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Simulacron 3

3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 · rating details · 123 ratings · 23 reviews

It is a jangling and disintegrating near-future, a world in which virtual reality has become the primary means of entertainment and the more significant part of life for most of the population. Here, Douglas Hall´s employer, Horace Siskin, the President of Reaction Inc., has created a synthetic world as a demonstration; a virtual l937 New Orleans in which Hall and his supe...more

Paperback, 186 pages

Published January 4th 1999 by J'ai lu (first published January 1st 1964)

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Jun 27, 2010 Robert rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Summary

1. Excellent book with an interesting premise of a world in which a simulation (like what now is called virtual reality) has been developed and the developers of the simulation discover in the process that their own world is a simulation run from a higher reality in the same way, thus they themselves are not any more real than the simulated people they invented. The 3 in Simulacron-3 might be regarded as a pun, in that in the main character world, it...more Review material offline for more work.

Summary

1. Excellent book with an interesting premise of a world in which a simulation (like what now is called virtual reality) has been developed and the developers of the simulation discover in the process that their own world is a simulation run from a higher reality in the same way, thus they themselves are not any more real than the simulated people they invented. The 3 in Simulacron-3 might be regarded as a pun, in that in the main character world, it is the third model after two that did not quite work out, and that there are three layers of reality in the overall work, the higher reality, the main character reality where most of the story is told that is a simulation run from above, and the simulation invented by the simulated people of the main character's reality inside Simulacron-3.

2. Has many characteristics prized in Philip K. Dick of the same era. In particular, an uncertain and shifting view of reality and relentless paranoia. This goes beyond the constant action flow that is characteristic of genre SF of the period. That basic style is plainly on display in this book.

3. Manages a happy ending without the dreadful "Hollywood Ending" or a Deus Ex Machina. There is a sort of Rabbit out of the Hat quality but it is well motivated by the story premise and development. The story is first person, the resolution depends on the actions of a second person who, for sufficient reason, is not sharing the plan with the narrator.

4. The movie made from it, The Thirteenth Floor, is a very faithful adaptation of the story line and main characters, better in that respect than Blade Runner, for example, that was inflicted with one of the most blatant "Hollywood Endings" I have ever seen inflicted on a good book. Most of the sociological premises having to do with opinion polling, the reason for the simulations, have been trimmed. This is comparable to, but actually less severe than, the omission of Mercerism in Blade Runner, that few complain about. It was the movie that brought this book to my attention. The book is not well known, at least not outside the world of genre connoisseurs, and not readily obtained except at collector prices (at least since the movie came out) of $40 or more (except French language editions). For that reason I bought my first Kindle book (using Kindle on PC, a free download) to get it for about $5.

4a. There is also an even more faithful and much longer adaptation by Werner Fassbinder for German TV (2 parts, 205 minutes total) Welt am Draht (World on a Wire).

5. Galouye is a first rate author in this field but with few works. He died in his fifties, but so did Philip K. Dick would produced more work in about the same life span. He was working similar ground in this work as Dick was in stories like Eye in the Sky (but without as tart a social point as McCarthyism underneath, but rather in this case a critique of pervasive and increasingly invasive opinion polling.) Neither Galouye or Dick have the gift for satirical humor of their contemporary Robert Sheckley or of the later Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett.
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Feb 16, 2010 Erik Graff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Matrix fans

Recommended to Erik by: no one

Shelves: sf

During the summers of childhood, while Mom and I were up at Grandmother's cottage in Michigan and Dad would come up for weekends and his annual all-American two-week vacation, we rarely got to town beyond trips to the IGA in Bridgman. A trip to the nearest metropolis, St. Joe/Benton Harbor, was a big deal, usually only happening when the car was having trouble. On those rare occasions Dad would always stop at Gillespie's Drugs which, in his opinion, had been serving the best chocolate milk shake...more

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Jun 13, 2013 Christian Heilmann rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is an absolute gem of a book. Science fiction without the "pew pew pew lasers!" but instead some interesting social criticism and philosophical pondering of what a computer simulated world would mean to people behaving in it and people in the "real world" interacting with it. Think "Brave new world" meets Neuromancer, written in a very fast pace that is easy to understand and feel empathy with the angst of the main character. A man in power who sees a lot of his world changing and collapsin...more

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Sep 09, 2009 Sarah Sammis rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: pc, read-in-2009, challenge

A Preamble:

Simulacron-3 is one of about a hundred books I've had for as long as I've been a serious reader. When I got bitten by the reading bug back in 1987 I started to collect books by two criteria: they had to be affordable and they had to be hard to come by. Rather than spend my babysitting money on the then popular books, I tended to go for old books and ones I had never heard of.

