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The Prisoner #1
The Prisoner
Coming in November 2009, AMC's highly anticipated remake of the cult '60's television series The Prisoner , starring Ian McKellen and Jim Caviezel.
Based on the highly acclaimed 1960s television show, Thomas M. Disch's novelization of The Prisoner has become a cult classic in its own right. A story that combines elements of a spy thriller with the Orwellian tropes of science fiction, The Prisoner follows a former British secret agent who has quit the force, only to find himself trapped in an anonymous place called the Village. Known only as "Number 6," he struggles to maintain his individual identity in the face of the nameless powers-that-be, who use increasingly sophisticated and terrifying methods in order to extract his secrets.
First published in 1967, by an author widely regarded to be a master of the science fiction genre, The Prisoner will appeal to longtime fans of the show as well as those who are discovering it for the first time.
Based on the highly acclaimed 1960s television show, Thomas M. Disch's novelization of The Prisoner has become a cult classic in its own right. A story that combines elements of a spy thriller with the Orwellian tropes of science fiction, The Prisoner follows a former British secret agent who has quit the force, only to find himself trapped in an anonymous place called the Village. Known only as "Number 6," he struggles to maintain his individual identity in the face of the nameless powers-that-be, who use increasingly sophisticated and terrifying methods in order to extract his secrets.
First published in 1967, by an author widely regarded to be a master of the science fiction genre, The Prisoner will appeal to longtime fans of the show as well as those who are discovering it for the first time.
242 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
14 people are currently reading
487 people want to read
About the author
Thomas M. Disch
373 books303 followersPoet and cynic, Thomas M. Disch brought to the sf of the New Wave a camp sensibility and a sardonicism that too much sf had lacked. His sf novels include Camp Concentration, with its colony of prisoners mutated into super-intelligence by the bacteria that will in due course kill them horribly, and On Wings of Song, in which many of the brightest and best have left their bodies for what may be genuine, or entirely illusory, astral flight and his hero has to survive until his lover comes back to him; both are stunningly original books and both are among sf's more accomplishedly bitter-sweet works.
In later years, Disch had turned to ironically moralized horror novels like The Businessman, The MD, The Priest and The Sub in which the nightmare of American suburbia is satirized through the terrible things that happen when the magical gives people the chance to do what they really really want. Perhaps Thomas M. Disch's best known work, though, is The Brave Little Toaster, a reworking of the Brothers Grimm's "Town Musicians of Bremen" featuring wornout domestic appliances -- what was written as a satire on sentimentality became a successful children's animated musical.
In later years, Disch had turned to ironically moralized horror novels like The Businessman, The MD, The Priest and The Sub in which the nightmare of American suburbia is satirized through the terrible things that happen when the magical gives people the chance to do what they really really want. Perhaps Thomas M. Disch's best known work, though, is The Brave Little Toaster, a reworking of the Brothers Grimm's "Town Musicians of Bremen" featuring wornout domestic appliances -- what was written as a satire on sentimentality became a successful children's animated musical.
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May 22, 2020
(Thomas Michael Disch) 1940 - July 4 2008
aka Thom Demijohn, Leonie Hargrave, Victor Hastings, Cassandra Knye
A top-level agent, highly skilled and ultra-secret. But he wants out, and they won't let him quit. He quits anyway. Then suddenly comes the dawn when he wakes up in captivity, in a pleasant, old-style, seaside town - one packed solid with electronic surveillance hardware. This is The Village. And he is The Prisoner. If he was good enough, sharp enough to be a top-flight cloak-and-dagger man, is he good enough to escape the men who've chained his life to the wall?
A famous line "I Am Not a Number!"
This was also a great T. V. show
aka Thom Demijohn, Leonie Hargrave, Victor Hastings, Cassandra Knye
A top-level agent, highly skilled and ultra-secret. But he wants out, and they won't let him quit. He quits anyway. Then suddenly comes the dawn when he wakes up in captivity, in a pleasant, old-style, seaside town - one packed solid with electronic surveillance hardware. This is The Village. And he is The Prisoner. If he was good enough, sharp enough to be a top-flight cloak-and-dagger man, is he good enough to escape the men who've chained his life to the wall?
