Customer Reviews

Agent of Chaos

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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~]

With calls for a National ID system with biometric controls, Agent of Chaos should be required reading for everyone to understand what a government could do with the ability to track everyone everywhere. We are now descending into the fascism that Spinrad predicted, but much sooner than he anticipated.

as a youth i consumed scifi and fantasy like junk food. i picked up this bouquin back then ('87 maybe). it's a quick read and it's just alright in and of itself. the memory of this book resurrected itself, for me, with the occurrence of the 9/11 tragedies. my vague recollections (faded with time) of the story's random acts of violence/terrorism perpetrated against a corrupt global governance... its images, both large and small, of dystopia and terrorism/rebellion... stirred then and still haunt the back of my mind now when I read the news or other books/articles about current events. i'm not saying it was/is heinlein-like foretelling , but I can say that it did, for whatever reason, insert itself firmly into my consciousness, where it persists to this day. for that, if for no other reason, I'm giving it four stars.

"Perfecto!"

This is the best! Norman Spinrad writes a novel that cuts to the heart of modern existence and is a complete guide on how and why to live.

The author opened each Chapter with a verse from George Markowitz, fictive author of the Theory of Social Empathy. He draws his characters in this story to produce conflict between the theory of social order and of that of social chaos. Sprinrad presents human emotions as random factors serving the forces of chaos. This is a very good job of using his characters to teach his anti-utopian ideal. Basically he is telling his reader to stop fighting the entropic degradation of the universe--just lay back and enjoy it. That one group committed suicide, as the Brotherhood of Assassins did, in order to accomplish their mission of universal planetary exploration was a paradox that enthralled the author. Thus he labeled victory by suicide as the Ultimate Chaotic Act.

Norman Spinrad is one of the best writers of the 1970's. His novel Bug Jack Barron is considered one of the 100 best SF books of all time. This is one of his first novels and as such is a precursor of the technique and themes appearing in later books. I would buy this book. But then again, I know a book with Spinrad's name on it will not be a waste of time or money.

I've now read this book, and to be honest, don't find it to be worth a lengthy review. Spinrad proposes three social forces in conflict - the Hegemony, the Democratic League, and the "chaotic" Brotherhood of Assassins - and populates each with two-dimensional stick-figure heroes and villains. It's ok if you are into lasgun assaults under plasteel domes on Mercury, but it's not the philosophical conflict of ideas that it pretends to be. No way it was "the great science-fiction novel now an underground classic in colleges all across America".

At times it can be just ridiculous; for example, when the first intersteller probe comes back from Cygnus 61, everyone sits around waiting for the film to come back from the lab. And a secret agent travels to Mercury under cover as a business man deciding whether to relocate his desk calculator manufacturing plant there, as if that makes economic sense. Sheesh.