As I was collecting the books, often paying a dime or quarter for each, I was also reading books for school and...more A Preamble:

Simulacron-3 is one of about a hundred books I've had for as long as I've been a serious reader. When I got bitten by the reading bug back in 1987 I started to collect books by two criteria: they had to be affordable and they had to be hard to come by. Rather than spend my babysitting money on the then popular books, I tended to go for old books and ones I had never heard of.

As I was collecting the books, often paying a dime or quarter for each, I was also reading books for school and working my way through the library's collection of science fiction and mysteries. In other words, my shelf devoted to my books quickly filled up and I read maybe a percentage of them.

About ten years after I bought Simulacron-3 by Daniel F. Galouye my husband and I went to see a fun science fiction film, The Thirteen Floor. Now I'm normally a compulsive reader of credits but I did not catch Simulcron-3 mentioned as the source material. If I had, I probably wouldn't have even remembered that I owned the book. So the book remained unread and stashed with my original 100.

Five years later I decided to register my original 100 with the hope of finally reading them and releasing the books I didn't want to read again or didn't think my husband or children wanted to read. A Bookcrossing friend contacted me shortly after I had registered the book and asked to borrow it, pointing out the connection to The Thirteen Floor. After I got over my surprise I found the book and sent it to her.

Five more years and I have finally read it. Most of my reading commitments are now finished and I have been enjoying a year of reading mostly what I want. Part of that reading for fun is to finally go through that original 100.

The review:

Simulacron-3 by Daniel F. Galouye begins as a murder mystery set in a computer lab. But it quickly embraces its science fiction setting to explore philosophical notions of reality, consciousness and soul. The title is a pun on "simulacrum" meaning the representation of something often intangible (such as a God). The "crum" has become cron (short for chronograph jobs). The "3" hints at the three levels of reality that Douglas Hall becomes aware of as his own life is endangered.

Things go awry for Douglas Hall when fellow researcher Morton Lynch goes missing and then another colleague, Hannon Fuller is murdered. Hall finds himself accused of both crimes but he has no memory of having committed any crime.

The clues to solving the murders come though from Rien Reactions marketing research based simulator, the Simulacron-3. The ways in which Hall and the other researchers can interact with the Units who "live" in their pre-programmed city would witness the sorts of odd inconsistencies in their reality as the researchers enter and leave the simulation or reprogram the world to try different situations.

As Douglas Hall begins to think he too might be a Unit in a simulation that has gotten so real as to mimic the building of a simulator like that of the real world the book really takes off. I think all my years of playing different Sim games made the book all the more perversely enjoyable. Douglas ends up trying to hide from the creator of the simulator and has the whole world trying to kill him.

My favorite quote from the book comes on page 108: "I couldn't dismiss the incongruity implicit in the need of an immaterial being for immaterial food." It brought to mind a fun evening of Sim torture while playing The Sims. (less)

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Feb 03, 2013 Franky rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: the-hard-challenge, sci-fi

I found out about this novel after watching The Thirteenth Floor, one of my favorite sci-fi films from the 90s, but a film little known or given much fanfare (probably because it was out around the time of The Matrix). Based on the film The Thirteenth Floor, Simulacron 3 is very Matrix-like, a book that deals with the possibilities of dual realities.

Galouye’s novel is a rare gem of a science fiction in many ways. Innovative, creative, and profound, it is a novel that clearly was before its time...more I found out about this novel after watching The Thirteenth Floor, one of my favorite sci-fi films from the 90s, but a film little known or given much fanfare (probably because it was out around the time of The Matrix). Based on the film The Thirteenth Floor, Simulacron 3 is very Matrix-like, a book that deals with the possibilities of dual realities.

