Stochastic Man [Import] [Paperback]

ROBERT SILVERBERG (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: HODDER & STOUGHTON LTD; paperback / softback edition (1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340223278
• ISBN-13: 978-0340223277
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "The scene so long rehearsed, now finally played.", January 17, 2009

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Stochastic Man (Paperback)

Random House Dictionary says that 'stochastic'= "of or pertaining to a process involving a randomly determined sequence of observations each of which is considered as a sample of one element from a probability distribution". If that enlightens you at all. The Webster's Dictionary simply notes: "Conjectural; able to conjecture." Knowing the meaning of the word isn't really necessary to understanding the book. But, since Silverberg went to the effort of putting a 50 cent word on the cover, it seemed to me at least polite to look it up.

This 1975 novel is not the strongest of the books that I have read by Silverberg, although it is a very nice example of science fiction's (earlier?) role in exploring worlds and probabilities. Particularly in the 1970s, there was an interest in picking up one principle or idea, and exploring it narrowly. This is one of those books. The concept that Silverberg is playing with here is time-- the idea of time as a fixed line, rather than a variable sequence. He pits two kinds of fortune-tellers against each other-- one who understands well enough to predict statistical trends, and one who understands nothing but simply sees down the line. This book, at its broadest level, is about what heppens when the two talents come together.

For me, the demands of science fiction have changed enough that I find this kind of idea study incomplete. I wanted more in the way of character. I found that Silverberg's future world in the novel was a tad predictable and sketched-in. While there were engaging aspects, it felt more like an exercise than some of his more character-oriented works.

I picked this up second-hand as part of my continuing interest in exploring the non-Valentine books by Silverberg. It's probably worth reading if you are engaged in the same or similar exercise. It would not be where I started with Silverberg.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stochastic Man: An interesting read, but nothing special, May 29, 2000

By 

Duncan Hill (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The stochastic man (Hardcover)

I can happily say that I started to read this book with no expectations as to the quality of the storyline etc. I think if I had had any, I may have been disappointed.

That said, Mr. Silverberg tells an interesting (to a point) tale of a character who is able to predict the future with a reasonable degree of accuracy. His life changes radically when he meets someone who actually can see the future as it will happen.

Throw in stuff about bone smoking, Kama Sutra style sex (not explicit) and a healthy dose of politics and thats the novel.

I've read better, and I've read much worse. If nothing else, you might get a new view on life and death.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Standard Sci-Fi Fare, November 14, 2005

By 

Antinomian (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stochastic Man (Mass Market Paperback)

The Stochastic Man was written in 1975. It is standard science fiction fare, with some interesting ideas, but not imperative in this day and age to the genre. It was shocking to me to see that it was a finalist (not the winner) for both the Nebula and Hugo Awards for that year. Maybe it was cutting edge at the time. Still it was 5th place for the Hugo and one of 18 Nebula finalists. There are many superb works from the 70's (like Gateway by Frederik Pohl), but anyway this is a good novel to read if you get it cheap at a library book sale, want something to read while on travel for work, etc. The bleak state of major American cities, as in the novel, somewhat dates the book as much hasn't been written about it since the 70's (although that's not saying that it doesn't need to be in the style as in the novel.) The chieftain imbedded in the inner city has the protagonist working for him, and the protagonist begins to realize that this character can indeed predict the future and is informed of his own future. Sound great? Well, what if ones future is somewhat mixed. What if you knew your marriage will lead to divorce and that you will never marry again nor find love again? Would you want not to know what you might consider a bleak aspect, or would you want to know so as not to expend effort on false hope. My personal feeling, which is the novel's positive point to have one consider this, is that if your future is foretold as bleak, you would both want it NOT to be mostly pre-determined and have a good possibility to change it for the much better.