A famous line "I Am Not a Number!"
This was also a great T. V. show
May 2, 2021
This was a decent attempt at novelizing the classic 1967 British television show "The Prisoner". The book was published after the show in 1969 and attempts to detail the Village and Number 6. As in the show, Number 6 relentlessly deals with his antagonist Number 2 and makes every effort to escape. The book mimics the show's smart and quick dialogue filled with literary and classical allusions, intrusive and constant surveillance, and psychological manipulation.
I went back and checked out most of the show after reading. The book adapts a few episodes, for instance 'The Arrival', where Number 6 arrives to the Village and makes an impulsive escape attempt. The episode 'A. B. and C.', where Number 6 undergoes dream manipulation in order to extract the reason for his resignation. And episode 'Many Happy Returns, when Number 6 gets away but is tricked into being brought back, questioning who is really running the Village. The book indirectly references 'The Schizoid Man' and 'Hammer Into Anvil' but does not incorporate them into the plot.
The book is spot-on with recreating some parts of the show and then creates other elements. However, in my honest opinion, the show did a better job only because the book was limited as to what it presented. I would recommend and give this story a chance if you enjoyed the show.
"Be seeing, you!"
December 9, 2010
'Surprisingly good for a TV novelization' is praise too faint to serve this book. This is not merely a good tie-in, it's good Speculative fiction. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised: Disch is acclaimed as an inventive author who didn't succumb to the limits of his genre.
Then again, such acclaim is all too common, thrown at any author who deviates from the most predictable forms. Disch is more than this. His literary aspirations shine through in both form and content.
His dialogue is snappy and referential, replete with wry insight and involved psychology. His style is somewhat contrived, but that is difficult to avoid with an author who deploys such a deliberate and controlled hand.
And this contrivance, this self-aware, clever style is in no way out of place in the Prisoner universe. Like McGoohan, Disch is twisting and playing with the tropes of spy literature, including its trite dialogue, and mixing them with post-modern counterculture deconstruction.
Perhaps the most surprising part is how well his voice in this novel matches with the television series, itself. The inscrutable layers are there, as is the unyielding heart of six, the crushing weight which at every turn you feel must finally overcome him, and all the multivariate allusions to how his predicament parallels the sum of human experience, imagined as a struggle between the individual and communal urges.
I don't usually include examples from the books in question, but there is one which I feel illustrates perfectly how Disch's writing meshes with what made the series great. Feel free to skip it if you'd rather read it for yourself, though it's a momentary insight, not a plot point:
At one point, Number Six has again escaped to London, and is trying there to make contacts, to tell his story, and to seek allies to protect him from return. He rushes about the city in a furor, contacting anyone, trying to decode stolen tapes, calling offices, trying to set up appointments.
At every turn, he is met by difficulty. His calls are not returned, appointments are put off, and no one can find a machine to play the stolen tapes. Six is wracked by paranoia, seeing everywhere the hand intent to snatch him back, infiltrating everyone and everything.
Then he realizes that, being trapped so long in The village, he had grown used to it, to its constraints but also its convenience, its minuteness. He realizes that he had merely forgotten that the world is a difficult, confused, maddening place that seems to set upon you at every turn to inconvenience you and drive you back.
The poignancy of this simple insight, to me, shows all the strength of Disch's storytelling skill and grasp of psychology; and more than that, unveils a new and fundamental truism about the world of The Prisoner and the changes it has wrought in Number Six.
I have a great ardor for the original series, but this has hardly made me ready to accept all interpretations. I found the most recent televised reimagining to be sadly lacking, but not so this book. It extends itself, exploring the mythology, not limiting itself to the content of the show. But then, how could any author hope to capture the tone of such an unpredictable, ever-changing creature without being similarly bold and unfettered?
Some hardliners may resent the direction the book takes, but I appreciated that Disch was not content to wrest McGoohan's laurels, preferring to draw high his aim in hopes of winning his own. In my purview, he succeeded.
