The Genesis Machine

The Genesis Machine
Author James P. Hogan
Country United States
Language English
Genre Science fiction
Publisher Del Rey Books
Publication date
April 1978
Media type Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages 299
ISBN 0-345-27231-5

The Genesis Machine is the second science fiction novel by James P. Hogan.

Background

Hogan discussed the background of the novel in his essay "Discovering Hyperspace".[1] While developing the setting for Inherit the Stars, Hogan found himself dissatisfied with the use of superluminal travel in science fiction as a plot device, in particular finding that he could not think of a story where the invention of the hyperdrive is central to the plot. The idea for the novel arose when he combined this idea with the concept that the hyperdrive would emerge as a byproduct of other research, in this case military research into superweapon technology.

Summary

The protagonist, Bradley Clifford, is a scientist drafted into military research for the American government. However, finding the establishment repressive, he leaves and forms a team to develop his methods to create a means of controlling gravity. As this research is also of military importance, the team soon find themselves back under state control. Reluctantly, they agree to use their methods to create a new and devastating super weapon, though Clifford's ultimate product, while indeed being capable of producing a devastating quantity of energy, is designed with a less mercenary ambition: to give humanity the stars and permanently prevent the use of the new super weapons.

Reception

John Clute characterised the book as playing to Hogan's strengths, in particular "his hard-edged sense of how scientists think."[2]

Kirkus Reviews was mixed in its reception, complaining that "[t]he style often suffers from ... tone-deafness, and the political analysis is not penetrating enough to support all the noises of moral outrage" but concluded that "Hogan succeeds where so many science-fiction writers fail: in creating and skillfully developing a scientific premise with enough teeth in it to be a source of pleasure rather than embarrassment."[3]

The Genesis Machine won the Seiun Award for Best Foreign Language Novel of the Year in 1982.

References

  1. Hogan, James P. (June 1988). Minds, Machines & Evolution. Bantam Books. pp. 96–98. ISBN 0-553-27288-8.
  2. "Hogan, James P.". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, 3rd Edition. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
  3. "THE GENESIS MACHINE by James P. Hogan". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, December 26, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.