The Status Civilization [Paperback]

Robert Sheckley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2007

Two of Robert Sheckley's satirical science-fiction novels. "The Status Civilization" is set on the planet Omega, where the religion is the worship of evil and the life expectancy three years. In "Mindswap", tourist Marvin Flynn agrees to a package that swaps his mind with a Martian's.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 174 pages
• Publisher: BiblioBazaar (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0554077515
• ISBN-13: 978-0554077512
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inventive, but "meringue"-type book...substance fleeting., March 29, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Status Civilization (Hardcover)

I wish I could find more books by Robert Sheckley.
"The Status Civilization" is one of those maddening little
pieces which reaches out and grabs your attention with
the sheer _audacity_ of scope and ideas, only to fall
short when it comes to delivering substance. Part of the
problem is that it's a very short book; I read it in an
English paperback as part of a two-novels-in-one, a la Ace
Double.

The story starts with a familiar premise : Earth, having
become an enlightened techno-utopia, no longer executes
its criminals. Instead, such deviant elements are dumped
on the surface of a vaguely livable planet called
Omega. For good measure, the convicts' minds are wiped clean
of all past memories. Our protagonist is one of these convicts.

He's been sent up for murder. Problem is, he doesn't want to believe it. Problem with that is that the memories leaking out from "beneath the surface" seem to indicate that he is.

At the beginning, at least, he's got a few more important
things to worry about, like surviving. See, Omega doesn't have nice Earth values concerning the sanctity of life. Instead, a citizen's status is dependent upon how many people he can kill...but only according to the rules.

He narrowly escapes death, but only at the price of killing
in self-defense. This touches off a round of self-doubt, but, at the same time, catapults him into
Omegan society as the proprietor of a poisioners' shop. This gives him time to become acquainted with some of the more quaint Omegan customs, like mandatory substance addiction and the worship of Evil. Later, he finds himself the unhappy subject of a Hunt, and an unwilling participant in In the absence of patriachal authority, our happy band of convicts have developed a uniquely maladaptive society - one in which death is celebrated above all else. No wonder the average lifespan is only three years.

Eventually he uses his remaining morals to drag himself out of the muck and effect an escape. The Earth he finds is superfically a triumph of Utopian central planning : everyone has a job, everyone seems happy, crime and war are unknown, et. al. Robots cater to all humankind's needs. The worship of life and Good are central tenets of civilization. It is, oddly enough, a complete antithesis of Omega. The
people are SO open-hearted that they don't even mind his
presence, despite the fact that he sticks out like a sore
thumb.

Something is wrong. Very wrong. Naturally, finding this
wrong and curing it (and coincidentally coming to terms with
the split images of himself as killer/saviour) ties off
the novel.

I say "ties off" instead of "ends", because that's what it
feels like : a stopping point for a novel that could have
gone on longer. By the end of the book, I had become attached to the nutty, schizoid worlds of Omega and Earth, and curious as to the motives of the robots who are (implicitly) controlling them both.

Omegan life is downright entertaining; like a little boy poring through travel books crossed with the thrill of a police novel. Sheckley manages it all with a sort of deadpan/matter-of-fact narrative that manages to slip events past one so quickly that they're felt rather than seen.

The sheer weight of ideas reminds me of Phillip K. Dick novels. Perhaps this one, like so many of his, was written under a short contract. How else could one get delightful scenes of cowering outside the door to Hell's Congregation in a blizzard, or the twisted dual religions of Evil and Good that dominate Omega and Earth? Make no mistake...Sheckley can more than hold his own in astonishment.

I wanted more...but unless Hollywood picks up and films this one (not likely in the wake of Freejack's flop at the box office)it probably won't be forthcoming. If you can find this for a reasonable price (if you live in the UK, for instance, and have access to paperback reprints), give it a try. I'd be hesitant to pay great amounts for it used, unless I was more of a Sheckley fan...but it's books like this that keep me looking for more.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Writing and Interesting Twist Ending Tales, January 20, 2012

By 

Michael A. Newman (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Status Civilization (Paperback)

The Status Civilization is an excellent tale that never gets old. Will Barrent is among a group of prisoners from Earth who have had their memories wiped and are left to live on the planet Omega. This is a planet ruled by criminals where you advance by being bad and devising clever ways to beat the law. One may recall the film Escape from New York where Manhattan Island is made a prison. This world is different in that there are class systems in this world (the highest appears to be Hadji) and there are actual laws that govern. One of the best ways to advance is to find ways to get around the law.

Barrent is almost killed by a group of Hadjis but manages to outsmart them and this allows him to gain a "Free Man" status. Challenges are thrown at him that he keeps overcoming and slowly advances. He encounters an underground organiztion whose goal is to get back to Earth and reclaim their place there. Eventually Barrent will become the agent to execute their plan. When the reader finally learns what is going on back on Earth, it is not what you expect and like the Twilght Zone there is an ironic end to the tale.

The book that I read also included Sheckley's Notions:Unlimited collection of short stories. These are each excellent twist ending tales that would be perfect for episodes of The Twilight Zone. From a tale with a creature that is similar to The Blob, to a planet with dangerous winds, a world inhabited by a lone Earthman that other Earth people think he is lying about his heritage. My favorite of these tales is called Double Indemnity where a time traveler attempts a new scheme at insurance fraud.

Each tale is excellent and as good as any short science fiction tale being written today. If you can get your hands on a copy of this book, don't hesitate to get it! An extremely pleasant surprise that will not disappoint you!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stripped down, bare bones SF fun, July 11, 2011

By 

Ken Korczak (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Status Civilization (Paperback)

Science fiction is often called the "literature of ideas" and this short novel exemplifies that concept. The idea in "The Status Civilization" is to strand an innocent man convicted of murder on a prison planet where all is topsy-turvy. The only rule of law is that all must break the law. If you don't break the law, you get into trouble. Murder is the highest ideal of the citizen. Drug addiction is mandatory. They have a church on this planet, but it worships "Evil", and yes, attendance is mandatory.

The planet Omega is like a space-age Australia back when the British used that contintent to dump off their criminals and social malcontents. New arrivals are criminals joining fellow criminals who must now form their own society. But in this case, all have their memories erased before being stranded on Omega. They are given only one bit of self-knowledge: The crime they committed on Earth.

The hero is Will Barrent, convicted of murder -- a murder he no longer remembers, of course. The problem is, he has the nagging feeling he is innocent, and seems to only want to be good and do good. But now he must try to fit in with an entire planet consisting of and run by other criminals.

It's a terrific premise, and in the hands of one of the true masters of science fiction, this short novel becomes a marvelously entertaining read. Expect nothing but nonstop action, and little in the way of desciption of anything that does not move along the plot. For example, Sheckley wastes no time with describing scenary or filling out the details of the environment of an alien planet -- it's just bare bones movement of the protagonist doing this, and doing that, as he works his way through his terrible situation.

In my personal pantheon of favorite science fiction gods, Robert Sheckley is among the top three. The primary reason is this: He is a master of a certain kind of cynical, dry and wry irony that is nothing less than hilarious. It's Sheckley's extremely unique STYLE that separates him from the run-of-the-mill sf writer.

What really pushes this seemingly pulp yarn over the top to a solid 5-star book is the brilliant way it ends, revealing an unexpected depth of meaning and message. It's a sizzling commentary on post-modern society that cuts to the bone. Extraordinary.