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Deathwish World
Life under a Deathwish policy was fun while it lasted, but for Deathwisher Roy Cos it was far more than that. For him, gaining access to great wealth in exchange for becoming a target for hired killers was a political act: You can buy a lot of media attention with a million pseudobucks, and Roy had a cause worth dying for. Already Roy has survived twice the term of the average Deathwisher, and people are getting interested in what he has to say. That's why Worldgov has labeled him a Special Case and put Mercenaries Inc. on his trail. No matter how smart and tough he may be, no matter how just his cause, even flight to High Orbit can't save Roy now...
- GenresScience Fiction
322 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1986
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Mack Reynolds
500 books41 followersDallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Clark Collins, Mark Mallory, Guy McCord, Dallas Ross and Maxine Reynolds. Many of his stories were published in "Galaxy Magazine" and "Worlds of If Magazine". He was quite popular in the 1960s, but most of his work subsequently went out of print.
He was an active supporter of the Socialist Labor Party; his father, Verne Reynolds, was twice the SLP's Presidential candidate, in 1928 and 1932. Many of MR's stories use SLP jargon such as 'Industrial Feudalism' and most deal with economic issues in some way
Many of Reynolds' stories took place in Utopian societies, and many of which fulfilled L. L. Zamenhof's dream of Esperanto used worldwide as a universal second language. His novels predicted much that has come to pass, including pocket computers and a world-wide computer network with information available at one's fingertips.
Many of his novels were written within the context of a highly mobile society in which few people maintained a fixed residence, leading to "mobile voting" laws which allowed someone living out of the equivalent of a motor home to vote when and where they chose.
He was an active supporter of the Socialist Labor Party; his father, Verne Reynolds, was twice the SLP's Presidential candidate, in 1928 and 1932. Many of MR's stories use SLP jargon such as 'Industrial Feudalism' and most deal with economic issues in some way
Many of Reynolds' stories took place in Utopian societies, and many of which fulfilled L. L. Zamenhof's dream of Esperanto used worldwide as a universal second language. His novels predicted much that has come to pass, including pocket computers and a world-wide computer network with information available at one's fingertips.
Many of his novels were written within the context of a highly mobile society in which few people maintained a fixed residence, leading to "mobile voting" laws which allowed someone living out of the equivalent of a motor home to vote when and where they chose.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 15, 2016
I'm not quite sure what to make of this book. I read & liked several of Reynolds books/stories years ago, something about a mercenary, one of the few jobs available for a prole. This seems to be the same or a similar world, but it takes place at the higher levels & all on Earth. At times, it seems to be so absurd as to be satirical, other times I think it actually means to be serious. It can be plainly repugnant. There is some good historical info, but it's flung about in a half-assed fashion. The overall story line follows several different characters & is full of holes & yet it was fun, even thought provoking at different times - a book of conflicts.
The reader was pretty good. Some of the voices were superb, one or two awful & overdone. There were a few pronunciations I've never heard before that were a bit jarring. Overall, I liked him a lot, though.
The reader was pretty good. Some of the voices were superb, one or two awful & overdone. There were a few pronunciations I've never heard before that were a bit jarring. Overall, I liked him a lot, though.
June 19, 2020
review of
Mack Reynolds & Dean Ing's Deathwish World
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - June 15-18, 2020
See the complete review here: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
I remember devoting much of my 1984 reading time to reading the work of Philip K. Dick, I probably read one bk of his a wk. I loved his work so much that it might've seemed unlikely at the time that anyone could ever supercede him in importance as a SciFi writer to me. Fortunately for me,I keep discovering other SF writers that please me as much as Dick probably did way back then. Mack Reynolds is 1st & foremost among those these days. Reading one of his bks is bound to engross & please me. Since I 'dsicovered' his work in June, 2016, 4 yrs ago now, I've read & reviewed 16 of his bks:
The Rival Rigelians: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Blackman's Burden: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Border, Breed Nor Birth: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Trample An Empire Down: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Computer War: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Code Duello: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Planetary Agent X: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Mercenary from Tomorrow: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Space Barbarians: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
After Utopia: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Commune 2000 A.D.: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Space Visitor: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Equality: in the Year 2000: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Galactic Medal of Honor: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Computer World: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Day After Tomorrow: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Fortunately, there's no end in sight.