Then, some months later, I was in a comic shop in midtown Manhattan and came across a book which listed and rated books which were tie-ins to films and television series. Curious, I thumbed through it to see if there was an entry on this book. To my edification, there was, and it read:
"This is the single best tie in novel ever written."
Then again, such acclaim is all too common, thrown at any author who deviates from the most predictable forms. Disch is more than this. His literary aspirations shine through in both form and content.
His dialogue is snappy and referential, replete with wry insight and involved psychology. His style is somewhat contrived, but that is difficult to avoid with an author who deploys such a deliberate and controlled hand.
And this contrivance, this self-aware, clever style is in no way out of place in the Prisoner universe. Like McGoohan, Disch is twisting and playing with the tropes of spy literature, including its trite dialogue, and mixing them with post-modern counterculture deconstruction.
Perhaps the most surprising part is how well his voice in this novel matches with the television series, itself. The inscrutable layers are there, as is the unyielding heart of six, the crushing weight which at every turn you feel must finally overcome him, and all the multivariate allusions to how his predicament parallels the sum of human experience, imagined as a struggle between the individual and communal urges.
I don't usually include examples from the books in question, but there is one which I feel illustrates perfectly how Disch's writing meshes with what made the series great. Feel free to skip it if you'd rather read it for yourself, though it's a momentary insight, not a plot point:
At one point, Number Six has again escaped to London, and is trying there to make contacts, to tell his story, and to seek allies to protect him from return. He rushes about the city in a furor, contacting anyone, trying to decode stolen tapes, calling offices, trying to set up appointments.
At every turn, he is met by difficulty. His calls are not returned, appointments are put off, and no one can find a machine to play the stolen tapes. Six is wracked by paranoia, seeing everywhere the hand intent to snatch him back, infiltrating everyone and everything.
Then he realizes that, being trapped so long in The village, he had grown used to it, to its constraints but also its convenience, its minuteness. He realizes that he had merely forgotten that the world is a difficult, confused, maddening place that seems to set upon you at every turn to inconvenience you and drive you back.
The poignancy of this simple insight, to me, shows all the strength of Disch's storytelling skill and grasp of psychology; and more than that, unveils a new and fundamental truism about the world of The Prisoner and the changes it has wrought in Number Six.
I have a great ardor for the original series, but this has hardly made me ready to accept all interpretations. I found the most recent televised reimagining to be sadly lacking, but not so this book. It extends itself, exploring the mythology, not limiting itself to the content of the show. But then, how could any author hope to capture the tone of such an unpredictable, ever-changing creature without being similarly bold and unfettered?
Some hardliners may resent the direction the book takes, but I appreciated that Disch was not content to wrest McGoohan's laurels, preferring to draw high his aim in hopes of winning his own. In my purview, he succeeded.
Then, some months later, I was in a comic shop in midtown Manhattan and came across a book which listed and rated books which were tie-ins to films and television series. Curious, I thumbed through it to see if there was an entry on this book. To my edification, there was, and it read:
"This is the single best tie in novel ever written."
September 25, 2014
I loved this weird, Kafkaesque waking nightmare until we got to the end and everything was suddenly explained. I had the same reaction to the 1997 Michael Douglas/Sean Penn movie, The Game. Don't look at the man behind the curtain!
But... let's be realistic. The Prisoner was a popular series at the time and is apparently being remade. According to boxofficemojo.com, The Game grossed a respectable $109M worldwide. Kafka, on the other hand, died a miserable death at the age of 41. It's pretty obvious what the correct choice is. So, with that introduction, here's
The Missing Final Chapter Of The Trial
K woke and felt unaccountably disoriented. He tried to muster his thoughts. Where was he? And what had happened? Suddenly, everything came back to him. The two men... the knife...
The rest of this review is available elsewhere (the location cannot be given for Goodreads policy reasons)
But... let's be realistic. The Prisoner was a popular series at the time and is apparently being remade. According to boxofficemojo.com, The Game grossed a respectable $109M worldwide. Kafka, on the other hand, died a miserable death at the age of 41. It's pretty obvious what the correct choice is. So, with that introduction, here's
The Missing Final Chapter Of The Trial
K woke and felt unaccountably disoriented. He tried to muster his thoughts. Where was he? And what had happened? Suddenly, everything came back to him. The two men... the knife...
