The Cybernetic Brains

by Raymond F. Jones, Jerome Podwil (Illustrator)

Paperback Library, 1969. Mass market paperback. First published in hardcover in 1962; expansion of a story that first appeared in "Startling Stories" in 1950. Jones was an American science fiction writer, best known for his 1952 novel, "This Island Earth", which was adapted into the classic 1955 film.

Genres: Science Fiction

128 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Raymond Fisher Jones (November 15, 1915, Salt Lake City, Utah - January 24, 1994, Sandy, Salt Lake County, Utah) was an American science fiction author. He is best known for his 1952 novel, This Island Earth, which was adapted into the 1955 film This Island Earth and for the short story "The Children's Room", which was adapted for television as Episode Two of the ABC network show Tales of Tomorrow, first aired on February 29, 1952.

Jones' career was at its peak during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. His stories were published mainly in magazines such as Thrilling Wonder Stories, Astounding Stories, and Galaxy. His short story Noise Level is known as one of his best works. His short story "The Alien Machine", first published in the June, 1949 Thrilling Wonder Stories, was later expanded into the novel This Island Earth, along with two other short stories, "The Shroud of Secrecy", and "The Greater Conflict", known as The Peace Engineers Trilogy, featuring the character Cal Meacham. Jones also wrote the story upon which the episode "The Children's Room" was based for the television program Tales of Tomorrow in 1952.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published in pulp magazine form in 1950 and then expanded for book appearance in 1962, this is one of the first trapped-in-a computer stories in the field. I wonder if it wasn't something of an inspiration for Ellison's I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream and/or The Matrix movies. It's more politically and socially critical than most of Jones' work, and the ending is absolutely dark and downbeat, which also differs from most of the other of his works with which I'm familiar. The four main characters are distinct and well drawn, but the world in which they live, hundreds of years in the future, doesn't differ much from the 1950s. Still, it's a very good, if gloomy, early Dystopian piece.

[Byron 'Giggsy' Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

protocyberpunk and a precursor to Philip K Dick

[Barry Haworth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I came across this book online in a digital version of its orignal magazine publication (Startling Stories September 1950). There were some interesting ideas in the story, but I found myself not having a lot of sympathy for the lead characters. Secondly, the social/political situation wasn't one that really worked for me - I find it hard to credit that even if the various technological advances described in the story worked as advertised that people would behave as they do in this story.

Then there was the unnecessarily depressing ending. So many amazing developments, so many ways the story could have come to an uplifting triumphant ending and the author picked the version where so many different things all go wrong in exactly the right way to bring about a disaster instead. No thanks.

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Îşi recapătă încet conştiinţa. Apoi, John Wilkins îşi aminti.
Fusese ucis într-un accident de maşină, la munte. Şi acum era un creier, un creier cibernetic de control, Îşi închipui cortexul dezgolit al creierului său, o chestie cenuşie, ridată, străbătută de capilare. Aceasta era întruparea lui. Restul fusese înlăturat. Rămăsese doar centrul gândirii.
Dar toată lumea ştia că creierele cibernetice nu erau însufleţite.
Îşi dădu seama cu groază:
Atunci cum putea fi în viaţă?

[Dana Wilde · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quintessential 1950s pulp-paperback crossover - you feel like you're right inside a B science fiction movie. Not sure but it might be one of the first trapped-in-a-computer stories.

[Doz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written scifi which delves into some political ideals with some interesting thoughts.