book data
174 ratings, 4.13 average rating, 22 reviews
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published
February 1st 1983
(first published 1968)
by Del Rey
binding
Mass Market Paperback
literary awards
Hugo Award for Best Novel (1969)
isbn
0345312120
(isbn13: 9780345312129)
description
A Hugo-award-winning novel of over-population, poitical struggles, and warped ethics. "A quite marvelous projection in which John Brunner landsca...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 301)
recommends it for:
People who like science fiction
I've read this book twice now, once a few months back and once in the early 90's. While I still greatly enjoyed the novel, it didn't stand up to a second reading as well as I thought it might.
'Stand on Zanzibar' is told in a very modern style that could be off-putting to some, although it is far more approachable than some other canonical stories from experimental 'New Wave' science fiction from the same period. And, as 'New Wave' there is some casual brutality to the story that some other...more
'Stand on Zanzibar' is told in a very modern style that could be off-putting to some, although it is far more approachable than some other canonical stories from experimental 'New Wave' science fiction from the same period. And, as 'New Wave' there is some casual brutality to the story that some other...more
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Read in January, 1969
recommended to erik by:
no onerecommends it for: everyone
Reading this before discovering DosPassos' U.S.A., I was mightily impressed by Brunner's originality of technique. Discovering U.S.A., I was even more impressed by DosPassos, of course, but did not fault Brunner's employment of the other's proven methods for painting an enormous, richly textured picture of a possible future.
The book was anxiety-provoking in 1969. The accuracy of many of Brunner's predictions makes one wonder about the increasingly large subgenre of science fiction books wh...more
The book was anxiety-provoking in 1969. The accuracy of many of Brunner's predictions makes one wonder about the increasingly large subgenre of science fiction books wh...more
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Read in January, 1989
recommends it for:
sci-fi fans and not-so sci-fi fans, fans of extrapolated sociology
This and "The Sheep Look Up" are Brunner's masterworks, though there are dozens of worthwhile reads from his amazing pen. This involved work, structurally based on John Dos Passos' "U.S.A. trilogy," gives a full worldview of what was then a not-too-distant future. Brunner had a knack for extrapolating current events and where they were likely to lead, and what we have in "Stand on Zanzibar" is a world that is in many ways like the one in which we now live. A cloak-a...more
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Read in January, 2002
this is perhaps one of the most prescient science fiction novels ever written.
i picked this up relatively recently, aware that it had a certain reputation as a classic of the genre, but also expecting it to have aged relatively badly, like many classics of the time. i was aiming to fill a gap in my reading, but wasn't expecting it to be particularly enjoyable.
as it is i was very pleasantly surprised. Brunner's style is very contemporary and not in the least stuffy. his speculative scienc...more
i picked this up relatively recently, aware that it had a certain reputation as a classic of the genre, but also expecting it to have aged relatively badly, like many classics of the time. i was aiming to fill a gap in my reading, but wasn't expecting it to be particularly enjoyable.
as it is i was very pleasantly surprised. Brunner's style is very contemporary and not in the least stuffy. his speculative scienc...more
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Read in June, 2007
SF. I can't even begin to summarize this book. It's not so much a novel as a series of interconnected news broadcasts, first person accounts, book excerpts, police reports, history lessons, folk tales, and a couple characters thrown in just to move the plot along. Plot: The earth is seriously overpopulated, population control has reached new levels of oppression, and big business seems to be running the global economy with the help of computer prophet Shalmaneser. There are also spies. And a pre...more
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trying to make my way through it! It has a great reputation and has been around for years, but it's written in a way that's not easy to read.
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Read in January, 1973
This is a terrific study of a capitalist society spinning out of control. It's not so much an indictment of capitalism as it is an indictment of not examining the world one lives in and trying to change it. Interestingly enough many of the plot components . . . environmental problems, terrorism, declining literacy, strained resources and many others . . . echo in today's world. If you like introspection and are a student of civilization, this is a good read. I liked it so much I managed to find...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Matt by:
Karl Kindtrecommends it for: Fans of Thomas Pynchon and Philip K. Dick
Fantastic find for me -- given to me by my brother with his recommendation. It starts out very slow and kind of disconnected. There's a hint of spies on the first few pages and all kinds of other craziness. Experimental in a good way -- with excerpts from books-within-the-book by Chad C. Mulligan. Very neat -- Chad was the best character in the book. The scary thing about reading this today is that it was written in the 60s and most of the genetic predictions and "muckers" that go craz...more
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Read in December, 1991
recommends it for:
Everyone
This book is about NOW. Set in the early 21st century it illuminates all the perils we face and are just about to face. It tears away the veneer of complacency we've built up to convince ourselves that everything is all right.
What amazes me is that it was written in the 60's. John Brunner must have had a crystal ball. Or perhaps he was just a genius. My money's on the latter.
What amazes me is that it was written in the 60's. John Brunner must have had a crystal ball. Or perhaps he was just a genius. My money's on the latter.
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recommends it for:
anyone
a true classic - Stand on Zanzibar is one of those books you live in, great characters, one of which, Shalmaneser, is a sentient computer that is most likely nuts. It's also the first novel I recall reading that had terrorists, and way nasty ones at that. A dystopian extravaganza, it goes on my Must Read Again list.
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Read in August, 2004
Paranoid, pessimistic view of the future. New-wave SF written in the 60's, it's a little dated in some aspects. But some of it is very eerily prescient too. It's about the ways our society can and can't cope with the overpopulation problem. Reading it now, you realize we live in that world right now.
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this is both amazingly fun and work to read; one of the most chilling and accurate predictions of the future we live in/are creating now that i have ever read; he wrote this in 1968 and saw the convergence of media and technology, and the rise of a colombine, perpetual war society...
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I was amazed by this book--and also a little bewildered. There was so much going on that I found it hard to follow everything. However, I stuck it out and it all made sense in the end. I would like to read it again, just to see what new things I could get out of it.
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Read in November, 2007
5.0 stars (Would give more if I could). One of my all time favorites. A staggering novel. Rich in characters and in depth of story but still moves very quickly and deals with some very important issues. An absolute classic.
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A good book. Very hard to follow. The writing style seems to be drug-induced. Worth reading if you can make it past the first 300 pages. The second half is better. It should have been a much shorter book.
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Welcome to the future, as seen from the past. Startlingly prescient in places, wildly off in others, but a rare example of a fully human and three-dimensional world spun from thin air.
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this falls into the category of books that appeal to me because they depict beautiful things senselessly destroyed.
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3 comments
Read in January, 1985
recommends it for:
SF readers
Epic world-spanning tome on the effects of overpopulation. More relevant today than when it was writtern.
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Read in January, 1980
My mom gave me this to read when I was in Junior High, I wonder if I would get more out of it now.
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Read in July, 2008
a collage from which a narrative emerges, like watching a cloud form.
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