- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Severn House Publishers (May 1 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0727859609
- ISBN-13: 978-0727859600
- Product Dimensions: 22.7 x 14.1 x 2.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 445 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Veteran Christopher, best known for his recent young adult fiction (the Tripods and Sword of the Spirits trilogies), is at the top of his form in a near-future SF novel that calls to mind his adult classic, No Blade of Grass (1956). Thanks to quiet British restraint, the glimpses of increasingly violent wrongness are more disturbing than entire planets being zapped in a routine space opera. Michael Frodsham is part of an influential Anglo-German family involved in producing virtual reality programs for mass entertainment, now also developing VR into a tool for psychological therapy. As a minor bureaucrat in the British hospital system, however, Michael uneasily begins to suspect that the technology could have more sinister uses as the oppressive European union aims to devour Britain whole. And so he must resist. Christopher avoids standard thriller formula with sharp attention to detail and his refusal to oversimplify the characters. Even people who behave the worst have their reasons-some of which they try to explain, some of which readers can figure out for themselves. The villains are convincing in their moral slovenliness. Likewise, Michael reveals himself as a man of honor without being unbelievably priggish or noble; he's just someone who can't take the easy way out by ignoring his sympathies and principles. He turns out to be unexpectedly admirable, and so does this subtle novel.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
A dark vision of the near future, where entertainment and power have become indistinguishable. Is this the Europe of tomorrow? Virtual Reality has become the predominant form of entertainment for the masses: with a helmet and glove and appropriate software programmes, they can spend their leisure time in fantasy worlds. One company has developed Total Virtual, an extension of the original in which the dreamer lies unconscious while fantasy worlds are experienced, not through helmet and glove, but by direct input to the brain. Anna's son has died in an act of rebellion against European dominion over Britain, and she opts for treatment using Total Virtual - to rediscover her lost child, at least in the illusion of fantasy. But when she dies in the clinic and more suspicious deaths follow, her brother, Michael, is left to discover the real, sinister objective behind the Total programme.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Subtle, horrifying look at near future Virtual Reality,
By
This review is from: Bad Dream (Hardcover)
Veteran British science fiction writer John Christopher tells a subtle, lyrically poignant saga on the potential dangers of Virtual Reality in his latest novel "Bad Dream". In its understated way, it shares much of the same themes echoed in such classic cyberpunk fiction as William Gibson's "Neuromancer, without resorting to much of the rich detail found in Gibson's literary debut. Instead, it works as a tranquil psychological thriller about an unlikely hero, Michael Frodsham, a minor British government healthcare bureaucrat, dealing with a dangerous Virtual Reality technique designed by the German half of his family, and Great Britain's domination by a coercive, almost tyrannical, European Federation. Christopher's villains are intriguing, three-dimensional characters whose motivations are easily understood - if not appreciated - by the reader. This is yet another fine work of science fiction by the author of classics such as "No Blade of Grass" and the Tripods trilogy.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Subtle, horrifying look at near future Virtual Reality,
By John Kwok - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Bad Dream (Hardcover)
Veteran British science fiction writer John Christopher tells a subtle, lyrically poignant saga on the potential dangers of Virtual Reality in his latest novel "Bad Dream". In its understated way, it shares much of the same themes echoed in such classic cyberpunk fiction as William Gibson's "Neuromancer, without resorting to much of the rich detail found in Gibson's literary debut. Instead, it works as a tranquil psychological thriller about an unlikely hero, Michael Frodsham, a minor British government healthcare bureaucrat, dealing with a dangerous Virtual Reality technique designed by the German half of his family, and Great Britain's domination by a coercive, almost tyrannical, European Federation. Christopher's villains are intriguing, three-dimensional characters whose motivations are easily understood - if not appreciated - by the reader. This is yet another fine work of science fiction by the author of classics such as "No Blade of Grass" and the Tripods trilogy.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
mature, questioning sf from a master,
By Robert Spencer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Bad Dream (Hardcover)
I am an american reader who read Christopher's early work years ago. Christopher has matured as a writer, and I was very impressed by the complexity of this novel, both politically and in terms of character development. Here is a character far from a Hollywood hero; a thoughtful, doubting man living in a web of personal hiistory and family relationships who must come to grips with a horrifying secret. The novel is set against a not too distant future that is a bleak vision of Britain's place in the EU, vividly imagined by Christopher. A book that would be an excellent choice for reading groups, there's a lot to think about here, issues of technology, freedom, and resposiblility the West must face soon.
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
