Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
[Kbh.] Steen Hasselbalch (1969) 182 s.
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML: In a vastly overpopulated near-future world, businesses have taken the place of governments and now hold all political power. States exist merely to ensure the survival of huge transnational corporations. Advertising has become hugely aggressive and boasts some of the world's most powerful executives. Through advertising, the public is constantly deluded into thinking that all the products on the market improve the quality of life. However, the most basic elements are incredibly scarce, including water and fuel. The planet Venus has just been visited and judged fit for human settlement, despite its inhospitable surface and climate; colonists would have to endure a harsh climate for many generations until the planet could be terraformed. Mitch Courtenay is a star-class copywriter in the Fowler Schocken advertising agency and has been assigned the ad campaign that would attract colonists to Venus, but a lot more is happening than he knows about. Mitch is soon thrown into a world of danger, mystery, and intrigue, where the people in his life are never quite what they seem, and his loyalties and core beliefs will be put to the test..… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member baswood
Published in 1952 this novel is included in the Science fiction masterwork series. It is science fiction very much of it’s time with its central hero Mitch Courtenay bulldozing his way through seemingly impossible odds to marry the girl of his dreams while defeating all his enemies. It is also a
It is written in the first person and starts off well in plunging the reader into the viscous world of a board room struggle at the Fowler Schoken associates who we are told have achieved a corporations dream by merging a whole sub continent into a single manufacturing complex. Mitch Courtenay gets to be named head of the latest project which is to control advertising and production for a manned space flight to Venus. He has to juggle his new responsibilities which include fending off the resentment of other unsuccessful executives with his prolonged courtship of Kathy who blows hot and cold and at the moment seems to be trying to avoid any commitment. It is very much a sort of here and now scenario with any background to the rise of the conglomerate companies kept to a minimum as the novel is intent in taking off on its path through action and adventure country. Not only does Mitch have to fend off attacks from within the company, but there is also a rival conglomerate who will stop at nothing to achieve their ends and in addition there is an underground group of “consies” the WCA or World Conservation Association. In no time at all there are attempts on Mitch’s life and he finds himself stripped of all authority working as a labourer amongst the slave like conditions of much of the addicted population. The rest of the story is the struggle to regain his position and an unconvincing conversion to the “consies” cause.
The book paints a picture of a dystopian future with a small minority of executive figures manipulating the lives of the vast majority of addicted consumers, but too much is taken for granted as far as this reader was concerned. We get glimpses of this future world which seem to me to serve more as a convenient background for the thrills of the action adventure and the working of the plot. It is in keeping with much American science fiction of the time with the central premise that energy, hard work and a dare devil approach to life will lead to success. In my opinion this novel deserves its position as one that stands out from the crowd (early 1950’s science fiction) because of its plethora of ideas and glimpses of a believable future and the writing is decent enough, but it wasn’t much of a crowd. A thriller dressed up as science fiction or science fiction that wants to be a fast paced thriller, it seems to be caught between the two and so 3.5 stars.
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very fast paced thriller which despite its title is very much earthbound. What makes it stand out from the crowd of science fiction writing of the time is the scenario of an America (and the world) in hock to advertising corporations that shape society in order to increase sales. They have become so powerful that they control the government and in allegiance with production companies have addicted much of the population to their products. These huge companies’ creation of a totally free market driven by greed for more and more sales probably strikes a chord with some readers as it does not seem a million miles from our current situation. Perhaps then this short punchy novel lingers more in the realms of rosy reminiscence than actuality, because in my opinion it is not great science fiction.It is written in the first person and starts off well in plunging the reader into the viscous world of a board room struggle at the Fowler Schoken associates who we are told have achieved a corporations dream by merging a whole sub continent into a single manufacturing complex. Mitch Courtenay gets to be named head of the latest project which is to control advertising and production for a manned space flight to Venus. He has to juggle his new responsibilities which include fending off the resentment of other unsuccessful executives with his prolonged courtship of Kathy who blows hot and cold and at the moment seems to be trying to avoid any commitment. It is very much a sort of here and now scenario with any background to the rise of the conglomerate companies kept to a minimum as the novel is intent in taking off on its path through action and adventure country. Not only does Mitch have to fend off attacks from within the company, but there is also a rival conglomerate who will stop at nothing to achieve their ends and in addition there is an underground group of “consies” the WCA or World Conservation Association. In no time at all there are attempts on Mitch’s life and he finds himself stripped of all authority working as a labourer amongst the slave like conditions of much of the addicted population. The rest of the story is the struggle to regain his position and an unconvincing conversion to the “consies” cause.
