Customer Reviews

Macroscope

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A long, long time ago when the world was young and Anthony was a fresh new face in the science fiction world, he blessed us with works of power, incredible imagination, great originality, depth and meaning. This is one of those very early works, and by some measures it may be his best, or very nearly so, standing with his Chthon and Orn as a seminal work that introduced ideas that are still fresh and very different from the standard run-of-the-mill stuff of both then and today.

The main idea behind this novel is the macroscope itself, an instrument that focuses a new particle and allows the user to effectively look anywhere and anytime at people, places, and events. Clearly this has an implication of being usable as a 'spy' scope, where everyone's most private actions can be discerned. It is this use that gets the scope dubbed as the 'Pooper Scooper' and leads to political machinations for control of its use. But the scientists running the scope have also stumbled across messages encoded within the particle stream, messages sent by alien civilizations for unclear purposes and which when viewed leave the viewer with a burnt out mind. Into this hardware scenario Anthony sends a very enigmatic individual, one Ivo Archer, (note that name choices are important here), an apparently normal person who happens to have some very wild, super-genius level talents in certain very restricted areas, to help determine what these messages are and why they are so destructive. But Ivo is more than he seems to be, and as we follow the story as it progresses from Earth bound considerations to a galactic encyclopedia to interstellar war with some truly different alien life forms all the way to the fate of universe and folding other ideas into the mix, such as astrology as a true science, the reader is treated to an incredible trip through the minds of more than one genius.

Anthony's characterization of these geniuses is very well done, and gives great insight into the thought processes and emotional characteristics of these exceptional people. On top of that, he buries a character mystery inside the main story, a question of just who is the legendary Schon, a supposed super-genius with absolutely no conscience, and how such a person is molded by his compatriots and environment. The psychological insights displayed here form a prime sub-text underneath the fantastic action of the story, and elevate this work well beyond a simple adventure novel.

In most of his early works, Anthony showed a predilection for playing with mathematical ideas rather than physics concepts, and this work is no exception, introducing the game of sprouts, an apparently simple pencil and paper game that the reader will find is actually a fiendishly complicated foray into the world of 'rubber-band' mapping (topology), neatly folded into and enhancing the main story line.

This work was nominated for the 1970 Hugo Award. Unfortunately, it was up against both Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness and Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five that year, two other truly great works in the SF world. But it is more than worth the effort to find and read this incomprehensibly out-of-print book of fantastic ideas, high adventure, and great character, which I have kept on my top 50 list of best all-time science fiction works ever since I first read it.

Long before Piers Anthony wrote his successful fantasy novels he penned "Macroscope"- one of the most imaginative and original science fiction novels ever written. The characterizations may be a bit weak, and the dialogue a bit wooden at times, but the ideas, and the scope of the novel boirder on the breathtaking.

Imagine: A huge instrument is set up in Earth orbit that has the ability to view a recently discovered particle that lets it peer anywhere in space- not only in the present, but in the past as well. What started as a research instrument has been revealed as the ultimate spy satellite. This alone makes it a political hot potato, as different factions fight over control of the scope .

Unknown to the governments on earth fighting over the scope, the researchers on board have discovered that other civilizations are broadcasting information viewable by the scope, if you're smart enogh to figure out the code. But there's a catch: Everyone of the brilliant scientists who has thus tried to read the signal has ended up dead or brain damaged. The last man to try sent for a childhood friend before the attempt that left him in a vegetative state. What's odd is the friend he sent for isn't a genius like the others; he's downright dull, by all appearances.

Affairs come to a crisis when a powerful and very intelligent Senator demands access to the scope- and is killed by it. Faced with the seizure of the scope by the military, the researchers on board cut it loose and flee into space.

That's just the first chapter. What follows is one of the most original and imaginative novels in SciFi. I first read it back in high school, in 1970; it's still fresh today.

I am rereading this book after a number of years, having first read it some time in the mid 1970's. Again I find that it is one of those books that changes how one thinks about things, and a work that can be appreciated on multiple levels.

First, it can change one's view of what's possible within the genre of science fiction. It impressively weaves a tapestry from such diverse threads as music, mathematics, classic American literature, philosophy, psychology, and sheer imagination, just to name a few. To a degree I've seldom seen equaled, the combination of these elements after all these years still create in me a sense of wonder at the grandness and richness of Creation. Anthony's work here is truly a microcosmic reflection of the very universe of which he writes.

