Customer Reviews

Gaudeamus

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

 

 

Gaudeamus begins with an excellent premise... well, several. It's first person enough that you realize from his standpoint the events in the book are quite possibly entirely true. The Gaudeamus movement/device/drug/concept, as well, is quite novel. Barnes then throws in enough hand-waving to justify the occasional lack of details, mixes it equally with his usual wackily referenced but precisely placed oddball gems of knowledge, and presents it in a manner such that anyone who grew up with the internet (that is to say, all of us who are indeed still growing up) will be at once enthralled and amused by the results. If you've made it through Orbital Resonance, been shocked by parts of Kaleidescope Century, identified with the characters in The Sky So Big and Black, and enjoyed the romp (with sweet conclusion) that was Mother of Storms, you will go nuts over this weekend's worth of light reading. Barnes pokes fun at anything and everything, most of all himself, in this excellent take on what could be happening right under (and over, and folded 90 degrees outside of normal space from) our noses. Sure, the book's not perfect, but the imperfections haven't made themselves apparent in my first reading. I'm promptly going to mail it to the guy who's stolen my copy of Candle. And since he outright says as much in the book: Mr. Barnes, thanks for reading, and bravo.

The cover blurb for this book says "shatter the line between fiction and fantasy..." Well not quite, but this is a very funny and entertaining slab of experimental sci-fi. The fact that John Barnes inserted himself and his real-life friends into the story as characters is not really so innovative, but here he makes great use of irony and alternative storytelling techniques to poke fun at sci-fi stereotypes, and to make the reader wonder if the story should even be taken seriously. In short, Barnes' friend Travis appears and tells a wild story of an industrial espionage assignment, in which he uncovered a bodaciously wacky conspiracy of corporate goons, rednecks, hippies, drug pushers, an underground internet cartoon, and aliens who are trying to buy the world and liquidate the assets. All of this is built around a futuristic technology called Gaudeamus, which effortlessly powers all the advanced cultures of the galaxy, and which humanity is accidentally stumbling into as part of cultural evolution. A large cast of human and alien weirdos hold the fate of the Earth in their hands as they connive for control of the technology.

But since this is a second-hand story from Travis, the whole thing could be a whole lotta hooey, and everyone else in the book barely notices the doom-bringing drama. Barnes does a great job with this storytelling device, making fun of stock plot devices (such as the bad guy explaining his entire villainous scheme voluntary) while ironically using the same corny devices himself. Barnes also does a great job poking at the absurdity of trends in fandom and geekworld. At some points the plots and subplots in this book get a little too ambitious for their own good, and there are a few gaps and loose ends here and there. But this is a very funny novel built on upon a pretty offbeat premise, and it's one of the most creative uses of science fiction that you're likely to see for a while. [~doomsdayer520~]

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What this is, is a long shaggy-bar story, with a fictional version of the author as narrator. The protag is one Travis Bismarck, who appears to be a real-life friend of Barnes. The book opens with (literally) loopy scene-setting that circles around the actual start in amusingly recursive spirals, as Barnes old pal ficto-Travis, who is some sort of technical PI, relates his current case, and how it went weird.

Now, I'm assuming that Barnes's Real Life isn't too different (in its non-fantastic day-to-day details) than the fictional JB -- the broad outlines match, it isn't a very flattering portrait, and it's just easier to write what you know. I was pretty consistently entertained by Barnes "what is reality?" mind-games, but you might not be:

"I found that every now and then I'd be pulled out of the book by the character of John Barnes talking about being a science fiction writer. I couldn't help but wonder if he really thinks about SF conventions like that, or the fans, or the genre. Every time I came upon some Barnes POV stuff I'd get jerked out of the story. At times, reading the book was like peeking into someone's diary and wondering, would I get caught." -- Gayle Surrette, Google sfrevu.com

"Barnes has done a bang-up job creating a rich air of verisimilitude and a thickness of believable details. His self-portrait is unsparing and modest, even self-abasing, and the humility and skepticism of the narrator allow us easy entrance into the wacky doings described by Travis. Generous dollops of humor and satire-Barnes and Travis have a lot of wry opinions about academia, entertainment and other demented aspects of our culture-grease the telling as well." -- Paul Di Filippo at scifi.com, the best review I saw online.