The rest of this review is available elsewhere (the location cannot be given for Goodreads policy reasons)
November 8, 2021
I remember when “The Prisoner” first aired as a summer replacement series (for “The Jackie Gleason Show”) in the U.S. I was just on the cusp of leaving my “pre-teen” years … and I was completely fascinated. I had never seen any television show quite like it, and it quickly rocketed into my “Top 5 Favorite TV Shows” category in the company of “The Avengers” (Steed and Mrs. Peel … not MARVEL) and “The Twilight Zone.” Of course, at that time in my life, I took it literally and was quite perplexed when it segued into allegory. Yet, my love for it didn’t diminish at all.
In its own way, it prepared me for the wonders of David Lynch … first with “Twin Peaks” and then with his films. “The Prisoner” holds a cherished place in my film collection, and I’ve watched the series several times through the years.
Some time after the series ended, I saw a paperback edition of Thomas M. Disch’s book, THE PRISONER. Racing home from the drug store paperback rack, I started reading it that very afternoon … and immediately became lost. Technically, the series had ended with an escape from “The Village,” so was this story supposed to be a “missing” episode? No. Also, there was a certain familiarity, but this wasn’t The Village that I knew. So, this was supposed to be a sequel? Yes. It was also difficult for me to keep the character Numbers sorted out. And then there were some scenes based in reality, and some based in thoughts and dreams. I finished it, but I wasn’t quite certain what I’d read.
About a week ago, I was sorting through books that had occupied a back shelf in my library, and found no less that three copies of this book! There was my original paperback purchase, there was a second paperback copy autographed by the writer (!), and there was a hardback edition published in Great Britain by Dobson Books, Ltd. Obviously, this had subconsciously meant even more to me than I remembered. Well, I didn’t trust that my original purchase would “hold together,” and I didn’t want to risk damaging an autographed copy, so I delved into the more sturdy hardback.
Having many more years and several viewings under my belt, THE PRISONER was no longer an enigma for me. It is a sequel that consists of four “episodes.” There are many references to the original series (including incidents built on famous occurrences such as “The Schizoid Man”), and the writing style very much invokes the original series with multiple meanings, literary puns, wry observations of commonplace things, and a great uncertainty of who was on which “side.”
The television series had many genuine surprises that were so inventive, and THE PRISONER shows that same creativity. One incident strongly recalls “The Chimes of Big Ben” episode while another uses “Free For All” as its base. There were also wonderful twists such as a metamorphosis of the bizarre Carnival episode into a stage play presentation of “Measure For Measure,” and what would a conclusion be without Number One?
If there were flaws … and this may be more of a case of my “playing the expert,” … I was genuinely perplexed by Number Six’s questions about the purpose of The Village. After all, a viewing of any episode after the first one clearly defines that in the opening minutes. And there were some romantic attachments that seemed more convenient than developed. Still, it was an enjoyable experience, although I do think it is necessary to be familiar with the series to “catch” a lot of what is happening. For fans, it is an engaging follow-up.
In its own way, it prepared me for the wonders of David Lynch … first with “Twin Peaks” and then with his films. “The Prisoner” holds a cherished place in my film collection, and I’ve watched the series several times through the years.
Some time after the series ended, I saw a paperback edition of Thomas M. Disch’s book, THE PRISONER. Racing home from the drug store paperback rack, I started reading it that very afternoon … and immediately became lost. Technically, the series had ended with an escape from “The Village,” so was this story supposed to be a “missing” episode? No. Also, there was a certain familiarity, but this wasn’t The Village that I knew. So, this was supposed to be a sequel? Yes. It was also difficult for me to keep the character Numbers sorted out. And then there were some scenes based in reality, and some based in thoughts and dreams. I finished it, but I wasn’t quite certain what I’d read.