That leads into something else I've kept noticing on this re-reading. I've been constantly struck by way the story suggests the interrelationship of things ranging from tiny (like the macron particle) to immense (like the universe); and by the synergy possible between people with diverse and seemingly disparate gifts. Ranging from the "ordinary" Beatrix to the "super-genius" Schön, each of the central characters is vital to the story, though each stands out as truly individual. The plot shows each of these characters as vital to the group's success, despite what appear to be huge differences in intellectual or personal development.

The "hard" science fiction elements at first glance today might appear a bit dated, given a nomenclature that dates from the late 1960's. But then hard science and technology are not really central themes of this novel. These elements of the story are for me a necessary "window dressing" arrayed around more central themes like personal responsibility, the grandness of the Universe, and interpersonal dynamics. In that respect it's easy to overlook the book's roots in the technology of the 1960's.

When I first read _Macroscope_ I was somewhere around late college age. At the time it read for me more like a hard science fiction adventure story. I didn't pay much attention to characterization or to themes that aren't traditional in hard scicne fiction. After all, I wasn't looking for those things at that age.

Quite a few years later, probably in the mid-1980's, I read it again. This time I was amazed to find so much else in the book. One element I picked up on that I'd completely glossed over before was the poetry of Sidney Lanier, from the American Civil War era. I borrowed a library book with several of his major works and found myself enraptured. Strange that in high school American Lit. I'd thought his _Song of the Chattahoochee_ was dull or even silly. Anthony's use of Lanier's verse drew me into the novel to a much greater extent than before. I found myself with an emotional bond for and insight into the character Ivo, in whose psychological landscape Lanier is central.

Upon this latest re-reading I've been more struck by the way the story evokes what I'll call unities. There is a sense that all the universe is connected, from tiniest subparticle, up through the sentient individual, right to the scale of Creation as a whole.

I'm still in a bit of suspense. It's been so long since I read the book that I don't recall the denouement. If I remember once I've finished it, I'll revisit this review to add a few more remarks.

A few weeks ago during some sick time I read one of the more recent Xanth novels. It made me question why I used to read everything Anthony came out with. He is just bad, bland, and childish. Trying to understand why I used to love his work, I did a bit of internet research and found him constently listed as worst hack alive. Well, as bad as those Xanth books have gotten they would be just run of the mill to an author who didn't have Macroscope in him. It isn't that he is so bad, it is just that he is giving us THAT, when he is capable of THIS. I don't blame him for wanting to write things that will sell tons of copies to 13 year old girls, money is money, but how I wish, now that his bank-roll is secure, he would give some of us the benifit of the brilliance he has so long surpressed.
I wont go in to details about the plot, as I have seen many others here already have. I will say, however, that his characters in this book posses of level of development unseen in his current works. The dialog is much better, crediting the reader with the intelligence to infer meaning rather than having is spelled as if we were ALL 13 yaar old girls. He does not rely on excessive sexual innuendo to hold the readers attention ( neither childish as in Xanth where everyone wants to peek up skirts, sadistic as in Cathon, imaginitive as in the CLuster series, or disturbing as in Firefly ( where he tries to convince us that having sex with a pre-schooler is okay if she asks for it)). IN summation, this book has all the elements of great sciecne fiction without the literary (?) tricks he relies on today.
It is one of my favorites, but stay away from it if you like the stuff he writes today or you will never be satisfied again.

This is a haunting novel in some ways. Anthony manages to spin a thread that runs from the sleepy, dreamy southern poetry of Sidney Lanier all the way to the deep past of our galaxy. The hard science is satisfying and mostly believable, but one of the real draws of this book is Anthony's portrayal of human genius - the human failings of Schon, his childishness, his absolute intolerance for boredom, his inhuman brilliance - all this from a character who almost isn't even really there.

In some ways, Schon was picked to be the ambassador for the human race; the smartest human ever born, called into service by other geniuses to try to solve a puzzle that was literally burning their brains. The way Schon appears, and the way he begins to play with the humans who called him in addition to (maybe) taking on the task he was called for has always reminded me of one of those rituals where the devil gets called to do something for someone. The task gets done, but a sacrifice is always called for.

