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Make Room! Make Room!

by Harry Harrison

3.60 · rating details · 728 ratings · 80 reviews

The world is crowded. Far too crowded. Its starving billions live on lentils, soya beans, and —if they’re lucky—the odd starving rat.

In a New York City groaning under the burden of 35 million inhabitants, detective Andy Rusch is engaged in a desperate and lonely hunt for a killer everyone has forgotten. For even in a world such as this, a policeman can find himself u...more

Paperback, 288 pages

Published April 1st 2008 by Orb Books (first published 1966)

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Jun 22, 2011

Stephen rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, audiobook, mystery, 1954-1969, world-in-the-shitter, science-fiction

4.5 to 5.0 stars. Color me happy and more than a little surprised to be rating this story as highly as I am because I went into it with pretty subdued expectations. I would say expectations about on par with those I would hold for the latest cinematic embarassment by Mr. Dickoless Cage. I know that is not very nice, but I will never forgive that talent free ass clown for effectively castrating GHOST RIDER in front of the general public, despite being a self-described fanboy of the character. T...more4.5 to 5.0 stars. Color me happy and more than a little surprised to be rating this story as highly as I am because I went into it with pretty subdued expectations. I would say expectations about on par with those I would hold for the latest cinematic embarassment by Mr. Dickoless Cage. I know that is not very nice, but I will never forgive that talent free ass clown for effectively castrating GHOST RIDER in front of the general public, despite being a self-described fanboy of the character. The guy should be tied up in a Pulp Fiction style basement and JAMhandled by the gimp. WOW, okay...I am way off on a tangent here aren't I?...let's get back to the book.

Where was I? Oh yeah, so this is an excellent novel and a very welcome surprise. Written in 1966 (but taking place in 1999) this book deals with the results of massive over-population and the depletion of natural resources (which of course we know could NEVER really happen and is just one of the wacky SF ideas these weirdo writers come up with). Anyway, while loosely framed as a mystery involving a hard-boiled detective investigating a murder, this plot device is really just a means by which the author explores the future society of New York City (population 35 Million, as opposed to the just under 10 Million of present day 2011).

What really grabbed me by the fruits about the story is the terrific sense of place that the author establishes through details about life in this "future" New York. Harrison is able to seamlessly weave into the narraive the most fascinating details about the world without resorting to big, drawn out expositional paragraphs. I, for one was very impressed by his control over his story.

We learn significant background details such as information involving food riots, foodstuffs made from plankton, soy bean and lentil steaks, ever increasing prices of commodities, water shortages, debates about birth control, and that all of the characters suffer from physical ailments resultng from mal-nutrition or disease. The author provides this well fleshed, intricate picture of the world without major info dumps and all within the flow story. Well done, sir. Well done indeed.

In addition to the exceptionally delivered background info, the characters are very much three dimensional and act pursuant to complex and subtle motivations which is unusual for this kind of short 60's science fiction novel. I was constantly impressed by the ability of the author to exceed my expectations.

This is a terriific story. While not up to the "all time great" status of a book like Stand on Zanzibar (which is my standard for this kind of science fiction story), this is certainly an outstanding story and among the best of its type I have read. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!(less)

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Jan 16, 2012

Osho rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, fantasy-science-fiction, disappointing

Well, okay enough for what it was, but A) (view spoiler) and B) (view spoiler) Leaving aside the movie, it's not very good as a novel (though fine as a polemic, and there's good world-building). As a plot, it's pretty basic, with no real twists (or at least, none that are really worked). The ending is pretty an...more

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Aug 09, 2010

Kernos rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: science-fiction

I was initially disappointed with novel on which the awesome movie Soylent Green was loosely based. This is a favorite movie which I've watched at least once a year since I recorded it on VHS. Loosely based is an understatement. The only things the book and movie have in common are the issue of over-population, two mentions of the word 'Soylent", Sol, a minor character in the book and Shirl, a much different character in the book. Tab is probably closest to the book's Tab. The entire plot i...more

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Dec 14, 2011

LE Fitzpatrick rated it

· review of another edition

I was extremely enthusiastic when I came across this book: a story written in the 1960's about the over populated future of 1999. The book is set in New York 1999, or rather in a hell-like New York 1999 and Harry Harrison's predictions about the future are scarily accurate at times. There are charming moments when this book betrays the year it was written, there is no mention of telephones or computers or any of the modern technology that the 1980's cultivated and that had become a staple of the...more

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Nov 14, 2010

♥Xeni♥ rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, fiction, movies-of-books, ebook, dystopian, thriller, mystery

Hmm, just finished and I have to say that it wasn't as exciting as the movie, Soylent Green. The framework for the movie is there, but the film took the whole plot to another level and created the famous tag line "soylent green is people".

