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balconyfalconry's review
2.0
Wasn't 2020 supposed to be the future? An interesting experiment in present-day overtaking science fiction predictions, but the majority of stories have aged poorly or reflect all too clearly past dogma and ruinous mores.
bookbuzzard's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
I love and hate this book so much. It's so dated that it's a slice of time and it no longer matters that it's bad. My copy has so many post-it notes inside it. I made a PowerPoint presentation about this book simply to show it to my friends so I could rant about the (NSFW) penis gun .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Police brutality, Confinement, Death, Murder, Sexual assault, War, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Gun violence, and Sexual violence
Minor: Infertility, Pregnancy, and Homophobia
nwhyte's review
3.0
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3352497.html
I came across this when researching science fiction visions of the year 2020. It is a 1974 anthology of eight stories, six very big names on the harder side of SF - Ben Bova, Larry Niven, Harlan Ellison, Poul Anderson, A.E. van Vogt and Norman Spinrad; and two authors who I had not previously heard of, Dian Girard (though it turns out that as J.D. Crayne, she wrote Murder at the Worldcon) and Dave McDaniel, who mainly wrote Man from U.N.C.L.E novels and died suddenly in 1977 aged 38. In his introduction, Pournelle predicts, rather optimistically:
"We will, many of us writers and readers, be around in 2020, medical science being what it is—-assuming that anyone will be around in 2020. By then, probably, nobody will give a hang what we said here; but the authors of this book hereby serve notice that we will buy a drink at the 2020 World Science Fiction Convention (Marscon?) for each and every reader who brings with him a copy of 20/20 Vision and points out—briefly—just where we went wrong in our visions of the future."
This year's worldcon is in Wellington, New Zealand, which is almost but not quite as exotic as Mars. Of the authors, only Bova, Niven and Spinrad are still with us, and I don't think any of the three will make it to CoNZealand.
The stories are very much of their time, with several of the authors (Bova, Ellison, van Vogt) banging drums that they banged elsewhere. The Anderson story is particularly awful; the protagonist overthrows Soviet rule in North America with a weapon that has surgically replaced his penis. The best and shortest is Girard's "Eat, Drink and Be Merry", in which a married woman of 2020 finds herself forced to cook hearty meals for husband and family while her own calorific intake is constrained so that she can maintain her lovely figure. The dark force behind this appears to be the state itself, but we can easily read across to the whole of society forcing women to live up to artificial expectations.
I came across this when researching science fiction visions of the year 2020. It is a 1974 anthology of eight stories, six very big names on the harder side of SF - Ben Bova, Larry Niven, Harlan Ellison, Poul Anderson, A.E. van Vogt and Norman Spinrad; and two authors who I had not previously heard of, Dian Girard (though it turns out that as J.D. Crayne, she wrote Murder at the Worldcon) and Dave McDaniel, who mainly wrote Man from U.N.C.L.E novels and died suddenly in 1977 aged 38. In his introduction, Pournelle predicts, rather optimistically:
"We will, many of us writers and readers, be around in 2020, medical science being what it is—-assuming that anyone will be around in 2020. By then, probably, nobody will give a hang what we said here; but the authors of this book hereby serve notice that we will buy a drink at the 2020 World Science Fiction Convention (Marscon?) for each and every reader who brings with him a copy of 20/20 Vision and points out—briefly—just where we went wrong in our visions of the future."
This year's worldcon is in Wellington, New Zealand, which is almost but not quite as exotic as Mars. Of the authors, only Bova, Niven and Spinrad are still with us, and I don't think any of the three will make it to CoNZealand.
The stories are very much of their time, with several of the authors (Bova, Ellison, van Vogt) banging drums that they banged elsewhere. The Anderson story is particularly awful; the protagonist overthrows Soviet rule in North America with a weapon that has surgically replaced his penis. The best and shortest is Girard's "Eat, Drink and Be Merry", in which a married woman of 2020 finds herself forced to cook hearty meals for husband and family while her own calorific intake is constrained so that she can maintain her lovely figure. The dark force behind this appears to be the state itself, but we can easily read across to the whole of society forcing women to live up to artificial expectations.
jazin95's review
3.0
It's in 2020. I thought I should finish this year with this book of fun and exciting productions from the '70s. Being an anthology, I found it well put together, and each story explained; however, there were stories that I found super bleak and boring. I was hoping for more, especially as I'm reading this in 2020.
bridgette42's review
4.0
A.E. van Vogt did not disappoint in his dimensional and bizarre portrayal of the 2020 in “Future Perfect”: a world without poverty or crime but also a world without reproductive freedom, love or autonomy. Stephen Dalkins was a worthy protagonist, his motivation cryptic until the last twist.
The book was also an interesting time capsule in itself, complete with 1970s sexism which fueled feminist sci-fi icons James Tiptree Jr., Joanna Russ, Ursula K. LeGuin and the like.
Dian Girard’s “Eat, Drink and Be Merry” reads like a modern day body-positive Sci-Fi zine (a smart house which meters your caloric and nutritional intake based on built in shower-scale readings), I don’t actually think she was too far off.
Several stories featured smart phone technology. Several stories ventured into the ecological realm (public transportation is mastered, freeways are turned into communal gardens). Overall very enjoyable, a fun read as the year 2020 approaches.
The book was also an interesting time capsule in itself, complete with 1970s sexism which fueled feminist sci-fi icons James Tiptree Jr., Joanna Russ, Ursula K. LeGuin and the like.
Dian Girard’s “Eat, Drink and Be Merry” reads like a modern day body-positive Sci-Fi zine (a smart house which meters your caloric and nutritional intake based on built in shower-scale readings), I don’t actually think she was too far off.
Several stories featured smart phone technology. Several stories ventured into the ecological realm (public transportation is mastered, freeways are turned into communal gardens). Overall very enjoyable, a fun read as the year 2020 approaches.
ladyjane95's review
3.0
It's in 2020. I thought I should finish this year with this book of fun and exciting productions from the '70s. Being an anthology, I found it well put together, and each story explained; however, there were stories that I found super bleak and boring. I was hoping for more, especially as I'm reading this in 2020.
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