The book paints a picture of a dystopian future with a small minority of executive figures manipulating the lives of the vast majority of addicted consumers, but too much is taken for granted as far as this reader was concerned. We get glimpses of this future world which seem to me to serve more as a convenient background for the thrills of the action adventure and the working of the plot. It is in keeping with much American science fiction of the time with the central premise that energy, hard work and a dare devil approach to life will lead to success. In my opinion this novel deserves its position as one that stands out from the crowd (early 1950’s science fiction) because of its plethora of ideas and glimpses of a believable future and the writing is decent enough, but it wasn’t much of a crowd. A thriller dressed up as science fiction or science fiction that wants to be a fast paced thriller, it seems to be caught between the two and so 3.5 stars.
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LibraryThing member write-review
When Advertising Rules the World
The dystopian satire The Space Merchants ranks as one of the best Science Fiction novels of all time, compared in importance to Brave New World by some critics for good reason. Pohl (1919-2013) and Kornbluth (1923-1958) present a plausible world of extreme
Mitch Courtenay is a star-class copywriter at one of the most prominent and powerful ad agencies, Fowler Schocken. This puts him at the pinnacle of the agency and the corporate world that controls the U.S. (though he can only afford an apartment about the size of a closet). Through much skullduggery, the business process of the day, Fowler Schocken wins the right to colonize and then exploit the resources of Venus. Mitch gets the assignment of persuading consumers that Venus is a potential paradise, a place where they can have everything they can’t have on Earth. Mitch, though, faces two problems: his rivals within his own agency and a competing mega agency, and the desire to resume his relationship with Kathy before their one-year trial marriage contract expires. As Mitch ramps up the project and courts Kathy, he finds himself shanghaied, stripped of his identity and status, and shipped off to a food processing colony in Central America.
There he hooks up with the bane of the advertising and corporate elite, the consies. The consies, slag for conservationists, are an underground radical movement that stand in direct opposition to every thing the corporate elite promote. They seek a world with clean air and water and basic equality. He decides to join up as a ploy to get back to New York and reestablish himself at Fowler Schocken and take his revenge on his opponents. However, the table turns on him when he discovers that, among other things, Kathy is a leading consie and that the wedge between them has been his loyalty to a debased system. In the end, he wins back his leadership position and uses it to give Kathy what she most desires, the right to colonize Venus as a consie world. The novel concludes on Venus with their relationship restored, a new world growing, and Mitch as just an ordinary guy.
The pleasure of the novel isn’t so much the intrigue, of which there is plenty, but the graphic world portrayed by Pohl and Kornbluth, best epitomized by extreme branding and loyalty to brands and products like coffiest, a narcotic based version of coffee that like cigarettes addicts consumers from childhood to death. Even if you are not ordinarily a fan of the Science Fiction genre, you may enjoy the authors’ extrapolation of a consumerist society gone wild.
