Brute Orbits [Hardcover]

George Zebrowski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998

In this innovative and powerful new novel, noted SF writer George Zebrowski weaves a tale in which conflicted hearts and minds find new ways to war over the great prize of history called justice. Here, in a Draconian social experiment, a politically conservative earth government begins to transport asteroid/space colonies filled with prisoners into long-term orbits. The results are brutal, surprising, and unforgettable.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Like his previous tales of technocratically engineered futures (Macrolife; Stranger Suns; etc.), Zebrowski's latest evokes the pioneering SF of social philosopher Olaf Stapledon. But this boldly speculative new novel also suffers from the claustrophobic effects of trying to wrestle provocative ideas into cramped quarters. In the 21st century, Earth incarcerates its undesirables in mined-out asteroids launched into new orbits for the duration of their sentences. "This use of distance as a better prison wall" is more than just an ingenious application of technology to the penal system: it's also a convenient trick for disposing of the socially misfit, since orbits are "accidentally" miscalculated to prevent their return. The narrative follows the histories of several of these "rocks" as their prisoners fight, unite and ultimately set out to create superior, self-contained cultures free of the taint of earthly ways. Individual asteroids house specific groups of offenders, ranging from hardened convicts to sexual deviants, juvenile delinquents and unwanted foreigners, but it's hard to tell them apart, since the representatives of each speak in the same monotonous voice of the social studies lecturer. Burdened with having to illustrate the novel's central thesis?that the criminals whom society casts out are reflections of its own sickness, and a key to its cure?the characters rarely rise above the level of abstraction. Zebrowski argues his points with conviction, but, like the asteroid prisons he imagines, the vehicle for his critique is very distant and just a bit hollow.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

George Zebrowski is a thoughtful, stimulating writer who has been compared to Olaf Stapledon by no less than Arthur C. Clarke.... Thoughtful and stimulating. Well worth your attention. But it's not for action fans. -- Analog, Tom Easton

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harper Prism; First Edition edition (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061050261
• ISBN-13: 978-0061050268
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,193,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Science Fiction Literature, November 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Brute Orbits (Mass Market Paperback)

This is that rarest of books that can actually change how you think. Not just about prisons or prisoners, or cruelty, though there is plentiful speculation on these topics, but indeed I mean HOW YOU THINK. This book is full of so many challenging ideas on so many different aspects of the human experience that my mind buzzed for two full days. Perception, history, biology and evolution, evil, societal limitations, the limitations of one's own mind. And not a paragraph of preaching, just good storytelling rich with scientific speculation that advances the tale. The action is harrowing and there are moments of awe and wonder that resonate much deeper than most good action SF scenes. Go forth and read and ask yourself: HOW DO I THINK?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Wall of Space, March 13, 2009

By 

doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brute Orbits (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a work of philosophy disguised as a science fiction novel. An impact will be made with readers looking for subversive social commentary, but the book will probably fail with readers looking for a functioning story. The book suffers from a very inconsistent timeline and narration that operates mostly as a front for Zebrowski's thoughts on crime and punishment. Those thoughts are highly incisive, based on the works of solid philosophers like Kant and Pascal (and probably Dostoevsky), and while some readers would justifiably find them preachy, others will find them uncompromising and thought-provoking. Zebrowski has the knowledge to pull off this philosophical treatise on the problems of prisons, and the book holds no punches and launches straight into deep thoughts on the matter.

Most of the book works well as social and political commentary, with a series of vignettes about future prisoners and all of their ugliest behavior. This future society has found a way to conveniently get rid of not just hardened criminals but an expanding palette of political and social undesirables, by putting them in hollow asteroids and launching them into deep space. Most of the story is shocking and provocative, and the behavior of the criminals and the authorities is often hideous, allowing Zebrowski to really explore the ramifications of his philosophical treatise. Critics of this book have perfectly valid points, but readers looking for uncompromising allegorical commentary could enjoy it if they're willing to sacrifice logical development of characters and themes. But there is still a problem with inconsistency, as the conclusion falls into a type of quaint and unrealistic future humanism that contrasts sharply with the rest of the book. It's also too short, as Zebrowski could have devoted much more space to both the philosophy and the development of his characters, but here such matters surge ahead at a very awkward pace. [~doomsdayer520~]

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too short, January 10, 2002

By 

Glenn McDorman (Denver) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brute Orbits (Hardcover)

The idea of putting penal colonies in space is really interesting. Zebrowski tries to tell the story of the individuals in the colonies and at the same time examine the long term social effects of hurling thousands of people into a closed environment in only 200 pages. This brevity resulted in the isolation of both ideas. What we get is the beginning and the end of what could have been a good book had the middle not been left out.