First published in the 1960s, Spinrad was one of the first writers to perceive the totalitarian implications of the cradle-to-grave welfare state. But at the same time he was too organically a radical ever to be confused with a conservative. Result: "Agent of Chaos!"
Boris Johnson thinks he wants democracy. But in the course of his adventures he discovers that democracy to him means freedom. It's a banned concept from the Millennium of Religion. Like God.
He finds himself dealing with a byzantine political situation worthy of anything from the banned past. The dictatorship is the Hegemony. Opposition is provided by the aptly named agents of C.H.A.O.S. Meanwhile, the Brotherhood of Assassins plays a game that no one can fathom. Whose side are they on? Whose fool are you?
Spinrad explores his philosophical theme in a manner all too rare in contemporary science fiction. The problem is that Order will always try to eliminate any random factors. By its very nature, it encourages opposition and that feeds the forces of chaos. But chaos has built in problems as well. Its victories cannot help but feed the forces of reaction, of order. The heroes in this novel ultimately opt for personal freedom. The villains try to establish a dictatorship over the very nature of reality itself.
And then Spinrad throws in the discovery of aliens. A starship sets forth to meet them, the Prometheus. The Hegemony doesn't like that.
Before Spinrad made his name with Bug Jack Barron, his rude, energetic fourth novel, his earliest work had passed without much notice. In this second novel, written in 1967, the tyrannical Hegemony, which has given its citizens peace and prosperity, easily thwarts the small, gadfly Democratic League, with its goal of freedom, but is stung at the heart by the old and efficient Brotherhood of Assassins, whose object is simply to increase chaos in the placid utopia. Although there is nothing here of the verve, iconoclasm, rock rhythm or mass-media amplification that have characterized Spinrad's best work, the anarchic, id-driven social philosophy underlying this slight pulp adventure is certainly more interesting in the retrospective light of those later science fiction classics. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Norman Spinrad's He Walked Among Us - Horror Drive-In
Norman Spinrad's He Walked Among Us
I'm always getting up here and urging you to buy this book, or to go see that movie. Buy a DVD or try a new author. I do it because I'm passionate about this stuff. And I swear to you that, regardless of whether you end up agreeing with me, I am always 100% honest about them.
Coming out on March 30th is what I consider to be the book of the year. It's He Walked Among Us, by Norman Spinrad. I bet it's already shipping now from Amazon.
Maybe you've read some Spinrad. Some pieces here and there. Or maybe you've been trying to make the time to read Bug Jack Barron for decades now. Or maybe you've read some of his books. My own personal favorites are Bug Jack Barron, The Iron Dream, Pictures at 11, Little Heroes, The Mind Game. My previous favorite was probably Norman's mainstream novel of Hollywood, Passing Through the Flame. My favorite now is He Walked Among Us.
Spinrad had trouble getting this book published and it boggles my mind. Here is not only one of the finest science fiction writers that ever published, but one of the most important writers of the modern age. I'm not kidding.
He Walked Among Us was previously published in a typically overpriced and poorly manufactured POD edition in 2004. Norman Spinrad having to put his work out in what is barely a notch above self publishing. It's criminal.
Why did he have such a difficult time getting He Walked Among Us published? For one thing, Spinrad has never been afraid to bite the hand that feeds him. He has been an acerbic critic of organized science fiction fandom for a long time. He paints the community in a harsh light in He Walked Among Us. I have the experience to tell you that his unflattering depictions of SF conventioneers is pretty damned accurate.
Also, Spinrad's career has been hard to classify in any one particular genre. He's known as a science fiction writer and many of his book fall solidly in that realm. Russian Spring, Songs From the Stars, The Void Captain's Tale, Greenhouse Summer, for examples. He has also written books that made him a popular figure in the counterculture, like The Children of Hamelin and Passing Through the Flame. There are stories that seem pulled direct from current events, such as The Mind Game and Pictures at 11. Spinrad has even done historical fiction: Mexica and The Druid King.
So what, exactly, is He Walked Among Us? Well, that's a hard one. In a way it's science fiction. It's also an acidly satiric satire of show business. The novel is screamingly funny at times. There are New Age aspects to He Walked Among Us. It's philosophical. It might deal with Quantum Physics, but I'm not exactly sure. And it also has some hardcore scenes that might make Edward Lee wince.
Jimmy Balaban is an aging, seedy, third rate show biz agent. He meets a dubious comedian named Ralf who claims to be from the future. He's here to save us from ourselves. It's an odd act, but Jimmy is a pro and the nose knows. Maybe there is a little bit of money to be made from this strange act. He takes Ralf on as a client and hires a male science fiction writer and a female New Age guru to turn Ralf into the cash cow that he always wanted. Astonishingly, it works. The question remains: Who, or what, is Ralf?
Spinrad has called He Walked Among Us his magnum opus and I definitely agree. I've been a fan of his work for a long time and I've been continually blown away by his writing. He Walked Among Us, however, is a revelation.
Naturally, a lot of people aren't going to get it. This isn't an easy, simple book. Oh, it's easy enough to read, but it's even easier to dismiss it as gimmicky fluff. Worse, readers could feel that Spinrad has a condescending attitude toward his audience. That he's laughing at them or feeling smugly superior. I don't feel that way, but a complex novel like He Walked Among Us can be interpreted in endless ways. That's part of the beauty of it.
Spinrad has always had an amazing imagination, which is augmented by his own radical sensibilities. I've always felt an element of danger in his work.
