ABSOLUTE AT LARGE (The Garland library of science fiction) [Hardcover]

Capek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1975 | Series: The Garland library of science fiction

In this satirical classic, a brilliant scientist invents the Karburator, a reactor that can create abundant and practically free energy. However, the Karburator’s superefficient energy production also yields a powerful by-product. The machine works by completely annihilating matter and in so doing releases the Absolute, the spiritual essence held within all matter, into the world. Infected by the heady, pure Absolute, the world’s population becomes consumed with religious and national fervor, the effects of which ultimately cause a devastating global war. Set in the mid-twentieth century, The Absolute at Large questions the ethics and rampant spread of power, mass production, and atomic weapons that Karel Capek saw in the technological and political revolutions occurring around him. Stephen Baxter provides an introduction for this Bison Books edition.

(20110421)

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Capek''s dialog is fantastic, his characters richly drawn. But his vision of a world transcendently captivated by an apparent higher calling and then hoodwinked into war for nine years over a source of fuel is so prescient, it makes the novel seem like it was written today."—Cara Hoffman, NPR''s All Things Considered

(Cara Hoffman NPR's All Things Considered )

"Capek''s skewering of human greed and faith is all the more impressive given that the novel was originally published in 1922."—Pedro Ponce, Review of Contemporary Fiction

(Pedro Ponce Review of Contemporary Fiction )

"Capek offers the tale of a machine capable of generating limitless energy that also releases the unknown spiritual essence locked within physical matter, with cataclysmic results."—Library Journal

(Library Journal )

"The Absolute at Large goes beyond the religious fervor of Nazism, foreshadowing the collectivization of Communism and the emergence of a free market too wide for any known West."—Village Voice

(Village Voice )

"A satirical science fiction classic. . . . Though Capek wrote The Absolute at Large more than 80 years ago, it absolutely retains its wit and relevance today."—Donna McCrohan Rosenthal, News Review

(Donna McCrohan Rosenthal News Review ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English, Czech (translation)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 293 pages
• Publisher: Dissertations-G; 1 edition (October 1, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824014030
• ISBN-13: 978-0824014032
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,654,692 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All books by Capek are required reading for civilised person, September 17, 1999

By 

jan (rural Michigan USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Absolute at Large (Classics of Science Fiction) (Hardcover)

Perhaps as a companion piece to War with the Newts this one should have been titled War with God, since this book attacks religious intolerance with the same gentle, sad, hilarious ridiculousness that he employed with devastating effect against racial intolerance in Newts. As a novel it violates most every rule of how a "good" novel should be written, in terms of structure, plot, cohesiveness, restraint, character development, etc and as such it is a fine book. And, of course, it is very very Czech.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Abolute at Large, August 23, 2011

By 

FuelRack - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Absolute at Large (Bison Frontiers of Imagination) (Paperback)

Reading the The Absolute at Large, and knowing what we know now and what Capek(the best Czech author of the 20th century) could only imagine in 1922 was fascinating. Here was a man who had just witnessed the crumbling of the Austria Hungarian, German and Russian empires and the enormous waste of human life, especially of young men. Life in Central Europe in the early '20s was bitter and people saw a bleak future and their view of God "the Absolute" was hardly positive. Looking 20 years into a future four years after the end of "The Great War" and foretelling "The Greatest War" between 1944 and 1953 was amazing, and unfortunately very close to what actually happened. But it was Capek's biting satire on how man always believes he is right and others are wrong, especially when it comes to religion, that was especially interesting. The failure of man to think broadly and see the world through other's eyes is a story as old as man. Capek tells the story brilliantly. The book itself is poorly published and obviously photocopied from another source. Buy the paperbook instead of the hard copy.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but poorly printed, June 24, 2011

By 

Tim - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Absolute At Large (Hardcover)

I agree in part with both of the previous reviews. This was a very good book and I'll read more of Karel Capek. It has a very clever theme and is not only good fiction but a social commentary as well.

However, I would buy the paperback instead of this hardback edition. It has obviously been photocopied and has many defects, including almost no periods at the ends of sentences, very strange spacing and a few duplicated paragraphs. Some pages were truncated at the edges (copy machine), and there were many extraneous marks.

Note that the preview on Amazon is the paperback and does not display those defects.

That being said, it was still readable. If you can't get a better print copy, get this one. It is still readable and the content more than makes up for the defects.