Customer Reviews

The Final Programme

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I typically like Moorcock's books. He has wide-ranging abilities as an author. But "The Final Programme" is one big HUH??? That's not to say that it is a bad book - it isn't. It's quite an imaginitive work of speculative fiction, and it kept me reading excitedly until the very end. But it seems to be almost entirely lacking in any discernable plot. Through the entire book I kept asking myself "what is this book about?" When I got to the end, I thought, "That's what this book is about? Really? Kind of a let down, but what the.... Huh???" When I was reading it I could not have told anyone what it was about. Now that I am done reading it I still can't tell you what this book is about. I don't think it's about anything. But it is an interesting read that combines a lot of 60s elements: early ideas about future computers (not too wide of the mark but still dated), James Bond-style spy action, and a free-love-free-drugs libertarian sense of morality. In fact the sexual elements of this book are one of its most redeeming features. Moorcock is a very openminded author when it comes to sexuality. This book breaks down sexual barriers and does away with terms such as heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual. There is just sexual. This book is highly enjoyable on many levels, but at the end you will be scratching your head wondering what you just spent the last few days reading.

This book is odd. Very odd. It is probably indescrbable. The Plot, as it is cocerns Jerry Cornelius' hunt for some mysterious data belonging to his father. On the way, he meets various peculiar characters, such as Miss Brunner (who has very strange tastes), and witnesses the universe slowly falling to bits.

This is a book to read for the style, as the plot is virtually incomprehensible. Its not unlike the work of JG Ballard in some ways, but with more humour. This is really one of those books you either love or hate, and I love it.

This is deconstructionist mainstream fiction with the trapping of science fiction, written in 1965, describing an imagined society circa 2000. Jerry Cornelius is an English assassin, physicist, rock star and messiah to his Age of Science. Jerry Cornelius is also an amoral anti-hero, omni-sexual, drug junkie, and transcendentalist. The book follows his adventures as he deals with family issues, meets his companion Miss Brunner, and takes part in constructing the author's 1965 conception of a horrifying computer overlord.

Quote taken from chapter five. Part of my description above taken from a back cover. If you are thinking of buying this novel, do yourself a favor and instead get the whole thing (all four books). The Cornelius Quartet: "Final Programme", "Cure for Cancer", "English Assassin", "Condition of Muzak" is floating around Amazon in at least three different editions, so you can likely buy it all for the same price as this first book.

Personally, I enjoyed trappings like the needle gun, stroboscopic towers, the 'morality of the future' discussion with the Laplander, and the metaphoric wrestling ring. Moorcock's conception of post-modern sexuality is an extreme indifference to male/female, and he spends too many words on this ideology. I just wanted to read about the Doomsday Computer, but the main character was off getting stoned half the book. It is deconstructionist in the sense that the plot is haphazard, and much of the novel is used for the author's idea of future social commentary.

If you are writing a paper about how Science Fiction failed at describing future trends, this is a good reference.

I initially read this book because I came across a review of Grant Morrison's Invisibles in which that person stated the basis for that work plot was taken from "The Final Programme". After reading this book, I can say it is a real head trip. This author's work is very imaginative and crosses a lot of boundaries. The ending is left open so those persons who like clearly defined conclusions will be disappointed. But if you like genre bending weird fiction then you will probably enjoy this book.

Jerry Cornelius may be one of the wackiest and wildest superhero adventurer types ever created. Deliberately created by Moorcock to be the ultimate chameleon, which has seen him featured in many places and times. This leads to people looking for people with similar names in famous events in history.

In the Final Programme he is a swinging super-agent with a needle gun.

His family is no less whacky, given his sister is sometimes his lover, and his brother sometimes his target.

A hero like this must have similarly bizarre antagonists, enemies, and allies.

He certainly does, and Una Persson, a female version of himself, to some degree, is also one of his sister's lovers.

Basically, Jerry stuff is a little hard to explain.