Other than that, the book was actually an amusing sci-fi mystery read. Andy is a cop sent to find the killer of a high profile murder. While he is searching for the suspect (who is in hiding) we learn all about his life in the "modern"...more

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Jul 24, 2010

Becky rated it

· review of another edition

By the eve of the millennium Earth's population has exploded. New York City alone supports 35 million. There's not enough food or water, the rivers run dirty and the air is barely fit to breathe, and fossil fuels have long since been exhausted. And yet, birth control is a controversial concept that causes fear among the majority of the people, who revile it as "baby killing."

Andy Rusch, a good cop trying to make his way in a city that is able to provide less and less f...more

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May 06, 2010

Kathryn rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, sci-fi-fantasy

Reading "Make Room Make Room", I can understand why someone would want to make a movie out of this. Harrison creates a fascinating slice-of-life portrait of New York in a world where there simply isn't room. There's all sorts of interesting details about how people survive when there's no more meat (that any of US would want to eat, anyway), no steady supply of food other than crackers made from processed and crumbled seaweed, and next to no water. And you get strangely caught up in th...more

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Jan 27, 2010

Boody rated it

· review of another edition

Being a fan of the Stainless Steel Rat, Bill the Galactic Hero and Deathworld books when I was younger, I had to pick a copy of this up when I saw it cheap in a local book store.

It's been a long time since I saw Soylent Green the movie, so I ended up reading the book and waiting for the bits of the movie I vaguely remember to appear but it never really happened. Interesting to see that the cross promotion of loosely connected books/movies isn't a modern phenomenon.

Harri...more

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Jul 09, 2011

Roger Loran Bailey rated it

When I started this book I fully expected that I would give it at least four stars. Harry Harrison is one of the old-time science fiction writers who have given me so much enjoyment through the years and I may have even read this one in the distant past, but if I did I don't quite remember. I could not quite bring myself to give it so many stars though. I think the story may have worked better back in 1966 when it was first published, but even then the author set it in the too near future. It is...more

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Nov 24, 2010

Vivian rated it

· review of another edition

Vaguely remembered watching the movie, "Soylent Green" way back in the 70's, and vaguely remembered liking it. (I was a idealistic pre-teen at the time:)) I wondered if the book the movie was based on would equal the movie, but there were too many differences, and the plot at times dragged horribly. In fact, I'd say there is no real plot, since the book shows us a kind of "slice of life" of Manhattan, circa 1999 (30+ years in the future when the book was written), an overpopu...more

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Aug 01, 2009

Alastair rated it

This is an interesting vision of the future given that is was written in 1966 and set in 1999. It doesn't suffer from having too many ridiculous technological advances; anti-gravity drives, shiny silver suits, robots and so on. In fact, in Harrison's overcrowded world, a lot of technology has regressed in a very plausible way. The only areas where science seems to have progressed are in crowd-control and synthetic food production.

The book started very strongly, but the promising plo...more

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Oct 12, 2009

Rachel rated it

This was a really wonderful book. I read it before I watched the movie (Soylent Green), but because a co-worker told me about the movie. It was really interesting to watch the movie just after finishing the book and compare the two. In many ways they were almost polar opposite, but then again, the essentials were very much the same.

New York (and the entire world) are overpopulated and there is very little food and pretty much no space. According to the book the only decent place ...more

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Dec 22, 2011

Ruby rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, dystopia, classics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 2011 seems to have been the year of the dystopian novel for me. Along with parsing through the deluge of new YA arrivals, I decided to check out a few of the classics as a palate cleanser.

