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A review by dan1066
The Inheritors by Joseph Conrad, Ford M. Hueffer
4.0
The Dimensionists were to come in swarms, to materialise, to devour like locusts, to be all the more irresistible because indistinguishable. They were to come like snow in the night: in the morning one would look out and find the world white; they were to come as the gray hairs come, to sap the strength of us as the years sap the strength of the muscles. As to methods, we should be treated as we ourselves treat the inferior races. There would be no fighting, no killing; we--our whole social system--would break as a beam snaps, because we were worm-eaten with altruism and ethics.
In 1901, Joseph Conrad and Ford Madox Ford (still writing as "Ford Madox Hueffer" at the time) decided to collaborate on the writing of a novel which would borrow some of the speculative elements from the recently published novels of H.G. Wells (such as The War of the Worlds (1898)). Essentially, they write a science-fiction novel, The Inheritors. Conrad was the more experienced writer at this point, having published Lord Jim one year earlier and Heart of Darkness two years earlier. Ford had yet to write his famous works. They worked out the main plot; Ford would write a chapter and Conrad would proof and revise. The result is a decent novel on the burgeoning power of the press but a relatively weak work of science fiction.
The authors describe a group of "Fourth Dimensionists" intent on destabilizing modern society in order to come to power in our world without the need for violence or war. A European duke attempts to get rich building a railroad in Greenland to help lift the "Esquimaux" to a civilized status; to garner financial support, the duke relies on an entrenched, liberal politician to sell the importance of this "humanitarian mission" and receive the support of England's government. The Fourth Dimensionists work behind the scenes, derailing the entire enterprise and destroying the careers of the duke and his backers and allowing one of their own members to rise in political power.
The novel is narrated by Etchingham Granger, a writer of "pathetic possiblity, hidden in the heart of the white paper that bore pen-markings of a kind too good to be marketable." He is our liasion with the Dimensionists, falling in love with one. While he believes he possesses free-will, the events of the novel reveal he is delusional in thinking his actions have any influence or effect on the machinations of the Dimensionists.
I am a fan of Joseph Conrad and I had never heard of this novel, which bridges the gap between Heart of Darkness and The Secret Agent. There are elements from both works. The duke's assertion his plan will civilize the Esquimaux echoes Conrad's examinations of the impact of commerce on the Congo. The careful manipulation of a small coterie of conspiricists willing to do whatever it takes to attain power is reworked and far more compelling in The Secret Agent. I enjoyed coming across passages I knew in my heart were penned by Conrad. His prose is inimitable and, when fully unleashed, breath-taking.
Overall, I wouldn't read this novel because it is "science fiction." Though intended to be a quick, popular novel to earn quick cash, it failed to do so and, in my opinion, did not influence later works of science fiction. The novel of a gifted novelist selling out to make a quick buck--and Conrad and Ford are being self-reflective in this endeavor--is the heart of this novel. Granger doesn't always make sense, but his descent down the slippery slope prepared by the Dimensionists is compelling. There was a lot of untilized potential in this novel. I wanted to know more about the Dimensionists, but the authors leave behind more questions than answers regarding their nature.
In 1901, Joseph Conrad and Ford Madox Ford (still writing as "Ford Madox Hueffer" at the time) decided to collaborate on the writing of a novel which would borrow some of the speculative elements from the recently published novels of H.G. Wells (such as The War of the Worlds (1898)). Essentially, they write a science-fiction novel, The Inheritors. Conrad was the more experienced writer at this point, having published Lord Jim one year earlier and Heart of Darkness two years earlier. Ford had yet to write his famous works. They worked out the main plot; Ford would write a chapter and Conrad would proof and revise. The result is a decent novel on the burgeoning power of the press but a relatively weak work of science fiction.
The authors describe a group of "Fourth Dimensionists" intent on destabilizing modern society in order to come to power in our world without the need for violence or war. A European duke attempts to get rich building a railroad in Greenland to help lift the "Esquimaux" to a civilized status; to garner financial support, the duke relies on an entrenched, liberal politician to sell the importance of this "humanitarian mission" and receive the support of England's government. The Fourth Dimensionists work behind the scenes, derailing the entire enterprise and destroying the careers of the duke and his backers and allowing one of their own members to rise in political power.
The novel is narrated by Etchingham Granger, a writer of "pathetic possiblity, hidden in the heart of the white paper that bore pen-markings of a kind too good to be marketable." He is our liasion with the Dimensionists, falling in love with one. While he believes he possesses free-will, the events of the novel reveal he is delusional in thinking his actions have any influence or effect on the machinations of the Dimensionists.
I am a fan of Joseph Conrad and I had never heard of this novel, which bridges the gap between Heart of Darkness and The Secret Agent. There are elements from both works. The duke's assertion his plan will civilize the Esquimaux echoes Conrad's examinations of the impact of commerce on the Congo. The careful manipulation of a small coterie of conspiricists willing to do whatever it takes to attain power is reworked and far more compelling in The Secret Agent. I enjoyed coming across passages I knew in my heart were penned by Conrad. His prose is inimitable and, when fully unleashed, breath-taking.
Overall, I wouldn't read this novel because it is "science fiction." Though intended to be a quick, popular novel to earn quick cash, it failed to do so and, in my opinion, did not influence later works of science fiction. The novel of a gifted novelist selling out to make a quick buck--and Conrad and Ford are being self-reflective in this endeavor--is the heart of this novel. Granger doesn't always make sense, but his descent down the slippery slope prepared by the Dimensionists is compelling. There was a lot of untilized potential in this novel. I wanted to know more about the Dimensionists, but the authors leave behind more questions than answers regarding their nature.