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The Power
The Power is a science fiction classic from the 1950s. After the book's initial publication, it was produced as a TV special starring Theodore Bikel and later as a George Pal film starring George Hamilton and Suzanne Pleshette. It is the tale of a mutant superman in hiding and the terrifying search to find him.
246 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
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About the author
Frank M. Robinson
122 books59 followersFrank M. Robinson was an American science fiction and techno-thriller writer. he got his start writing for the old pulp fiction magazines. He wrote several novels with Thomas N. Scortia until Scortia's death in 1986.
Born in Chicago, Illinois. Robinson was the son of a check forger. He started out in his teens working as a copy boy for International News Service and then became an office boy for Ziff Davis. He was drafted into the Navy for World War II, and when his tour was over attended Beloit College, where he majored in physics, graduating in 1950. Because he could find no work as a writer, he ended up back in the Navy to serve in Korea, where he kept writing, read a lot, and published in Astounding magazine.
After the Navy, he attended graduate school in journalism, then worked for a Chicago-based Sunday supplement. Soon he switched to Science Digest, where he worked from 1956 to 1959. From there, he moved into men's magazines: Rogue (1959–65) and Cavalier (1965–66). In 1969, Playboy asked him to take over the Playboy Advisor column. He remained there until 1973, when he left to write full-time.
After moving to San Francisco in the 1970s, Robinson, who was gay, was a speechwriter for gay politician Harvey Milk; he had a small role in the film Milk. After Milk's assassination, Robinson was co-executor, with Scott Smith, of Milk's last will and testament.
Robinson is the author of 16 books, the editor of two others, and has penned numerous articles. Three of his novels have been made into movies. The Power (1956) was a supernatural science fiction and government conspiracy novel about people with superhuman skills, filmed in 1968 as The Power. The Glass Inferno, co-written with Thomas N. Scortia, was combined with Richard Martin Stern's The Tower to produce the 1974 movie The Towering Inferno. The Gold Crew, also co-written Scortia, was a nuclear threat thriller filmed as an NBC miniseries and re-titled The Fifth Missile.
He collaborated on several other works with Scortia, including The Prometheus Crisis, The Nightmare Factor, and Blow-Out.
In 2009 he was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame
Born in Chicago, Illinois. Robinson was the son of a check forger. He started out in his teens working as a copy boy for International News Service and then became an office boy for Ziff Davis. He was drafted into the Navy for World War II, and when his tour was over attended Beloit College, where he majored in physics, graduating in 1950. Because he could find no work as a writer, he ended up back in the Navy to serve in Korea, where he kept writing, read a lot, and published in Astounding magazine.
After the Navy, he attended graduate school in journalism, then worked for a Chicago-based Sunday supplement. Soon he switched to Science Digest, where he worked from 1956 to 1959. From there, he moved into men's magazines: Rogue (1959–65) and Cavalier (1965–66). In 1969, Playboy asked him to take over the Playboy Advisor column. He remained there until 1973, when he left to write full-time.
After moving to San Francisco in the 1970s, Robinson, who was gay, was a speechwriter for gay politician Harvey Milk; he had a small role in the film Milk. After Milk's assassination, Robinson was co-executor, with Scott Smith, of Milk's last will and testament.
Robinson is the author of 16 books, the editor of two others, and has penned numerous articles. Three of his novels have been made into movies. The Power (1956) was a supernatural science fiction and government conspiracy novel about people with superhuman skills, filmed in 1968 as The Power. The Glass Inferno, co-written with Thomas N. Scortia, was combined with Richard Martin Stern's The Tower to produce the 1974 movie The Towering Inferno. The Gold Crew, also co-written Scortia, was a nuclear threat thriller filmed as an NBC miniseries and re-titled The Fifth Missile.
He collaborated on several other works with Scortia, including The Prometheus Crisis, The Nightmare Factor, and Blow-Out.
In 2009 he was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
May 3, 2017
April 2017 Review This came up in a topic because there is a new book out with the same title by Naomi Alderman. every time I see that title, I think of this old book with fond memories. I'm going to reread it. It's been close to 20 years. Hope it's held up.
It did, although the very beginning takes a leap that some might not be able to cross. What makes a superman? Psychic powers. This is a conclusion that they leap at in the first few pages without any real reason. Given what the group is doing, it makes even less sense, but if you can swallow that one leap, all is fine. The story comes together into a mystery that becomes horrifying & wearing. There are some conclusions & questions that wouldn't have been my first thoughts, but the author uses them to good effect as the mystery deepens. He puts in details that become important at the end. The End - he twists the knife exceedingly well. I did not see it coming the first time & found it almost as shocking this time. Well done!
There was a lot of smoking, especially pipes, & it's a male dominated world, but I didn't find it too badly dated. It reads much like an SF movie from the 50s, but there aren't any cheesy special effects to spoil the mood. Definitely a golden oldie.
Old review (2008?)An old school paranormal book from back in the 50's. No mythical critters, just some humans with an extraordinary ability. Chillingly well done because it was so believable. It has an extra twist at the end to send the message home. Excellent.
It did, although the very beginning takes a leap that some might not be able to cross. What makes a superman? Psychic powers. This is a conclusion that they leap at in the first few pages without any real reason. Given what the group is doing, it makes even less sense, but if you can swallow that one leap, all is fine. The story comes together into a mystery that becomes horrifying & wearing. There are some conclusions & questions that wouldn't have been my first thoughts, but the author uses them to good effect as the mystery deepens. He puts in details that become important at the end. The End - he twists the knife exceedingly well. I did not see it coming the first time & found it almost as shocking this time. Well done!