About a week ago, I was sorting through books that had occupied a back shelf in my library, and found no less that three copies of this book! There was my original paperback purchase, there was a second paperback copy autographed by the writer (!), and there was a hardback edition published in Great Britain by Dobson Books, Ltd. Obviously, this had subconsciously meant even more to me than I remembered. Well, I didn’t trust that my original purchase would “hold together,” and I didn’t want to risk damaging an autographed copy, so I delved into the more sturdy hardback.
Having many more years and several viewings under my belt, THE PRISONER was no longer an enigma for me. It is a sequel that consists of four “episodes.” There are many references to the original series (including incidents built on famous occurrences such as “The Schizoid Man”), and the writing style very much invokes the original series with multiple meanings, literary puns, wry observations of commonplace things, and a great uncertainty of who was on which “side.”
The television series had many genuine surprises that were so inventive, and THE PRISONER shows that same creativity. One incident strongly recalls “The Chimes of Big Ben” episode while another uses “Free For All” as its base. There were also wonderful twists such as a metamorphosis of the bizarre Carnival episode into a stage play presentation of “Measure For Measure,” and what would a conclusion be without Number One?
If there were flaws … and this may be more of a case of my “playing the expert,” … I was genuinely perplexed by Number Six’s questions about the purpose of The Village. After all, a viewing of any episode after the first one clearly defines that in the opening minutes. And there were some romantic attachments that seemed more convenient than developed. Still, it was an enjoyable experience, although I do think it is necessary to be familiar with the series to “catch” a lot of what is happening. For fans, it is an engaging follow-up.
May 9, 2020
A book based on the TV series, which, just like I considered the TV series, was pointless and a waste of my time reading/watching. Saying that, it does capture the 1960s TV show perfectly, so maybe a good read for fans of the show? 1 out of 12.
September 4, 2022
This new Penguin edition of Disch’s novelisation – the one that, in his lifetime, he resented every reprint of – is timed to coincide with the recent miniseries remake. Disch contracted to write this for a small fee while particularly short of cash, even before he caught a few episodes of it on US television, and he felt no particular affinity to the series but went on to create his own kind of embellishment on what he had seen with little regard as to how his novel might match the series’ end result. It certainly diverges from it in any number of ways, but that’s possibly explained by the (very likely grafted on) notion that this was meant as a sequel: Number 6 has been recaptured, and he goes through the motions once more with similar tenacity but with a very different set of results. I didn’t see this as a sequel at all, but I like the notion that The Prisoner’s deliberately inexplicable nature can give rise to different interpretations and outcomes from its themes. Given the circumstances of its conception this isn’t considered a great Disch novel – understandably so, although I still found it to be elegant throughout, particularly the eloquent cat-and-mouse dialogue between Number 6 and Number 2 which felt exactly as it should, and which gives an indication of why Disch was probably right to be offered this gig: he made a more mentally stimulating job of it than, say, Philip K. Dick possibly would have, despite some multiple-identity and dystopian overtones that would now be considered Dickian. Certainly one for the completists of either Disch or The Prisoner, but in many ways actually better than might be expected.
January 27, 2012
This is an odd little story based on the famous television series from the '60s. It's certainly not up to the literary standards of Disch's more well-known work, but it goes on interestingly enough until the characters decide to stage a production of Shakespeare to mask an escape attempt; they (and the reader) kind of get caught-up and lost in the thing and... well, it's kind of unclear and confused, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt since that seemed to be much of the theme of the show.
April 27, 2014
I liked the writing style of this, the sparseness, the cyclical feeling of it. I don't know if it'd be easier to "get" if I'd known anything in advance, if I'd seen the series maybe (I didn't know this was based on a TV series -- I assumed it'd be the other way round, with a big name like Disch). I found some things weirdly predictable, especially the end; like I had seen the series or read something about it, at times.
Weird, anyway, but enjoyable and well written, well structured. Not a favourite, but I don't know -- I might keep it around. I do want to try more of Disch's work.
Weird, anyway, but enjoyable and well written, well structured. Not a favourite, but I don't know -- I might keep it around. I do want to try more of Disch's work.
August 10, 2012
I have not seen either the original series or the remake. I saw this book at the library and thought at first it was the book that the series was based on. I rmemeber a friend telling me abou the series and about "Number Six".
