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Space Merchants
  
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Space Merchants (Hardcover)

by Frederik Pohl (Author), C.M. Kornbluth (Author)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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16 Reviews
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4.9 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars Venus For Sale, July 31 2009
By Dave_42 "Dave_42" (Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: THE SPACE MERCHANTS (Mass Market Paperback)
After appearing as a serial titled "Gravy Planet" in "Galaxy Science Fiction" from June through August in 1952, "The Space Merchants" by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth was published in book form in 1953. Today the work is clearly regarded as a classic, and its satirical look at what society would look like in a future where consumerism becomes the major driving force is both humorous and a bit profound in terms of how close we have come to it.

There were few awards back in 1952 so it is not too surprising that "The Space Merchants" didn't win the first Hugo when measured against Bester's "The Demolished Man", but it is a little surprising that it wasn't considered for the International Fantasy award in 1952 when Kornbluth's much inferior "Takeoff" was one of the nominees, or in 1953 when "The Demolished Man" was considered and lost out to Sturgeon's "More Than Human". Perhaps it is the humorous premise on which the future society is based, and/or the light-hearted feel of the narrative which resulted in the work not gaining favor with those who select which works are worthy of consideration for awards. It was the fans who first recognized the book with the Astounding/Analog polls of 1956 where it tied for 22nd on the list of books, and in 1966 where ten years later it still finished 22nd on the list of books, and in 1975 when the Locus poll where it was tied for 24th for all-time novel. That is a pretty impressive feat to finish in roughly the same spot in polls taken over a twenty year period.

The story is told from the point of view of Mitch Courtenay, an employee in the Fowler Schocken advertising agency and a star-class copysmith. Mitch receives a promotion to take on the job of selling Venus to people, an account which Schocken has stolen from his rival Taunton. Mitch is in love with Dr. Kathy Nevin, but is having difficulty convincing her that they should stay together. There is also the illegal political group, the Consies (short for conservationists) who threaten the consumerism-based framework of the society.

Mitch's promotion and new project have him targeted by someone to be killed, and if that is not enough he is kidnapped and his identity stripped and he is placed in a position from which he might never escape. He is forced to create his own game to escape, gain his life back, and take on not only his own personal and professional enemies, but deal with the entire conflict between the Consies and society. The book is not all that long, and the pace is quite fast, but what a great ride it is from beginning to end.
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5.0 out of 5 stars A master's work, Feb 19 2004
By Noam Erlichman (Petach Tikva Israel) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Space Merchants (Mass Market Paperback)
Short and to the point in the story, (no 600 pages monster to read) shows very little ageing. A greate read.
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5.0 out of 5 stars At last, its back in print., Mar 1 2003
By Joseph Davis (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Space Merchants (Paperback)
Written over 50 years ago, this book anticipated much of what is wrong in the world we now live in -including corporate imperialism, environmental degradation and the villification of conservationists, the replacement of humanity with two categories of people -those who sell and those who consume, the death of spiritual values and the total ascendancy of materialism. Pohl and Kornbluth have created a materialist, consumerist dystopia that ranks with Vonnegut's Player Piano (also written in the early 1950s), and anticipates books like Harry Harrison's Bill the Galactic Hero and Joseph Heller's Catch 22. And, like the latter books, it manages somehow to be funny much of the time. What a tremendous loss it was for science fiction, and literature in general, when Cyril Kornbluth died prematurely. He had the makings of another Swift, if only he could have lived another 20 years.
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 		 Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars truly stands the test of time
Written 50 years ago, you might expect this book, set in "the future", to be hopelessly trite and dated, but it holds up remarkably well. Read more
Published on Jan 17 2003 by datadame

5.0 out of 5 stars No question, one of the great Sci-fi classics
One of the more frustrating things about Science fiction is the way that many of the premier titles in the genre go out of print and remain unavailable for long periods of time... Read more
Published on Oct 13 2002 by Robert Moore

5.0 out of 5 stars "Absolute power ennobles absolutely"
It's a shame that a book this good is available only in a crummy paperbound edition with cheesy, generic cover art. Read more
Published on Aug 17 2002 by the_fanboy

4.0 out of 5 stars a mix of Huxley and Dick ...
The Space Merchants is an interesting little science fiction novel which describes the world in the 23rd century. Read more
Published on May 27 2002 by lazza

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't believe this book is out of print!
This book should be required reading for everyone. The prescience of the book (written in the early 1950s) is simply incredible. Read more
Published on Jan 7 2002 by Silverwoodchuck47

5.0 out of 5 stars Big Business keeping us down...
I had to read this for Dr. Frost's SciFi class. In the beginning I had my doubts. I don't think I actually finished it in time for the test. Read more
Published on Sep 25 2001 by Ashley Wynn

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb -Pohl's best work
I bought this book but put it aside for a couple of years until finding it again. I decided to read it. Boy was I in for a surprise! Read more
Published on May 14 2000 by B. Tindall

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Great Classics of SF
When you put together a list of possible best novels ever written in the SF field, this novel has to make the short list. Read more
Published on Nov 21 1998 by David N. Reiss

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my top ten favorite SF novels
I think if I hadn't read John Clute's SF Encyclopedia, I would have missed out on this amazingly entertaining novel. Read more
Published on Aug 6 1998 by A TMBG fan (bleed272@aol.com)

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the All-Time SF Greats
He has been largely forgotten by the mainstream now, but C.M. (Cyril) Kornbluth was one of the giants of science fiction. Read more
Published on July 9 1998

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