There was a lot of smoking, especially pipes, & it's a male dominated world, but I didn't find it too badly dated. It reads much like an SF movie from the 50s, but there aren't any cheesy special effects to spoil the mood. Definitely a golden oldie.
Old review (2008?)An old school paranormal book from back in the 50's. No mythical critters, just some humans with an extraordinary ability. Chillingly well done because it was so believable. It has an extra twist at the end to send the message home. Excellent.
October 19, 2009
I’ve got this awful habit of starting my reviews by mentioning that I acquired the book in question while thriftily scouring a resale shop, and I’m not going to stray far from my simple intro in this instance, because I happened to purchase this particular book at such an establishment as well. To anyone who’s been kind enough to suffer through the banality of one of my reviews, you’re going to get this old song and dance again, but I feel it always must be mentioned since I never know who is going to actually come across these fucking things; not that I really think anyone is going to somehow go so far astray as to be looking at reviews of Owen Brooke’s Inheritance/u> or Iceberg Slim’s Pimp, when there is so much hot porn out there on the internet, but you never really know. So for these poor, lost miscreants, I feel it’s necessary to relay exactly where the book was purchased, usually as part of the caveat for staying far the hell away from it. But I never really state why I’m always shopping on the cheap (aside from the obvious reason that I’m a cretin incapable of holding a well-paying job and a major purchase for me involves parting with several quarters), so I figure it’s high time I actually present those reasons, in a review completely unconnected with the others which miserably fails the purpose I just stated. Well, too much booze prior to penning a review tends to do that I’ve noticed.
There are a few things that make my thrift-shop-hunting habit seem worthwhile; the books are usually older and appeal to my oft-mocked ‘retro’ sensibilities, lack of selection will steer me towards things which I might ordinarily pass over at a library or bookstore at full price (this often isn’t a good thing, but it’s always good to try something new, immediately reject it, and confirm that my horizons are limited for sound reasons), and of course the bargain prices, which are cheaper than bus fare to the library, always a major benefit as I’ve watched my meager retirement investments dwindle from about $1,200 to $400 bucks due to the shameless incompetence in watch-dogging the financial sector by our clueless forefathers as they maintained a lack of scrutiny so long as they saw immediate personal gains in their own portfolios.
However, like all things too good to be true, there are a fair amount of drawbacks to this routine as well. First, the odds that you’ll find something you’re actually looking for are almost nil, which is why anything I simply must read is purchased from my pals at Amazon, who also present me with a veritable cornucopia of suggestions from other pud-pullers across the country with similarly-bad and (quite surprisingly) often worse taste. Next, it seems that almost any book that seems interesting and worth reading has had the shit kicked out of it. What the hell are all you book-donating bastards doing to these things? Granted, I toss my books around, tote them rather carelessly in my laptop bag, and have a nasty habit of dog-earing passages which I intend to read to my girlfriend when I want to get her to leave me alone, but the condition of some of these things is unbelievable; I once bought a copy of The Canterbury Tales simply because it appeared to have been utilized in the changing of a carburetor and I pitied it.
None of these drawbacks compare to the Big One though, the one that really causes me to lose sleep at night; the contemplation of where the books usually come from. Now, most books I can understand being dumped off simply because they suck, and I’m alright with that, but more often than I had ever expected, I’ll see an influx of new books (meaning, I didn’t see them during my last visit) which are all similarly-themed (sci-fi, common author, etc) and can only assume that the previous owner has either gone blind from overindulgence of absinthe or parted ways with the world of the living. When the books are good, this always makes me somewhat sad, I kind of wish I’d been able to meet this formidable and well-read old coot and shake his hand, maybe sit a spell with him and talk some shit about the state of the world we live in. The mental image I always conjure is that of a grizzled old badass that grew up hard on the rough ‘n tumble streets of Flint, Michigan, eking out a respectable existence using only his cunning and fast, furious fists, and probably played tight end briefly for the Cowboys before going off to be awesome at some job or another; a thick and wise dude who never lost the edge, but was unfortunately fond of a breakfast consisting of half a pound of bacon and eight sausage links during his brief senior years. Don’t even get me started on what I think about the rotten disappointments posing as their bereaved children who decided to pack up Pop’s old books and donate them, instead of cherishing them or, at the very least, selling them on eBay to assholes like me. When the books are shitty, however, I really don’t mind so much or dwell on these circumstances; I simply take their presence as proof that reading total shit is hazardous to your health.
Believe it or not, all the above squawking does lead into something concerning Frank M. Robinson’s unsung gem, The Power, a book I bought along with another half dozen sci-fi relics from the 60’s, presumably donated en masse from a single contributor, which miraculously appeared at the aforementioned shop one fine day. . I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really expecting much, having been disappointed so many times, but Mr. Robinson wasn’t about to hornswoggle me as so many have done before; this story actually delivered the goods. And as a seasoned logistician, I understand that proper delivery of the goods is really what it’s all about, bitches.
