Sheep Look Up
by John Brunner
Sheep Look Up
John Brunner |
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Read in January, 1973
recommends it for:
Anybody
The Sheep Look Up is a prime example of Science Fiction at its scariestly prescient (like that word, "scariestly"?:-). John Brunner portrays a world where the United States is run by a president who is eerily reminscent of George W. Bush -- a complete idiot, a figurehead run by his cabinet and given to fighting many small wars. The world is in the middle of an ecodisaster brought about by inexorable population pressure and the systematic abuse of chemicals. Antibiotic resistant dise...more
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recommended to Eric by:
The Bearded Triffid
Thus far, a brilliant, harrowing read. Brunner's 1972 novel portrays a dystopia in which pollution is almost certainly pitching an oblivious humanity towards extinction. Filter masks are ubiquitous for those who brave the outdoors. "Do Not Drink Days" discourage the use of tapwater. Crop shortages caused by pesticide-immune pests threaten global famine. Superbugs tear through the population, resistant to every antibiotic thrown at them.
For every single "prediction" B...more
For every single "prediction" B...more
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Read in June, 2008
Fantastic and horrifying portrayal of the not so distant future. A chilling portrayal of what human life and conditions will become if we as a society dont make a conscious decision to ammend what we put in our food and how we treat our environment.
There is no drinking water from the sink, there are oxygen masks for charge on the street, people in cities are forced to wear breathmasks while outside, all of our food has been sprayed with so many chemicals it is all virtually inedible. Lice, i...more
There is no drinking water from the sink, there are oxygen masks for charge on the street, people in cities are forced to wear breathmasks while outside, all of our food has been sprayed with so many chemicals it is all virtually inedible. Lice, i...more
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One of my Dad's favorites
Thought it would make a good follow up to Michael Pollan
But.... I'm not sure I'm going to make it through this book. Even written in the '60's the prophetic parallels are pretty depressing - its not a fun world for me to visit or immerse myself in.
I can chip away at it until it goes back to the library
*******
Well, this one finally had to go back and I was probably only half way through, I think it was just starting to get interesting, the build up to t...more
Thought it would make a good follow up to Michael Pollan
But.... I'm not sure I'm going to make it through this book. Even written in the '60's the prophetic parallels are pretty depressing - its not a fun world for me to visit or immerse myself in.
I can chip away at it until it goes back to the library
*******
Well, this one finally had to go back and I was probably only half way through, I think it was just starting to get interesting, the build up to t...more
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Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
Yes
This novel is scary.
Rarely has a novel actually made me concerned about what is happening in our society.
In the book, the world is basically going to shit, people cannot breathe the air, basic infections are rampant, old pollutions are killing people but the government/corporations are covering it up. The only people who can live healthily are the rich.
The story has is ominously correct on topics such as organic farmer, vegetables making individuals sick, corporations profiting from ...more
Rarely has a novel actually made me concerned about what is happening in our society.
In the book, the world is basically going to shit, people cannot breathe the air, basic infections are rampant, old pollutions are killing people but the government/corporations are covering it up. The only people who can live healthily are the rich.
The story has is ominously correct on topics such as organic farmer, vegetables making individuals sick, corporations profiting from ...more
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Read in January, 2004
A friend recommended this to me because I like Ray Bradbury. And it was a pretty good futuristic doomsday type of story in that vein, but I didn't find it as memorable as my favorite Bradbury stories. It's the future, air pollution is horrible, everyone is sick (asthma, anyone?), everyone is obsessed with finding healthy, organic food. Sound familiar? I came away from this book being highly suspicious of Whole Foods, because its counterpart in the story was a corrupt corporation that was act...more
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Read in May, 2007
Brunner is not a great writer, but he had a big and very prescient imagination. Three or four decades before climate change and global warming were the general public's mental maps, Brunner grimly fantasized a grossly polluted, resource-exhausted world that is not only killing the earth but whatever's left of humanity's soul as well. Would that this book had been read massively and influentially as a wake-up call when it was first published. Is it too late now?
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Read in November, 1974
Brunner is another almost-forgotten writer who produced a body of work that should not be neglected. This is probably his best novel, though not as well-known as STAND ON ZANZIBAR. It's a 'future-shock" story of epic-proportion, just as relevant today in the face of global-warming as it was when it was published 35 years ago, with brilliant characterization and compelling plotting.
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Read in January, 2001
Eerily dystopic reflection of today written in the 1970s. Environmental catastrophe looms, police state America. I think the general speculative premise is that the world might be ok if the US destroyed itself. Brunner was a long time science fiction writer whose books generally get weirder and more political as time goes on. He was Crass' neighbor too I think.
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Read in December, 2007
While this novel was not without its problems (weak characters/plot at times, its primary and nearly exclusive focus on the social/environmental problems of America [as opposed to, say, Nigeria, Bangladesh, etc.], its playing into the American concept of the lone individual [Austin Train] as savior), it nonetheless remains an incredibly important book.
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
Anyone who can read depressing stuff without blowing their brains out
Was written in 1972, but reads like everything that scares you about 2007 -- from pointless U.S. wars in far-off countries to poisoned air and water to overpriced "health" food -- right down to the increasingly authoritarian U.S government with a smirking dimbulb for a President. I'm only halfway through it and it's already giving me nightmares.
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Read in October, 1997
[from my book lover's journal] Maybe TOO much like Stand on Zanzibar only with a slight variation: ecology vs population?
[10years later: i remember his John Dos Passos style being used just as in Zanzibar--is that recollection wrong? Nowadays i wonder which of them came first, Dos Passos or Brunner?]
[10years later: i remember his John Dos Passos style being used just as in Zanzibar--is that recollection wrong? Nowadays i wonder which of them came first, Dos Passos or Brunner?]
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In the past few years, this book has come to my mind more often than not. The destruction we have slowly, and more and more quickly, have brought to this planet and our blind acceptance of it and the results of our neglect are all written here. Too true to be fiction.
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Read in January, 2006
Originally published in 1972, this book is still very much relevant. It portrays a heavily-polluted Earth where expensive organic food is all the rage, and people suffer from environmentally-induced illnesses. Sound familiar?
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Read in January, 1988
recommends it for:
fans of the earth, sci-fi, human struggle, mystery
As said before, Brunner had an uncanny ability to extrapolate developing trends into the future. What was Sci-Fi when he wrote it is sci-now for all of us who have the chance to read it again (or for the first time).
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Read in January, 1972
recommended to erik by:
no onerecommends it for: everyone
The Sheep Look Up basically follows the timestream and compositional technique of Brunner's prior Stand on Zanzibar. If you like the one, read the other. If you admire DosPassos' U.S.A., check them out.
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Read in August, 2008
This! This is the near-future apocalyptic scifi I have been looking for. The one in which America gets what's coming to it.
--
Stop, you're killing me!
O
X
--
Stop, you're killing me!
O
X
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I am not an environmentalist but this is a fantastic book. Gas masks are mandatory. The very air that you breathe will kill you. Radical groups run wild.
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Prophetic in a phreaky way. The fact that this book is still so relevant speaks to both the author's skill and the stupidity of our species.
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Read in January, 1972
Not always an easy read, but this book really nails a lot of what has happened to our planet. That's not a good thing either.
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