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tedpikul's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
elijahbit's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Like mad men in the space future but I can't tell if I think it's self aware. I don't think so. Also like cats cradle
xeyra1's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't much know what to expect from this book. I sure expected more hardcore science-fiction than what I got, but it's actually a good thing I got something else, to feed my fascination with dystopian societies. The story is a very interesting look at a future where the great god of Sales rules over the life of all individuals, to the point the world is divided between the executives... and the consumers, second-class citizens whose only purpose, according to those higher up in the social hierarchy, is to buy and keep on feeding commerce.
Moreover, it seems commercial assassinations are game in this world, as long as you warn beforehand... a vision of the future that can be quite frighteningly convincing. As a reviewer of this book said, this is a terribly timely dystopian satire, dealing with capitalism and consumist culture taken into extremes. An incredible book that will make you think, long after you've read it. A complete page-turner. I recommend it.
Moreover, it seems commercial assassinations are game in this world, as long as you warn beforehand... a vision of the future that can be quite frighteningly convincing. As a reviewer of this book said, this is a terribly timely dystopian satire, dealing with capitalism and consumist culture taken into extremes. An incredible book that will make you think, long after you've read it. A complete page-turner. I recommend it.
aoc's review against another edition
4.0
Checking out Pohl's writings has been on my to-read list for a while now and though he didn't single-handedly pen The Space Merchants, having co-written it with Kornbluth, it was absolutely a worthwhile read with its satirical take on overt consumerism taken to the extreme in a society with uncomfortable parallels to our own contemporary world. But let's find out how much of an enjoyable read it really was.
As mentioned above it is the future and consumerism has taken over the world. Not only consumerism in its most virulent form, but also one where advertisements and companies who create them are de facto kings of the world, second only to corporations running the world proper with even governments being little than their puppets. It is such a sorry state of affairs that doing things like putting actually addicting additives into foods and drinks is considered perfectly normal and constant aggressive marketing campaigns push it as such to popular who really are little more than literal “consumers” to people making such ads. Necessities like water have become increasingly scarce and are often priced on by-gulp basis, for example. Yet, there is hope that humanity could find new virgin ground to exploit with the possibility that Venus could be colonized. Having confirmed such an opportunity exists it spurs couple of advertising companies to make the idea appealing to population at large in order to justify the costs such a great endeavor would require.
It is in such a world that we see our main character Mitch Courtenay working as a star-class copywriter for Fowler Schocken advertising agency, one that ultimately wins the contract to sell Venus to the public, so to speak. He's very loyal to the idea of Sales and full-heartedly believes his boss Fowler Schocken has the right ideas. Unbeknownst to him, though, a lot is going on behind the scenes – from Fowler Shocken's rival company looking to circumvent corporate rules of “targeted executive hits” on rival companies, ever-growing and seemingly sensible revolutionary movement that's so utterly incomprehensible to corporate world, to ultimately his own life packing a surprise or two.
I'm not sure why it keeps happening in my recent book reviews, but I find myself thinking settings always end up being far more interesting than the characters. Such is the case in The Space Merchants. Courtenay himself is rather well fleshed out, but that's sort of expected from the protagonist – problem is this comes at the expense of pretty much all other characters being tokens and never seeing much development. Hell, some even ingloriously “snap” and are promptly taken out of the story just as you grow attached to them. But to be balanced this is not all horrible bad because, and I'm not spoiling anything when I say this, The Space Merchants is a Mitch Courtenay story as much as it happens to be a commentary of a rather ridiculous world. There is certain charm and dread to a world where most of the foodstuff is regenerated, meat comes from a growing tumor of flesh dubbed “Chicken Little” and your everyday coffee has addictive properties where you need to drink two liters a day to with recommended jug on your nightstand just in case you can't get enough of it. Mmmm-mmmm.
One drawback I could level against the book is that it was too short for my liking. I wanted to see more of this world where merely going outside means packing nose plugs for the unbearable levels of smog, but you do get a very different reversal as far as POV is concerned because all we get for about half a book is the high and mighty inner advertisement company's take. Second half reveals just how utterly ridiculous and naive, to us at least, such a mindset is... not so much to people on the other side of the yoke, though. There is humor in The Space Merchants, but it's definitely rooted in satire and self-realization our protagonist goes through. Sadly, this also reflects itself in Courtenay kinda undergoing radical changes that could be justified and gradually eased into if only authors dedicated more time to them. At one point it seemingly comes off as someone turned the switch and things change simply because it's convenient for the story. That's not really a major negative and I don't phrase it as such on purpose, but I definitely felt something lacking in the characterization department for everyone involved.
Let's get to final words because I can't really talk about the book without spoilers considering much of it is a personal journey. I rather liked The Space Merchants and positives definitely outweigh the few negatives I've listed. Fascinating world , flat characters and future we can only pray never comes to fruition.
As mentioned above it is the future and consumerism has taken over the world. Not only consumerism in its most virulent form, but also one where advertisements and companies who create them are de facto kings of the world, second only to corporations running the world proper with even governments being little than their puppets. It is such a sorry state of affairs that doing things like putting actually addicting additives into foods and drinks is considered perfectly normal and constant aggressive marketing campaigns push it as such to popular who really are little more than literal “consumers” to people making such ads. Necessities like water have become increasingly scarce and are often priced on by-gulp basis, for example. Yet, there is hope that humanity could find new virgin ground to exploit with the possibility that Venus could be colonized. Having confirmed such an opportunity exists it spurs couple of advertising companies to make the idea appealing to population at large in order to justify the costs such a great endeavor would require.