The dystopian satire The Space Merchants ranks as one of the best Science Fiction novels of all time, compared in importance to Brave New World by some critics for good reason. Pohl (1919-2013) and Kornbluth (1923-1958) present a plausible world of extreme
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consumerism in which the ne plus ultra profession is advertising, because of its power to convince consumers, the people, that they live in a Panglossian best of all possible worlds. It diverts their attention from reality, that they really live in a world plagued by overpopulation, environmental ruin, gross inequality, and scarcity of basic resources, a world in which corporations and wealth reign supreme. These themes remain with us to this day and though some have been mitigated all remain urgent issues worldwide. Mitch Courtenay is a star-class copywriter at one of the most prominent and powerful ad agencies, Fowler Schocken. This puts him at the pinnacle of the agency and the corporate world that controls the U.S. (though he can only afford an apartment about the size of a closet). Through much skullduggery, the business process of the day, Fowler Schocken wins the right to colonize and then exploit the resources of Venus. Mitch gets the assignment of persuading consumers that Venus is a potential paradise, a place where they can have everything they can’t have on Earth. Mitch, though, faces two problems: his rivals within his own agency and a competing mega agency, and the desire to resume his relationship with Kathy before their one-year trial marriage contract expires. As Mitch ramps up the project and courts Kathy, he finds himself shanghaied, stripped of his identity and status, and shipped off to a food processing colony in Central America.
There he hooks up with the bane of the advertising and corporate elite, the consies. The consies, slag for conservationists, are an underground radical movement that stand in direct opposition to every thing the corporate elite promote. They seek a world with clean air and water and basic equality. He decides to join up as a ploy to get back to New York and reestablish himself at Fowler Schocken and take his revenge on his opponents. However, the table turns on him when he discovers that, among other things, Kathy is a leading consie and that the wedge between them has been his loyalty to a debased system. In the end, he wins back his leadership position and uses it to give Kathy what she most desires, the right to colonize Venus as a consie world. The novel concludes on Venus with their relationship restored, a new world growing, and Mitch as just an ordinary guy.
The pleasure of the novel isn’t so much the intrigue, of which there is plenty, but the graphic world portrayed by Pohl and Kornbluth, best epitomized by extreme branding and loyalty to brands and products like coffiest, a narcotic based version of coffee that like cigarettes addicts consumers from childhood to death. Even if you are not ordinarily a fan of the Science Fiction genre, you may enjoy the authors’ extrapolation of a consumerist society gone wild.
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LibraryThing member leslie.98
Dan Bittner did a fantastic job narrating this science fiction novel.
I don't know what I had expected, probably a space opera, but this sci fi book wasn't that. Some parts of its view of the future in which the United States society and government are run by advertising agencies made me laugh and
I don't know what I had expected, probably a space opera, but this sci fi book wasn't that. Some parts of its view of the future in which the United States society and government are run by advertising agencies made me laugh and
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others made me wince. Show Less
LibraryThing member clong
The Space Merchants is rightly considered a science fiction classic. Mitchell Courtenay is a successful ad-man in a world run by ad-men, who finds himself discredited and on the run. He avoids assassination attempts and suffers the unpleasant experience of learning how the "other" half (i.e.,
When I first read it, I found it to be a reasonably entertaining yarn, but somewhat dated. Looking back, I wonder whether I wasn't a bit naive in this assessment--in a society where the government helps companies make record profits at the expense of taxpayers and the environment, and those companies and their executives turn around and give massive contributions back to the politicians who run the government, Pohl and Kornbluth's vision of "the Senator from Du Pont" doesn't really seem so far fetched.
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consumers) live. The book is a pretty blunt indictment of American consumerism, envisioning a dystopian society driven by corporations that use advertising to create consumer needs (for such useful things as "Kiddiebutt" cigarettes for kids). When I first read it, I found it to be a reasonably entertaining yarn, but somewhat dated. Looking back, I wonder whether I wasn't a bit naive in this assessment--in a society where the government helps companies make record profits at the expense of taxpayers and the environment, and those companies and their executives turn around and give massive contributions back to the politicians who run the government, Pohl and Kornbluth's vision of "the Senator from Du Pont" doesn't really seem so far fetched.
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LibraryThing member csweder
Space Merchants is the story of how the US could be. In the futuristic society where advertising is king: the little people are still the ones to suffer. It takes living as one of the lower classes for one of the upper classmen to understand what it means...but it doesn't mean he has to change.