The first part of the book hooked me with its vivid detail of major city plagued by overpopulation. In my opinion, Harrison did a great job of making me feel the grittiness of summer sweat and the sticky press of too many bodies. I was even curious to see where the murder investigation would end up, b...more

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Jan 02, 2011

Katrina rated it

· review of another edition

This was the book Soylent Green was based off of. I was kind of disappointed there was no "Soylent Green is PEOPLE?!" moment. The book is about a cop in New York city in "the future" year of 1999, when the US has 344 million citizens and the whole world is ridiculously overcrowded and almost completely out of resourses. I didn't really like the book, because one, I was hoping for Soylent Green, two, since it's set in a future that's already in our past, it kept taking me out ...more

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May 25, 2009

Jen rated it

· review of another edition

I liked the first half of this book a lot more than the second half. There isn't a plot since it's a murder mystery where you know all the answers. It's more a slice of life in an overpopulated future than a story. The book starts off with great potential, but the characters seem to get bored of each other and drift apart, which I suppose enhances the feeling of anomie the author is trying to convey, but which doesn't really make for an entertaining read. I really, really liked it at first and w...more

like 1 like

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May 25, 2011

Rosie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm not quite sure what to make of this book. I've seen the film that was very loosely based upon it, Soylent Green, but I knew it would be nothing like it. Even standing on its own though, this book seems a bit lacklustre.

It seems to fall short of every category it attempts to fulfill. It is dystopian and has concepts which fit extremely well into that genre (water stations, Welfare cards, rations etc.) but it doesn't focus on these an awful lot or expand into them enough to truly ...moreI'm not quite sure what to make of this book. I've seen the film that was very loosely based upon it, Soylent Green, but I knew it would be nothing like it. Even standing on its own though, this book seems a bit lacklustre.

It seems to fall short of every category it attempts to fulfill. It is dystopian and has concepts which fit extremely well into that genre (water stations, Welfare cards, rations etc.) but it doesn't focus on these an awful lot or expand into them enough to truly *feel* dystopian when you're reading about Andy heading off to work - that's too normal. It seems to jar with the life of crime that Billy Chung seems to be living and the populations of people living in cars. There is always the murder case, but it's not even a 'whodunnit' as we know before the detective knows who the murderer is, it's just whether he will be found or not. And the romance part of it descends from passionate rather quickly to the mundane. Add these things to the lack of any positive resolution to any problems in the book (Sol dies, Shirl leaves, Billy is shot and Andy is reprimanded) just creates an entirely pointless book, it seems. They say every story is made up of three basic stages - "1. Get man up tree. 2. Throw rocks at man. 3. Get man out of tree." But in Make Room! Make Room! it's like he just left him up there and forgot the third stage.

And maybe that is the point. Maybe in order to emphasise the pointlessness of a society that has completely outgrown its resources he has made the efforts of his character ultimately pointless and so too that of any subplots. Yet when taking into consideration the extremely blatant use of Sol and Shirl's didactic discussions for Harrison to get his point across to the reader - show us, don't lecture us, Harry! - I can't quite believe that the author had that much skill and instead it just seems a case of poor writing that makes the book feel like it was just one meaningless excerpt out of thousands in this poor character's life, rather than a well-constructed story with a beginning, a middle and an end.

Overall, the concept is good and something that should probably be heeded in this day and age, but even though this was never going to be a feel-good book I just finished it not quite sure if I'm glad I read it.(less)

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Jul 31, 2009

Adam rated it

Shelves: audio

Overall a good, solid read. This book suffers the most from what I've seen in other Harry Harrison novels; namely that he gets people spot on but is way off with future prediction. In the Stainless Steel Rat books he has punchcards on spaceship computers. In this book he has birth control completely abolished in all forms. Granted, they way it's talked about in the book is very close to how we discuss abortion, but that would be reading in a false metaphor to switch the thesis like that.
...more

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Mar 07, 2010

Melissa Ames rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, uni-syllabus, made-into-movie

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I own Soylent Green and watched it once a couple of years ago, so I had a vague memory of it in the back of my mind as I read this book. About a third of the way into the boook i thought to myself that it wasn't going to play out in the same way the film had. And for that, I am glad. The book surpassed my expectations, and the research that obviously went behind it made it an even more harrowing tale than Soylent Green. I especially liked how Harrison used Eisenho...more

