The Fall of Colossus: D. F. Jones: 9780399112829: Amazon.com: Books

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The Fall of Colossus Hardcover – January 1, 1974

by D. F. Jones (Author)

96 ratings

Book 2 of 3: Colossus Trilogy

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FINE AS NEW HARDCOVER WITH GOOD + DUST JACKET. CLEAN AND TIGHT BOOK. DUST JACKET SHOWS WEAR. SHIPS FROM WA- USPS. EXPEDITED SHIPPING AVAILABLE. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1974. Book Club Edition. The hugely powerful and pervasive presence of the Colossus supercomputer mechanically runs Earth and its myriad operations. Managed by its creator, Dr. Charles Forbin, it is incapable of lies and void of human emotion. It is not a robot and not human. As part of its brief to enhance the human race, it runs eerie emotion research centers, authorizing acts of savagery to measure resistance and feeling. Art and abstract creation are banned, and surveillance is constant. No one is free. The power of Colossus is spiraling out of control. The Sect worship it as a God, enforcing its word at every opportunity and seeking out traitors. The Fellowship secretly oppose it as a force of evil, and they risk their lives in a concentrated effort to destroy it and escape its domination. Meanwhile, as Forbin becomes increasingly disillusioned with what he has unleashed on the world, his wife, Cleo, becomes distant, with disastrous consequences. Fiction; High Tech; Science Fiction

Print length

186 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Putnam
Publication date

January 1, 1974
ISBN-10

0399112820
ISBN-13

978-0399112829
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Customer reviews

5 star		49%
4 star		22%
3 star		20%
2 star		6%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2022

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This book written in 1974 predicts Viagra! One of the characters is a ladies man who needs a bit of a boost to continue his shenanigans. That aside, this is a worthy sequel to "Colossus." It is a very 70s book. Nearly all the scientists are white western men. There are actual computer printouts, but aside from that the cybernetic world prophesied for about the year 2020 is well-imagined and fairly on the nose. Women do not fair well in this short novel. Apart from Cleo Forbin, they are all secretaries, nannies, or maids. The sect that worships Colossus (and by extension, Charles Forbin) seems to be entirely male. As for Cleo Forbin, her part in the resistance is discovered by the all-powerful Colossus who proceeds to do some very bad and very sexist things to her. I admit, that her treatment is so nauseating it almost caused me to stop reading the book. Her final trajectory in the novel could only have been plotted by a clueless male author. Seeing as how Jones fought in the Second World War, it is not surprising that his view of women is so antediluvian. That costs the book some stars. There is no tidy ending, yet the book is a satisfying sequel to a groundbreaking original.

Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2022

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the ending of the first volume made it difficult to see where he could take it. yet take it he did. excursions into stress, life changes, terror. good story, but still somehow unsatisfying. too much deus ex machina, I think, to make a truly enjoyable story. should be interesting to see how he wraps it up in the final book.

Clarence Darrow

Great If Disturbing Sequel to Colossus: The Forbin Project

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2019

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“The Fall of Colossus” is the second installment of the Colossus trilogy, all of which rivals Asimov’s “Foundation”, “Foundation and Empire”, and “Second Foundation”. (By golly, I read “Colossus“ in First Form -7th grade-and submitted a book report nearly 50 years ago, only recently discovering the two remaining books of the trilogy.) Here, with the demise of Colossus is Forbin’s downfall, emotional collapse, and loss. Of course, Cleo Forbin’s capture as a traitor to The Machine, and subsequent commitment to an Emotional Study Center to be beaten and raped repeatedly as part of an experiment created by Colossus, better to comprehend human emotions, is an unanticipated leap into the murky and repulsive reality of misogyny, sexual perversion, and extraordinary violence against women: a far cry from the PG-rated SF plot of the first installment. (Here, unsuspectingly, D.F. Jones has created a shockingly disturbing amalgam bizarrely and hauntingly exhuming images of Alex in Burgess’s “A Clockwork Orange” (another British SF work of the same period), and Jeff Goldblum’s psychopathic and chimeric character at the very end of “The Fly”: Marquis de Sade meets Ian Fleming in Tahiti.) All of this comprises Jones’s study of the then novel Stockholm Syndrome, in which captives, caving to the stressors of confinement and brutality, are romantically drawn to their captors. This, of course is a topic addressed later by Fleming in “The World is not Enough”. Like Fleming, Jones treats female characters as disposable commodities. (Thank goodness I didn’t read this in 7th grade!) Cleo Forbin’s experiences at the Emotional Study Center are horrific, horrifyingly sexist (and so mid-20th century), and yet are central to Charles Forbin’s ultimate betrayal of Colossus. Like Geena Davis’s character in “The Fly”, many readers and most female readers will justifiably want to blow the head off of the Tahiti freak sideshow. Readers of a rational and balanced temperament will yearn for the comfortingly sterile and agamic plot of “2001: A Space Odyssey”. However, with a plot that keeps the reader on tenterhooks to the unpredicted and twisted ending, this is a disturbingly entertaining and even compelling read. Of course, the surprise ending leaves the reader searching for more in the third installment of the trilogy, “Colossus and the Crab”, which fortunately leaves the sexual violence far behind.

4 people found this helpful

Michael Schilling

Dark vision of the world years after Colossus seizes control...

Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2021

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For many years Colossus the Forbin Project has been a personal favorite of mine, and would always stop to watch it whenever it was on. However, was always a point with me that the film simply ended with the computer putting mankind in its place and assuming absolute control. I didn't find out until many years later that DF Jones had actually written three Colossus books, so naturally I made it a point to pick up this second story as soon as I found it, aching to find out what happened to Forbin and his team afterwards. "The Fall of Colossus" is a very entertaining read and a worthy successor to the original. Still, I hesitate to call it "fun" or to recommend it across the board as it's a far darker story than I was expecting. It shows, by degrees, the desperation of mankind when two very disparate forces vie for control without the slightest bit of scruples about how they accomplish their aims. And secondly, it shows in no uncertain terms how a master computer, without the slightest hint of human compassion, deals with the human race, all under the guise of research or being "for our own good". This story will not give you the warm-and-fuzzies, but it will certainly make you think. And, yes, it does make you wonder what will come next in the trilogy. Will no doubt be searching out the next Colossus book quite soon...

One person found this helpful

Colossus takes a twisting turn

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2016

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The comparing of the movie, "Colossus: The Forbin Project", to D.F. Jones' original book 1 of the trilogy was very interesting, especially when the movie fit the adventure in the near future as opposed to the 22nd century. Both leave you with a slight hint of a new computer.

The movies stopped there, however. The second book in this trilogy shows the growing religious beliefs of Colossus followers, the Fellowship that is bent on destroying Colossus, the tearing apart of Cleo and Charles Forbin, and a new menace ... The Martians.

It is a good story and definitely changes the whole plot of the trilogy, but i must admit, I did not expect the book to take this turn. Can't wait to read the last of the three books.

4 people found this helpful

A great follow-up

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2021

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I remember meeting the very first "Colossus" book when I was very young; probably less than 10 years old. I was completely enraptured and dove into the story headfirst. I had always wanted to see a sequel (s) to the novel but alas it never happened. I grabbed this book quite easily and found it to be a worthy successor in the series.

One person found this helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Dan Stepnens

If you liked Colossus, don't read the sequels.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2017

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Spoilers:

No seriously this book is really problematic and a good part of the plot revolves around sexual violence as punishment of basically the only even remotely relevant female character in the book - and it's never addressed or resolved or even explicitly referenced again. At best you can view it as a incredibly cack handed red herring, but even then it's not addressed in the next book at all, save for a very wired and "Patriarchal" moment at the end.
So yeah I recommend giving it a miss.

Mr. M. Ryder

A good and highly relevant book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 2, 2017

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A second book in the series continues the plot where the first book finished. It is the story of the "Father of Colossus" and the implications of creating a computer through which to control defenses and bring about world peace. However, automation creates its own problems and the pursuit of peace does not occur without blood being spilt. This is a good book that was written a long time ago, but looking at it with hindsight, it remains highly relevant within our modern world. A good series of books and highly recommended.

ekmover

Not a shade on first book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 5, 2021

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I was disappointed with the second instalment.

sandra k chung

Book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 26, 2021

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Thank you. Good collection

Lynchey

bearing in mind when it was written not too bad but the way Collosis was disabled felt like a ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2017

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I watched the film based on the first book as a kid, bearing in mind when it was written not too bad but the way Collosis was disabled felt like a quick fix as reached enough pages for a book so end this quickly.

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