Galouye’s novel is a rare gem of a science fiction in many ways. Innovative, creative, and profound, it is a novel that clearly was before its time, a landmark for the “virtual reality” story. In the novel, Douglas Hall is employed with a company that helps produce artificial environments through simulation. Part of the work helps to project what human behavior would be like in a real-life situation; in a sense, the simulation is geared towards creating a more utopia-driven society. The simulation also allows someone to experience a social environment outside of reality.

When Hannon Fuller, one of the heads of the company, dies under mysterious circumstances, it is a red flag to Hall that many things are not as they seem; corruption may exist in the company. Things get more puzzling and foreboding when Hall’s associates begin to “disappear.” As Hall probes further into the workings of this simulator project within the company, he begins to question the elements of illusion and reality, those lines becoming seemingly linked together. To make matters worse for Hall , he becomes a person of interest in the murder of Fuller. Jinx Fuller, Fuller’s daughter, enters the scene, and Hall suspects that she may hold the key to understanding what is taking place.

Admittedly, the story, much like The Matrix or The Thirteenth Floor, becomes murky, convoluted and confusing at points, as we shift from time and place quite often. The story has a way of getting “lost” in itself sometimes. Some of the technological jargon and vocabulary are a bit of a chore to navigate through also, but this becomes easier as the novel progresses.

The mystery aspect to the novel is quite fascinating, though, and it builds as Hall discovers more and more clues about his world.

The themes explored in Simulacron 3 are thought-provoking and deep. One such idea explored is the infiniteness of time. At the heart and core of the novel is the question of what life, being human and existence really are. What constitutes being human? Is artificial reality a form of life? As other reviewers have attested to, there is a paranoid feeling or atmosphere as we discover more answers as the novel progresses.

Simulacron 3 is a novel that really makes you think about possibilities of existence, and it is recommended for any sci-fi fans.
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May 30, 2013 Frankie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've always been fascinated with The Matrix films, because the philosophy or theory behind it is essentially strong and applicable, not in reality of course but in storytelling. The Cartesian possibility of an illusive existence is hardly original, but it gives rise to a fictional world that technology encourages, like Asimov's robot laws.

There was a second film that came out around the same time, called The Thirteenth Floor, with a similar concept. Recently, my friend Erik lent me the made-for...more I've always been fascinated with The Matrix films, because the philosophy or theory behind it is essentially strong and applicable, not in reality of course but in storytelling. The Cartesian possibility of an illusive existence is hardly original, but it gives rise to a fictional world that technology encourages, like Asimov's robot laws.

There was a second film that came out around the same time, called The Thirteenth Floor, with a similar concept. Recently, my friend Erik lent me the made-for-tv movie World on a Wire. Both films originate from Simulacron-3. World on a Wire aired on German television in '73 and follows the book closely, with obvious concessions made for budget (no hovering cars, etc) and stylization.

The theme is existential and for many readers probably disconcerting. More than just the standard deistic angst, Simulacron-3 questions the meaning of existence on a universal and literal scale. Jinx says on p155 "There's no assurance whatever … that material things are actually material, substantial. And as for a soul, who ever said the spirit of a person had to be associated, in degree, with something physical?"

It's not all doom and gloom. It also introduces a few hopeful concepts. One is the idea that a pair of identical people can develop quite differently, even in identical environments. This theme of choice is crucial to the plot of The Matrix in the sequels. In a world of illusion, choice becomes the only individual control, and Hall's choices keep him from becoming like his other self. In this way, Sim3 is really a 'sins of the father' type of story, but with fate and technology playing the bad guys.

Which brings up the fact that this sort of story is not far from being a time travel tale. Jinx is traveling back to a pre-evil Hall, and succeeds in her quest, but in this sense is doomed to repeat history… One more theme that's common is the doubling of characters, or parallels. Some of the parallels are blatant, since there are mirrored worlds. But one that may not be obvious is Dorothy and Siskin as paralleling the Operator and Jinx. At least on a political level, Dorothy is doomed to chase Siskin into his simulacra as well.