The Power is one of those rare and awesome books which seemingly has a clear idea where it’s going from the starting line, and doesn’t hesitate to kick ass and otherwise mistreat the weak en route to getting there. I can respect this aspect, especially since I’m incapable of emulating it myself. My copy happens to have been published in 1957, which, based on the story at hand, I’m guessing was a few years after some ‘scientist’ declared that he could prove that humans use something like 5% of their brain (and for us dudes, a significantly lower amount while mating), and this meant that there was boundless untapped potential if we could only coax the other 95% to quit fucking around and get with the program. I can only assume this type of discovery is a sci-fi writer’s wet dream, a badass concept with appeal to the masses capable of spawning all varieties of great stories. Luckily, in this instance, the treatment of this great notion is being entrusted to the capable hands of Frank M. Robinson.
So, let’s take a look at what he does with it. Apparently, the US Military was paying some attention to the recent groundbreaking 5%-brain-usage pronouncement, and decided they might as well jump on the research bandwagon, so the Navy has decided to team up with a Chicago university to find the heralded “Man Of Tomorrow” (the guy using about 9% of his brain). A varied collection of academics led by the focal character, Professor Bill Tanner, is met with limited success, much to the dismay of their D.O.D. representative and supervisor, Commander Nordlund. One of the Tanner’s colleagues, Prof. Olson, is frustrated with the results (and also has his own paranoid and divergent thoughts on how the superman would be behave and be identified), so he decides to throw the ‘Hail Mary’ using a crappy questionnaire, to get the most results with the lowest budget, and includes the small research team as some sort of control group. Unfortunately, the replies submitted by the team were totally anonymous, because Olson is convinced that The Man they’ve been looking for is actually a member of the team itself. While this would normally be groundbreaking and awesome, especially if this person would help to elevate the whole of humanity, Olson has been relentlessly championing the idea that this person would be a threat to mankind, obviously seeking global domination and force the untermensch to do his bidding using his mind-control, and has made coming out a major pain in the ass for this gifted bastard. In addition, reactions to survey results are mixed; half the team is thinking that Olson’s gotten way too involved and become a paranoid wreck, believing that The Man is coming to bite him in the ass to prevent him from exposing him, and the other half thinks that he’s casting this out there just to keep the government dollars rolling in. Before sending poor Olson off to the asylum, he beseeches the group to take part in one experiment while they are all assembled, to test the telekinetic abilities of the alleged Man by having him manipulate a makeshift cocktail umbrella while they all witness the event. Sure enough, the suspect takes the bait and makes the thing spin around, but much like a fart passed in a mosh pit, nobody can accurately pinpoint the perpetrator. As a result of this, two things are certain; first, The Power does exist, and a member of the team is the possessor, and secondly, it’s going to be a royal pain in the ass to apprehend a target endowed with the gifts of mental suggestion, telepathy, telekinesis, and a huge, veiny, throbbing cock.
This performance immediately mindfucks the research team, splitting them into factions loyal to their own ideas as to what the repercussions of this event are (let’s not go into why Nordlund doesn’t have the whole group detained/iced by Navy Seals). When Olson is murdered almost immediately after the group’s final session, everyone seemingly agrees that it’s Game On; the man with The Power has to be dealt with, lest he settle the score with them first. This sets the stage for a great cat-and-mouse game.
**SEMI-SPOILER ALERT ** As a sci-fi author, and hot a hard-core mystery writer, Robinson probably drops one clue too many to identify the man with The Power, which is supposed to result in a twist ending. I almost need to give him the benefit of the doubt on this call, because while the ‘culprit’ can be determined, the real twist in the finale are the implications to this revelation, which are morbidly awesome, and caught me utterly by surprise, making this a true masterpiece, the type of book I enjoyed throughout, but thoroughly savored to aftertaste of.
PS: Never mind that the quotation kicking off the story was also used by David Bowie at his gayest while hamming it up with a puppet in “Labyrinth”; this is just an unfortunate coincidence.
There are a few things that make my thrift-shop-hunting habit seem worthwhile; the books are usually older and appeal to my oft-mocked ‘retro’ sensibilities, lack of selection will steer me towards things which I might ordinarily pass over at a library or bookstore at full price (this often isn’t a good thing, but it’s always good to try something new, immediately reject it, and confirm that my horizons are limited for sound reasons), and of course the bargain prices, which are cheaper than bus fare to the library, always a major benefit as I’ve watched my meager retirement investments dwindle from about $1,200 to $400 bucks due to the shameless incompetence in watch-dogging the financial sector by our clueless forefathers as they maintained a lack of scrutiny so long as they saw immediate personal gains in their own portfolios.
However, like all things too good to be true, there are a fair amount of drawbacks to this routine as well. First, the odds that you’ll find something you’re actually looking for are almost nil, which is why anything I simply must read is purchased from my pals at Amazon, who also present me with a veritable cornucopia of suggestions from other pud-pullers across the country with similarly-bad and (quite surprisingly) often worse taste. Next, it seems that almost any book that seems interesting and worth reading has had the shit kicked out of it. What the hell are all you book-donating bastards doing to these things? Granted, I toss my books around, tote them rather carelessly in my laptop bag, and have a nasty habit of dog-earing passages which I intend to read to my girlfriend when I want to get her to leave me alone, but the condition of some of these things is unbelievable; I once bought a copy of The Canterbury Tales simply because it appeared to have been utilized in the changing of a carburetor and I pitied it.