The "Foreword" provides this:
"And it was possibly the softest sell of all time. The United States Government simply issued a declaration that it welcomed any countries in North, Central, or South America, or the Caribbean, to join it, conferring all rights pertaining to American citizens, including the Guaranteed Annual Stipend" - p 1
The "Guaranteed Annual Stipend" being something that occurs again & again in Reynolds's novels, a welfare that most of the people subsist on because the world has become so automated that hardly anyone works anymore.
The opening scene is one of an apparent assassination. Reynolds, the author, is reputed to've been around wars &/or revolutions, perhaps he was a mercenary or, at least, familiar w/ mercenaries. As such, the technical detail might be accurate.
"["]This scope we've got is an Auto-Range. Latest thing. Combines a range finder with a regular telescopic sight. No sweat. Hand me that silencer, Joe."
""You're sure?" Hamp said, pushing the back of his left hand over his mouth.
""Sure I'm sure," the other told him. "Take a minute or so to get it all sighted in again." He took the long tube Joe handed over and began screwing it into the barrel. It projected about a foot and a half when he had it tightly fitted. The silencer was about two and a half times the diameter of the barrel." - p 5
After the 'assassination' the team of 3 is attempting to leave the area when they're stopped by the police. To bluff their way out this happens:
"Joe began to retreat backward, saying quickly into his transceiver, "State Police officer Number 358 had ordered my transceiver taken. One of us is a black; notify the nearest Nat Turner Team. One of us is an Amerind; notify the Sons of Wounded Knee. I am a Chicano; get in touch with the Foes of the Alamo. Notify our legal department! Notify Civil Liberties. Alert the Reunited Nations Human Relations . . ."" - p 12
It works. I'm reminded of a woman I met once who was stopped at the Canadian border. She told them that her father was a reporter for the Turner News Network and that he'd be very interested to learn about her being turned away. It worked, they let her in the country. She was bluffing, her father wasn't a reporter for the Turner News Network or for anyone else.
""What the hell's a Nat Turner Team?"
"And Tom Horse added, "Or the Sons of Wounded Knee?"
""Damned if I know," Joe said grinning. "I made them up as I went along. Same with the Foes of the Alamo. What's the old gag? If there'd been a back door to the Alamo there would never have been a Texas."" - p 13
Ok, I've already been hinting so now it's time to reveal a little secret, it's early on in the bk, so it's not that much of a spoiler & it gives a pretty good idea of the political subtleties at work:
""Plumb center," Tom whispered. "The capslug shattered right on his chest and splattered red goo all over his shirt. I could see his face go pale and his eyes pop. He fainted."" - pp 14-15
The 'assassination' of the racist politician was just a scare, a Red Scare one might say. The 'assassins' were just putting the fear of his victims in him. An excellent idea!
Meanwhile, in another plot thread:
"Frank calculated quickly and looked up. "This comes to only two hundred pseudo-dollars."
"MacDonald said to his fellow agent, "He's not only an intellectual but a mathematician."
""I'm supposed to get a thousand," Frank said his voice tight.
MacDonald scoffed at him. "What'd you do with a thousand pseudo-dollars? Probably waste it. Go through it in a week. As it is, Roskin and I will lay over in Madrid on our way home, and we'll hoist a couple of drinks to you in Chicote's."" - p 27
Being an anarchist from BalTimOre, this next section warmed the cobblestones of my liver:
"Roy Cox looked out over the small, shabby hall in Baltimore with its pitiful group, members of the Industrial Workers of the World—"Wobblies," in their own jargon. Inwardly, he felt depressed and weary. It was the same old story, there were sixteen in the audience." - p 33
I feel ya. Cox gives a speech & there're hecklers there:
"["]Computers can be programmed into shortcomings."
""Like what!" one of the hecklers called out. His friends laughed, backing him. Several of the Wobblies, seated down front, turned and glared at thrm.
"Roy said, "Well, let's take a couple of the scientists that the computers would have passed by. Two of their big requirements are a good education and a top-notch Ability Quotient. Thomas Edison had only a couple of years of formal education—he never got through grammar school. The computers wouldn't have picked him for a job. Steinmetz was a hunchback cripple, in spite of his I.Q., and would never have gotten a high Ability Quotient, much of which depends on physical attributes." - p 36
Note that ""Like what!"" from a heckler ends w/ an exclamation mark instead of a question mark. Such people aren't interested in informative answers, they just want to attack whomever they're trying to bully — as long as they have people to back them up.
