prediction computer who uses such theory to give a varied predictions on each prisoner’s actions.
This was obviously written by authors who grew up on the show, was an absolute fan, and worked hard to make sure to do a proper appendage to the show. And they succeeded, the book feels like a prisoner episode.
This was obviously written by authors who grew up on the show, was an absolute fan, and worked hard to make sure to do a proper appendage to the show. And they succeeded, the book feels like a prisoner episode.
December 6, 2020
I had this novel in my bookshelf for six years. So it is very disappointing that I did not enjoy it. The story, so the first part turns into a detective drama, which leads nowhere. With the second part becoming a 'good must triumph over evil' scenario with the Prisoner going to destroy a new super computer. None of it interested me. I do worry that because of the fact I am a major Prisoner fan, I am too picky with what I expect from a Prisoner story. However, I cannot deny when I do not like one.
However the opening of this book was great. It was the opening sequence of the television show described but from the point of view of the character.
However the opening of this book was great. It was the opening sequence of the television show described but from the point of view of the character.
January 18, 2016
This is a 2005 book based on The Prisoner television series. In this case the overall theme is the construction of a computer that can predict peoples' actions, thus making it easier to control them. #6 is involved in trying to stop it along with a woman who is #18 and who has just killed a guy.
The Prisoner is subject to a lot of drugs, conditioning and mind manipulation, far more than at any time during the actual series. He and #18 are even put through a series of severe tests in different environments (indicating that the Village has some very advanced scientific abilities, thus updating the series without changing it's basic premise.)
There's even a war thrown in for good measure.
One of the questions that arises is whether or not the Village is out to break #6 entirely, or to alter him so that he begins to think like they do, and #6 is under a lot of mental pressure in this book.
The book is basically The Prisoner on a much broader canvas than the series, with the Village being more powerful, armed, and mentally vicious. It really does make for a good read.
The Prisoner is subject to a lot of drugs, conditioning and mind manipulation, far more than at any time during the actual series. He and #18 are even put through a series of severe tests in different environments (indicating that the Village has some very advanced scientific abilities, thus updating the series without changing it's basic premise.)
There's even a war thrown in for good measure.
One of the questions that arises is whether or not the Village is out to break #6 entirely, or to alter him so that he begins to think like they do, and #6 is under a lot of mental pressure in this book.
The book is basically The Prisoner on a much broader canvas than the series, with the Village being more powerful, armed, and mentally vicious. It really does make for a good read.
April 17, 2021
I can’t recommend this book highly enough. If you just want a book that replicates the feeling and rules of the tv show, those exist elsewhere, and are fun. This book, like the Doctor Who novels in the 1990s, expands the implications of the vast universe of its television show. I don’t want to spoil anything, so suffice it to say it is great at playing with your expectations and lets you “hear” the characters in your own head.
July 5, 2019
Does a great job of capturing both McGoohan's angry dialect and the overall weird impenetrable quality of the original series. As a result it took forever to get through and was frequently a challenge to follow, but it might be worth revisiting in the future.
March 30, 2016
The 1967 series The Prisoner has left quite a mark on pop culture. Lasting a mere seventeen episodes, the unusual mix of genres ranging from spy thriller to dystopian to political satire with dashes of psychedelic thrown in has guaranteed it its status as “cult TV” icon. Yet beyond those episodes and a handful of books (including the graphic novel Shattered Visage), there has seemingly been little else to come out of the series. That looked to change in 2005 when Powys Media published The Prisoner's Dilemma and launched what looked to be an ongoing series of novels from writers well known from the other UK TV icon Doctor Who. Sadly this was to be the only widely distributed novel to date from the company but it makes from fine reading more a decade after its initial release due to its own intriguing mix of elements.