None of these drawbacks compare to the Big One though, the one that really causes me to lose sleep at night; the contemplation of where the books usually come from. Now, most books I can understand being dumped off simply because they suck, and I’m alright with that, but more often than I had ever expected, I’ll see an influx of new books (meaning, I didn’t see them during my last visit) which are all similarly-themed (sci-fi, common author, etc) and can only assume that the previous owner has either gone blind from overindulgence of absinthe or parted ways with the world of the living. When the books are good, this always makes me somewhat sad, I kind of wish I’d been able to meet this formidable and well-read old coot and shake his hand, maybe sit a spell with him and talk some shit about the state of the world we live in. The mental image I always conjure is that of a grizzled old badass that grew up hard on the rough ‘n tumble streets of Flint, Michigan, eking out a respectable existence using only his cunning and fast, furious fists, and probably played tight end briefly for the Cowboys before going off to be awesome at some job or another; a thick and wise dude who never lost the edge, but was unfortunately fond of a breakfast consisting of half a pound of bacon and eight sausage links during his brief senior years. Don’t even get me started on what I think about the rotten disappointments posing as their bereaved children who decided to pack up Pop’s old books and donate them, instead of cherishing them or, at the very least, selling them on eBay to assholes like me. When the books are shitty, however, I really don’t mind so much or dwell on these circumstances; I simply take their presence as proof that reading total shit is hazardous to your health.
Believe it or not, all the above squawking does lead into something concerning Frank M. Robinson’s unsung gem, The Power, a book I bought along with another half dozen sci-fi relics from the 60’s, presumably donated en masse from a single contributor, which miraculously appeared at the aforementioned shop one fine day. . I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really expecting much, having been disappointed so many times, but Mr. Robinson wasn’t about to hornswoggle me as so many have done before; this story actually delivered the goods. And as a seasoned logistician, I understand that proper delivery of the goods is really what it’s all about, bitches.
The Power is one of those rare and awesome books which seemingly has a clear idea where it’s going from the starting line, and doesn’t hesitate to kick ass and otherwise mistreat the weak en route to getting there. I can respect this aspect, especially since I’m incapable of emulating it myself. My copy happens to have been published in 1957, which, based on the story at hand, I’m guessing was a few years after some ‘scientist’ declared that he could prove that humans use something like 5% of their brain (and for us dudes, a significantly lower amount while mating), and this meant that there was boundless untapped potential if we could only coax the other 95% to quit fucking around and get with the program. I can only assume this type of discovery is a sci-fi writer’s wet dream, a badass concept with appeal to the masses capable of spawning all varieties of great stories. Luckily, in this instance, the treatment of this great notion is being entrusted to the capable hands of Frank M. Robinson.
So, let’s take a look at what he does with it. Apparently, the US Military was paying some attention to the recent groundbreaking 5%-brain-usage pronouncement, and decided they might as well jump on the research bandwagon, so the Navy has decided to team up with a Chicago university to find the heralded “Man Of Tomorrow” (the guy using about 9% of his brain). A varied collection of academics led by the focal character, Professor Bill Tanner, is met with limited success, much to the dismay of their D.O.D. representative and supervisor, Commander Nordlund. One of the Tanner’s colleagues, Prof. Olson, is frustrated with the results (and also has his own paranoid and divergent thoughts on how the superman would be behave and be identified), so he decides to throw the ‘Hail Mary’ using a crappy questionnaire, to get the most results with the lowest budget, and includes the small research team as some sort of control group. Unfortunately, the replies submitted by the team were totally anonymous, because Olson is convinced that The Man they’ve been looking for is actually a member of the team itself. While this would normally be groundbreaking and awesome, especially if this person would help to elevate the whole of humanity, Olson has been relentlessly championing the idea that this person would be a threat to mankind, obviously seeking global domination and force the untermensch to do his bidding using his mind-control, and has made coming out a major pain in the ass for this gifted bastard. In addition, reactions to survey results are mixed; half the team is thinking that Olson’s gotten way too involved and become a paranoid wreck, believing that The Man is coming to bite him in the ass to prevent him from exposing him, and the other half thinks that he’s casting this out there just to keep the government dollars rolling in. Before sending poor Olson off to the asylum, he beseeches the group to take part in one experiment while they are all assembled, to test the telekinetic abilities of the alleged Man by having him manipulate a makeshift cocktail umbrella while they all witness the event. Sure enough, the suspect takes the bait and makes the thing spin around, but much like a fart passed in a mosh pit, nobody can accurately pinpoint the perpetrator. As a result of this, two things are certain; first, The Power does exist, and a member of the team is the possessor, and secondly, it’s going to be a royal pain in the ass to apprehend a target endowed with the gifts of mental suggestion, telepathy, telekinesis, and a huge, veiny, throbbing cock.
This performance immediately mindfucks the research team, splitting them into factions loyal to their own ideas as to what the repercussions of this event are (let’s not go into why Nordlund doesn’t have the whole group detained/iced by Navy Seals). When Olson is murdered almost immediately after the group’s final session, everyone seemingly agrees that it’s Game On; the man with The Power has to be dealt with, lest he settle the score with them first. This sets the stage for a great cat-and-mouse game.
**SEMI-SPOILER ALERT ** As a sci-fi author, and hot a hard-core mystery writer, Robinson probably drops one clue too many to identify the man with The Power, which is supposed to result in a twist ending. I almost need to give him the benefit of the doubt on this call, because while the ‘culprit’ can be determined, the real twist in the finale are the implications to this revelation, which are morbidly awesome, and caught me utterly by surprise, making this a true masterpiece, the type of book I enjoyed throughout, but thoroughly savored to aftertaste of.
PS: Never mind that the quotation kicking off the story was also used by David Bowie at his gayest while hamming it up with a puppet in “Labyrinth”; this is just an unfortunate coincidence.