I think Schon is one of my favorite SciFi characters of all time, and that's strange, because he isn't even likable in any way.

This is really a must-read. You'll need to get past some dated race-related issues, occasional bad dialog - but only occasional. For the most part this is very smartly written, and Anthony seems to be masterful with subtext, and even imagery. The scene in the beginning, where Ivo imagines the parking meters to be match heads, slowly igniting one by one in the sun - I don't get that kinda stuff much from a lot of SciFi. Makes me wonder what happened to this author. Drugs? Disinterest? Maybe it was one of those things, kinda like holding a bad face too long, where he allowed himself to write poorly to sell some books, and then found he couldn't go back even if he tried.

Too bad for him - and us.

Macroscope is one of those books that has insinuated its tendrils through my core being, occasionally poking to the surface to prod me in ways only my past adolescence could understand. More than twenty five years later I still recall the intensity of the experience, the impact of the story, the depth of the emotion.

I seek to revisit the book, although alas I realize the experience will pale in comparison to when I read it last as a starry-eyed impressionable teen. I do not seek to belittle the teen years. On the contrary, our very being is molded by those early experiences and in no small part by the books we read then. Macroscope has stuck with me like few other titles.

I have to concur with what others have posted. If you've ever read one of Piers Anthony's more recent works (by more recent, I mean post Orn series), then you owe it to yourself to read this early masterpiece. Like bob20799 suggests, I too wish Piers Anthony would return to writing with that skill evinced in his early novels, before it gets too late as in Isaac Asimov's case. It seems as though Isaac Asimov's more recent works aren't even penned by his own hand. Alas...

So go to the Used Racks, the Library, e-bay. Find this book, and read it.

While you're there, find one of these books too: The Mote in God's Eye, Across a Billion Years, the Foundation series, Anthony's own Orn series, Battlefield Earth (another tremendous early work by an author not really known for his pure Sci Fi roots), Lucifer's Hammer (yet another great collaboration by Niven/Pournelle), or The White Mountains trilogy.

I read this book when I was 13, and let me tell you, my mind could barely grasp what was going on. I made it through the book and felt like my brain had grown 300%. It gave me headaches! For many decades, I considered it the best Sci-Fi I had ever read. Later on in my life, I tried to read some of the "later" Piers books... WHAT A DIFFERENCE. No offense to him, but his later books completely PALE in comparison, I dont even bother anymore with him. I began to wonder if perhaps I was mistaken about PA, maybe Macroscope wasn't such a great book, maybe I was a dimwit at 13 who would have been impressed by "Lost In Space".. Reading the other reviews here, however, confirms what I had thought. For whatever reason, PA just doesn't write them like he used to. Therefore, I am here on AMAZON, trying to find me a copy to buy. I plan to read it again, some 30 years after I first read it. Can't wait!

Post Script. I found a used copy and re-read it. Not quite as mind expanding this time, but still a great book! Probably would rate it one star down (3 stars), because the author does seem to get lost at times with his subplots, but still a very good read.

On balance I prefer Orn/Omnivore/0X, but this is a classic of SF, not just a Piers Anthony classic. Of course nowadays Piers Anthony is known as the mundane and amazingly prolific author of Xanth books, and someone who "knows" Piers Anthony would no more recognize his writing in Macroscope than in, oh, "In the Barn." Be that as it may, Anthony was once a magnificent hard SF writer in the vein of Heinlein, and his early works in the genre are good and sometimes great. Fantasy owes Anthony a huge debt for popularizing the genre, but if you ask me, he did his heavy lifting in SF.

The Kindle version of this book is awful. It appears that no one read what they were posting for us to buy. The paragraphs end in the middle of a word, dialog just runs within the same paragraph. It makes for a difficult read.

Someone needs to edit the books they release.

Just because it's a Kindle book doesn't mean the we should settle for crap. I read the paperback twenty years ago and the novel itself is quite good.

Wait for them to properly re-edit the Kindle version before you buy this or read the paperback from your library.

I'm very disappointed in the conversion from text to Kindle for this novel. Obviously, some kind of Text Reading software was used because words were split and paragraphs were misaligned and truncated.

Piers Anthony deserves better than this! And we deserve better, considering the price of this Kindle edition is more than many of us paid for the original paperback.