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Bedlam Planet

John Brunner

3.39 · Rating details · 136 ratings · 12 reviews

Everything about the planet revolving about Sigma Draconis seemed to indicate that here was a world that could be made into a second Earth. It was fertile and lacked native inhabitants and dangerous beasts. Then what was troubling the pioneer colony that had landed and set up shop there? Was it really possible just to create a new Earth on any vacant world waiting a landin ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, Ace G-709, 160 pages

Published April 1968 by Charter Communications Inc (first published 1968)

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· 136 ratings · 12 reviews

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Oct 29, 2013 Tentatively, Convenience rated it liked it

Shelves: sf

review of
John Brunner's Bedlam Planet
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - October 14, 2013

The bio opposite the title p tells us that Brunner's "interest in science fiction began at the age of six when "someone misguidedly left a copy of the War of the Worlds in the nursery." He sold his first sf paperback at the age of 17 and made his first sales to U.S. magazines before his 18th birthday." Impressive.

The Author's Note on p 4 informs us that: "In writing this novel I have made extensive use of th ...more

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Mar 03, 2020 BadReetReviews rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The "Tom-o-Bedlam" poems at the beginning of every chapter are...weird.

When the six "test subjects" ate the native plants of Asgard, and had their hallucinatory experiences, (after Dennis Malone had his), they all "dreamed" myths of Earth. I liked the one from Kitty Minakis.
P.96:
"they're in the Grove of Persephone the mini headed dog Cerberus came fawning, to lick the feet of the new arrivals, wagging his horrid tail. But let him once get the scent of death from a passerby, and from then on for The "Tom-o-Bedlam" poems at the beginning of every chapter are...weird.

When the six "test subjects" ate the native plants of Asgard, and had their hallucinatory experiences, (after Dennis Malone had his), they all "dreamed" myths of Earth. I liked the one from Kitty Minakis.
P.96:
"they're in the Grove of Persephone the mini headed dog Cerberus came fawning, to lick the feet of the new arrivals, wagging his horrid tail. But let him once get the scent of death from a passerby, and from then on forever that person should not pass again. Seeing the fearful hound who blocked the way back to the sweets & delights of Earth, the dead drank get gladly of the Waters of Lethe, and forgot."

I liked the way the main character got the discouraged and apathetic colonists going after the six leaders trashed the dam, the biolab, the kitchen...
P.117:
" 'here--take these and get out there with everyone else!' he ordered. 'you seem to have been more or less running things lately, and what's happened as a result is a downright disgrace.'
stunned, the two men simply stared at him, making no move to take the chairs.
'don't you agree?' Dennis threw at the audience. 'look at yourself! You're filthy! You stink! You've behaved more like primitives out of the Dark ages than civilized people - going and jeering at lunatics for a Sunday outing!'....
'well, when Dan broke the dam--' tibor began defensively.
'stuff that immediately,' Dennis cut in, taking malicious pleasure in throwing Tibor's own phrase back at him. 'how many dams did Dan build on other islands? I've been away from pipes and purified water for almost 4 weeks. I didn't even have buckets and tanks - I used the cushionfoils' inflatable dinghy for a bathtub! First thing after this meeting, the whole gang of us is going to the stream with soap and disinfectant. Steve, keep that painted rope handy -- and watch out particularly for the mess hall staff! I never expected to see anyone handling food with black-edged fingernails in my lifetime!'

A book about a group of Earth colonists who build a settlement on a planet they name Asgard. They have a really rough time of it when some bacteria in their stomachs eat up all the ascorbic acid, leaving them with scurvy. They have to learn to be Asgard-lings, instead of Earth-lings. ...more

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Apr 08, 2022 Kent rated it liked it · review of another edition

A pretty good entry into Brunner's vast catalog. This story is about a new settlement on a distance Earth-like planet. They run into problems when some of their supplies are destroyed on one of the ships that flies into the moon. They are also in trouble because a native bacteria doesn't allow them to absorb ascorbic acid, leading them to develop scurvy. They need to develop a way to get this nutrient, which may include needing to start eating the native vegetation. This is where things get trip ...more

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Jan 03, 2020 Scott rated it liked it · review of another edition

I find Brunner's writing a bit on the ornate side and not easy to read, but I really enjoy his story lines. This certainly wasn't my favorite Brunner book - Stand on Zanzibar or Squares of the City would be that, but I'm glad I read it. This one really needs to be read through before it all makes sense. If you're a John Brunner fan, by all means go for it - if not, this probably isn't the best place to start. ...more

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Mar 03, 2020 Joachim Boaz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...