September 19, 2010
Oddly the synopsis here holds what I would call "the major spoiler" about this book.
A small group of people stumbles on evidence that "someone" with amazing psychic power may exist...and start to be "removed". Except one of them while his life is switched, changed, and ruined...survives and continues to search.
They made a movie of this and gave what might be called a more, "happy" ending. The book is different it has one of the most chilling endings I've ever read.
This book is a little hard to find, but I'd recommend it if you can track it down.
A small group of people stumbles on evidence that "someone" with amazing psychic power may exist...and start to be "removed". Except one of them while his life is switched, changed, and ruined...survives and continues to search.
They made a movie of this and gave what might be called a more, "happy" ending. The book is different it has one of the most chilling endings I've ever read.
This book is a little hard to find, but I'd recommend it if you can track it down.
Read
April 2, 2017When I first read it umpty ump decades ago it was one of the best books ever. After a re-read, not so much.
January 21, 2019
I first read this book in the 1957 J.B. Lippencott edition. This time I used the ebook in a version updated by Robinson. The changes appeared quite minor, for example the references to WW II and Korea were replaced by Vietnam and the Gulf War. Personally I believe those changes were needless. The small town setting of one major section reminds one of Jack Finney or Clifford D. Simak though quickly enough we find that the idealistic approach of those authors is not what we get here. The novelistic world is heavily male-dominated with no woman having any significant agency in her own right. Finally, the original edition has a strong fifties “noir” quality redolent throughout. It is that atmosphere which gives the novel a special flavour and updating the time of the action simply creates an anachronistic feel. Thus, it remains very much a novel of the fifties.
The theme is in the title. What if someone had a power which made them superior to everyone else? Would a superhero have a superior morality? Or would power corrupt?
The approach to this idea is developed through a very exciting plot. The writing is more than competent, the story never flags, there are great cliff-hangers and I enjoyed the novel just as much as I did when I first read it.
There is a film of the book made in 1968. Generally it is adequate but there is no doubt but that it lacks the deeper significance of the novel.
Read the book before you watch the film.
The theme is in the title. What if someone had a power which made them superior to everyone else? Would a superhero have a superior morality? Or would power corrupt?
The approach to this idea is developed through a very exciting plot. The writing is more than competent, the story never flags, there are great cliff-hangers and I enjoyed the novel just as much as I did when I first read it.
There is a film of the book made in 1968. Generally it is adequate but there is no doubt but that it lacks the deeper significance of the novel.
Read the book before you watch the film.
July 19, 2020
"He had covered three blocks before he caught the tiny separation in the sounds, the minute distinctions between the sound of his own heels on the sidewalk and the sound of someone else’s a block down. So he wasn’t the only one out late at night, he thought. In a way, it spoiled the illusion … . He turned a corner and crossed over a block. The footsteps that paralleled his own also turned a corner and crossed over a block. He changed step, just to vary the rhythm. A block away, somebody else changed step."
A university professor stumbles upon something terrifying, and finds himself hunted and his life turned upside down by someone with superhuman abilities. A sense of paranoia runs through the whole book and like all great sci fi, there is plenty to think about.
A university professor stumbles upon something terrifying, and finds himself hunted and his life turned upside down by someone with superhuman abilities. A sense of paranoia runs through the whole book and like all great sci fi, there is plenty to think about.
April 22, 2023
2½. Entertaining garbage.
October 30, 2025
I gave this book a 2rating only because of its value in understanding the messed up 50’s. Women’s role was to stand there and sob while the men explain how you make a Superman but mixing the races; in this case Irish and Italian, and he becomes the one with the Power. 😳
September 6, 2012
This is one of those books (and I am sure everyone who reads a lot has them) that you read from time to time, dip in and out of and generally read it more as the seasons change than as a determined reading experience. Well this (and a few others are mine) they sit around with book marks in various chapters never seeming to move for month to month (both book and book mark) till one day I think ok I am at loose end and I pick it up to read - inadvertently stumbling over the key plot line and thats it I am hooked and it ends up finished in a night (did that with White Bizango and actually finsihed it and watched the sun come up!)
well this book is a strange mix of nostalgia and wonder - I remember years ago (I cannot remember if the film was black and white or in colour) seeing a film by the same name - years later I find that they are loosely connected (though end wildly differently) and I remember it both scared and fascinated me (I will not admit how old I was) but it stuck with me - in fact several scenes I can describe to you picture perfectly. Anyway as you can see years later I have located the book and here it is - and its a great tale - ok it shows it ages at point but sometimes that just adds to the charm. Anyway this book is fascinating when you think the year it was written in nothing had been suggested of its kind - now its common place and in fact possibly even seens as cliché. But here in this book its brilliant - and reading further looking at the works of Frank M Robinson I discovered who number of books on various subjects (even the book that was the towering inferno!) all of them creations of an era but still immensely readable - now where is the next one I wonder as once you start looking at them the more they intrigue you, I am sure you all have authors that have that effect on you.
well this book is a strange mix of nostalgia and wonder - I remember years ago (I cannot remember if the film was black and white or in colour) seeing a film by the same name - years later I find that they are loosely connected (though end wildly differently) and I remember it both scared and fascinated me (I will not admit how old I was) but it stuck with me - in fact several scenes I can describe to you picture perfectly. Anyway as you can see years later I have located the book and here it is - and its a great tale - ok it shows it ages at point but sometimes that just adds to the charm. Anyway this book is fascinating when you think the year it was written in nothing had been suggested of its kind - now its common place and in fact possibly even seens as cliché. But here in this book its brilliant - and reading further looking at the works of Frank M Robinson I discovered who number of books on various subjects (even the book that was the towering inferno!) all of them creations of an era but still immensely readable - now where is the next one I wonder as once you start looking at them the more they intrigue you, I am sure you all have authors that have that effect on you.