A
A
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fun book with some hilarious plot twists--a good quick read. :) Show Less
LibraryThing member prof_brazen_guff
Incredibly prescient and a damning indictment of our times.
LibraryThing member cissa
Very, very entertaining and most timely book. Given the recent ruling that corporations are legally persons for the purposes of donating money to politicians, a future America in which the government is elected by corporations instead of humans seems possibly too prophetic.
Published in 1952, the
Published in 1952, the
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most glaring weirdness is the way everyone smokes... even on a spaceship with recycled air! Show Less
LibraryThing member baubie
Reading this novel felt like an episode of Mad Men, played out on an old-time radio show, in the future. The Space Merchants is about a future where consumerism is king and Mitch Courtenay is tasked with selling a new product - Venus. The writing was easy to read and fast paced. I was never bored
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and the length of this book was just right. Coming in a only 158 pages, this novel was as long as it had to be. The details definitely date this book to the 1950's but that, in my opinion, is a large part of its appeal. The action was intense while the imagery was still vivid. I highly recommend this book to any sci-fi fans out there. Show Less
LibraryThing member Mromano
A great short work of science fiction that satirizes the advertising industry. A classic must read for anyone who loves science fiction.
LibraryThing member fsmichaels
Love this book - 1950's sci-fi classic, so on the ball about advertising and Chicken Little 50 years out. Prescient. Found out Frederick Pohl, who is now in his 90s, blogs over at thewaythefutureblogs.com. Too much fun.
LibraryThing member sgarnell
Perhaps this book is not so popular these days, but I love it nonetheless. It's has a lot to say about the despicable nature of marketing, which is great because I just hate marketing :) That said, it's a deep novel with lots of interesting characters. Highly recommended for fans of classic SF with
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a strong message. Show Less
LibraryThing member trueneutral
It's almost like watching a sci-fi version of Mad Men. It's a story in a consumerist future Earth, where everything is driven by advertising. The beginning is a bit slow and confusing, because not much is actually explained, but once the plot starts to take some crazy turns it becomes a fabulous
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ride. Show Less
LibraryThing member Veeralpadhiar
This is a book that has aged well. The first half is way better than the last one and the prose seems somewhat disjointed in the second half comparatively, but even then this was a good experience.
It has a dystopian setting where the world is divided essentially in two parts. The producers and the
While the story is interesting in itself, I was more fascinated by the backdrop that Pohl and Kornbluth created with extraordinary flair and brilliance - and that too 59 years ago!
Let me just give you a glimpse of that world.
There is immense air pollution and people either use soot-extractor nostril plugs or a bulky oxygen helmet outdoors. Over population is a major problem and space is so dear that ordinary people sleep on stairs of high-rise buildings. Meat is grown chemically and harvested to feed ever growing population. Water is scarce and very expensive and so on.
Again consider the fact that this book was written 59 years ago, so it was really really way ahead of its time. And to top it all off, the tone is satirical.
A very strong 3 stars.
It has a dystopian setting where the world is divided essentially in two parts. The producers and the
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consumers. Mitchell Courtenay works with Fowler Schocken Associates which is an advertising agency and is assigned the ad campaign that would attract colonists to Venus; more accurately, duping them to believe what an opportunity and comfort Venus presented.While the story is interesting in itself, I was more fascinated by the backdrop that Pohl and Kornbluth created with extraordinary flair and brilliance - and that too 59 years ago!
Let me just give you a glimpse of that world.
There is immense air pollution and people either use soot-extractor nostril plugs or a bulky oxygen helmet outdoors. Over population is a major problem and space is so dear that ordinary people sleep on stairs of high-rise buildings. Meat is grown chemically and harvested to feed ever growing population. Water is scarce and very expensive and so on.
Again consider the fact that this book was written 59 years ago, so it was really really way ahead of its time. And to top it all off, the tone is satirical.