Otherwise, UP WITH THE AUTODIDACTS!! If you want to find real intelligence, instead of Pavlovian Dog Untertan (w/ Superiority Complex) pseudo-intelligence it's among the autididacts you must look (he says immodestly). A dog trained to jump thru a fiery hoop isn't as smart as one that figures out how to escape.
""This is one of the final things Bartolomeo Vanzetti wrote. He was self-educated."
"Forry Brown read softly from the tattered clipping: "If it had not been for this thing, I might have lived out my life talking at street corners to scorning men. I might have died unmarked, unknown, a failure. Now we are not a failure. This is our career and our triumph. Never in all our full life could we hope to do such work for tolerance, for justice, for man's understanding of man, as now we do by accident.
"Our words—our lives—our pains: nothing! The taking of our lives—lives of a good shoemaker and a poor fish peddler—all! That last moment belongs to us. That agony is our triumph."
"Forry Brown looked up from the clipping. "Their deaths weren't the end. Hundreds of articles about them were published for years. Best-selling books were written about the Sacco-Vanzetti case. There was even a long-running play on Broadway, and a hit movie film. In becoming martyrs, Bartolemeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco at long last put over their message. Decades later, they were vindicated by the State of Massachusetts. They hadn't even been guilty."" - p 47
"On April 15, 1920, a paymaster for a shoe company in South Braintree, Massachusetts, was shot and killed along with his guard. The murderers, who were described as two Italian men, escaped with more than $15,000. After going to a garage to claim a car that police said was connected with the crime, Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested and charged with the crime. Although both men carried guns and made false statements upon their arrest, neither had a previous criminal record. On July 14, 1921, they were convicted and sentenced to die.
"Anti-radical sentiment was running high in America at the time, and the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti was regarded by many as unlawfully sensational. Authorities had failed to come up with any evidence of the stolen money, and much of the other evidence against them was later discredited. During the next few years, sporadic protests were held in Massachusetts and around the world calling for their release, especially after Celestino Madeiros, then under a sentence for murder, confessed in 1925 that he had participated in the crime with the Joe Morelli gang. The state Supreme Court refused to upset the verdict, and Massachusetts Governor Alvan T. Fuller denied the men clemency. In the days leading up to the execution, protests were held in cities around the world, and bombs were set off in New York City and Philadelphia. On August 23, Sacco and Vanzetti were electrocuted.
"In 1961, a test of Sacco’s gun using modern forensic techniques apparently proved it was his gun that killed the guard, though little evidence has been found to substantiate Vanzetti’s guilt. In 1977, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis issued a proclamation vindicating Sacco and Vanzetti, stating that they had been treated unjustly and that no stigma should be associated with their names."
- https://www.history.com/this-day-in-h...
Composer Ruth Crawford Seeger wrote a great song supporting them post-mortem. Here're the lyrics:
"Sacco, Vanzetti
by H. T. Tsiang
"Fast! Fast!
One year has passed!
Dead! Dead!
You will never be reborn!
Who said
There will be a resurrection?
Why didn’t we see any of those gentlemen
Who were willing to take your places?
The real meaning of “death” —
You knew it.
Still you paid with your life for your class!
Sacrifice!
That was real sacrifice!
"Look at your enemies.
They are fishing,
Smiling,
Murdering,
As ever.
Shameful!
It is an eternal disgrace to us all.
"Before your death
Did not millions promise —
To do “this” or “that”
lf you should die?
Now
One year has passed.
What about “this” and what about “that”?
"Petitions?
Protests?
Telegrams?
Demonstrations?
Strikes?
Oh! They may refire the cold ashes of our two martyrs.
But they can never soften the murderer’s heart!
Tears?
Sighs?
Complaints?
And the like?
Oh! They may expect the embraces of your dear mothers,
They can never get pardon from the blood-thirsty masters.
"Have you ever seen sheep end pigs
Being dragged to slaughter?
How pitifully they shriek!
How terribly they tremblel
Yet men enjoy their delicious flesh
Just the same!
Sheep! Pigs! Foreigners! Workers!
Your sweat is fertile,
Your blood is sweet,
Your meat is fresh!
"Oh, Vanzetti!
You did say:
“I wish to forgive some people for what they are now doing to me”.
Certainly, you can forgive them as you like,
But you are the Wop, the fish peddler, the worker,
And haven’t anything in the bank.
lsn’t it a great insult
To say “forgive” to your honorable master?
"Oh, Sacco!
You did say:
“Long live anarchy”,
But you should not forget,
That when you climb up to heaven
You must use the ladder!
"Oh Martyrs!
Dead! Dead!
You are dead,
Never, never
To live again.
Fast! Fast!
One year has passed!
But years and years,
Years are piling up immortal bricks
Of your lofty monument.
"Oh martyrs!
Look at the autumn flowers:
They are dying!
Dying! Dying!
But
The trees, the roots from which
The flowers are coming*
Never, never die!
When the spring comes
We shall again see the pretty flowers
Blooming,
Perfuming,
Saluting the warm sun,
Wrestling with the mild wind
and kissing the charming butterflies.
"Oh martyrs!
Dead, dead! You are dead!
But
Your human tree and your human root
Are budding,
Blooming,
Growing!
"Listen to the war cries of your living brothers!
This is the incense
We are burning
To you.
* Crawford changes “coming” to “blooming”" - https://songofamerica.net/song/sacco-...
See the complete review here: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Mack Reynolds & Dean Ing's Deathwish World
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - June 15-18, 2020
See the complete review here: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
I remember devoting much of my 1984 reading time to reading the work of Philip K. Dick, I probably read one bk of his a wk. I loved his work so much that it might've seemed unlikely at the time that anyone could ever supercede him in importance as a SciFi writer to me. Fortunately for me,I keep discovering other SF writers that please me as much as Dick probably did way back then. Mack Reynolds is 1st & foremost among those these days. Reading one of his bks is bound to engross & please me. Since I 'dsicovered' his work in June, 2016, 4 yrs ago now, I've read & reviewed 16 of his bks:
The Rival Rigelians: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Blackman's Burden: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Border, Breed Nor Birth: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Trample An Empire Down: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Computer War: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Code Duello: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Planetary Agent X: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Mercenary from Tomorrow: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Space Barbarians: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
After Utopia: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Commune 2000 A.D.: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Space Visitor: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Equality: in the Year 2000: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Galactic Medal of Honor: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Computer World: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Day After Tomorrow: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Fortunately, there's no end in sight.
The "Foreword" provides this:
"And it was possibly the softest sell of all time. The United States Government simply issued a declaration that it welcomed any countries in North, Central, or South America, or the Caribbean, to join it, conferring all rights pertaining to American citizens, including the Guaranteed Annual Stipend" - p 1
The "Guaranteed Annual Stipend" being something that occurs again & again in Reynolds's novels, a welfare that most of the people subsist on because the world has become so automated that hardly anyone works anymore.
The opening scene is one of an apparent assassination. Reynolds, the author, is reputed to've been around wars &/or revolutions, perhaps he was a mercenary or, at least, familiar w/ mercenaries. As such, the technical detail might be accurate.
"["]This scope we've got is an Auto-Range. Latest thing. Combines a range finder with a regular telescopic sight. No sweat. Hand me that silencer, Joe."
""You're sure?" Hamp said, pushing the back of his left hand over his mouth.
""Sure I'm sure," the other told him. "Take a minute or so to get it all sighted in again." He took the long tube Joe handed over and began screwing it into the barrel. It projected about a foot and a half when he had it tightly fitted. The silencer was about two and a half times the diameter of the barrel." - p 5
After the 'assassination' the team of 3 is attempting to leave the area when they're stopped by the police. To bluff their way out this happens:
"Joe began to retreat backward, saying quickly into his transceiver, "State Police officer Number 358 had ordered my transceiver taken. One of us is a black; notify the nearest Nat Turner Team. One of us is an Amerind; notify the Sons of Wounded Knee. I am a Chicano; get in touch with the Foes of the Alamo. Notify our legal department! Notify Civil Liberties. Alert the Reunited Nations Human Relations . . ."" - p 12
It works. I'm reminded of a woman I met once who was stopped at the Canadian border. She told them that her father was a reporter for the Turner News Network and that he'd be very interested to learn about her being turned away. It worked, they let her in the country. She was bluffing, her father wasn't a reporter for the Turner News Network or for anyone else.
""What the hell's a Nat Turner Team?"
"And Tom Horse added, "Or the Sons of Wounded Knee?"