December 12, 2017
Over the weekend I discovered a new (to me) used book store. The store is named: Berkshire Books. It turns out it’s been there just over ten years, but I don’t often get on that road and when I do, I tend to be looking the other way, so I just never saw it before. Soooo, I popped in to see what’s up. The store is pretty poorly lit and has that old book musty smell. Now, to my taste, that’s bad and great. There’s no place to sit because there are books everywhere – and I do mean everywhere. To be honest, except for the lighting, I kinda felt like I’d died and when to heaven. Anyway, the prices aren’t great, but they’re not too bad either. I will definitely be going back, but not to buy stacks at a time like I can from the two dollar racks at my local Half-Price Books store.
My selection was an oldie, but a goodie: “The Power“, written by Frank M. Robinson. The original version is copywrited in 1956, while the revised version is 1999©. I don’t think the book was intended to be a children’s book, but I first read it back in the mid-1960’s when I was around 11 or 12. It is considered to be a “classic” of SciFi literature. The book was adapted into a movie (released in 1968) which starred George Hamilton as the principal character and Michael Rennie (“Klaatu, Barada Nikto”) as the bad guy. This was the first time I remember ever reading a book before seeing the movie and then being sharply disappointed that the movie didn’t live up to my imagination.
Anyhow, the book is about a team of scientists who discover there are “super” men among us who can control us physically (via telekinesis) and who can also implant thoughts and remove memories. They also possess superior strength and reflexes themselves. The main character must try to discover which team member is the super-man while living long enough to kill him. Of course, all the while, the super-man is killing off the rest of the team.
When I found the book, I thought, “Wow! This was from my childhood!“. It wasn’t until later that I discovered it wasn’t the “same” book at all. This was the “revised” version, basically the same, but updated with comments about Vietnam and the first Gulf War. Did it make a difference?
Ultimately, I think it did. As I read the book, I began to doubt my memories. Some of the books passages prompted vivid memories – like when you eat or smell something and you’re instantly transported back to another place and time. Other times, it was: “Huh?“
I do believe the book is a legitimate classic in the SciFi genre, but I would say it is more of a young adult book than a mature adult book. It is about 220 pages and a very fast read. Highly recommended!
My selection was an oldie, but a goodie: “The Power“, written by Frank M. Robinson. The original version is copywrited in 1956, while the revised version is 1999©. I don’t think the book was intended to be a children’s book, but I first read it back in the mid-1960’s when I was around 11 or 12. It is considered to be a “classic” of SciFi literature. The book was adapted into a movie (released in 1968) which starred George Hamilton as the principal character and Michael Rennie (“Klaatu, Barada Nikto”) as the bad guy. This was the first time I remember ever reading a book before seeing the movie and then being sharply disappointed that the movie didn’t live up to my imagination.
Anyhow, the book is about a team of scientists who discover there are “super” men among us who can control us physically (via telekinesis) and who can also implant thoughts and remove memories. They also possess superior strength and reflexes themselves. The main character must try to discover which team member is the super-man while living long enough to kill him. Of course, all the while, the super-man is killing off the rest of the team.
When I found the book, I thought, “Wow! This was from my childhood!“. It wasn’t until later that I discovered it wasn’t the “same” book at all. This was the “revised” version, basically the same, but updated with comments about Vietnam and the first Gulf War. Did it make a difference?
Ultimately, I think it did. As I read the book, I began to doubt my memories. Some of the books passages prompted vivid memories – like when you eat or smell something and you’re instantly transported back to another place and time. Other times, it was: “Huh?“
I do believe the book is a legitimate classic in the SciFi genre, but I would say it is more of a young adult book than a mature adult book. It is about 220 pages and a very fast read. Highly recommended!
October 8, 2025
"The Power" is a science fiction suspense novel written in the mid 1950's by Frank M. Robinson. In 1968 a film was made of the novel by George Pal starring George Hamilton, Suzanne Pleshette and Michael Rennie. I recently saw the film again and thought it would be interesting to see how the film compared to the book. The story is basically the same, a person of great mental powers exists who can control and even kill other people with his mind. The story is told by a Professor Tanner, who is soon on the run from this powerful force. The film follows the book fairly well, though the names are altered for some reason. Some of the characters are changed, Professor Scott is changed from an elderly man to a young man (Earl Holliman), but most are basically the same. A point in the book that the super being's image is unable to be photographed was not developed in the film. The ending also was darker, (SPOILER ALERT) in both versions it turns out Tanner was also a super human, which explains how he was able to escape death so many times, but in the film Tanner hopes he can control his powers while in the book he realizes he can have fun being a god. An exciting read, though I wondered why the first super human (Nordland in the book) was a naval officer when he could have been a multi millionaire or an Admiral or the President. Also, the role of the girlfriend (Marge in the book) was confusing in both versions. Oh well, a fun read anyway.
January 19, 2023
You Can telekinesis, but will he listen?
