Customer Reviews

Complete Roderick (S.F. Masterworks)

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

 

 

This volume combines Sladek's acclaimed novel Roderick with its sequel Roderick at Random. The first book is a darkly comic fantasy about a learning machine named Roderick, and his unusual upbringing. Wrested from his creators at too early an age, Roderick finds himself habitually used and abused by everyone he encounters, but still manages to take it all in stride. The tone of the story makes it stand out among a genre full of artificial intelligences, but the most endearing facet of the book is Roderick himself, who unlike many fictional robots, is very childlike in his limited knowledge-base. Like a mechanical Forrest Gump, Roderick does what he's told because he doesn't have any better ideas, and doesn't know enough to pass moral judgments on those who are giving the orders. The author slyly uses this device to poke ironic fun at many of the sillier aspects of 20th Century America, allowing us to see the effect our culture's messages have on one who accepts everything at face value. At the same time, Sladek clearly has little compassion for human foibles; the people Roderick encounters often represent the worst humanity has to offer, although most of them are very familiar types nonetheless. Even Ma and Pa Wood, who care for Roderick more than anyone, don't seem to really understand him. The story might have been a lot funnier if the reader didn't feel so bad for poor Roderick. As it is, he remains a tragicomic figure, and the novel is slightly less successful for this duality.

The second novel, Roderick at Random, has less to offer in the way of interesting ideas, and is neither as funny nor as melancholy. Ultimately, it's more adventures without any real focus - a typical sequel. For those who just can't get enough of Roderick, this should be a decent value. For those who felt that the original novel was a touch overlong to begin with, perhaps the Complete Roderick is unnecessary.

John T. Sladek made his reputation in the SF community writing clever satires and parodies with the emphasis on AI and Robotics. "Roderick" is the life story of one such robot, and like Sladek's other masterful robot tale "Tik Tok", it involves a huge cast of characters and all kinds of twists and turns.

What sets this apart is the tone. Sladek has stepped away from the black comedy and created a melancholy epic. This is his middle-age novel. Darker and more personal than most of his other work ("Bugs" being the exception), "Roderick" is about growing up, disillusionment, and self-realisation. It's still funny, but it's hard to tell who you're laughing at.

I've read it twice, and each time I was sorry when it ended.

The last (most proximal) reviewer, certainly entitled to what this is: an opinion, neglected to mention that all the ellipses set up in the first 'roderick' have wonderful codas in the second book. If a reader is astute enough, I certainly wasn't nor am not, to catch all the wordplay and puns, some using antequated cultural references, they will stand in awe of the powerful intellect that was strict materialist, john sladek. I prefer these books to 'Tik-Tok'. I posit that Tik-Tok has already judged mankind and 'willfully' circumvents its Asimov circuits; Roderick only learns to judge humankind, mostly feebly so. The damnation of 20th century western culture comes from the garish, interwoven caricatures that fail to listen to anything other than their own bluster, not the vengeful glee of robot murdering tons'o'humans to point out a flawed culture.

I echo MadDog's sentiment wrt to sadness post-completion. I missed its exhilaration.

I first encountered "Roderick" excerpted in Twilight Zone Magazine many years ago. Searching for Sladek in the Science Fiction section became my bookshop routine for years and years after that. I finally did located the novel and it's lesser sequel, but my original copies have long ago disappeared. I was therefore excited to find this reprint but a caveat, this paperback edition entitled "The Complete Roderick" is printed on acidic paper, and my new copy arrived today already burning it's own pages brown. Love this book (well, the first one anyways) but I hate cheap paper!!