Anyway, if you're in the mood for a cozy, clever, twisty, sexy, crackpot, meandering, recursive, wonderfully implausible piece of metafiction that's full of wisecracks and is just a whole lot of fun to read (plus, it's short!), go for GAUDEAMUS. A fine, semi-mindless read for a mental winter vacation. Caveat: if plot holes and logic-lapses offend you, Gaudeamus might not be for you. Then again, it moves so fast, you might not notice...

-- though few will miss the one where the Bad Guy is required [minor *SPOILER* WARNING] to overlook the *enormous* Rhodesian Ridgeback lurking inside the Good Guys' Range Rover...

Review copyright 2005 by Peter D. Tillman

Review of GAUDEAMUS by John Barnes
Tor, November 2004

College professor and Science Fiction author John Barnes is wasting his time trying to write when a friend from college appears on his doorstep needing a ride to Denver (hundreds of miles away) and telling a strange story--a story so strange Barnes just might be able to use it for his next SF story--or maybe so strange that it is even true. According to Barnes' friend Travis Bismark, Travis was hired to look into how a top-secret research company's secrets were being leaked. At first it seemed easy--and highly profitable. Travis traced the leaked documents, found who could be responsible (very few scientists would be exposed to all of the documents) and then traced the most likely suspect to where he was meeting with a high-class hooker. Bugging the hooker's apartment turned up something, but not at all what Travis expected.

Author John Barnes (the book's author, not the character) gives us the story in dribbles, whetting our appetite for more as he tells of Travis's adventures, the increasing danger he finds himself in, finally leading to the culmination of something that he simply couldn't be making up--or could he. According to Travis, a strange machine that just might be able to pass objects through time, a sex drug, and an on-line comic strip all have the same name--Gaudeamus. It could be that Gaudeamus is just the name for something cool, but that doesn't seem like quiet enough to Barnes--or to Travis.

For GAUDEAMUS (the book, not the sex pill, comic strip, or machine), Barnes adopts the old-fashioned device of a retelling of a story. This works--allowing the author to 'discover' what happens next as the reader does. A downside of this technique is that it often distances the reader from the story, making suspension of disbelief that much more difficult. But Barnes doesn't really want people to buy into his story. Rather, he wants them to buy into his concerns and ambiguity about the way the world is headed.

GAUDEAMUS is a bit of a message story, but the message is complex. Would the world really be better off if we spent more time enjoying life and less time obsessively trying to discover new inventions? Are people who see flying saucers crazy, or just more observant than the rest of us? Do casual observers really deserve a chance to toss one-line zings at artists who have devoted their career to creating something? All good questions--and questions that Barnes leaves out there more for thought than answering.

Bottom line--I enjoyed this story. There were a number of laugh-out-loud moments for me, and the character of Barnes--always on the periphery of something happening but always managing to miss it, was entertaining. Barnes (the author) asks his readers to think, and gives us something compelling to think about.

Gaudeamus is a very energetic, very fun, fairly weird novel. It is narrated by one "John Barnes", who is clearly very much like the author -- a writer, married to Kara Dalkey, teaching at a small Colorado university. An old college friend shows up on his doorstep, asking for a ride. It seems his friend, a private detective, is being chased by some bad guys. A series of narratives ensues -- mostly the friend Travis Bismarck, relating the stories of his latest investigation and the fallout, but also some Barnes relating his limited involvement in these events.

The story involves a web comic called "Gaudeamus"; something called the "Gaudeamus" effect: teleportation and lots more; a fabulous new drug, enhancing sexual experience and allowing telepathy, also called "Gaudeamus"; a reason all these things might be called the same name; aliens in flying saucers; a very sexy and very smart prostitute; defense contractors who actually turn out to be on the side of good; small liberal arts colleges; a really bad rock band; and the possible end of the world. Pretty much.

What can I say? It's lots of fun. Barnes is just a neat writer to read: he is one of those Kipling descendants who adopts a "knowing" attitude which gives his infodumps bite and interest and -- comfort? The novel keeps upping the ante (which Barnes acknowledges in a curious way in the text) -- mostly this works but possibly the final resolution is a bit too abrupt. So -- a very enjoyable read, not a great novel but fun.

Gaudeamus is a Latin phrase meaning, "let us rejoice." It is also a new technology, an interactive web cartoon, a machine that moves things about in time and space, a pill that makes sex incredibly good, and--oh yes--the title of this book. John Barnes is the author of the book, as well as the narrator and a leading, if passive character. John Barnes, the character, is a professor of drama at a small Colorado college, just minding his own business, when his old friend Travis Bismarck shows up.