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Jul 15, 2009

Solange Dias rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2009

“Em 1950 os Estados Unidos – com apenas nove por cento da população mundial - estavam a consumir cinquenta por cento das matérias-primas mundiais. Esta percentagem não cessa de aumentar e dentro de quinze anos, com o actual índice de crescimento, os Estados Unidos estarão a consumir mais de oitenta e três por centro da produção anual de matérias-primas. No final do século, se o crescimento da nossa população continuar no mesmo ritmo, este país precisará de mais de cem por cento dos recursos do p...more

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Nov 13, 2009

Reinhold rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Der Roman New York 1999 (OT: Make Room! Make Room!) war die Grundlage für den Film "Jahr 2022 ... Die überleben wollen ..." (OT: Soylent Green). Die Intensität der Verfilmung brachte mich dazu, mir nun endlich auch dieses Werk dystopischer Literatur der Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts zu Gemüte zu führen. Bereits im Vorwort des 1966 entstandenen Romans spricht Harrison seine Motive für diesen Roman ganz deutlich an: "Im Jahre 1950 verbrauchten die Vereinigten Staaten mit nur 9,5 Prozen...moreDer Roman New York 1999 (OT: Make Room! Make Room!) war die Grundlage für den Film "Jahr 2022 ... Die überleben wollen ..." (OT: Soylent Green). Die Intensität der Verfilmung brachte mich dazu, mir nun endlich auch dieses Werk dystopischer Literatur der Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts zu Gemüte zu führen. Bereits im Vorwort des 1966 entstandenen Romans spricht Harrison seine Motive für diesen Roman ganz deutlich an: "Im Jahre 1950 verbrauchten die Vereinigten Staaten mit nur 9,5 Prozent der Weltbevölkerung 50 Prozent der Rohstoffe auf der Erde. Dieser Prozentsatz steigt ständig an, und bei der gegenwärtigen Wachstumsrate werden die Vereinigten Staaten binnen fünfzehn Jahren über 83 Prozent der Jahresproduktion aller Rohstoffe der Erde verbrauchen. Wenn die Bevölkerung im gleichen Maßstab weiter wächst, wird dieses Land zum Ende des Jahrhunderts mehr als 100 Prozent der Erdrohstoffe benötigen, falls der derzeitige Lebensstandard gehalten werden soll."

1999 leben in New York 35 Millionen Menschen, die Bedingungen sind katastrophal. Die Mehrheit der Bevölkerung kann sich nicht mehr ernähren und nur eine kleine Schicht Superreicher kann es sich richten. In diesem Umfeld wird der Verbrecher Big Mike selbst zum Opfer. Billy Chung tötet ihn als er bei einem Einbruch Big Mike überrascht in Panik gerät. Andy Rush wird beauftragt den Fall zu klären, verliebt sich dabei in die Lebensgefährtin von Big Mike (Shirl) und schließlich zieht Shirl zu Andy, der eine kleine Wohnung mit dem alten Sol bewohnt. Im Vordergrund steht aber, wie in Dystopien üblich, nicht der Kriminalfall oder die Liebesgeschichte, sondern ausschließlich die gesellschaftspolitische Entwicklung.

Sprachlich ist das Werk ordentlich gemacht aber nicht herausragend. Gerade gute Science Fiction zeichnet sich auch durch gute Sprache aus, und so sind nur die wahren Meister der Sprache auch zu den ganz großen des Genres aufgestiegen. Harry Harrison gehört zweifellos zu jenen die eine sauber Sprache zu nutzen wissen, an einen Ray Bradbury oder Stanislaw Lem reicht er dennoch nicht heran.

Ein Buch das vielleicht in mancherlei Hinsicht nicht ganz an die großen Konkurrenten wie "1984", "Brave New World" oder "Fahrenheit 451" heranreicht, das aber dennoch nicht unterschätzt werden darf. Insgesamt ist es jedenfalls lesenswert.(less)

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Jun 09, 2009

John Buckler rated it

· review of another edition

Never saw the movie "Soylent Green," which is apparently based on this book, but I'm loving the book. From my basic understanding of the movie Soylent Green, I'm going to guess it is as closely related to this book as the book "I am Legend" is to the Charlton Heston movie "The Omega Man," by which I mean not similar at all other than there being an event that takes place. This book is an interesting look at over-population and the catastrophic events it can lead t...more

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Nov 25, 2011

Steve Merrick rated it

· review of another edition

Bleak and unflinching is this depiction of a potential future for us all, the planet is more overcrowded that a london tube train at rush hour. I had no problem with the writing style and really had my tiny mind blown away by this book as a teenager, yet not wanting to give the story away I can only say you will love it or hate it. Yet what I can say of Make Room Make Room is that the story could still come true....

five stars for this on as it is a master piece.

