This novel was published in 1969, and the "future" depicted was 2014.
Brunner called a lot of things that are happening in our society (here in the USA), including increasing racism, the militarization of police, the collapse of media and the news into pure advertising, the "neo-puritans", and so on.
One pertinent part, though- in addition to the racism- is the increasing isolation of people based on a cult of individualism that fractures human connections. While the details of the tech is dated, the overall effect is very relevant.
Another pertinent point is that the increasing divisions of society- which are culturally promulgated- are pointed to the advantage of the armament industry- both in getting individual citizens/consumers to buy more and increasingly lethal weapons, and encouraging them to USE them- and the militarization of the police- making the cops view the citizens as the enemy rather than fellow people.
Also, in our culture where we are encouraged to seek therapy no matter what our problems- the take on "mental hygiene" is a bit too pertinent!
VERY recommended... though stick with it a while; while the pacing is great, Brunner just dumps you into the environment and trusts you to make sense of it. I LOVE that.
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A misguided mishmash, nowhere as good as "Stand On Zanzibar" or "The Sheep Look Up"
John Brunner (1934-1995) wrote "The Jagged Orbit" (1969) following his 1968 masterpiece "Stand On Zanzibar." Sadly it is nowhere near as good. He would come back with "The Sheep Look Up" (1972), the powerful novel of ecological devastation, which I consider to be even better than "Zanzibar." With "The Shockwave Rider" (1975), these four novels are sometimes called his Club of Rome Quartet, all dealing with social issues of the time.However it is not clear exactly what social issue or issues this mishmash of a novel is trying to address. Possibilities include racism, media manipulation, private gun proliferation, and the mental health system. I find the portrayal of the gun industry to be the best part of the scenario -- does using white racist fear of African-Americans to fuel gun sales sound familiar?The plot and characters are weak. The ending relies on preposterous elements. The worst part is Brunner's attempt to create authentic African-American slang and put it in the mouths of his characters who are the leaders of the Black enclaves in his not unrealistic apartheid America. This is embarassing at best and deeply insulting at worst.On reflection it seems that Brunner might have been attempting a Philip K. Dick pastiche. And thank goodness he returned to Brunner mode for "The Sheep Look Up."To be generous, this is a well-intentioned failure.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2019
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2021
However it is not clear exactly what social issue or issues this mishmash of a novel is trying to address. Possibilities include racism, media manipulation, private gun proliferation, and the mental health system. I find the portrayal of the gun industry to be the best part of the scenario -- does using white racist fear of African-Americans to fuel gun sales sound familiar?
The plot and characters are weak. The ending relies on preposterous elements. The worst part is Brunner's attempt to create authentic African-American slang and put it in the mouths of his characters who are the leaders of the Black enclaves in his not unrealistic apartheid America. This is embarassing at best and deeply insulting at worst.
On reflection it seems that Brunner might have been attempting a Philip K. Dick pastiche. And thank goodness he returned to Brunner mode for "The Sheep Look Up."
To be generous, this is a well-intentioned failure.
A misguided mishmash, nowhere as good as "Stand On Zanzibar" or "The Sheep Look Up"
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2021
John Brunner (1934-1995) wrote "The Jagged Orbit" (1969) following his 1968 masterpiece "Stand On Zanzibar." Sadly it is nowhere near as good. He would come back with "The Sheep Look Up" (1972), the powerful novel of ecological devastation, which I consider to be even better than "Zanzibar." With "The Shockwave Rider" (1975), these four novels are sometimes called his Club of Rome Quartet, all dealing with social issues of the time.Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2021
However it is not clear exactly what social issue or issues this mishmash of a novel is trying to address. Possibilities include racism, media manipulation, private gun proliferation, and the mental health system. I find the portrayal of the gun industry to be the best part of the scenario -- does using white racist fear of African-Americans to fuel gun sales sound familiar?
The plot and characters are weak. The ending relies on preposterous elements. The worst part is Brunner's attempt to create authentic African-American slang and put it in the mouths of his characters who are the leaders of the Black enclaves in his not unrealistic apartheid America. This is embarassing at best and deeply insulting at worst.
On reflection it seems that Brunner might have been attempting a Philip K. Dick pastiche. And thank goodness he returned to Brunner mode for "The Sheep Look Up."
To be generous, this is a well-intentioned failure.
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