A very strong 3 stars.
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LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
This follows Mitchell Courtenay, and the television series Mad Men has nothing on this advertising executive of the future trying to sell the idea of colonizing Venus. This is a world where Advertising executives are the ruling class--and the rest of the gray mass are "consumers."
OK, at the risk of
The Conservationists were fair game, those wild-eyed zealots who pretended modern civilization was in some way "plundering" our planet. Preposterous stuff. Science is always a step ahead of the failure of natural resources. After all, when meat got scarce, we had soyburgers ready. When oil ran low, technology developed the pedicab.
And the picture Pohl and Kornbluth painted of a dystopic society was imaginative--even if I was sick of the gazillionth novel that tells us our future is soy burgers--although this should be forgiven because back then it might have been original. This was published in 1952. What made me lose patience actually is when the authors gave us a bit of the Consies (the Conservationists) Samizdat. The rift on demanding "planning of population, reforestation, soil-building, deurbanization, and the end to the wasteful production of gadgets" *clutches etablet* made me think of the Unabomber's treatise--and these are obviously supposed to be the good guys. The novel just stopped being even a little bit fun for me after absorbing that. I think if it had stuck to a satirical view of selling Venus, I'd have enjoyed it more, and even mulled over its points more. I think Sayers' Murder Must Advertise is a funnier, and more effective, critique of the advertising world. Bottom line: I can't honestly say I like this novel, even though I could see recommending it to a friend who finds this worldview more congenial.
OK, at the risk of
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being labeled a capitalist tool without a sense of humor, I have to admit I don't like this book, while seeing while it may appeal to some. This is a sharp satire of consumer culture and capitalism, and unlike many a science fiction work of its era, it's not too dated--some parts very current. I think because the critics of capitalism have been saying the same thing about it--and it's defenders--forever. I'm no fan really of the kind of books that make Big Business the villain, I'm rather sick of them and how predictable they read, but mostly I was amused not irritated in the first half--I found this particular passage...well, resonant of attitudes of some:The Conservationists were fair game, those wild-eyed zealots who pretended modern civilization was in some way "plundering" our planet. Preposterous stuff. Science is always a step ahead of the failure of natural resources. After all, when meat got scarce, we had soyburgers ready. When oil ran low, technology developed the pedicab.
And the picture Pohl and Kornbluth painted of a dystopic society was imaginative--even if I was sick of the gazillionth novel that tells us our future is soy burgers--although this should be forgiven because back then it might have been original. This was published in 1952. What made me lose patience actually is when the authors gave us a bit of the Consies (the Conservationists) Samizdat. The rift on demanding "planning of population, reforestation, soil-building, deurbanization, and the end to the wasteful production of gadgets" *clutches etablet* made me think of the Unabomber's treatise--and these are obviously supposed to be the good guys. The novel just stopped being even a little bit fun for me after absorbing that. I think if it had stuck to a satirical view of selling Venus, I'd have enjoyed it more, and even mulled over its points more. I think Sayers' Murder Must Advertise is a funnier, and more effective, critique of the advertising world. Bottom line: I can't honestly say I like this novel, even though I could see recommending it to a friend who finds this worldview more congenial.
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LibraryThing member scottcholstad
I really enjoyed this cynical and satirical sci fi novel. It's about Mitchell Courtenay, a high ranking ad exec in a futuristic American society dominated by advertising. Indeed, it's virtually un-patriotic to not adhere to advertising's role in society. Mitch is given the assignment of leading his
This book was written 60 years ago, but it was seriously ahead of its time. To quote another Goodreads member, Nancy Oakes wrote:
"Awesome book! Hard to believe this was written like 50+ years ago, because it is so incredibly relevant to our modern times. For example: it takes a look at the dangers of imperialistic corporations & greed, the plight of workers and the ungodly conditions under which some of them have to work, the clear and unmistakeable division of class in society, the total lack of concern for the environment and the treatment of those who care about it and want change."