Jonathan Blum and Rupert Booth's novel is an excellent example of what good media tie-in writing is capable of. On one hand, it captures the flavor of the original series perfectly. Blum and Booth captures the mercurial Number Six perfectly throughout the novel's 330 pages, something difficult to do given just how much of a stamp McGoohan made on the role. The novel's plot echoes elements from a number of Prisoner episodes including Chimes Of Big Ben and The General while also finding ways to reference other episodes in a series (in)famous for the debates over which episodes go where. Indeed the novel, perhaps by being able to paint across a broader canvas, gives the reader some real idea of what it must be like to live in the Village where it can be the same day of the week for days in a row and you can't really tell friend from foe. As a pastiche of the TV series, it's a fine piece of work.
Yet Blum and Booth go beyond just simply doing a pastiche of the series. While the plot may echo elements from a number of TV episodes, this is a story that would not have been told in the TV series. Why? Because all works of “art” are invariably products of the time they're created in and this is a tale that is very clearly written in and for the world we live in now. There's issues of computer technology (including the rather surprising appearance of a certain noted historical figure), surveillance, reality TV shows like Survivor and Big Brother, celebrity culture and exactly what length is too far to keep “the people” safe. They're all issues explored in fascinating but entertaining ways yet they never feel forced. To Blum and Booth's credit, they manage to make those issues so familiar to those of us living in a world after 9/11 and integrate them seamlessly into the world of a TV series made nearly a half century ago. Or, perhaps, it just speaks to how timeless the original TV series was that more modern elements can be worked into it.
A result, Blum and Booth created a Prisoner tale unlike any other. It's a work that serves to do a first rate pastiche of the series right down to capturing its mercurial lead character. Yet it also does an expansion of the TV series, creating a story that works to explore modern issues in the context of a TV series viewed by so many as being ahead of its time. For all of that, it might just be the best non-TV Prisoner work out there that's based on the original TV series.
The only shame is that we never got the rest of the Powys Media novels. If this novel is any indication, fans of The Prisoner were in for a treat. If only...if only.
Jonathan Blum and Rupert Booth's novel is an excellent example of what good media tie-in writing is capable of. On one hand, it captures the flavor of the original series perfectly. Blum and Booth captures the mercurial Number Six perfectly throughout the novel's 330 pages, something difficult to do given just how much of a stamp McGoohan made on the role. The novel's plot echoes elements from a number of Prisoner episodes including Chimes Of Big Ben and The General while also finding ways to reference other episodes in a series (in)famous for the debates over which episodes go where. Indeed the novel, perhaps by being able to paint across a broader canvas, gives the reader some real idea of what it must be like to live in the Village where it can be the same day of the week for days in a row and you can't really tell friend from foe. As a pastiche of the TV series, it's a fine piece of work.
Yet Blum and Booth go beyond just simply doing a pastiche of the series. While the plot may echo elements from a number of TV episodes, this is a story that would not have been told in the TV series. Why? Because all works of “art” are invariably products of the time they're created in and this is a tale that is very clearly written in and for the world we live in now. There's issues of computer technology (including the rather surprising appearance of a certain noted historical figure), surveillance, reality TV shows like Survivor and Big Brother, celebrity culture and exactly what length is too far to keep “the people” safe. They're all issues explored in fascinating but entertaining ways yet they never feel forced. To Blum and Booth's credit, they manage to make those issues so familiar to those of us living in a world after 9/11 and integrate them seamlessly into the world of a TV series made nearly a half century ago. Or, perhaps, it just speaks to how timeless the original TV series was that more modern elements can be worked into it.
A result, Blum and Booth created a Prisoner tale unlike any other. It's a work that serves to do a first rate pastiche of the series right down to capturing its mercurial lead character. Yet it also does an expansion of the TV series, creating a story that works to explore modern issues in the context of a TV series viewed by so many as being ahead of its time. For all of that, it might just be the best non-TV Prisoner work out there that's based on the original TV series.
The only shame is that we never got the rest of the Powys Media novels. If this novel is any indication, fans of The Prisoner were in for a treat. If only...if only.
August 3, 2008
First book in a new series based on the British TV series. No others have appeared to date.
January 23, 2014
Excellent contribution to the world of The Prisoner, but difficult to get into as it's written entirely in present tense. Once you're past that oddness, the story is engaging and complex.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews