The Secrets of Synchronicity

by Jonathan Fast

First edition of a paperback original, 1977. Stefin-Dae should have died on Slabour, like all good diggers do. After a few years of grubbing in the earth for Creelium - the most precious metal known to man - Stefin's lungs should have been so full of red dust that there was no room left for air. But Stefin got lucky (or maybe it was just his destiny). He escaped from Slabour, stumbled upon the key to the Universe, the Secret of Synchronicity - and became the most dangerous man in the inhabited galaxies!

Genres: Science Fiction

169 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 5, 1977

Reviews

[2Due · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly good read, far from perfect and with a couple of annoying things, but very enjoyable.
It's very fast paced, yet still believable, never felt rushed to me, maybe only a bit at the end.
It feels episodic yet all connected nicely in the whole narrative. The main character despite being 17 (I tend to avoid young characters, they can be unlikable/dumb/irrational, just not my thing to read), was very mature, clever and learned from his mistakes and I particularly enjoy his dry sarcasm and honesty.
The various settings and characters he meets are incredibly interesting and could easily be a base for a show.
There's unfortunately how women are pictured... it's a bit hard to truly pin down, I'll be honest.
On one hand the ladies are used as sexual tools without much of a personality, on the other there's a little bit of spunk in each that shows they are not truly one dimensional.
There was also a moment where the main character and his love interest talk about change, where she says she didn't want to be a "scrugal" forever. He was confused, out of his naivety (I presume) he thought she liked it. At that she reminded him of when he had been chosen by his boss to be his... temporary companion... (of course the boss was also a disgusting pedo) and how he hated it, he even refused to do certain things. It was the same for her, she hated what she was forced to do and wanted a way out. I really liked the balance of the topic in their conversation and how she later showed courage and quick thinking, underlined by her friends when they helped the protagonist escape.
There was a second girl who seemed less refined. At first of course used as a sexual distraction and later on being a big help as well, but the cleverness she showed at first seemed to disappear when she returned home to her father. It was immediately clear he wasn't mentally ok, that he thought she had never left when she's been away for years. She acted as if it was all normal and made me wonder if she had done something to her father in the first place. No, she didn't, she just acted like a moron being all "Oh, daddy" and looking surprised when the truth of his behaviour came up.
A third lady appears and she has the saddest story of all. I won't spoil it, but I'll say it's been one of the most engaging and compelling part of the book with a solid moral justice twist in the end by the main protagonist and his friend.
Said this, it's not like the male characters are all perfect compared to the females, far from that, each character has their own good qualities and flaws, making each interaction incredibly memorable and fascinating to follow.
In the end, it was a fun book to read and I recommend it

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine example of good science fiction, not just an exciting adventure that takes place in space and on alien worlds, but that interweaves it's development of interesting ideas with the growth of well-drawn characters, reaching a conclusion that makes sense in their context.

[Andrea Valente · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it in the 80s, when I was a teenager.
It's one of those novels that made me think :)

[Bart Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, and yet, light read with a fast plot that helps move things along before the reader can get bored. However, there are downsides to this story as well which explores several cultural themes from a late 1960s point of view. For instance: the blending of Eastern religion with Western capitalism as well as the exploration into sexual liberation, even though the women are basically slaves and have few, if any, rights to an independent life.
Another nice quality to the story is the sublime humor expressed by or hero/protagonist as he faces each perilous situation as he is forced to fulfill his pre-ordained prophecy of freeing the universe from capitalism.

[Cameron Kunzelman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really suffers from being some by-the-numbers science fiction in the style of later Heinlein. There's casual misogyny and some very rote political grandstanding by the author in the form of political strawpeople. That said, the book comes down against capitalism and for an awakened spirituality around the concept of synchronicity that is at least interesting, if not fleshed out very well.

[Devero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Questo fu uno dei primi Urania che lessi in vita mia, da ragazzino delle medie, se ben ricordo. All'epoca mi piacque parecchio, ma già qualche anno dopo, ad una rilettura, lo svalutai parecchio. La storia non è niente di che, a tratti anche noiosa. Certo, è scorribile e si lascia leggere, ma mancano idee ed invenzioni a cui la SF buona mi ha abituato.