It is in such a world that we see our main character Mitch Courtenay working as a star-class copywriter for Fowler Schocken advertising agency, one that ultimately wins the contract to sell Venus to the public, so to speak. He's very loyal to the idea of Sales and full-heartedly believes his boss Fowler Schocken has the right ideas. Unbeknownst to him, though, a lot is going on behind the scenes – from Fowler Shocken's rival company looking to circumvent corporate rules of “targeted executive hits” on rival companies, ever-growing and seemingly sensible revolutionary movement that's so utterly incomprehensible to corporate world, to ultimately his own life packing a surprise or two.
I'm not sure why it keeps happening in my recent book reviews, but I find myself thinking settings always end up being far more interesting than the characters. Such is the case in The Space Merchants. Courtenay himself is rather well fleshed out, but that's sort of expected from the protagonist – problem is this comes at the expense of pretty much all other characters being tokens and never seeing much development. Hell, some even ingloriously “snap” and are promptly taken out of the story just as you grow attached to them. But to be balanced this is not all horrible bad because, and I'm not spoiling anything when I say this, The Space Merchants is a Mitch Courtenay story as much as it happens to be a commentary of a rather ridiculous world. There is certain charm and dread to a world where most of the foodstuff is regenerated, meat comes from a growing tumor of flesh dubbed “Chicken Little” and your everyday coffee has addictive properties where you need to drink two liters a day to with recommended jug on your nightstand just in case you can't get enough of it. Mmmm-mmmm.
One drawback I could level against the book is that it was too short for my liking. I wanted to see more of this world where merely going outside means packing nose plugs for the unbearable levels of smog, but you do get a very different reversal as far as POV is concerned because all we get for about half a book is the high and mighty inner advertisement company's take. Second half reveals just how utterly ridiculous and naive, to us at least, such a mindset is... not so much to people on the other side of the yoke, though. There is humor in The Space Merchants, but it's definitely rooted in satire and self-realization our protagonist goes through. Sadly, this also reflects itself in Courtenay kinda undergoing radical changes that could be justified and gradually eased into if only authors dedicated more time to them. At one point it seemingly comes off as someone turned the switch and things change simply because it's convenient for the story. That's not really a major negative and I don't phrase it as such on purpose, but I definitely felt something lacking in the characterization department for everyone involved.
Let's get to final words because I can't really talk about the book without spoilers considering much of it is a personal journey. I rather liked The Space Merchants and positives definitely outweigh the few negatives I've listed. Fascinating world , flat characters and future we can only pray never comes to fruition.
socialamoebaemily's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book was amazing!!! It's Mad Men in space where corporations rule the world. Both terrifying and exhilarating. Highly highly recommend this novel!!! The only reason I'm not giving it 5 starts is because I don't think I could read it over and over and over but it was wonderful!!!
electrozombie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jnavbar's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
johnayliff's review
5.0
A satire about a future dominated by advertising companies, which remains at least as relevant today as it was in 1952. The plot is a fun, fast-moving adventure, in which the main character jets around the world and to the moon, evading various groups intent on murdering him and meanwhile trying to reconcile with his estranged wife. Where the book shines, though, is in the world-building. The future setting allows a familiar world with many amusing-but-scarily-plausible twists: addictive goods explicitly engineered to trap consumers in cycles of consumption; warfare between rival ad agencies; police replaced by private firms and congressmen representing corporations rather than voters.
We see this world through the eyes of a character who is both near the top of the advertising system that deliberately shapes the culture for corporate ends, and who has also himself been indoctrinated into the system. The quasi-religious way in which he sees his profession as noble, and his clearly dystopian world as a good one, is chilling, and becomes more so on reflecting back on the book after finishing it. An element of Orwellian doublethink is present--the character can't bring himself to think, let alone voice, thoughts that go against the system--but unlike in Nineteen Eighty-Four this is only implied rather than spelled out.
The world presented in The Space Merchants is actually very similar to that of Nineteen Eighty-Four, the main difference being that here it is profit-driven corporations, not governments, that dominate the world. This book may prove to be the more prescient of the two.
We see this world through the eyes of a character who is both near the top of the advertising system that deliberately shapes the culture for corporate ends, and who has also himself been indoctrinated into the system. The quasi-religious way in which he sees his profession as noble, and his clearly dystopian world as a good one, is chilling, and becomes more so on reflecting back on the book after finishing it. An element of Orwellian doublethink is present--the character can't bring himself to think, let alone voice, thoughts that go against the system--but unlike in Nineteen Eighty-Four this is only implied rather than spelled out.
The world presented in The Space Merchants is actually very similar to that of Nineteen Eighty-Four, the main difference being that here it is profit-driven corporations, not governments, that dominate the world. This book may prove to be the more prescient of the two.
infinispace's review against another edition
3.0
Full review: http://infinispace.net/2013/10/review-the-space-merchants-by-frederik-pohl-c-m-kornbluth/
carlylottsofbookz's review against another edition
3.0
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 fun book with some hilarious plot twists--a good quick read. :)
A fun book with some hilarious plot twists--a good quick read. :)