Norman Spinrad recently announced on Facebook that he has been diagnosed with stomach cancer. He had previously been told that it was inoperable, but there is greater hope now. It's still terrible news. This writer is a treasure and it's horrible to think that we may be losing him soon. Perhaps he'll pull out of it. I've always perceived Norman Spinrad as a fighter and I believe that he'll fight this battle with the courage that he is known for possessing. Hopefully he'll emerge with his health and years of productive life ahead of him. Forget the vicious lie that everything that doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Cancer is the worst thing in the world and it'll take its toll on him.
Thankfully we have a large body of work from Norman Spinrad to keep us astonished, entertained, and best of all, to keep us thinking. And he's never done a better work than He Walked Among Us. This writer has been neglected for far too long. He Walked Among Us deserves to be a success. And Norman Spinrad deserves more respect than he has gotten lately. A lot more respect.
Please consider buying a copy of He Walks Among Us.
---Mark Sieber
Spinrad, Norman. He Walked Among Us. Tor. Apr. 2010. c.544p. ISBN 978-0-7653-2584-6. $27.99. SF
When talent agent Jimmy Balaban discovers an ad lib comic named Ralf who claims to be from the future, he recognizes a potential moneymaker. Together with a once-famous sf writer and a New Age guru, the trio transform Ralf into a messiah-like figure who brings a message about a desolate future and the need to transform the world in order to avert disaster. When Ralf refuses to break character, his handlers wonder whether he is their creation or whether his message from the future is in fact real. VERDICT First published in France, this latest novel by one of sf's most distinguished authors (Bug Jack Barron, The Iron Dream) presents a cautionary tale that is at once sardonically witty and intellectually thought-provoking. A big book in more than pagination, this meaty saga of a contemporary prophet is essential for sf fans.
Library Journal
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Norman Spinrad is the author of some 20 or so novels, five or six dozen short stories, a classic Star Trek epsisode, a couple of flop movies, an album's worth of songs, political columns, film criticism, literary criticicsm, mini-cookbooks, autobiography, and a bunch of assorted other stuff. The latest to be written is a new and literarily revolutionary novel called WELCOME TO YOUR DREAMTIME, in which you, the reader are the viewpoint character, and sections of which have been published in a weird assortment of magazines as free-standing short stories. The latest to be published in the US,by Tor, is HE WALKED AMONG US, a novel so far ahead of itself that it had to wait until it had become something of the fave rave of a radical viral internet distribution experiment and a cause celebre in France as IL EST PARMI NOUS before any traditional American publisher would bring it out in paper.
Norman Spinrad is certainly not a household name. Matter-of-fact, his name is not even listed in the alphabetical reference for Sci-Fi authors. Imagine my surprise when I looked up his name so I could review "Agent of Chaos" and found dozens of his novels listed, many with 5 star ratings!
"Agent of Chaos" was published in 1970, and I have no idea how this novel became part of my Sci-Fi collection. It is yellowed and brittle now, and I picked it out one afternoon just because I was curious. No, this novel wasn't `the find of the century', by any means, although it was an engaging and quick read (half a day).
It is a story of a group of rebels trying to assassinate the leader of the Hegemonic Council that rule the solar system with absolute tyranny. Spinrad uses many clever ideas, and the world of the Hegemony is fleshed out nicely. Center to the plot is an enigmatic group called `The Brotherhood of Assassins' who thwart the rebels at every turn, yet, also create havoc within the Hegemony. It is this group that heightens the reader's interest. Unfortunately, the protagonist (Johnson), who is suppose to be a great fighter and leader, turns out to be rather naive, and is easily duped (too easily). This may or may not have been the author's intent, but in either case, it frustrated this reader. Also absent was any hint of a love interest, leaving the reader with a fairly shallow story.
Long out of print, "Agent of Chaos" does many things well, but when I finished the novel, it left no lingering memories. It's just a quick, enjoyable read for a Saturday afternoon. No depth here. Between 1 and 10, "Agent of Chaos" gets a 5. I'm more curious about the author, but it looks like if I want to read anymore of his work I'll need to look through used book stores.
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When I was only thirteen I think my Father handed this book to me to read. This book is an early work of SF that takes place in a dystopian future. The book itself touches on the nature of power and freedom. Though I don't agree with Spinrad's ideas entirely, his book contains ideas about individualism that resonate even today. This book has been a major influence on my thoughts and beliefs and the story is still remembered by me to this day. I would suggest this to anyone who has some time on their hands.
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Only a few of the previous reviews for this obscure old sci-fi chestnut really tackle its actual themes and points of view. This was Spinrad's second novel and he was still a few releases away from wide recognition, but here he shows some real ambition and creativity. While the book does get a little full of itself at times, and the rather wooden characters show the golden age sci-fi weakness of talking way too much, Spinrad spun a surprisingly unique and effective political focus into an otherwise typical little space opera. The story revolves around a quite fascinating philosophy of chaos as the natural state of the universe (and its inhabitants), with the order imposed by leaders as antithetical to the destiny of mankind. It's a rather anarchist political outlook presented in cosmological terms. Spinrad does well with this premise, plotting out some intricate political shenanigans as three different parties exploit each other while trying to impose their vision of humanity, with dueling strategies for creating order or chaos. In the process, Spinrad delivers some insightful ruminations on power, tyranny, and freedom - and what those seemingly cut-and-dried terms mean on a cosmic scale. While parts of this book are pretty outdated and it shows many of the minor weaknesses of its genre at the time, Spinrad delivered what might be the most ambitious sci-fi political exploration this side of Frank Herbert or Anthony Burgess. The fact that this ambition actually leads to readable results is all the reason to pick up this old lost classic if you come across it. [~doomsdayer520~]
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