Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Grafton, 1988.
Description
With over a hundred million viewers, Jack Barron is a media star of the highest celebrity--think Jerry Springer crossed with Ted Koppel--and his call-in talk show is the perfect platform for reform. But every man has his price, and when a cryogenics millionaire makes Jack an offer he can't refuse--immortality--anything can happen. Bug Jack Barron, Norman Spinrad's fourth novel, was first published in 1969, and is commonly acknowledged to be the book that established Spinrad's brilliant style and made his name. Its exploration of the timeless and universally relevant theme of big business corrupting democratic process, stands out now as an unforgettable and bitingly satirical work of imagination that remains as relevant as ever to today's television and media obsessed culture.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member g026r
The best way to describe my reaction to Bug Jack Barron is that I simultaneously loved and hated it.
The loved is simple: it's a fairly gripping SF tale, even if the plot is occasionally predictable, and there's something about that prose that just feels alive.
The hated is a bit more complex, but
The loved is simple: it's a fairly gripping SF tale, even if the plot is occasionally predictable, and there's something about that prose that just feels alive.
The hated is a bit more complex, but
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can be boiled down to two main problems: the first is that the female characters are incredibly poorly developed, existing for little reason but to hero-worship the protagonist. The other is that the book is immensely dated; it is inherently, inseparably, and unavoidably tied to the '60s culture that spawned it in its world-view, its language, its predictions for the future, and everything else, all of which doesn't necessarily detract from the interest but does serve to make it far less relevant than it would have been 40 years ago. Show Less
LibraryThing member sgarnell
Perhaps this book is no longer politically correct, but I found it to be one of the most interesting books I've ever read. The first chapter alone was so dramatic, funny and cynical, I fell over in my chair. Literally! Then I got up and read some more. On a more serious note, the book is one of the
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great New Wave science fictions of the 60s. It just missed winning the Hugo, losing to THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS, but hey, what can you do. It's still a fantastic book, full of socio-political commentary and proves that Spinrad had a crystal ball into the future. Ignoring the misses in technology, he very well describes the zany world of infotainment which surrounds us. Even though not everyone will understand New Wave SF, I can not give a higher rating. Everyone should read this book: whether they like it or not! Show Less
LibraryThing member RobertDay
In 1969, this controversial book (for its graphic sex scenes) was very much science fiction. Set in the distant future year of 1994, it depicted an amoral television video-jock exposing corporate racism, scandal and horror in a way that shocked many readers for its brutalism. Now, it looks like -
Although the book reads like something of its time - the language is definitely tripped-out 1960s and there are some aspects of this future that haven't happened, like legal marijuana and a black separatist Mississippi - you cannot get away from the fact that the world it depicts is painfully close to our own. Perhaps we need our own Jack Barron...
And the book has its place in the story of censorship in the UK. When it was serialised in Michael Moorcock's 'New Worlds', complaints about the sex led to W.H.Smiths withdrawing the magazine from sale; that led to the withdrawal of its Arts Council grant and the collapse of the magazine, setting the British SF magazine market back for nearly 25 years. Again, now it seems comparatively tame compared to all the rest of the material regularly carried on the news-stands. We certainly do live in the future.
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well, reality. Jack Barron is recognisably a modern media figure; name your particular 'favourite'. When he confronts the scandal he exposes, his dilemma is the oldest one out - should he buy into the scandal for the biggest and best prize of his life, or should he do the right thing and expose it, and to hell with the consequences.Although the book reads like something of its time - the language is definitely tripped-out 1960s and there are some aspects of this future that haven't happened, like legal marijuana and a black separatist Mississippi - you cannot get away from the fact that the world it depicts is painfully close to our own. Perhaps we need our own Jack Barron...
And the book has its place in the story of censorship in the UK. When it was serialised in Michael Moorcock's 'New Worlds', complaints about the sex led to W.H.Smiths withdrawing the magazine from sale; that led to the withdrawal of its Arts Council grant and the collapse of the magazine, setting the British SF magazine market back for nearly 25 years. Again, now it seems comparatively tame compared to all the rest of the material regularly carried on the news-stands. We certainly do live in the future.
Show Less
LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
A good time, as a late-night talk show host takes on the economic powers that be. As the prose pretty good, I've considered it one of Spinrad's best.
LibraryThing member AlanPoulter
Brilliant in its day...
Subjects
Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novel — 1970)
Nebula Award (Nominee — Novel — 1969)
Language
Original publication date
1969
ISBN
0586035354 / 9780586035351