""Damned if I know," Joe said grinning. "I made them up as I went along. Same with the Foes of the Alamo. What's the old gag? If there'd been a back door to the Alamo there would never have been a Texas."" - p 13
Ok, I've already been hinting so now it's time to reveal a little secret, it's early on in the bk, so it's not that much of a spoiler & it gives a pretty good idea of the political subtleties at work:
""Plumb center," Tom whispered. "The capslug shattered right on his chest and splattered red goo all over his shirt. I could see his face go pale and his eyes pop. He fainted."" - pp 14-15
The 'assassination' of the racist politician was just a scare, a Red Scare one might say. The 'assassins' were just putting the fear of his victims in him. An excellent idea!
Meanwhile, in another plot thread:
"Frank calculated quickly and looked up. "This comes to only two hundred pseudo-dollars."
"MacDonald said to his fellow agent, "He's not only an intellectual but a mathematician."
""I'm supposed to get a thousand," Frank said his voice tight.
MacDonald scoffed at him. "What'd you do with a thousand pseudo-dollars? Probably waste it. Go through it in a week. As it is, Roskin and I will lay over in Madrid on our way home, and we'll hoist a couple of drinks to you in Chicote's."" - p 27
Being an anarchist from BalTimOre, this next section warmed the cobblestones of my liver:
"Roy Cox looked out over the small, shabby hall in Baltimore with its pitiful group, members of the Industrial Workers of the World—"Wobblies," in their own jargon. Inwardly, he felt depressed and weary. It was the same old story, there were sixteen in the audience." - p 33
I feel ya. Cox gives a speech & there're hecklers there:
"["]Computers can be programmed into shortcomings."
""Like what!" one of the hecklers called out. His friends laughed, backing him. Several of the Wobblies, seated down front, turned and glared at thrm.
"Roy said, "Well, let's take a couple of the scientists that the computers would have passed by. Two of their big requirements are a good education and a top-notch Ability Quotient. Thomas Edison had only a couple of years of formal education—he never got through grammar school. The computers wouldn't have picked him for a job. Steinmetz was a hunchback cripple, in spite of his I.Q., and would never have gotten a high Ability Quotient, much of which depends on physical attributes." - p 36
Note that ""Like what!"" from a heckler ends w/ an exclamation mark instead of a question mark. Such people aren't interested in informative answers, they just want to attack whomever they're trying to bully — as long as they have people to back them up.
Otherwise, UP WITH THE AUTODIDACTS!! If you want to find real intelligence, instead of Pavlovian Dog Untertan (w/ Superiority Complex) pseudo-intelligence it's among the autididacts you must look (he says immodestly). A dog trained to jump thru a fiery hoop isn't as smart as one that figures out how to escape.
""This is one of the final things Bartolomeo Vanzetti wrote. He was self-educated."
"Forry Brown read softly from the tattered clipping: "If it had not been for this thing, I might have lived out my life talking at street corners to scorning men. I might have died unmarked, unknown, a failure. Now we are not a failure. This is our career and our triumph. Never in all our full life could we hope to do such work for tolerance, for justice, for man's understanding of man, as now we do by accident.
"Our words—our lives—our pains: nothing! The taking of our lives—lives of a good shoemaker and a poor fish peddler—all! That last moment belongs to us. That agony is our triumph."
"Forry Brown looked up from the clipping. "Their deaths weren't the end. Hundreds of articles about them were published for years. Best-selling books were written about the Sacco-Vanzetti case. There was even a long-running play on Broadway, and a hit movie film. In becoming martyrs, Bartolemeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco at long last put over their message. Decades later, they were vindicated by the State of Massachusetts. They hadn't even been guilty."" - p 47
"On April 15, 1920, a paymaster for a shoe company in South Braintree, Massachusetts, was shot and killed along with his guard. The murderers, who were described as two Italian men, escaped with more than $15,000. After going to a garage to claim a car that police said was connected with the crime, Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested and charged with the crime. Although both men carried guns and made false statements upon their arrest, neither had a previous criminal record. On July 14, 1921, they were convicted and sentenced to die.
"Anti-radical sentiment was running high in America at the time, and the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti was regarded by many as unlawfully sensational. Authorities had failed to come up with any evidence of the stolen money, and much of the other evidence against them was later discredited. During the next few years, sporadic protests were held in Massachusetts and around the world calling for their release, especially after Celestino Madeiros, then under a sentence for murder, confessed in 1925 that he had participated in the crime with the Joe Morelli gang. The state Supreme Court refused to upset the verdict, and Massachusetts Governor Alvan T. Fuller denied the men clemency. In the days leading up to the execution, protests were held in cities around the world, and bombs were set off in New York City and Philadelphia. On August 23, Sacco and Vanzetti were electrocuted.
