jonathanpalfrey's review
2.0
I like Colin Kapp, but this was his first novel, dating from the early 1960s. My favourite of his novels is his second, [b:Patterns Of Chaos|2037247|Patterns Of Chaos|Colin Kapp|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|2042043], published eight years later.
For his first novel, he tried to do his own version of Alfred Bester's [b:Tiger! Tiger!|1258748|Tiger! Tiger!|Alfred Bester|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1317025879s/1258748.jpg|1398442]: a man obsessed with revenge powers through all opposition despite the fact that everyone is out to get him. There are a few amusing and presumably deliberate borrowings from Bester's novel, such as the burning man; and there's even a form of teleportation. However, Kapp's story isn't simple plagiarism: the scenario, plot, and characters are completely different.
The story is told flamboyantly, with much sound and fury, but unfortunately the scenario and plot are implausible and the characterization is sketchy. By the standards of sf in the early 1960s, it's not a bad book, and I wouldn't warn you off it as long as you're familiar with sf in general; but Kapp wrote some better novels later on.
If you're not accustomed to sf, I'd advise you to skip Colin Kapp's novels completely. There are other authors who could give you a better introduction to sf, although exactly which ones would depend on what you want out of fiction.
For his first novel, he tried to do his own version of Alfred Bester's [b:Tiger! Tiger!|1258748|Tiger! Tiger!|Alfred Bester|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1317025879s/1258748.jpg|1398442]: a man obsessed with revenge powers through all opposition despite the fact that everyone is out to get him. There are a few amusing and presumably deliberate borrowings from Bester's novel, such as the burning man; and there's even a form of teleportation. However, Kapp's story isn't simple plagiarism: the scenario, plot, and characters are completely different.
The story is told flamboyantly, with much sound and fury, but unfortunately the scenario and plot are implausible and the characterization is sketchy. By the standards of sf in the early 1960s, it's not a bad book, and I wouldn't warn you off it as long as you're familiar with sf in general; but Kapp wrote some better novels later on.
If you're not accustomed to sf, I'd advise you to skip Colin Kapp's novels completely. There are other authors who could give you a better introduction to sf, although exactly which ones would depend on what you want out of fiction.
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