Humpty Dumpty: An Oval | The Demolished Man | Full Spectrum 5

Humpty Dumpty: An Oval

Evil dentists, ladies' undergarments and the planet Mongo....

• Humpty Dumpty: An Oval
• By Damon Knight
• Tor Books
• $22.95/$33.95 Canada
• Hardcover, September 1996

ne of science fiction's foremost critics, Damon Knight, is probably best known for some classic short stories of the 1950s, including "Four In One" and "To Serve Man" (which was made into an equally classic episode of The Twilight Zone). Now in his 70s, Knight remains an incisive and vigorous writer, as shown by his new novel, Humpty Dumpty: An Oval.

Things haven't been quite right ever since a deranged waiter shot Wellington Stout in the head at a restaurant in Milan. Stout is soon up and about, but he suffers from memory blackouts and finds himself hounded by a sinister shoe company, a global conspiracy of dentists and uniformed agents of the Space Patrol.

Is Stout's head wound making him hallucinate? Or has the damage to his brain somehow given him the power to unwittingly warp reality? Stout, a 64-year-old wholesaler of ladies undergarments, isn't sure what to believe, but he does his best to save himself...or the world, as the case may be.

He embarks on a valiant and surreal expedition to retrieve one of his business cards, which may or may not be inscribed with valuable information. His quest brings him back to the U.S., which is being bombarded by fragments of the rogue planet Mongo (named after Emperor Ming's domain from the "Flash Gordon" comics). Avoiding craters, the Space Patrol and his own brother, Stout finds himself visiting the haunts of his past.

Humpty Dumpty is an off-center, often confusing vision from one of science fiction's most inventive minds. It's told in a rich prose style full of imagery and detail that can make for delightful reading, but ultimately readers will be left wondering just what Knight is getting at. As Stout begins his retrospective journey, readers might hope to find some insights into the nature of this lonely and disappointed man, revelations that would add resonance and poignancy to Knight's inventive stream-of-unconsciousness prose.

Alas, nothing of that sort happens, except perhaps in coded form, so for all its richness the book feels slight. The well-meaning but not heroic Stout undergoes various strange metamorphoses and journeys to a suitably mysterious climax that might represent redemption and rebirth, or perhaps just senility and death.

Even fans of Philip K. Dick's weirder novels might find Humpty Dumpty frustratingly enigmatic. Yet Humpty Dumpty is never less than entertaining, and it's often laugh-out-loud funny. The succession of bizarre events and images has the potency and skewed logic of a particularly vivid dream.

I doubt I'll ever re-read this book, but I won't easily forget it either. -- Curt

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The Demolished Man

A rich businessman, haunted by nightmares, resorts to murder....

• The Demolished Man
• By Alfred Bester
• Vintage Books
• $11.00/$14.95 (Canada)
• Trade Paperback, July 1996

en Reich is haunted by nightmares of being pursued by the Man With No Face in this reprint of Alfred Bester's classic novel, The Demolished Man. When Reich takes the problem to his Esper (telepathic) analyst, Carson Breen interprets the Man With No Face as Craye D'Courtney, Reich's main business rival. D'Courtney's company is beating Reich's in the marketplace, and Reich decides he must eliminate D'Courtney as a competitor.

Reich sends D'Courtney a coded message, offering a merger. When Reich receives an answer that he interprets as rejection, he decides his only option is murder. But the telepathy of Espers has prevented a successful murder for more than 70 years. The only way Reich can succeed is to enlist the assistance of a top-level Esper to run interference for him. He convinces Augustus Tate, leader of a dissident Esper faction, to help him by offering to use his vast wealth and power to make Tate the leader of the Esper Guild.

Tate learns that D'Courtney will be on Earth for medical treatment and will be spending the night at the home of a local socialite, Maria Beaumont. Reich sees his opportunity. First he memorizes a jingle that helps block Esper probes. Then he buys a book that details a party game called Sardine, which will allow him to roam the Beaumont home unimpeded. He sends the book to Beaumont with the other games removed, guaranteeing that Beaumont will entice her guest to play Sardine. And then he buys a pistol...

The Demolished Man is one of science fiction's seminal works, and even 45 years after its initial publication it's obvious why. There are few -- if any -- writers who have depicted telepathic communication better than Bester. But the real strengths of the novel are its unrelenting suspense, subtle wit and the inner dilemmas of its characters. It's very much a literary science fiction novel, written long before science fiction paid much attention to external literary values.

Police Prefect Lincoln Powell, who knows Reich is guilty and now must prove it, is a particularly interesting character. He's very intelligent apart from his telepathic abilities, and while he's usually unwaveringly ethical, he has a spontaneous second personality he calls "Dishonest Abe" that occasionally emerges to tell an outrageous lie. And he soon becomes involved in a bizarre love triangle with conflicting motivations that Bester balances elegantly.

Reich himself is also fascinating. Though his obsession with wealth, power and the nightmare of the Man With No Face make him thoroughly unlikeable, Bester manages to show quite convincingly that Reich is only doing what he thinks he has to do to survive. It's almost as if Bester predicted the emergence of Donald Trump.

The Demolished Man is simply a great science fiction novel. It won the first Hugo Award ever presented for best novel, and it could still be a very strong contender today.

-- Clint

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Full Spectrum 5

The anthology for "soft" science fiction

• Full Spectrum 5
• Ed. by Jennifer Hershey, Tom Dupree, Janna Silverstein
• Bantam Books
• $6.50/$8.99 Canada
• Paperback, September 1996

he fifth installment of the Full Spectrum collection offers a broad range of tales representing an assortment of styles and viewpoints. The authors selected for inclusion in this compilation of 28 short stories also reflect a wide variety of experience and interests, from the first-time writer to established authors publishing in the areas of science fiction and horror. The editors do not include any information regarding their selection criteria for the anthology or why specific titles were chosen, but a brief sketch of each author is found at the end of the book.

The stories themselves reflect the editors' eclectic tastes and cover almost every category of science fiction, with the notable lack of "hard" science fiction. Readers may pick from a potpourri of alternative histories, stereotypical and not-so stereotypical-aliens, virtual realities, robots, artificial intelligences, future worlds and explorations of the human spirit. Among these stories there is an emotion for every mood and a number of disquieting endings.

Although there are undoubtedly some bright gems to treasure, the collection as a whole seems to lack focus or purpose. Introductory remarks by the editors would have been helpful, as well as a brief summary of the anthology series and why specific titles were included in this edition.

Some of the stories reflected more "traditional" science fiction tastes, with appreciative nods to authors as diverse as Jules Verne, Douglas Adams and Ray Bradbury. However, it seems that an equal number of titles attempt to fit into the "literary" or "artsy" mold, which gives the collection a balanced, yet often uncomfortable, feel.

Stories which make the book worth reading include "Simply Indispensable," which poses the question "What is the basic heartfelt desire of any sentient entity?" The answer and its consequences are both humorous and thought-provoking. The creation of an exquisite virtual reality is explored in minute detail in "The Music of What Happens," by Howard V. Hendrix, and "Tale of the Blue Spruce Dreaming (or How to Be Flesh)," by Jean Mark Gawron explores the heart and soul of artificial intelligence.

A number of other stories provide good reading, but those who expect satisfying, or at least conclusive, endings may find some of the material rough going. Leaving readers hanging in mid-air is a common ploy among the various authors, and literalists may be easily frustrated. Readers who enjoy science fiction on the edge should relish this collection, but traditionalists may have a more difficult time adjusting to the more "literary" elements found in many of the stories.

I'm always a pushover when it comes to anthologies -- you never know what you'll find! -- Susan

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