"In 1961, a test of Sacco’s gun using modern forensic techniques apparently proved it was his gun that killed the guard, though little evidence has been found to substantiate Vanzetti’s guilt. In 1977, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis issued a proclamation vindicating Sacco and Vanzetti, stating that they had been treated unjustly and that no stigma should be associated with their names."
- https://www.history.com/this-day-in-h...
Composer Ruth Crawford Seeger wrote a great song supporting them post-mortem. Here're the lyrics:
"Sacco, Vanzetti
by H. T. Tsiang
"Fast! Fast!
One year has passed!
Dead! Dead!
You will never be reborn!
Who said
There will be a resurrection?
Why didn’t we see any of those gentlemen
Who were willing to take your places?
The real meaning of “death” —
You knew it.
Still you paid with your life for your class!
Sacrifice!
That was real sacrifice!
"Look at your enemies.
They are fishing,
Smiling,
Murdering,
As ever.
Shameful!
It is an eternal disgrace to us all.
"Before your death
Did not millions promise —
To do “this” or “that”
lf you should die?
Now
One year has passed.
What about “this” and what about “that”?
"Petitions?
Protests?
Telegrams?
Demonstrations?
Strikes?
Oh! They may refire the cold ashes of our two martyrs.
But they can never soften the murderer’s heart!
Tears?
Sighs?
Complaints?
And the like?
Oh! They may expect the embraces of your dear mothers,
They can never get pardon from the blood-thirsty masters.
"Have you ever seen sheep end pigs
Being dragged to slaughter?
How pitifully they shriek!
How terribly they tremblel
Yet men enjoy their delicious flesh
Just the same!
Sheep! Pigs! Foreigners! Workers!
Your sweat is fertile,
Your blood is sweet,
Your meat is fresh!
"Oh, Vanzetti!
You did say:
“I wish to forgive some people for what they are now doing to me”.
Certainly, you can forgive them as you like,
But you are the Wop, the fish peddler, the worker,
And haven’t anything in the bank.
lsn’t it a great insult
To say “forgive” to your honorable master?
"Oh, Sacco!
You did say:
“Long live anarchy”,
But you should not forget,
That when you climb up to heaven
You must use the ladder!
"Oh Martyrs!
Dead! Dead!
You are dead,
Never, never
To live again.
Fast! Fast!
One year has passed!
But years and years,
Years are piling up immortal bricks
Of your lofty monument.
"Oh martyrs!
Look at the autumn flowers:
They are dying!
Dying! Dying!
But
The trees, the roots from which
The flowers are coming*
Never, never die!
When the spring comes
We shall again see the pretty flowers
Blooming,
Perfuming,
Saluting the warm sun,
Wrestling with the mild wind
and kissing the charming butterflies.
"Oh martyrs!
Dead, dead! You are dead!
But
Your human tree and your human root
Are budding,
Blooming,
Growing!
"Listen to the war cries of your living brothers!
This is the incense
We are burning
To you.
* Crawford changes “coming” to “blooming”" - https://songofamerica.net/song/sacco-...
See the complete review here: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
June 2, 2016
My original Deathwish World audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
In the year 2086, automation has made the production of food and basic needs so inexpensive, poverty is all but eliminated. Only about 5% of the population needs to work to supply the needs of the rest. The problem is, there aren’t any more jobs for the others. To keep everyone happy(ish), 89% of the industrialized world is on global assistance, or welfare. They have their basic needs easily met, clothes, food, housing, entertainment, and cheap booze, but not much more. The final 1% of the population are so rich they live in extreme luxury and leisure, bored, jaded and racist. They spend their time thinking up ways to smooth out what few obstacles remain to their permanent and absolute control of the world.
A global government is in sight as countries merge. The United States has invited its geographic neighbors to join them: Canada, Mexico, and many countries in South and Central America into a new larger country, now called, United States of the Americas. It works pretty well, except many of the new countries are not so white, and that doesn’t sit well with the all-white ruling class.