I originally saw the movie with George Hamilton and Suzanne Pleshette. They still show it periodically on Turner Classic Movies. Of course, I had to read the book to find out what is always missing and implied in the movie. Naturally, the book was out of print. However, I found a copy. I was right the book was better. Of course, I was disappointed to find that Suzanne (Margery Lansing) was written into many seines.
While looking for his new book I found to my amazement that "The Power" has been re-issued. However, upon reading the book, I found dates and places changed. The changes were not significant. I just wished that he did not do it. Arthur Nordlund was in the Korean Campaign and that was before me. Now he was in the Gulf War and that was after me. Luckily, I know if I had met him, he would have been from the Vietnam War. I would have named this book "You've got to have Hart"
I originally saw the movie with George Hamilton and Suzanne Pleshette. They still show it periodically on Turner Classic Movies. Of course, I had to read the book to find out what is always missing and implied in the movie. Naturally, the book was out of print. However, I found a copy. I was right the book was better. Of course, I was disappointed to find that Suzanne (Margery Lansing) was written into many seines.
While looking for his new book I found to my amazement that "The Power" has been re-issued. However, upon reading the book, I found dates and places changed. The changes were not significant. I just wished that he did not do it. Arthur Nordlund was in the Korean Campaign and that was before me. Now he was in the Gulf War and that was after me. Luckily, I know if I had met him, he would have been from the Vietnam War. I would have named this book "You've got to have Hart"
February 1, 2017
What I remember of this book: some kind of evil telepath starts killing a bunch of people one by one. The main character seems to be immune or at least able to resist his powers of suggestion enough to survive.
Although the book didn't do much for me, it was still a good effort. If telepathy (and the whole superhuman angle that seems to be a staple of a lot of old SF) didn't bore me so much, I would have been entertained.
Although the book didn't do much for me, it was still a good effort. If telepathy (and the whole superhuman angle that seems to be a staple of a lot of old SF) didn't bore me so much, I would have been entertained.
April 9, 2018
I had seen the 1968 film adaptation years ago, and its eeriness stayed with me. I recently saw the movie again and just had to read the original novel. If you’ve seen the film, the book is a much darker tale. The protagonist, Bill Tanner, becomes progressively more amoral in his quest for survival, foreshadowing a classic twist ending.
First published in 1956, the book is set in the Chicago of that time. For those who know the city, it provides an interesting contrast with the current era. Some of the landmarks remain, but “the past is a foreign country”.
First published in 1956, the book is set in the Chicago of that time. For those who know the city, it provides an interesting contrast with the current era. Some of the landmarks remain, but “the past is a foreign country”.
September 29, 2017
Read this as a teenager. The story remained with me for many years.
On a plane a couple of months ago, I sat next to someone about my age and we talked about books. He said there is a book that stayed with him for years and did't remember the name. From the description it turned out to be this one.
I have now re-read it and it is still good.
On a plane a couple of months ago, I sat next to someone about my age and we talked about books. He said there is a book that stayed with him for years and did't remember the name. From the description it turned out to be this one.
I have now re-read it and it is still good.
July 10, 2017
Great book. Third reading of it in around fifty years.
October 21, 2017
Very 1950's SF/Thriller/Crime Drama story. A few twists with some predictability as to where the story is going.
September 24, 2020
Other than the main character 'slapping around' every, single female character to get her to talk, what a twist!
July 22, 2022
Very compelling story, but, has a cliffhanger ending that deserved a sequel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2022
Good story idea but poor execution. A lot of telling not showing especially at the end and an extremely hurried ending.
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March 31, 2024Much more satisfying than the watered down movie. The message "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" comes through loud and clear.
September 19, 2024
What a great 1957 sci fi thriller. I really enjoyed this. Super creepy and full of suspense.
August 5, 2013
We've all got one. A favorite book.
I was eleven years old when The Power showed up at our house, probably late 1956. My father was personnel manager (read: HR) at a big book bindery in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. So we got all kinds of promotional books in the mail.
I remember two things particularly about The Power. The beginning and the end.
The Beginning: Bill Tanner is on a committee investigating the possibility that a superman exists. Someone a notch up on the evolutionary scale for man. The superman, whoever he is, reveals himself when a piece of paper starts spinning out of control on a table top.
The Middle: People start dying. The superman is killing off those who threaten to discover who he is. He has the ability, evidently through the sheer power of his will, to force a heart attack on his victims as long as they are in close enough physical proximity to him. Tanner and his girlfriend labor mightily trying to find the elusive Adam Hart, hoping they can stop him.
The End: I wouldn't give the ending away for anything, at least not in a public review. I'll just say that the conclusion of this novel has the most remarkable twist of anything I've ever read. And oddly enough, it was this twist that set me to thinking about God until I became a Christian in 1965.
The Power is not a Christian novel. Far from it! It's all about evolution and the progress of the human kind. However, that unbelievable twist that Robinson inserted in the last two paragraphs teach pretty clearly that though man may get smarter, gain super abilities, it only serves to enable greater evil. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
What a book.
You can read a lengthy except on the McMillan site. It will take you all the way to the "spinning paper."
Disclaimer: I do not believe in evolution. I believe that the world as we know it was created directly by God is six literal days. Incidentally, that makes scientific sense, too.
The Power Copyright © 1956 by Frank M. Robinson. Renewed © 1984 by Frank M. Robinson. Revised version copyright © 1999 Frank M. Robinson.