There are some little problems with the story. It reads as if it was forced into a novella size. The scene in the woods with the animals seems ridiculous and fantastical, as does the masochistic behavior of the Operator. But overall, this book, written when computers were essentially calculators, is astoundingly prescient. (less)

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Jun 07, 2012 Jeremy S. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another stellar sci-fi work from the 1960's. This first got on my radar because it's the source material for Rainer Fassbinder's groundbreaking 1972 German tele-play "World on a Wire". Upon further investigation, it also inspired "The 13th Floor" and countless other well known works, including The Matrix.

After reading it, I can definitely see why it's so pioneering. It's a superb example of paranoia and characters lost in different worlds. We never know what or who is real and the mystery takes...more

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Apr 20, 2009 Nicolas rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: anticipation, rayon-fantasy-et-sf

Il est des romans qui, sans être proprement exceptionnels, vous parlent avec une force peu commune. Celui-ci en fait partie, par les thèmes abordés ainsi que la manière de les traiter. La thématique, tout d’abord, ne semble actuellement en rien innovante. Peut-être qu’à la sortie du roman, en 1964, alors que Dick n’avait pas, je crois, écrit ses romans les plus emblématiques (comme par exemple Le dieu venu du Centaure, Ubik ou d’autres), cette mise en abyme de la réalité était novatrice. Sans do...more Il est des romans qui, sans être proprement exceptionnels, vous parlent avec une force peu commune. Celui-ci en fait partie, par les thèmes abordés ainsi que la manière de les traiter. La thématique, tout d’abord, ne semble actuellement en rien innovante. Peut-être qu’à la sortie du roman, en 1964, alors que Dick n’avait pas, je crois, écrit ses romans les plus emblématiques (comme par exemple Le dieu venu du Centaure, Ubik ou d’autres), cette mise en abyme de la réalité était novatrice. Sans doute, même, que Galouye a été considéré pendant un temps comme un auteur très novateur.
Malheureusement pour lui, la réalité virtuelle est passée par là, et son habile Simulacron 3 a du mal à courir après des oeuvres comme Matrix ou Existenz, sans même parler des innombrables romans de science-fiction évoquant l’impossible différence entre réalité et virtualité. Bien sûr, ce thème reste, et devient même chaque jour un peu plus, d’une brûlante actualité.
Toutefois, ce roman a largement vieilli, et le laboratoire hébergeant le simulateur, digne d’accueillir l’ENIAC, n’est vraiment plus au goût du jour. Dans le même ordre d’idées, les cylindres magnétiques à mémoire ne me semblent plus à la pointe du progrès. Cependant, le thème reste intéressant. Malheureusement, le scénario, digne de la quatrième dimension, n’est pas non plus réellement à la hauteur. Même si l’auteur, dans une veine typiquement lovecraftienne(1), espère nous demander si le héros est effectivement paranoïaque, ou si sa réalité n’est qu’une illusion. Bien sûr, le lecteur (moi, en l’occurence) a désormais suffisement d’éducation pour que, lorsqu’un directeur de recherche sur un projet de réalité virtuelle s’interroge sur sa propre réalité, il a bien raison d’en douter. Mais l’auteur ne le savait pas, et insiste donc douloureusement dans une veine qui ne lui apportera que des déceptions. Enfin, le dernier point réellement décevant est la conclusion, dans laquelle le héros se relève, dans une réalité plus réelle, et se dit qu’il est dans la réalité. Ne peut-il pas se demander si, à son tour, celle-ci n’est qu’un autre miroir d’ombres ? Apparement, non. Tant pis pour lui.
Bien sûr, cet avis va sembler très dur. Mais ça n’est pas le cas. Ce roman est assez agréable, comme curiosité historique. Malheureusement, il a trop vieilli maintenant, et devrait donc reposer au panthéon des gloires oubliées.

(1) Tout le monde sait en effet qu’il est plus facile de masquer l’apparition d’un monde venu d’outre espace derrière les anodines portes d’un asile d’aliéné que, par exemple, dans une secte sataniste.(less)

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Aug 19, 2012 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

This is a book chock full of some wonderful, mindbending ideas. Unfortunately it is also marred by fairly clunky writing, wooden characters and poor pacing. But it is well worth a read.

I come to this book after recently watching the '70's German miniseries based on it, "World on a Wire", by cult auteur Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The film makes up for some of the book's shortcomings with interesting set design and camera work. But it also leaves out a few details that would have helped explain thi...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Vivian rated it 2 of 5 stars

Just watched (for the second time) the movie, "The Thirteenth Floor," which was based on this novella. The concepts explored in this story have always fascinated me, a bit like a "Matrix" plot. So found this novella, and read through it quickly. Unfortunately, the film did a better job with the source material than the original author.

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Apr 13, 2012 Chris Gager rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I just remembered this with the help of a New Yorker article which makes reference to the two-part Rainer Werner Fassbinder TV-movie from 1973. When I read it is a guess. Probably in the Navy. Pretty interesting Sci-Fi about using computer-simulated societies to extract polling data. 3.5 stars...

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Jul 23, 2012 Prostatepuppet rated it 3 of 5 stars

the first half was pretty damn good, then the author started to pull shit out his ass. Awesomely cool concept, but way too predictable. there was just so much shit that came out of ass, and I'm pretty sure the translation made the main character a creepy melon fucking troll

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Feb 14, 2009 David rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, science-fiction

What is reality? Are we all inside a virtual world? Just how many levels are there? Interesting, thought provoking and a good read.

I find it hard to understand why this book is out of print.

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Jul 14, 2012 Sascha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: bestest-books-evah

This book is only second to the Dune Series. Galouye presents what is considered to be the first science fiction story with the concept of virtual realities. One of the best.

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Jun 05, 2009 Charles rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

A brilliant book, later filmed as a much poorer movie called Floor 13 I think. Also, I believe, an influence on the Matrix movies.

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Jan 08, 2013 Clayton Bigsby rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is everything that was great about 50s/60s science fiction rolled into one solid, engaging story. A must read.

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Jul 03, 2012 Tom Hudspeth added it

Pretty good read, the movie "The Thirteenth Floor" was based off it. Not bad for pre-computer scifi.

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Aug 07, 2011 Ademption rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels, speculative-fiction, french-literature

The source text for World of Wires, a West German 2-part TV series by R.W. Fassbinder, and the US film The Thirteenth Floor. From what I can gather, the book is pretty much the original The Matrix with philosophy and word games substituted for pleather covered ass-kicking.

Simulacron 3 is an e-book featured on the Kindle, and physical copies are quite expensive because the English translation is long out of print. I'd love to read a copy if I get the chance. This book is the sole reason I think...more

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Sep 05, 2011 Rodrigo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Livro no qual foi baseado o filme 13o Andar. Muito bom.

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Aug 14, 2010 Emmanuel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lml

L'intrigue me paraît aujourd'hui classique : la simulation d'une communauté de population et ses répercussions métaphysiques. Mais le savoir écrit en 1965 est assez hallucinant. Celà dit, le livre est très agréable à lire et se déroule parfaitement tout en explorant les problèmes philosophiques multiples de l'expérimentation.

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Aug 08, 2011 Craig rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Short but enjoyable - though I probably would have liked it better had the back cover not given away the entire twist in the plot. Still, remarkably modern(ish) sci-fi for 1964.

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Sep 21, 2008 Fuzzy John rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the book that inspired the very good movie "The Thirteenth Floor". I read this back in the '60's and was extremely impressed. A must-read, if you can find it.

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Sep 02, 2008 Joerg rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dieses Buch ist die "richtige" Vorlage zu Matrix und dem Cyberspace. Ein leider vergessener Klassiker aus den 70ern, der sogar (von Rainer Erler) verfilmt wurde.

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About Daniel F. Galouye

Daniel Francis Galouye (11 February 1920, New Orleans, Louisiana – 7 September 1976, New Orleans, Louisiana) was an American science fiction writer. During the 1950s and 1960s, he contributed novelettes and short stories to various digest size science fiction magazines, sometimes writing under the pseudonym Louis G. Daniels.

After Galoyue (pronounced Gah-lou-ey) graduated from Louisiana State Unive...more

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Quotes from Simulacron 3

“Doomsday, when it came, wouldn't be a physical phenomenon; it would be an
all-inclusive erasure of simulectronic circuits.” — 1 person liked it

“How do we know that even the realest of realities
wouldn't be subjective, in the final analysis? Nobody can prove his existence, can he?” — 1 person liked it

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