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Harm
From one of science fiction’s greatest living writers comes an unforgettable near-future novel in the hortatory tradition of Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Orwell’s 1984, and Dick’s A Scanner Darkly. Both a searing indictment of a fear-drenched political climate and a visionary allegory that shines a piercing light on timeless human verities, HARM is a powerfully compact maste...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
May 29th 2007
by Del Rey
(first published 2007)
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John
rated it
Recommends it for:
People who didn't stop Lord Foul's Bane in the first 50 pages, dystopianists
Shelves:
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I am a fan of the few books that Aldiss has written or edited. He has an excellent eye for description and detail.
In HARM, he looks at current political events with a critical eye towards all of humanity. Blind faith (Christian) is assailed, as is pedantic, arrogant science. His anti-hero, Paul, a British Muslim, is a character about whom no past is known. Suspicious in his form on Earth (does the government have a reason for watching him), and vile in his form on Stygia, where he...more
In HARM, he looks at current political events with a critical eye towards all of humanity. Blind faith (Christian) is assailed, as is pedantic, arrogant science. His anti-hero, Paul, a British Muslim, is a character about whom no past is known. Suspicious in his form on Earth (does the government have a reason for watching him), and vile in his form on Stygia, where he...more
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Aldiss, the old science fiction master, is quintessentially English even in tackling what's essentially an American topic--the Patriot Act and the assault on liberty under the Bush administration. He transports this fight to England, where a fully assimilated Muslim author makes a very English bad joke about the country's leader and is imprisoned as a suspected terrorist and tortured. The torture drives him insane and into a science fiction world.
This book needed to be written. We...more
This book needed to be written. We...more
This book seems like it would be two great short stories. There are two distinct storylines, which never seem to flow naturally into one another. Part of that has to do with the relatively short length of the book--there's never enough time to fully flesh out either story arc, and certainly not enough time to mesh them together. The book, as is, would be a great outline for a much longer, more detailed book.
That said, there are plenty of things to like about it. Aldiss has a good r...more
That said, there are plenty of things to like about it. Aldiss has a good r...more
Ack gack torture squick. Couldn't even make it through a chapter.
This is an amazing book. Brian Aldiss himself never fails to amaze...
In this book, Brian Aldiss - the sci fi writer - takes on the world of post 911 - complete with Abu Ghraib-esque prisoner.
This prisoner, an English-Muslim, seems to take refuge in an alternate personality in order to survive his ordeals. That personality, one which has landed and been reconstituted by a space-faring ship on a new planet - has it's own dillemas and life-situations to resolve. Strange...more
In this book, Brian Aldiss - the sci fi writer - takes on the world of post 911 - complete with Abu Ghraib-esque prisoner.
This prisoner, an English-Muslim, seems to take refuge in an alternate personality in order to survive his ordeals. That personality, one which has landed and been reconstituted by a space-faring ship on a new planet - has it's own dillemas and life-situations to resolve. Strange...more
This book is part SciFi, part commentary on the socio-ethnic ramifications of the modern hunt for those that are different (ie, the War For Terror). The main character seems to have a split personality, where he is living 2 very different lives.
One is in the not too distant future, where he is a British Muslim. As a British Muslim, he has written a book where the Prime Minister gets assassinated. Due to how the government takes this, he is taken prisoner, and tortured for being a ...more
One is in the not too distant future, where he is a British Muslim. As a British Muslim, he has written a book where the Prime Minister gets assassinated. Due to how the government takes this, he is taken prisoner, and tortured for being a ...more
Christy
rated it
Wow. This is a vivid and devastating vision of the ways in which U.S. and British politics have been taken over by fear and paranoia. One part of the novel, set in a detainment prison, speaks directly to the institution of camps like Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib within cultures that are supposedly civilized. Paul Fadhil Abbas Ali, a Muslim British writer, has been imprisoned on suspicion of association with terrorists and encouragement of terrorist actions (like assassinating the prime minister). W...more
A 2nd generation british immigrant is tortured for offhand remarks in a comic novel, in a black prison run by a british government ministry, in a kafkaesque farce of abuse and torture, while a parallel plot takes place in an escapist science fiction universe that the protagonist retreats to for escape, which mirrors the iniquities of the real world. Could take or leave it, neither storyline could stand on their own, and their interplay provided the only meat of the piece.
I found this book to be quite disturbing.
Reading it was like going to the carnival and looking into one of the mirrors that distorts its reflection to see if I could learn anything from it, only to find that the reflection showed everything ugly, petty, and foolish.
The title is "Harm", it might just as well be "Dark". It deals with our current religious "clash of cultures" (which are nothing more than thinly disguised resource wars) and all of ...more
Reading it was like going to the carnival and looking into one of the mirrors that distorts its reflection to see if I could learn anything from it, only to find that the reflection showed everything ugly, petty, and foolish.
The title is "Harm", it might just as well be "Dark". It deals with our current religious "clash of cultures" (which are nothing more than thinly disguised resource wars) and all of ...more
meh. Dark and bleak is right. Not at all subtle, but it could use some subtlety. Don't really give a shit about his characters. And of course, the poor tortured victim is a writer who innocently dared to make a statement. Not an actor, newscaster, musician, poet, philosopher, politician, artist or anyone else, but a writer. Just sayin'.
This book is both grim and bleak. It's cleverly and powerfully written but not in the least subtle. It looks at the British political and societal scene as of right now and pretty much damns everybody: the political class for reactionary abuse of power, repression of its citizens and persecution of minorities. Immigrants for not culturally integrating. The religious for abdicating reason. The scientific community for abandoning ethics. Human nature is found to be fundamentally pretty disgusting....more
Although a huge Aldiss fan, this was too dark, bleak for me right now. Maybe another time. I normally love dark, bleak!
A mediocre Kafkaesque tale of an innocent British Muslim tortured by British security on the one hand and his alter ego on another planet trying to survive and make sense of the fear, ignorance, and barbarity of the population trying to colonize that planet. Allegorically speaking there was probably more to this book than I realize, but it just didn't hold my interest.
The creation of a new world to serve as a haven for a man under torture, a new world where the man himself is under torture from different angles... Interesting composite of current affairs and science fiction.
I couldn't finish this, even though i thought it had interesting political commentary on post-9-11 government repression. Everytime i read a rape scene where the woman thereafter says, "I love you," it just ruins it somehow...I couldn't pick the book back up after that.
this is quite interesting. im only halfway through, though. iwill add more later. i appreciate authors tackling important issues even if it doesn't become their best work.
Cjswin
marked it as to-read
Lucian
marked it as to-read
Waleed Hanafi
added it
Frank
marked it as to-read
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Brian Wilson Aldiss is one of the most important voices in science fiction writing today. He wrote his first novel while working as a bookseller in Oxford. Shortly afterwards he wrote his first work of science fiction and soon gained international recognition. Adored for his...more
More about Brian W. Aldiss...
Brian Wilson Aldiss is one of the most important voices in science fiction writing today. He wrote his first novel while working as a bookseller in Oxford. Shortly afterwards he wrote his first work of science fiction and soon gained international recognition. Adored for his...more
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