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Dec 30, 2009

Hank rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 30, 2008

Manuel rated it

· review of another edition

One of the few cases where the movie is superior to the book.

The movie version of this book (Soylent Green) is a murder mystery that gets deeper and deeper into the conspiracy regarding the planet's food supply in a future Earth exhausted of its resorces. (still worth seeing as a classic sci-fi film)

Unfortunately the book has not aged well. When it came out in 1966 it probably had an inpact and served as a warning about the effects of over population and exploitatio...more

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Sep 28, 2010

Jasmine rated it

· review of another edition

This is the book that the movie Soylent Green was adapted from- I havent seen the movie, but from what I have heard this book is different in a lot of ways. It is about a cop investigating a murder amidst a life in 1999 when 35 million people inhabit NYC and the food/water/space shortages that exist. It was a quick read and the story moved along nicely- some heavy political undertones towards the end, but nothing that took away from the story.

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Mar 12, 2009

Beckie rated it

OK, so this is what "Soylent Green" was based on. It was a gritty, dark story. It could be a portent of things to come today just as it was back in the 60s. A poignant story to be sure--the subject matter certainly not what any of us want to consider could be reality. But the movie certainly invoked more raw emotion. The book didn't touch on the more "gritty" reality that the movie did. It was a good read. It is hard to classify this one. Worth thinking about, to be s...more

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Jan 05, 2010

Tiffani rated it

· review of another edition

Book that the movie "Soylent Green" was based on. Found it browsing the stacks at the library. I really enjoyed this book but was surprised that I didn't find the words or even allusions to the famous Soylent Green line of 'Soylent Green is people'. In the book, it's just exactly as it sounds, soy based protein. Still a great story and a warning of what overpopulation would almost surely bring.

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Nov 03, 2011

Matt Piechocinski rated it

· review of another edition

Man. I didn't think you could get anymore depressing than On the Beach. Well, I was wrong, at the other end of the apocalyptic spectrum, we have overpopulation (instead of nuclear annihilation). I'm also really glad that this turned out to be better than Bill the Galactic Hero, the other Harrison book I read. This sorta proves my opinion that authors are entitled to one dud.

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May 06, 2008

Kirsten rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Kirsten by: NY Times article

I decided to read this book after reading an article in the NY Times. They were going to re-release this book and they said that the movie Soylent Green was based on it. So, I checked out a 1966 Doubleday Science Fiction Club edition from my local library.

I really enjoyed this book. It read more like a noir mystery/crime novel than science fiction. It felt very realistic and, after finishing it, I can see why they are re-releasing it. It is even more relevant in 2008 than it was in 1...more

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Sep 03, 2011

Louise Armstrong rated it

· review of another edition

I'm surprised this was called a classic & reissued. Me, I found it dull. One idea, what the world will be like with too many people in it, and then a bit of 50s style crime, and a tart who leaves the hero cos he's got no money and, er, that's it. I guess scarcity of resources is a fashionable issue, but it's not my idea of good SF.

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About Harry Harrison

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey) is an American science fiction author best known for his character the The Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966), the basis for the film Soylent Green (1973). He is also (with Brian W. Aldiss) ...more

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Books by Harry Harrison

The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat, #1)

The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat, #1-3)

A Stainless Steel Rat is Born (Stainless Steel Rat, #0)

The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You! (Stainless Steel Rat, #4)

The Stainless Steel Rat for President (Stainless Steel Rat, #5)

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“Because of the power shortage and lack of replacement parts there was only one elevator running in the Empire State Building, and this one went only as high as the twenty-fifth floor. After that you walked.” — 1 person liked it

“He didn't say so but Andy agreed with the bodyguard. A good-looking bird like this one didn't have to kill anyone. What she did she did for D's and if a guy gave her too much trouble she'd just walk out and find someone else with money. Not murder.” — 1 person liked it

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