The Genocides Paperback – November 14, 2000

Engrossing, odd, frightening, and ultimately depressing story about humanity being wiped off the earth. The story picks up several years after mysterious plants have sprouted around the globe. They grow by the billions and are hundreds of feet high within months. The plants are everywhere - deserts, cities, sidewalks. Bodies of water are drained and the earth's eco system is soon thrown out of balance. Animals begin dying
off. Governments grind to a halt. Cities turn to anarchy and people retreat to the country where they form little villages.

Soon, flying mechanized drones appear and begin torching all remnants of humanity. Yep, things are definitely looking bad at this point. It becomes awfully clear that the plants are a crop being grown by some alien race and earth has been designated a good place to throw seed. It's a fascinating idea, certainly, but one that is as much horror as it is sci fi. Also, because we never know who the aliens are or anything about them, and because humanity is so pathetically outmatched from page 1, the whole thing ends with a slightly hollow ring. It ends up being rather depressing.

Disch has an elegant writing style. It's fluid. He is able to shift gears from horror to humor without missing a beat - and without it seeming forced. He never seems to be talking about something he doesn't understand, and he doesn't overreach with his ideas. I think I would have liked this better if he had delved into the characters more. His character descriptions are lovely (like Maryann and her basket weaving) and seemed to give the village real flesh and blood, but then he abandons them too soon to rush off into more bloodshed.

Anyway, I enjoyed this because Disch is an superb writer. I just found it a bit too bleak in the end.

The collection 'Triplicity' brings together three of Thomas Disch's better short novels: Echo Round His Bones, The Genocides, and The Puppies Of Terra. This is a great way to start your Disch collection, who happens to be one of one my favorite authors. After 'Triplicity', I highly recommend 'The M.D.', my favorite Disch of all.

Echo Round His Bones:

Captain Nathan Hansard is an ordinary man and an ordinary officer of Camp Jackson, his only outstanding trait being his steadfastness. In the future (forgive the dates, this story was written in 1967 and considers 1990 to be "the distant future") the US has developed a matter-transmitter that changed global war relations forever. Hansard, though a lifer in the military, has never "jumped" before; until Colonel Ives orders him to Mars.

Hansard soon discovers that there is a well-kept secret to the "manmitter", as it is jokingly called. An Echo. A literal creation of a duplicate person. Together, with other "Echos", Hansard must think of a way to stop the world from blowing itself up.

The Genocides:

With all the apocalyptic books out there to enjoy, this is the freshest approach yet, and probably one of the older books. One day the world is covered in little green plants sprouting up everywhere. One month later the little plants are already over 100 feet tall. Things fall apart too fast to stop them, and as they encroach on society, society collapses. Those who are left survive only by sheer determination and hard work, having not only to deal with the immense plants blocking out the sunlight, but with strange spheres that patrol amongst them and disintegrate anything that moves.

Disch takes us into this little society, and we follow this group of well formed characters onward through further declines, delving into an underground world of strange fruits and un-ending roots systems; where human nature takes over and even the smallest of societies finally breaks down under the weight of desperation. The ending will may not shock you, but it will leave you thinking "what if?"

Very well written, outstanding characterization, this is one of Disch's better adventures.

The Puppies Of Terra:

Ever wonder what would happen if humans, without losing intellect, became pets to a higher race? Disch answers this question with a playful romp through the imagination. The Masters, an ethereal race of supreme, God-like Beings, enter the minds of men and take them as pets. Humans, ever seeking complete comfort of being, feel that under The Masters protection they have touched the Hand Of God. They are comforted, and willingly allow themselves to become pets.

The Masters create beautiful places for their human pets, called "Kennels", some on Earth and some on other planets. Only Earth contains humans who have refused The Masters, a renegade group determined to bring freedom back. The only problem is, the pets do not want to leave their Masters. They are well treated, well fed, and given complete freedom to move about the kennels and be creative.

'The Puppies Of Terra' is told by one named White Fang, a pet of impeccable breeding, and follows him from childhood to becoming an adult, and how he was taken away from not just his family, but his Master as well.

These three stories are excellent Disch's to serve up to yourself as a main course or a late night snack. Although Disch was one of the earlier Sci-Fi writers from the 60's and 70's, his works are timeless, and as good in today's market as when they were written. If he didn't actually use real dates in some of his stories, you would never know they were not written in today's SF styling. Enjoy!

At first I thought the book was going to be a tale of mankind's fall - a Plant has come to Earth that sucks up the water, grows fast (becoming the size of a maple in a month) and destroys the land. Nothing can live near it and few things can live on it.

But small pockets of men live and fight back. They protect the land, grow food, keep animals and do what they can to survive. I figured we were no longer King of the Hill but mankind would still fight on.

Then the story seems to change. There are machines that hunt down anything that may hurt the Plants. Mankind is nothing but a type of aphid hunted by robotic ladybugs - with flamethrowers.

The aliens are never seen - only their machines. Maybe there are ONLY machines carrying out the operations in the first place - how many farmers are needed to run a farm in the 21th Century?

And that is what the Plants are - seeds placed on Earth to be grown and harvested. It seems any planet would have been OK as one as it had water and lots of sunlight.

The ending is sad but realistic - maybe this is how an alien invasion would happen. We would be so below their notice that not even their machines would tell us apart from the deer or cattle they also hunt down and kill.