After I checked out the book, I realized it was written after the series came out. I liked the book - up until the ending. The ending made no sense to me and was a disappointment because I was interested in the story up until that point.
Perhaps if I saw the series I would change my mind on that point but after reading the book, I have no desire to see the series.
After I checked out the book, I realized it was written after the series came out. I liked the book - up until the ending. The ending made no sense to me and was a disappointment because I was interested in the story up until that point.
Perhaps if I saw the series I would change my mind on that point but after reading the book, I have no desire to see the series.
May 27, 2024
This wasn't as good as I'd remembered it from previously reading it in 1990 - it was better! As a fan of the show, bringing my own associations to the text, my 5 ⭐ rating is undoubtedly objectively suspect, but that itself is in keeping with the book's themes of what we can and cannot trust, and the conditionality of reality.
Disch captured the smart, jousting dialogue just right, and created the layers of suspicion, second-guessing, cautious trust and resigned betrayals of the TV series.
His story is littered with the Shakespearean and classical references of the original, and the Bard's "Measure for Measure" forms both a plot element and a subversive meta-narrative on the role of the characters with the book, and of the writer and reader of the book. Whether the follow-up novels by two different authors will measure up to Disch's high standards remains for me to see.
Oh, and did Disch conceptualise motion-capture CGI in this 1969 novel? I think he did!
Disch captured the smart, jousting dialogue just right, and created the layers of suspicion, second-guessing, cautious trust and resigned betrayals of the TV series.
His story is littered with the Shakespearean and classical references of the original, and the Bard's "Measure for Measure" forms both a plot element and a subversive meta-narrative on the role of the characters with the book, and of the writer and reader of the book. Whether the follow-up novels by two different authors will measure up to Disch's high standards remains for me to see.
Oh, and did Disch conceptualise motion-capture CGI in this 1969 novel? I think he did!
October 19, 2017
A bit disappointing. I'm a big big fan of the original TV series and Disch's sequel (I suppose we could regard it as the non-canon eighteenth episode?) lacks something -spark or surreality. The Village doesn't feel like Portmeirion; there's a lot of long-winded mazy dialogue that would have been done a lot pithier in the serial. In his defence I believe Disch had only caught a few episodes when he wrote this. He has a good arch style though and this book's miles better than the godawful Western episode "Living In Harmony". Perhaps Ballard or Aldiss could have done a tie-in novel justice. The ending... wraps up some stuff, and it feels like proper bonkers Sixties spy-fi. But it's much more in the spirit of "The Avengers" than "The Prisoner".
March 7, 2018
I was hoping for some enlightenment or perspective on the 1960s TV show from this book, and I really didn't get it. It's billed as a novelization, though apart from the Village scenario and Rover, it doesn't have much in common with the series. But it's even more opaque and obscurantist than the show, without the compensating factor of Patrick McGoohan and the other performers, and the show's energy. I kept waiting for the book to answer any of the questions it was raising about the identities of the prisoners, who was on what side, where the Village had come from, and what anyone in it wanted, and what I got was a distracted pileup of circular dialogue. Not a fan.
September 25, 2012
I wanted to like this. Interesting premise, but with an ultimately disappointing lack of revelation. Also, this guy's writing style made me batty. Lack of dialog markers left me frequently wondering who the heck was talking, and while I suppose that probably cooperated with the theme of the story (which, as far as I could tell was "you can never trust anything"), it was awfully annoying. Meh.
Recommended by: Joe K.
Recommended by: Joe K.
August 2, 2011
Great start to a film this would have been, although the ending doesn't hold up. The execution of the writing at times became episode paraphrases and lots of dialogue in the second half. Good capturing of the essence of the idea from the 60's show of the same idea.
September 29, 2018
Disappointing tie in novel to the classic TV series. Writing style very irritating and affected, and the story adds nothing new to the series mythos, rehashing ideas. Tries at times to mind-bending, but in the end tries too hard.
December 24, 2018
An unusual tie-in novel for an unusual TV show.
