![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(books) Ace Double D-237
Jul. 15th, 2009 09:56 pmBeen a while since I posted about a book I've read, isn't it?
For the young'uns who might be reading this, an Ace Double was a nifty idea from Ace Books. Two short SF novels in one fat (for the time period) paperback, each with its own cover. While either story might be a bit thin to sell on its own, the package made it good value for money.
The two novels in D-237 are Robert Silverberg's "Master of Life and Death", and James White's "The Secret Visitors." Both are copyright 1957.
The Silverberg story takes place in the 23rd Century, when Earth faces an overpopulation crisis (due in part to unexplained "excesses" in the 22nd Century that wiped out all progress on that front made in the previous years.) The UN has therefore created a new agency, the Bureau of Population Equalization (vulgarly, "Popeek".) Armed with dictatorial powers, Popeek is trying to ease the population crisis by various means.
The protagonist is Roy Walton, the Deputy Director of Popeek (and very quickly, the Director), a man who fervently agrees with the principles his agency was founded on, but conflicted on a personal level with the decisions he must make. His position is made even more difficult when his jealous brother gets hold of evidence that could make Roy look very bad indeed.
As with many old SF books, it's amusing to see what isn't predicted--no personal computers, for example. If someone wants computer work done, they have to schlep down to the mainframe's input terminal and punch it in, and see the results on printer sheets. (All records being on paper is a plot point a couple of times.) People get their news from a newspaper that's printed several times a day, while television is strictly for entertainment. (The #1 TV programs are kaleidowhirls, hypnotically swirling color patterns--I'm sure you can guess what's coming there.)
More relevantly to the problem facing Earth, there are some...interesting gaps. There's shifting population from heavily populated areas to less populated ones. There's involuntary sterilization of men (but not women) with genetic disorders, as well as euthanasia of defective infants and senior citizens with incurable diseases. But no birth control (not even a mention of condoms!) no attempts at family planning, and most certainly no abortion. You'd think Popeek would at least *try* "keep it in your pants" public service announcements.
Interestingly, this story skips the usual token romantic subplot, sparing us the whole "but we cannot bring a new life into this overcrowded world" whinging that might otherwise ensue. However, this means that there end up being no major female characters. A couple of women are department heads in Popeek and have bit parts, and "girls" are mentioned as doing most of the clerical work but never appear on stage.
Roy is believably flawed, and screws up more than once when he lets his emotions get the better of him. His brother, conversely, comes across as being cartoonishly villainous. Yep, the director of the most powerful agency on Earth is going to hand over the reins of leadership on a day's notice just because you have an incriminating printout. That's really going to happen.
The ending would have been better, though, if it had stuck to the downer it was headed for. A last second deus ex machina kind of sticks in my craw.
The James White novel is set in contemporary times (the 1950s), with Cold War paranoia running rampant. Doctor Lockhart is called in to assist a CIA agent investigating a rash of "dying grandfathers." It seems that elderly men with no traceable background have been showing up in cities all over the world and dying if asked their names. The agent and doctor manage to keep one of the "grandfathers" alive long enough to get some partial information, which eventually leads them to a hotel in Ireland.
It turns out that the deaths are part of a galaxy-wide conspiracy focused around an evil travel agency, and our heroes must travel to the galactic core, where Earth will be put on trial....
This story does have a token romance between Dr. Lockhart, and Kelly, an alien secret agent. Sadly, while Kelly is a pretty interesting and resourceful character, she stops doing anything useful about halfway through the story. Yes, there's a reason, but still.
Through most of the novel, it looks like Dr. Lockhart's advanced medical skills will be what saves the day. (The aliens have practical immortality, so their interest in other medical fields has withered away.) Then towards the end, it appears that no, Earthmen's propensity for violence and war is the key--until the final twist. (Which is much better foreshadowed than the DXM in the Silverberg story.)
For the young'uns who might be reading this, an Ace Double was a nifty idea from Ace Books. Two short SF novels in one fat (for the time period) paperback, each with its own cover. While either story might be a bit thin to sell on its own, the package made it good value for money.
The two novels in D-237 are Robert Silverberg's "Master of Life and Death", and James White's "The Secret Visitors." Both are copyright 1957.
The Silverberg story takes place in the 23rd Century, when Earth faces an overpopulation crisis (due in part to unexplained "excesses" in the 22nd Century that wiped out all progress on that front made in the previous years.) The UN has therefore created a new agency, the Bureau of Population Equalization (vulgarly, "Popeek".) Armed with dictatorial powers, Popeek is trying to ease the population crisis by various means.
The protagonist is Roy Walton, the Deputy Director of Popeek (and very quickly, the Director), a man who fervently agrees with the principles his agency was founded on, but conflicted on a personal level with the decisions he must make. His position is made even more difficult when his jealous brother gets hold of evidence that could make Roy look very bad indeed.
As with many old SF books, it's amusing to see what isn't predicted--no personal computers, for example. If someone wants computer work done, they have to schlep down to the mainframe's input terminal and punch it in, and see the results on printer sheets. (All records being on paper is a plot point a couple of times.) People get their news from a newspaper that's printed several times a day, while television is strictly for entertainment. (The #1 TV programs are kaleidowhirls, hypnotically swirling color patterns--I'm sure you can guess what's coming there.)
More relevantly to the problem facing Earth, there are some...interesting gaps. There's shifting population from heavily populated areas to less populated ones. There's involuntary sterilization of men (but not women) with genetic disorders, as well as euthanasia of defective infants and senior citizens with incurable diseases. But no birth control (not even a mention of condoms!) no attempts at family planning, and most certainly no abortion. You'd think Popeek would at least *try* "keep it in your pants" public service announcements.
Interestingly, this story skips the usual token romantic subplot, sparing us the whole "but we cannot bring a new life into this overcrowded world" whinging that might otherwise ensue. However, this means that there end up being no major female characters. A couple of women are department heads in Popeek and have bit parts, and "girls" are mentioned as doing most of the clerical work but never appear on stage.
Roy is believably flawed, and screws up more than once when he lets his emotions get the better of him. His brother, conversely, comes across as being cartoonishly villainous. Yep, the director of the most powerful agency on Earth is going to hand over the reins of leadership on a day's notice just because you have an incriminating printout. That's really going to happen.
The ending would have been better, though, if it had stuck to the downer it was headed for. A last second deus ex machina kind of sticks in my craw.
The James White novel is set in contemporary times (the 1950s), with Cold War paranoia running rampant. Doctor Lockhart is called in to assist a CIA agent investigating a rash of "dying grandfathers." It seems that elderly men with no traceable background have been showing up in cities all over the world and dying if asked their names. The agent and doctor manage to keep one of the "grandfathers" alive long enough to get some partial information, which eventually leads them to a hotel in Ireland.
It turns out that the deaths are part of a galaxy-wide conspiracy focused around an evil travel agency, and our heroes must travel to the galactic core, where Earth will be put on trial....
This story does have a token romance between Dr. Lockhart, and Kelly, an alien secret agent. Sadly, while Kelly is a pretty interesting and resourceful character, she stops doing anything useful about halfway through the story. Yes, there's a reason, but still.
Through most of the novel, it looks like Dr. Lockhart's advanced medical skills will be what saves the day. (The aliens have practical immortality, so their interest in other medical fields has withered away.) Then towards the end, it appears that no, Earthmen's propensity for violence and war is the key--until the final twist. (Which is much better foreshadowed than the DXM in the Silverberg story.)