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May 4, 2016For over 40 years, I've loved a nowadays little-discussed film by George Pal called "The Power." It made a big impression on me as a kid, and even as an adult, I found it to be a taut and interesting science fiction thriller with strains of Hitchcockian suspense. Recently, I stumbled across the original novel by Frank M. Robinson and discovered that many of the things I loved about the film were straight out of the book (even the scene that seems to have been designed to allow Pal to exercise his old "Puppetoon" stop motion animation techniques). The ending of the novel is a bit darker, and it doesn't have the really memorable death scene from early in the film that scared the bejesus out of me at the age of 10, but it was a very enjoyable read, and had subtle things to say about the allure of fascism, thematic flourishes which may have appealed to Pal, who left his native Europe to escape the Nazis.
October 19, 2023
You Can telekinesis, but will he listen?
I originally saw the movie with George Hamilton and Suzanne Pleshette. They still show it periodically on Turner Classic Movies. Of course, I had to read the book to find out what is always missing and implied in the movie. Naturally, the book was out of print. However, I found a copy. I was right, the book was better. Of course, I was disappointed to find that Suzanne (Margery Lansing) was written into many seines.
While looking for his new book I found to my amazement that "The Power" has been re-issued. However, upon reading the book, I found dates and places changed. The changes were not significant. I just wished that he did not do it. Arthur Nordlund was in the Korean Campaign and that was before me. Now he was in the Gulf War and that was after me. Luckily, I know if I had met him, he would have been from the Vietnam War. I would have named this book "You've got to Have Hart."
I originally saw the movie with George Hamilton and Suzanne Pleshette. They still show it periodically on Turner Classic Movies. Of course, I had to read the book to find out what is always missing and implied in the movie. Naturally, the book was out of print. However, I found a copy. I was right, the book was better. Of course, I was disappointed to find that Suzanne (Margery Lansing) was written into many seines.
While looking for his new book I found to my amazement that "The Power" has been re-issued. However, upon reading the book, I found dates and places changed. The changes were not significant. I just wished that he did not do it. Arthur Nordlund was in the Korean Campaign and that was before me. Now he was in the Gulf War and that was after me. Luckily, I know if I had met him, he would have been from the Vietnam War. I would have named this book "You've got to Have Hart."
January 12, 2025
You Can telekinesis, but will he listen?
I originally saw the movie with George Hamilton and Suzanne Pleshette. They still show it periodically on Turner Classic Movies. Of course, I had to read the book to find out what is always missing and implied in the movie. Naturally, the book was out of print. However, I found a copy. I was right, the book was better. Of course, I was disappointed to find that Suzanne (Margery Lansing) was written into many scenes.
While looking for his new book I found to my amazement that "The Power" has been re-issued. However, upon reading the book, I found dates and places changed. The changes were not significant. I just wished that he did not do it. Arthur Nordlund was in the Korean Campaign and that was before me. Now he was in the Gulf War and that was after me. Luckily, I know if I had met him, he would have been from the Vietnam War. I would have named this book "You've Got to Have Hart."
I originally saw the movie with George Hamilton and Suzanne Pleshette. They still show it periodically on Turner Classic Movies. Of course, I had to read the book to find out what is always missing and implied in the movie. Naturally, the book was out of print. However, I found a copy. I was right, the book was better. Of course, I was disappointed to find that Suzanne (Margery Lansing) was written into many scenes.
While looking for his new book I found to my amazement that "The Power" has been re-issued. However, upon reading the book, I found dates and places changed. The changes were not significant. I just wished that he did not do it. Arthur Nordlund was in the Korean Campaign and that was before me. Now he was in the Gulf War and that was after me. Luckily, I know if I had met him, he would have been from the Vietnam War. I would have named this book "You've Got to Have Hart."
July 24, 2014
This book falls into one of my favorite sub-genres, the psychological sci-fi thriller. Not the blockbuster thriller where there are hundred-million dollar effects exploding in your face every minute. The kind of thriller where most of the suspense comes from within the protagonist's mind as he wonders what is happening and how he can untangle himself from a difficult situation. The narrative is fast-paced, cinematic, even Hitchcockian. The text is sharply written and the reader quickly becomes immersed in the story's world.
My only disappointment comes at the very end, but to avoid spoiling surprises I cannot say more.
I had not known about Frank M. Robinson and was sad to learn he died as I was reading his book. His writing lives on. I'm glad I discovered The Power and look forward to devouring more of his fiction.
My only disappointment comes at the very end, but to avoid spoiling surprises I cannot say more.
I had not known about Frank M. Robinson and was sad to learn he died as I was reading his book. His writing lives on. I'm glad I discovered The Power and look forward to devouring more of his fiction.
October 3, 2023
One of five 1950’s science fiction paperbacks I picked up recently - what a pleasant surprise! The Power reads like a long x-files episode. There is a military program to create a superman that is being researched by university scientists and professors and everything seems to go wrong. The Power is a mixture of a psychological thriller and science fiction novel with a crime detective flair.
The writing is great and the premise was very interesting. The first third of the book or so I found almost flawless. The story ends up falling off quite a bit and I found myself getting frustrated with the chase near the end, but overall a fun read.
The Power also has some great one liners. Classic science fiction worth checking out.
6.5/10
The writing is great and the premise was very interesting. The first third of the book or so I found almost flawless. The story ends up falling off quite a bit and I found myself getting frustrated with the chase near the end, but overall a fun read.
The Power also has some great one liners. Classic science fiction worth checking out.
6.5/10
July 17, 2008
not bad. worth a look.
Want to read
August 14, 2008Dutch Title: "Wedren met een Supermens"
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