A bit too talky at times in a late night rambling "What is real?" form - issues the TV show played with in a less directly stated manner. In describing music played in the Village, Disch names a few of the public domain light classics of the type occasionally featured on the show, but on first arriving, Number 6 hears a selection from Oklahoma!, "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning", which caused me to reflect on the distracting question: Does the Village pay music licensing fees?
A bit too talky at times in a late night rambling "What is real?" form - issues the TV show played with in a less directly stated manner. In describing music played in the Village, Disch names a few of the public domain light classics of the type occasionally featured on the show, but on first arriving, Number 6 hears a selection from Oklahoma!, "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning", which caused me to reflect on the distracting question: Does the Village pay music licensing fees?
January 10, 2021
I've read a couple of novels by Disch and what I've tended to find is that they are infused with some excellent ideas but whilst the prose isn't bad it can be quite slaphazard, with motivations more to serve a plot than from likely character actions. Here, with the Prisoner TV show providing a readymade backdrop, it feels that Disch was both tied to the series idea whilst also seeking to break free from it (he is also a prisoner, in that sense). Copyright information in the book suggests it was written in 1969 which would tie in with the end of the series, but that it's first UK publication was 1979, so it might mean the copyright is with the show rather than the novel. In any event, the novel provides a different ending to that of the show - entirely permissible, of course, but it's not a great ending. Whilst it's an interesting read, and in the first half begins and develops well, I felt it became too lacklustre and scatty towards the finish (the Shakespeare play performed within was a dirge to read through). Probably more of interest to Prisoner completists than Disch fans.
February 4, 2022
Having not looked at this too closely when I bought it, I was under the impression that was the novel the TV series was based on. Instead, this is a novelisation of the TV series, then re-released to tie in with the remake of the series. In any case, I haven't seen either version, and so can't comment on anything about adaptation or faithfulness or the such. It also happens to be written by an acclaimed sci-fi author, which may have been what initially misled me.
But being misled is what The Prisoner is all about anyway. The scenes of back-and-forth dialogue are the best, I think, digressions on philosophy and literature, each party always trying to outfox the other, glean some new information, always unsure how much the other knows or even who the other really is. Fortunately there's quite a lot of this, and it reads pleasantly fast, but the further we get in, the more we endure a barrage of twists, each trying very hard to invert or implode or escalate the previous twists. Sadly, one cool twist times five does not equal five times the cool; quite the opposite, I'd say.
But being misled is what The Prisoner is all about anyway. The scenes of back-and-forth dialogue are the best, I think, digressions on philosophy and literature, each party always trying to outfox the other, glean some new information, always unsure how much the other knows or even who the other really is. Fortunately there's quite a lot of this, and it reads pleasantly fast, but the further we get in, the more we endure a barrage of twists, each trying very hard to invert or implode or escalate the previous twists. Sadly, one cool twist times five does not equal five times the cool; quite the opposite, I'd say.
March 18, 2018
I was only passingly familiar with the original television series this is connected to, so how well it works as a novelization/sequel I can't say. Judging it on its own, though, it's a very impressive, mindbending book and a quality piece of 60s sci-fi. (Warning: If you don't like that classic mid-twentieth century science fiction aesethetic, this probably isn't the book for you.) What makes it more impressive is its status as a tv show tie-in. "The Prisoner" is a genuine piece of literature that doesn't allow itself to be held back by the usual foibles of pulpy genre fiction and television tie-in novels. With that praise out of the way, though, Disch's philosphy and brand-name laden writing style, while distinguishing him from many genre writers, can get tiresome. Everyone's very posh and loquacious, and conversations can get difficult to follow not because they're surreal but simply because the prose and narration often dive very deeply into the esoteric end of the knowledge pool.
June 27, 2020
If this book were written today it would be considered a reboot. It follows the same outline of the TV series: Number 6 quits the agency, is kidnapped, and taken to the Village. The kind of stuff you would expect to happen at the Village happens; but it is a new telling, none of t he hi-jinks from the TV show. I will say no more as I do not want to give away any spoilers.