"To move past my variegated obsessions regarding William Kotzwinkle’s Doctor Rat (1976) (review + list of imaginary scientific articles), I decided to reread a lesser known John Brunner novel. I cannot pinpoint exactly when I first read Bedlam Plant (1968), other [...]" ...more

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Mar 13, 2019 Brianna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I haven't been so hooked on a book in a long time. I couldn't put it down for the last forty pages. a crazy trip exploring the development of human culture on outer planets, and our reliance on tech - even in a book written in 1968. definitely a good read for scifi fans and culture theorists alike. ...more

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May 23, 2017 Bill rated it liked it · review of another edition

Long before Robinson bored us with Aurora, there was Bedlam Planet, covering much of the same ground, but from a mytho-poetic direction.

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Aug 30, 2015 Jim rated it liked it · review of another edition

Imagine we find a planet that could be a second Earth and we send people there. It's fertile so that they can grow crops and there seem to be no dangerous wild animals or native inhabitants. But the Earthpeople face problems. There may be a lot more to a planetary ecology than they realize...
This one is from 1968 and reflects the growing concern about ecology of the late 60s which has continued to today. Brunner ( 1934-1995) was a British author who raised some important issues in his writing. ...more

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Jul 12, 2015 Stephanie Helms rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This might be THE example of psychedelic sci-fi that no one knows about. It is post-structuralist, looming, cerebral, and sometimes happens in an aphysical space, and it totally works. It is a quick read, an easy read, and a memorable one at that.

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Jul 05, 2012 Peri rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: megan-s

I enjoyed this novel very much from start to finish. It has a very original plot twist in it that you will never expect. A really good read!

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Mar 12, 2011 SciFiOne rated it liked it · review of another edition

Grade C

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About John Brunner

John Brunner

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John Brunner was born in Preston Crowmarsh, near Wallingford in Oxfordshire, and went to school at St Andrew's Prep School, Pangbourne, then to Cheltenham College. He wrote his first novel, Galactic Storm, at 17, and published it under the pen-name Gill Hunt, but he did not start writing full-time until 1958. He served as an officer in the Royal Air Force from 1953 to 1955, and married Marjorie Ro John Brunner was born in Preston Crowmarsh, near Wallingford in Oxfordshire, and went to school at St Andrew's Prep School, Pangbourne, then to Cheltenham College. He wrote his first novel, Galactic Storm, at 17, and published it under the pen-name Gill Hunt, but he did not start writing full-time until 1958. He served as an officer in the Royal Air Force from 1953 to 1955, and married Marjorie Rosamond Sauer on 12 July 1958

At the beginning of his writing career Brunner wrote conventional space opera pulp science fiction. Brunner later began to experiment with the novel form. His 1968 novel "Stand on Zanzibar" exploits the fragmented organizational style John Dos Passos invented for his USA trilogy, but updates it in terms of the theory of media popularised by Marshall McLuhan.

"The Jagged Orbit" (1969) is set in a United States dominated by weapons proliferation and interracial violence, and has 100 numbered chapters varying in length from a single syllable to several pages in length. "The Sheep Look Up" (1972) depicts ecological catastrophe in America. Brunner is credited with coining the term "worm" and predicting the emergence of computer viruses in his 1975 novel "The Shockwave Rider", in which he used the term to describe software which reproduces itself across a computer network. Together with "Stand on Zanzibar", these novels have been called the "Club of Rome Quartet", named after the Club of Rome whose 1972 report The Limits to Growth warned of the dire effects of overpopulation.

Brunner's pen names include K. H. Brunner, Gill Hunt, John Loxmith, Trevor Staines, Ellis Quick, Henry Crosstrees Jr., and Keith Woodcott.
In addition to his fiction, Brunner wrote poetry and many unpaid articles in a variety of publications, particularly fanzines, but also 13 letters to the New Scientist and an article about the educational relevance of science fiction in Physics Education. Brunner was an active member of the organisation Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and wrote the words to "The H-Bomb's Thunder", which was sung on the Aldermaston Marches.

Brunner had an uneasy relationship with British new wave writers, who often considered him too American in his settings and themes. He attempted to shift to a more mainstream readership in the early 1980s, without success. Before his death, most of his books had fallen out of print. Brunner accused publishers of a conspiracy against him, although he was difficult to deal with (his wife had handled his publishing relations before she died).[2]

Brunner's health began to decline in the 1980s and worsened with the death of his wife in 1986. He remarried, to Li Yi Tan, on 27 September 1991. He died of a heart attack in Glasgow on 25 August 1995, while attending the World Science Fiction Convention there

aka
K H Brunner, Henry Crosstrees Jr, Gill Hunt (with Dennis Hughes and E C Tubb), John Loxmith, Trevor Staines, Keith Woodcott

Winner of the ESFS Awards in 1980 as "Best Author" and 1n 1984 as "Novelist".. ...more