This book is frighteningly applicable to our current times. Pohl (the book was co-written with CM Kornbluth) was a true visionary. The satire is witty and funny. One scene that had me laughing was Mitch's dissing of Moby Dick due to its lack of advertising. LOL! My only complaint, and the reason I'm only giving it four out of five stars, is that the scene transitions are often lacking. You're in a scene and then, boom, something happens in the course of a sentence to radically change the plot and you're left picking up the pieces, trying to figure out what just happened. This occurs several times in the book and I found it very distracting. Nonetheless, it was a good, quick read and I heartily recommend this book.
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firm's intention of colonizing Venus, even though it's not remotely habitable, by making American suckers go there based on his expertise in advertising. The book starts taking some bizarre twists at that stage, leading to his being essentially kidnapped and put to work as a "crumb," a common consumer, his escape, his workings with the Consies, or conservations, a Greenpeace-like group which attempts to overcome America's fixation with rampant consumerism and its negative impact on the world, and more.This book was written 60 years ago, but it was seriously ahead of its time. To quote another Goodreads member, Nancy Oakes wrote:
"Awesome book! Hard to believe this was written like 50+ years ago, because it is so incredibly relevant to our modern times. For example: it takes a look at the dangers of imperialistic corporations & greed, the plight of workers and the ungodly conditions under which some of them have to work, the clear and unmistakeable division of class in society, the total lack of concern for the environment and the treatment of those who care about it and want change."
This book is frighteningly applicable to our current times. Pohl (the book was co-written with CM Kornbluth) was a true visionary. The satire is witty and funny. One scene that had me laughing was Mitch's dissing of Moby Dick due to its lack of advertising. LOL! My only complaint, and the reason I'm only giving it four out of five stars, is that the scene transitions are often lacking. You're in a scene and then, boom, something happens in the course of a sentence to radically change the plot and you're left picking up the pieces, trying to figure out what just happened. This occurs several times in the book and I found it very distracting. Nonetheless, it was a good, quick read and I heartily recommend this book.
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LibraryThing member csweder
Space Merchants is the story of how the US could be. In the futuristic society where advertising is king: the little people are still the ones to suffer. It takes living as one of the lower classes for one of the upper classmen to understand what it means...but it doesn't mean he has to change.
A
A
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fun book with some hilarious plot twists--a good quick read. :) Show Less
LibraryThing member selinalynn69
It was ok for a beginning SF novel. This particular copy had been edited for the 21 century though. Just couldn't get into the characters and it left me feeling like "so what?" with their lives. I had to read it for a class so no harm done.
LibraryThing member usnmm2
A great little known classic. All about
Captalism and marketing gone wild.You drink the soda,it makes you crave potato chips, which makes you want the candy bar, then you crave the chips again.
Very up to date for a book written over 50 years ago.
Captalism and marketing gone wild.You drink the soda,it makes you crave potato chips, which makes you want the candy bar, then you crave the chips again.
Very up to date for a book written over 50 years ago.
LibraryThing member othersam
Lately I've been getting a big kick out of classic SF from the 1950s. The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth is a dystopia with a twist: it imagines a future ruled by advertising.
When star ad-man Mitch Courtenay (a sure inspiration for Mad Men's Don Draper) lands the job of
Recent developments in lab-grown meat make this book's most famous episode (concerning a monster known as 'Chicken Little') more topical than ever. But this snappy, thrilling satire would be a treat anytime.
When star ad-man Mitch Courtenay (a sure inspiration for Mad Men's Don Draper) lands the job of
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insuring his agency is the first to get their claws into Venus, he discovers how brutal office politics can be: his identity is stole from him and he's hurled to the back of the rat race his world has become.Recent developments in lab-grown meat make this book's most famous episode (concerning a monster known as 'Chicken Little') more topical than ever. But this snappy, thrilling satire would be a treat anytime.