The story was good and worth reading, but the author's writing style really subtracted from my enjoyment. He appears to have had a thesaurus at hand, and made great use of it. I do not mind authors when they use eloquent language and it comes across as natural, but this guy seemed to be showing off.
The story was good and worth reading, but the author's writing style really subtracted from my enjoyment. He appears to have had a thesaurus at hand, and made great use of it. I do not mind authors when they use eloquent language and it comes across as natural, but this guy seemed to be showing off.
August 22, 2019
A fascinating alternate tale on The Prisoner, this novel has some intriguing conversations on the nature of prison and freedom, great cat-and-mouse between 6 and 2, a great supporting cast, and a wild ending. It's very different from the tv series, and short of that masterpiece standard, but is quite interesting taken on its own terms. If you're a Prisoner fan, I'd recommend it if only as a "what could've been" exercise.
July 28, 2020
A paperback original based on the cult TV series, this was probably a lark for a writer of Disch's ambition. The result is a slightly arty TV novelization or an almost mainstream Disch novel. Fifty years on, it remains the Disch book most likely to be found at a used bookstore. The story is enjoyable, starting at the beginning of Number Six's imprisonment (or does it?) and wrapping up in a satisfying way that reveals the identity of Number One (possibly?). Elusive and playful.
February 7, 2021
The Prisoner by Thomas M. Disch (1969) 2/5
Perhaps I should give up on tv/film/game tie-ins novel. Looking for something familiar as a palette cleanser has so far disappointed me. I’m a huge fan of the original series but this novel does little in the way of bringing the glorious tv show to life. The best of this book are the rehashing of episodes the rest is just somewhat of a bore and the otherness of The Village and its inhabitants aren’t done justice here
Perhaps I should give up on tv/film/game tie-ins novel. Looking for something familiar as a palette cleanser has so far disappointed me. I’m a huge fan of the original series but this novel does little in the way of bringing the glorious tv show to life. The best of this book are the rehashing of episodes the rest is just somewhat of a bore and the otherness of The Village and its inhabitants aren’t done justice here
March 27, 2022
This novel is based on the classic 1960's British TV series of the same name, with some key differences with the series (i.e., one gets the sense that some of the chapters are like missing episodes from the TV series, with more "behind the scenes" details). For example, the novel reveals who/what Number 1 is -- a character that doesn't appear in the TV series, whereas the TV series is more vague and mysterious about the true nature and identity of #1.
December 28, 2023
Probably an over-generous rating given my actual experience reading this was a bit sleepy and unfocused, but there are enough vintage Disch moments (Shakespearean play happening while heavily thematically resonant double cross happens largely in the background, horrifying corporeality of the marble egg, twisting philosophical debates across pages of dialogue) to make this genuinely interesting. I'm very interested in seeing the tv series now.
November 27, 2024
An adaptation of the celebrated British TV series, which starred Patrick McGoohan, by a prize-winning science fiction novelist. The novel's a bizarre hybrid, a Kafkaesque spy novel and an Orwellian spoof, consisting mostly of enigmatic dialogue. This adaptation has many things going for it, including Sixties cool, literary allusions, and strangeness, but it also feels emotionally detached, like an intricate parlor game. But it's about as good as can be expected, all things considered.
May 29, 2024
Not super bad but not super good either. Did enjoy the esoteric bits… sometimes. This smells of late sixties disaffected James Bond type of stuff with LSD thrown in to be the difference maker- shaken not stirred- waking up the morning after to realize the wild ride was better on TV. Watch the show sooo much better.
March 12, 2025
While I struggled a little bit getting into it, once the ball (or perhaps the Guardian) started rolling I got really enraptured in the story.
Just as contradictory and upsetting as any episode of The Prisoner, but with a bright cast of enjoyable characters. Number 14 was a personal treat for me.
All in all a fun read, I’ll have to pick up some more Prisoner spin off novels.
Just as contradictory and upsetting as any episode of The Prisoner, but with a bright cast of enjoyable characters. Number 14 was a personal treat for me.
All in all a fun read, I’ll have to pick up some more Prisoner spin off novels.
December 9, 2017
It wobbled at the end. Otherwise a good piece.
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