Glasshouse review

5 Comments

1. 

   William H. Stoddard

   June 14, 2007 at 7:48 am

   Maravillosa’s review expresses the opinion that it’s hard to see any libertarian content in Glasshouse. I’d note that one clear parallel to the situation in Glasshouse is the situation in The Prisoner, which won a Hall of Fame Award a couple of years back—and which had even less in the way of explicit ideological content than Stross’s work. It had a vivid portrayal of an individual struggling to preserve his own autonomy against pressure from an oppressive small community, and to escape from his confinement there, and that’s what libertarians have long admired it for. I won’t argue over whether Stross’s novel is of equal quality as a creative work, but I think its content is clearly parallel, and thus sufficient to justify the nomination.

   My top two choices, like yours, were the Stross and the Vinge. I’ll be interested to see how the actual vote turns out.
2. 

   Anders Monsen

   June 14, 2007 at 7:43 pm

   Indeed, I believe the parallels to The Prisoner are rife in this book. On page 79 Robin even mentions a sign, WELCOME TO THE VILLAGE (emphasis mine), and the set-up of the shops is very similar to that show. I think part of Maravillosa’s concerns deal with Stross’ lack of libertarian credentials. Still, I see this book has having considerable libertarian elements, much more so than any of his other books, and I intend to write up my impressions of this and the other books as a guidepost for my voting, and probably post this at some point.
3. 

   sunni

   June 19, 2007 at 12:29 pm

   Hey gents, thanks for the comments regarding my review—although I must admit I ams starting to feel a little out of my element, as I am not as steeped in sf as both of you seem to be.

   Anders, I don’t care so much about “credentials” as I do Prometheus finalists’ content being firmly in the pro-freedom camp. Now that I’ve read all five finalists (and sent my ballot in), Glasshouse was higher on my list than I thought it’d be.

   To both of you gentlemen, I am of an age to vaguely recall the grownups around me watching The Prisoner in its original run … but that said, I have an abiding fondness for what is probably the best-known quote from it. Thus, I am abashed that I didn’t see the allusions you both mention.
4. 

   William H. Stoddard

   June 27, 2007 at 7:53 pm

   My copy of Gradisil arrived on Monday, and I’ve finished reading it. I’m not sure I see much libertarianism in it.

   Yes, it portrays the private colonization of space by wealthy people who live there by voluntary trade, without taxes. But they’re not an anarchocapitalist society, with protection agencies and private law enforcement and the like. They’re simply a society without law. Witness the episode of the attempted rape, where the only protection the characters involved have is self-help.

   And more crucially, this is shown in the novel as a problem. The central character sees the uplands as a scattering of self-centered individualists who have no sense of themselves as a people; and she deals with this, first, by becoming the region’s first politician, assuming a persona for manipulative purposes; second, by steering the situation with Earth into a war, and preventing the resolution of that war, so that adversity will transform the characters of her fellow uplanders and make them a nation—which it does, as shown when four of them engage in a suicide attack against an American military base; and, third, by (it appears) conniving at her own martyrdom to give the uplanders a heroic myth. She even arranges for her own personal Judas.

   All of this looks “political” enough so that I find it dubious as a choice for the Prometheus Award, even though it’s a well written book, thematic content aside.
5. 

   Anders Monsen

   June 27, 2007 at 10:20 pm

   Perhaps I went a little overboard in my enthusiasm for Gradisil. I still think it’s a great novel and work of sf. I see the libertarian aspects in the private settlement of low Earth orbit, plus the poor government efforts with regards to the same, as well as the emotional approach the character Gradisil has towards liberty. You raise valid points, I think, in that manipulation is behind many of the efforts to liberate the Uplands, and Gradisil is not a sympathetic character. But also keep in mind the viewpoint of the narrator of that story, which is the very much neglected and sidelined husband of the first president of the Uplands. Is the author a libertarian? I don’t know. I have read only two other of his works, a novella and short story, although I hear that Salt has some political themes. I’d certainly like to hear other candidates for the Prometheus Award as compelling as this novel.