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LibraryThing member kvrfan
This is an amazing work of speculative fiction. Originally written in 1952, it posits a world where consumerism rules (the highest ranking pooh-bahs being those in the advertising industry), senators do not represent people but corporations, and a vast mass of "consumers" are dominated by a very
I did the love the book, but I can't give it 5 stars for the same weakness present in much science fiction: the authors create a highly intriguing universe, but the plot they set in motion sputters in comparison. A romance lies at the center of The Space Merchants, but it's not really very convincing. Further, the plot proceeds to an ending which is underwhelming.
Still, I'll remember this book for a long time.
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small elite class. So much in the dystopia resonates with the world we now live in, and the book was written even before the age popularized by "Mad Men"!I did the love the book, but I can't give it 5 stars for the same weakness present in much science fiction: the authors create a highly intriguing universe, but the plot they set in motion sputters in comparison. A romance lies at the center of The Space Merchants, but it's not really very convincing. Further, the plot proceeds to an ending which is underwhelming.
Still, I'll remember this book for a long time.
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LibraryThing member joeydag
Having read this revised edition I know I read the original many years ago, but I have little memory of the older version except the encounter with the massive growing lump of chicken meat. It still has its attractions, good plot, points of satire, but I was not particularly absorbed until about
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two thirds of the way through. I enjoyed it and I can imagine it set a standard for other writers back in the 1950's. Show Less
LibraryThing member dbsovereign
Lots of tongue and cheek stuff. Two men out of their depth go into space to try to make money.
LibraryThing member NickHowes
A classic science fiction of the type Robert Heinlein called "if this goes on." In this case, consumerism rules the world and at the top of the pyramid are two advertising agencies. The numer two man at Schocken Associates finds himself dealing with a new, huge campaign, the underground
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Conservationists, and a possible illegal assassination attempt. Then it gets worse. Very readable, very recognizable, and light but suitably spooky. Show Less
LibraryThing member HenriMoreaux
A classic science fiction tale written in 1952 of a dystopian future where advertising firms rule all.
Asides for the absence of wireless technology it would be hard to say this novel wasn't written today; it's a gloomy view of the future that seems closer today than in the 1950s in view of
The story involves an advertising agency that steals an account from another firm for the habitation & colonisation of planet Venus, meanwhile the country struggles under the attacks of the World Conservationist Association who believe that reckless exploitation of natural resources has created needless poverty and human misery which will mean the end of human life on Earth if it continues unchecked.
There's a sequel called 'The Merchants War' also.
Asides for the absence of wireless technology it would be hard to say this novel wasn't written today; it's a gloomy view of the future that seems closer today than in the 1950s in view of
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multinational companies and their ever growing mergers (eg Bayer-Monsanto controlling a good portion of the farming supply chain). Terrorism, cut throat unethical behaviour, dirty tactics, it's as relevant today as it was when it was written.The story involves an advertising agency that steals an account from another firm for the habitation & colonisation of planet Venus, meanwhile the country struggles under the attacks of the World Conservationist Association who believe that reckless exploitation of natural resources has created needless poverty and human misery which will mean the end of human life on Earth if it continues unchecked.
There's a sequel called 'The Merchants War' also.
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LibraryThing member Ednsam
I hated the first half. It improved after he got bopped on the head, and became much more going, and funnier. Like a mix of Mad Men and Brazil.
Awards
Locus All-Time Best (24 — 1975)
The Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (Science Fiction and Fantasy)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1953
Physical description
182 p.; 18.3 cm
Local notes
Omslag: Frithioff Johansen
Omslaget viser et højhus og et luftfartøj, der mest ligner et luftskib
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Oversat fra amerikansk "The space merchants" af Jannick Storm
Cyril M. Kornbluth
Omslaget viser et højhus og et luftfartøj, der mest ligner et luftskib
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Oversat fra amerikansk "The space merchants" af Jannick Storm
Cyril M. Kornbluth
Other editions
The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl (Paperback)
Similar in this library
Series
Pages
182
DDC/MDS
| 813.54 |