Customer Reviews

Child of Fortune

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This has long been one of my favorite books. It is a serious, no-simple-answers coming-of-age tale, yet at the same time it manages to imaginative and entertaining, with plenty of laughs and vivid imagery. Thus the story is enjoyable whether the reader is in a contemplative mood or simply craving a good science fiction yarn.

Most of all, I admire the author's use of language and dialect. He creates a form of modified English by incorporating words from several different languages throughout the text, as well as some made-up slang and terminology. (The novel is written in first-person, thus the use of dialect is constant through the text.) This can be daunting at first, but by the time you're a few chapters in you'll have 'picked up' the language to a remarkable degree. Years after my last reading, I still remember it.

Again, one of my favorites. I'm going to buy another copy soon, before my old, often-reviewed copy falls apart completely.

I first tried to read this book when I was a teen. I wasn't ready for it. I recently happened across it, and decided to give it a go. How can I explain this? I've read literally thousands of books. (None of them Norman's until recently). The story is a brilliantly told tale of a young girl growing into herself through a space-style walkabout; but it's more than just that. There are ideas and correlations and connections that are both familiar and alien, none of which left me untouched. I know, you hear "this will change you" from movie critics and the like, but I urge you to find this book, and sit down and really read it. It's not a difficult read; the story flows smoothly and the humor is delightful. Don't let this one get away. Trust me.

Child of Fortune was one of my few satisfying excursions into Sci-Fi. Though the story; a hefty space opera, is set in the far future it is very accessible.

Reading the book was like being in the best "dark ride" in the best theme park ever built. Spinrad takes the reader into incredible worlds and civilizations; most are wonderful utopias. The charactors are developed and believable. This book will appeal to old hippies and the new Bohemians.

For those who loved Brave New World, the explorations of the McKenna Brothers, Electric Kool Aid Acid Test -- u ain't read nothin YET! So, my advice -- "take a walk on the wild side" and read this book before it gets burned!

I first read CHILD OF FORTUNE as a teenager. It blew my mind and set me on the path of continuously seeking enlightenment. Spinrad's tale of a girl seeking her fame, fortune, and most importantly, herself amongst the stars is titillating, profound, funny, and eye-opening. The universe of the Second Spacefaring Age is fun, stylistically well-crafted, and ultimately one of hope and universal enlightenment.

Over the years I've reread CHILD OF FORTUNE to help keep that enthusiastic childlike part of me alive. Everyone should pursue the Wanderjahr!

UPDATE 2011: A couple of years ago, I found a near mint 1st edition of CHILD OF FORTUNE at a used bookstore. A steal at $10!

It's hard to decide which of Norman Spinrad's novels should be regarded as his best, since he has written exceptional novels in the science fiction subgenres of Alternate History, Space Opera and Cyberpunk, as well as in Historical Fantasy. Still, "Child of Fortune" has to be regarded as one of his literary triumphs; it is not only a great science fiction novel, but more importantly, a splendid piece of literature. "Child of Fortune" is comparable in scope to what Anthony Burgess created in his "A Clockwork Orange", replete with vivid literary prose and a future English stirred vigorously with liberal doses of French and German too. This is an amazing, over-the-top coming of age saga about a young woman who seeks her destiny amongst the far flung worlds of Humanity's Second Spacfaring Age. Ultimately she finds herself while journeying across the galaxy as an itinerant storyteller, finding a psychological Hell within the exotically verdant Bloomenveldt where a unique symbiosis between humanity and alien plant life is evolving on the planet Belshazaar. I found this book impossible to put down, having been intoxicated by Spinrad's poetically rich, dense prose.

Written in a style which becomes naturally beautiful and expressive as your mind expands to comprehend it, experiencing this book is very much like travelling through the culture shock of another country.
Perhaps the depiction of the space-faring civilization in which it is set (along with its (oh! so!) dark companion novel "The Void Captain's Tale") leaves certain quotidian features unmentioned (I always wonder who services the wonders of sci-fi novels; rare is the hero/ine who cleans the toilets, maintains the subways, is the bank teller, works in a restaurant)... well, after all, the story of one's life is a self-created spiel, and adventures are found where you choose to have them at least as much as where they may find you.
I grew up in Berkeley in the 60's, and this tale honors and burns bright with the true spirit of those days (and the many days since, even up til this very moment). Who will interpret this book into the film it deserves to be?

"Alice in wonderland meets Timothy Leary as they explore the Kama Sutra at Finnegan's wake." -Associated Press. This is the blerb from the front page of the paperback edition I own. This understates the human element of this coming of age book. The ideas developed should be a lesson in what kind of society we want to be. From the planet of Edoku where 'reality itself is no more than a local style', with it's gray Public Service Stations offering gray showers, gray clothing, and gray complete-nutrition fressen bars that taste like wet paper, washed down with bland distilled water.(ALL YOU WANT! ALL FREE!)Complete with it's own counter-culture, the Gypsy Jokers, led by the colorful character Pater Pan. Through the psychedelic jungle Bloomenveld, this book delivers. I've read this book twice 15 years apart. The first time I saw myself, the second I remembered friends that got 'lost along the way'.