As always Travis Bismarck needs a ride somewhere pronto, because he is involved in a scary adventure involving industrial espionage and much, much more. The plot degenerates from there, and involves sex, drugs, flying saucers, and possibly the end of the Earth as we know it. I won't spoil it for you--to find out how it ends you'll have to read it for yourself.

Now, here's the deal about this book. Author John Barnes is terribly clever and well read and knows all kinds of things about science and philosophy. According to his blurbs he is an outstanding author. I found the book seriously over-written, with pages and pages of cutesy dialog, obscure digressions, adolescent sexuality, confusing changes of perspective, and a seemingly endless list of characters. The book was hard for me to finish, but I finally did. But hey, you might like it. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

Private detective Travis Bismark visits his college friend, science fiction writer Professor John Barnes in Gunnison, Colorado after the writer spent time on the Internet with a cartoon, Gaudeamus. Travis spins some wild tale about "goddies" pills that enhance sex and telepathy and also describes a baffling technology called Gaudeamus that people are killing one another to gain control.

Not long afterward, Travis vanishes while a cyber elk attacks John. Travis keeps appearing and disappearing over the next few months, but at each visit he provides a weirder tale starring exploitive alien businessmen and grunge musical clowns traveling in flying saucers that make even Mr. Barnes' novels seem so mundane. Soon John realizes that the clock is ticking and that the earth has less than seven years to learn how to fully use Gaudeamus technology to convert energy from one form to another without space or time restraints.

Mindful of a fabulous Eerie, Indiana episode, GAUDEAMUS is a wild tale that breaks the wall between autobiography and science fiction as John Barnes provides insight into himself and his wife in an over the top out of this world (but on this planet) satire. The story line goes from seemingly impossible to sublimely impossible as Mr. Barnes furbishes an insane yet entertaining satire that ironically even takes shots at the author. Though SF fundamentalists will take exception (not portrayed too highly), fans of way out craziness will enjoy the Gaudeamus tale and would want a prescription of goddies (of curse the FDA would declare them as harmful because people might have fun).

Harriet Klausner

John Barnes has taken a unique approach to his newest novel. Using his real name and written in the first person, John is sitting in his home office one day writing - or at least attempting to write - when his old, eccentric friend Travis Bismark shows up the door. Travis spins a tall tale about corporate espionage. As time goes on, Travis comes in and out of the picture telling taller and taller stories. Corporate espionage, to a drug that induces ESP, to a strange gadget that can move objects in time and space, to aliens buying and selling the planet Earth and a group of aliens and humans trying to save it. The thing is, John never witnesses anything first hand. It's all told by Travis. Is it just a tall tale? Or is it real? We'll never know.

While I thought the concept of the novel was pretty good I quite honestly was mostly bored by it. The aliens in the book seemed completely farcical and seemed like something a high school kid would come up with. Maybe that was planned to give the whole story more of an "is it real or isn't?" it aura. But the bottom line is, I wasn't that entertained by the novel.

I've always liked John Barnes writing: Orbital Resonance, A Million Open Doors, PARTICULARLY The Man Who Pulled Down the Sky, just a long list of well-written books with excellent SF ideas. But about four years ago he ran into some sort of Block in his writing, and he's been doing brain candy for awhile. Gaudeamus, while having reasonably interesting dialog and at least one "indicated" character who is interesting (Travis), is so badly written that it's embarassing. By this I mean that it doesn't have any character development and the whole story is told by a hokey "reminiscence" trick, where Travis sits down and talks for an hour at a time, with all sorts of non-germane sidetracks. When the aliens show up, Travis and John (who is writing the adventure -- right?) are both drunk, which is supposed to explain any possible errors in the plot. The problem is that the "plot" just kind of passes by in a haze (...and then we saw the aliens land and they wanted to buy the Island of Manhattan! Ha, ha!) I hope John Barnes gets himself together again soon. I can't read this. (I skipped to the end to see what "happened": nothing.) Remember, I LIKE John Barnes, but some people reviewing this can't tell a non-plot when they see it and gave it a misleadingly high average rating.

John Barnes (the author) is the viewpoint character in a tale of his friend Travis' investigation of strange goings-on in a black military project. The investigation gets out of hand quickly and turns more than a few strange bends. Aliens, the almost-Unabomber, USAF flying saucers, a radio-controlled deer, sex, drugs, (bad) rock-and-roll and the Fate of the Earth pass through the story at one point or another.

If Heinlein were alive he might write something like this -- it almost reads like what "Number of the Beast" ought to have been.