Death wish, in the title of the book, refers to an illegal insurance policy on someone’s life. A person (sick of life) agrees to a life insurance policy drawn against him by a foreign agent in exchange for the ability to spend up to one million dollars per day. The goal is to stay alive long enough to enjoy the money while simultaneously avoiding the many assassins hired to end the policy quickly. It is a lottery of extreme wealth measured in days or hours.
It is important to note that Deathwish World was written in 1986. The future described is 100 years in its own future. There are a lot of important societal ideas explored in the book: racism, mass unemployment, crony capitalism, socialism, anarchism, globalism, and wealth inequality. All of this is wrapped up in a satirical Batman/Bruce Wayne kind of vigilantism theme. It is difficult to describe the many sub plots and intrigue without spoiling the plot. Deathwish World is fun, action based, highly entertaining and insightful in unusual ways. The high-tech gadgets thought up in 1986 may sound a little off, but the story does not feel dated, quite the opposite, it seem even more prescient then when it was written.
The story is narrated by Jem Matzan. His performance is quite extraordinary when one considers the variety of characters, genders and accents he must portray in this complex novel. There is an undertone of mischief in his voice that reveals the satirical nature of the story ever so subtly. Each listener may have his or her own biases about how a character should sound, but other than these personal preferences, one would have a difficult time arguing Matzan’s great talent.
This is a unique novel in so many ways, thought provoking, futuristic, satirical, and a warning of what might come. Some of the characters are over the top, Hamp, for example (how can anyone function while drinking that much), but that’s what makes is so fun. Highly recommended.
Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.
In the year 2086, automation has made the production of food and basic needs so inexpensive, poverty is all but eliminated. Only about 5% of the population needs to work to supply the needs of the rest. The problem is, there aren’t any more jobs for the others. To keep everyone happy(ish), 89% of the industrialized world is on global assistance, or welfare. They have their basic needs easily met, clothes, food, housing, entertainment, and cheap booze, but not much more. The final 1% of the population are so rich they live in extreme luxury and leisure, bored, jaded and racist. They spend their time thinking up ways to smooth out what few obstacles remain to their permanent and absolute control of the world.
A global government is in sight as countries merge. The United States has invited its geographic neighbors to join them: Canada, Mexico, and many countries in South and Central America into a new larger country, now called, United States of the Americas. It works pretty well, except many of the new countries are not so white, and that doesn’t sit well with the all-white ruling class.
Death wish, in the title of the book, refers to an illegal insurance policy on someone’s life. A person (sick of life) agrees to a life insurance policy drawn against him by a foreign agent in exchange for the ability to spend up to one million dollars per day. The goal is to stay alive long enough to enjoy the money while simultaneously avoiding the many assassins hired to end the policy quickly. It is a lottery of extreme wealth measured in days or hours.
It is important to note that Deathwish World was written in 1986. The future described is 100 years in its own future. There are a lot of important societal ideas explored in the book: racism, mass unemployment, crony capitalism, socialism, anarchism, globalism, and wealth inequality. All of this is wrapped up in a satirical Batman/Bruce Wayne kind of vigilantism theme. It is difficult to describe the many sub plots and intrigue without spoiling the plot. Deathwish World is fun, action based, highly entertaining and insightful in unusual ways. The high-tech gadgets thought up in 1986 may sound a little off, but the story does not feel dated, quite the opposite, it seem even more prescient then when it was written.
The story is narrated by Jem Matzan. His performance is quite extraordinary when one considers the variety of characters, genders and accents he must portray in this complex novel. There is an undertone of mischief in his voice that reveals the satirical nature of the story ever so subtly. Each listener may have his or her own biases about how a character should sound, but other than these personal preferences, one would have a difficult time arguing Matzan’s great talent.
This is a unique novel in so many ways, thought provoking, futuristic, satirical, and a warning of what might come. Some of the characters are over the top, Hamp, for example (how can anyone function while drinking that much), but that’s what makes is so fun. Highly recommended.
Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.
August 30, 2024
This book was a nice, quick read. It's perfect for when you just finished a book that was hard to get through and need something light and easy. But I don't think I'll ever read it again. So, I give it 3 stars.
1⭐️ DNF or Forced myself to Finish
2⭐️ It's Just a book
3⭐️ A Good Book
4⭐️ On My Reread List
5⭐️ god mode
1⭐️ DNF or Forced myself to Finish
2⭐️ It's Just a book
3⭐️ A Good Book
4⭐️ On My Reread List
5⭐️ god mode
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews