Customer Reviews

The Sheep Look Up

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Publishers have shown some intelligence by keeping both Stand on Zanzibar and The Shockwave Rider still in print but still show odd lapses of judgement by keeping this book relegated to used book stores instead of reissuing it for all to read. This is definitely better than Shockwave Rider, and more focused than Zanzibar (though not better). It is probably one of the grimmer books to emerge from any genre, I thought On the Beach was depressing, this is even more so. Brunner takes threads and weaves them together to show you a world where the ecology is falling apart, the people who have the money to fix it also have the money to keep themselves above it while the normal people just live with it and can't think that anything will be better. There is a plot, per se, involved with environmental leader Austin Train and his emergence from hiding but mostly the novel is concerned with showing the slow inexorable decline of the world into a polluted and chaotic mess. If you keep reading it looking for some last minute save, some ray of hope, you might as well stop reading because that isn't the point. Brunner isn't showing us how to get out of it (other than an ironic comment made by a character at the very end) but showing us what he thought would happen if we didn't change things. Giving it a specific date dilutes the impact of the book but his message is still as strong as ever and even though we've taken steps to prevent that future, there's still a way to go. Brunner isn't with us anymore and his voice is surely missed, moreso when we read about an oil spill or a forest being cut down for development. Reading his books keeps that voice alive today.

Many people nowadays look back on the brief burst of environmental awareness (alarm) and criticism of corporate power which occurred in the 1970's as quaint,naive, slightly ridiculous. One prior reviewer of this work refers to the "hysteria" of the period.

What strikes me most strongly about _The Sheep Look Up_, billed as a 'sequel' to his big hit _Stand on Zanzibar_, is not its quaintness but its frightening accuracy. While Brunner guessed wrong on a number of counts -- for example, we haven't *quite* killed all the whales yet! -- there were trends which he read astutely and forecast correctly.

In particular he forecast increasing solipsism and isolationism in American politics and cultural life; he predicted a decline in the quality of political life, to the point where the American presidency would be occupied by a semi-literate figurehead whose job is to recite comforting and irrelevant platitudes into a microphone on his way from one glamorous gig to the next. His "Prexy" character seemed like a good fit for Reagan a while back, but the current Bush (the 2nd of that name) is an even closer match.

Brunner forecast the dumbing down of media, the intrusion of advertising into the most intimate spaces of daily life. He forecast the sidelining of "healthy lifestyle" products and choices into a yuppie trend (organic food becoming a boutique item) and the demonisation of environmentalists as "terrorists" and criminals. He forecast a degradation of community life, the rise of private security forces, and an increasing gap between (very) rich and (powerless) poor people.

He forecast the multiplication of resistant strains of pathogens, though he did not specifically call out the abuse of antibiotics in agriculture as a prime cause. He did not foresee the consequences of synthetic estrogens; and his view of genetic engineering is by and large more positive than it would have been if he had been writing today with the legal shenanigans of Monsanto, Syngenta and their ilk in view (Brunner would have loved the story of Percy Schmeiser -- he might almost have written it himself). He forecast the ubiquitous use of tranquilizers in daily life, but he did not foresee the current fad for pathologizing ordinary behaviours (particularly in childhood) and administering psychotropics to children. The rise to enormous power of the pharmaceutical companies was not on his radar (Mike McQuay, however, took notice of that trend in his own grimly dystopian future private-eye novels).

When I first read _Zanzibar_ and _Sheep_ I was just a kid. Now, almost half a lifetime later, I find that the concerns, the anger and grief and bitterness that Brunner articulated so fluently in the 1970's are far from dated. If anything, his work seems fresher and more poignant now than it did then -- I have witnessed 30 additional years of the indiscriminate damage and vandalism we call "growth" in the interim.

Many things "date" Brunner's work -- in particular his thoughtless, stereotypically "Seventies" sexism, which becomes wearying to the modern reader after only a few chapters. The core issues of his work, however, have worn well; clearly it was possible as long as 30 years ago to predict many of the negative consequences of a deeply dysfunctional way of life -- overconsumption, overpopulation, concentration of power in the hands of large corporations, irresponsible use of finite resources, and so forth. His work serves as a depressing reminder that even though we may know we are heading in a wrong direction -- and even have writers able to point out the possible consequences -- and even publish those writers -- we can and do continue in happy denial towards the very dystopia that our "out there" novelists predict for us.

Today our dystopian science fiction writers, notably the able satirist Bruce Sterling, paint for us possible futures resulting from a world economy destabilized by finance capital, a world climate irrevocably altered by global warming and the irresponsible release of GMOs, and so on. These possibilities will be selectively ignored, one feels, just as Brunner's predictions were ignored in his time. He was considered a raving pessimist, not to be taken seriously. Which of our prophets are we ignoring today, whom we might do better to take seriously?

This classic from John Brunner is a fascinating and terrifying vision of a dysfunctional future in which the worst flaws of modern behavior lead to disastrous results for humanity. Dealing with environmental degradation, the book is surely a fractured masterpiece of human misery and social dementia. There are a few problems with the believability of this book though. Brunner's future is awkwardly projected directly from the Cold War and civil rights struggles of the late 60s, making much of this book's background action quite seem quite dated. Brunner's environmental catastrophes are frighteningly possible if current trends continue to their logical extreme. But the worldwide burning rivers, dead oceans, and poison smog would take centuries to develop and appear rather hysterical in hindsight, as Brunner envisioned these things happening a mere decade after the time he wrote the book. And one fundamental plotting problem here concerns the success of mysterious hero Austin Train in getting many millions of people behind his budding anti-corporate revolution. Brunner implies that Train operates only on charisma and the obvious truth of his message. It is hard to imagine this happening in the real world, regardless of how correct or compelling a revolutionary's message truly is. Brunner also has the tendency to kill off his characters just when they start to get interesting.

But with those problems aside, Brunner still lays out an absolutely brilliant analysis of how American society would deteriorate in the face of an obvious disaster, no matter how farfetched that disaster may be. Those in the political and economic elite will stack the deck in their favor, continuing their lives of comfort while regular people are left to fend for themselves. Anyone who points out obvious problems in the American system (in this case, catastrophic environmental degradation) will be branded as dissidents and traitors, while empty patriotic sloganeering will be the easy answer to those who can't face the truth. The minority will resort to repressive tactics to both reinforce its know-nothing point of view and to suppress the suffering but unorganized majority. Despite this book's particular problems in setting and plot development, Brunner's take on the resulting social and political collapse seems depressingly and terrifyingly possible, and that's what makes this book a winner. [~doomsdayer520~]

Be patient with this novel. In the begining you are inundated with new charecters and sublots every few pages. It reminds me of watching news coverage during some kind of widespread disaster. The network cycles through 10-15 different locations involving different perspectives and personalities in a very short time. You only glean enough information to realize that the situation is FUBAR; you can never fully relate to any one particular situation or its' human element. You don't empathize with the people in this novel for that reason. I found myself not wanting to invest any more time in this book; there isn't a single character you root for. I am glad I trudged through. The final third of the story is quite good. You've become familiar with the cast and Brunner moves seamlessly from one event to the next.

I can't add much to the other reviews for this book other than to say that this really should be compulsory reading for high school and college students. It's eerily scary and brilliantly written in Brunner's latter-day chop-and-switch style; at first, it's almost impossible to follow, but as one gets further and further into the book, everything starts to hook together in the mind... in a way similar to that which one might experience when trying to assimilate the ideas of a newly-encountered culture. One leaves the book with the feeling that "things really must change" - Brunner certainly makes his point; the book is spare and unsettling, engendering feelings of foreboding and shame... quite unique.

The world that Brunner wrote about in this and its two companion volumes (Stand On Zanzibar and The Shockwave Rider) may not be pretty, but it's here. Check out the AMA stats about Lupus. The cyberpunk guys only wish that they could write like this, and frankly, so do I. Austin Train has been stuck in my head since I first encountered him, like Donald Hogan Mk II and Nicky Halflinger. I just don't understand why all three of these books are out of print. Maybe there are too many Star Trek/Star Wars novelizations on the bookshelves instead of real writing.

Ok, I agree with the other reviewers who say this book is an important work that has a strong socioenvironmental message, but don't let that put you off! It is also a gruesome rollercoaster ride of violence and horror with some of the best quality kills presented in literature. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride roughshod across America and the rest of the world! Buy this book and enjoy the ride with them! (Not for the squeamish, however-I guarantee that you will never use your microwave again!)

I would have given it five stars, but Brunner does get a bit preachy and full of himself in places. If he makes you feel guilty, just remember to recycle so you can sleep at night.

I am SO glad this book is available again! Years ago I found it in a second hand shop and since then I have been looking for it everywhere, in order to be able to give it to other readers.

When you start reading, please be patient. The first 60 pages or so, you probably won't understand what it's all about. Then, suddenly, you will realize you are 'in' the story, and that the prime character is... humankind as a whole. This is rather shocking, because individuals you thought to be very important may die or vanish, and others may fill their niches, just as in real life. And, just as in real life, don't expect a happy end. Although the details may be dated, the overall story is still as valid as ever.

This is one of the most intelligent books I ever read. I welcome it back, and will order several specimen at once!

Let me start by saying that I enjoyed this book. The fast-paced and unmerciful brutality of the story brings the horrible future to life in a frankly scary way. The choppy an abbreviated structure of the book provides a sense of panic as far too much is happening much too fast, just as Brunner intended. While the characters are empty shells, their horrifying experiences give this story the power to scare. This is the first Brunner book I've read, and I have to say I was impressed by his style and power. I hope to check out his other work sometime soon.

As I made my way through this book, most of what I felt was relief and amusement. Relief that this vision (or anything close to it) has not come true. Think about the very worst possible ecological and environmental situation the world could be in, and the vision Brunner presents here is probably worse than that. Air and water are poison, disease is the norm, Earth is unstable, super-pests have us confounded, and society has regressed. Thank God, none of these things have come true. I felt amusement because Brunner (and many people of the time) really did believe that this was the future. And, they saw this future coming before 1980! Almost 40 years after this book was written, it is fair to say that we have made positive progress. While I understand that the dawning of realization about ecology and environmentalism that occurred in the 60's and 70's profoundly impacted many people, I can't help feeling somewhat amused by the mortal fear and hysteria which people had for the future. Brunner and many of of his readers would have never believed that the world would be as beautiful today as it is.

What really surprised me was looking through the other Amazon reviews before I got ready to write my own. Nearly everyone seems to think Brunner's vision has come true or is just about to. Statements like:

"I think we're doomed"

"..much scarier because it is closer to the way it really is. Read it and weep."

"All of these ... visions of the future have come true."

"Scariest ... predictions about the future environment are correct."

"It is still coming"

Is it just that the people who tend to read this book are still convinced that the world is crumbling around them? Are these people who just cannot accept that positive gains have been made? Do they not believe that the air is cleaner now than when this book was written? Or that more attention and awareness of the environment are prevalent around the world than ever before? Or that resources and protections are being placed (with great success) on endangered animals that nearly went extinct in the 70's but are now on the road to recovery? Or that we now live in a more affluent society, with more people being more successful than ever before? Or any number of ways that life is better now than when this book was written? I suspect that most of these people have lived their lives with the constant feeling of impending doom. Reading books like this only help them justify their impulses of fear.

I am not trying to say that we shouldn't continue to be concerned about the environment or about the future of mankind on Earth, but at least let's acknowledge than in many respects, things are looking up. Thank God they haven't turned out the way Brunner predicted in this book! I encourage people to read this book. It is an exciting and scary story that is well told in a vivid way. And keep in mind that while it may come across as seeming ridiculous now, it was written as (and taken as) a very serious warning to the world. Might help give you some insight into the thinking of radical environmentalists even today. The future used to scare the [poop] out of some people, and visions like this help us see why.

The version of this book I read (published 2004) contained an afterward by a noted environmentalist. It followed along the same lines of most of the Amazon reviews here, supporting the myth that Brunner's vision has come true. It also celebrated the encouragement this book has given the more radical wings of the environmentalist movement (think planting bombs in Hummer dealerships), and gleefully noted the similarity (in his mind) between our former President Bush and the figurehead Prexy. Finally, it lambasted the field of crop genetic engineering with a fear mongering tirade sure to turn off anyone with real knowledge of the field. A poor choice for an afterward, left a very negative impression on me, and partially ruined this otherwise enjoyable book.

John Brunner is an excellent author and this book does not disappoint if you like realistic SF. There is no other dystopian story I have ever heard of that comes close to this one. And I love dystopian Science Fiction. This is a harsh and humble look at the most probable future for all of us. It used to be very hard to find. Now it has been reprinted and is available for your dystopian enjoyment.