Re: (Worst) He Walked Among Us by Norman Spinrad

On Tue, 21 May 2024 13:08:39 -0000 (UTC), jdnicoll@panix.com (James
Nicoll) wrote:

He Walked Among Us by Norman Spinrad
>
Can the comedian from tomorrow avert dystopia and save a disgruntled
SF author's ailing career in the process?
>
https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/pass

Your brief synopsys of the plot made it sound... like its plot was
very implausible. However, it also sounded like a very entertaining
read, so I was surprised that you then went on to inform us of just
how terrible it was.

And, since the current pope doesn't have the power to haul people
before the Inquisition, Galileo's big mistake only would have existed
for Norman Spinrad in a different form... had he lived in some country
which, unlike the U. S. of A., was not blessed with
Constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of speech.

But I can now see a potential problem with this novel as you describe
it. It deals with a Big Idea, saving the world from ecological
catastrophe caused by human carelesness, but reduces it to a plot of
outrunning the Bad Guys who want to silence you.

Speaking of popes, that reminds me of the movie Foul Play. The one
that starred Goldie Hawn as the glory of the world.

John Savard