ostrava's review against another edition
4.0
Decent.
Straightforward sci-fi with a pretty cool premise, though for the most part, Sheckley is writing for entertainment here, and not to blow our minds on the nature of evil or whatever. Which is fine. And in this case, it makes for an amusing time-killer.
Now, some aspects of the worldbuilding are quite corny. The cult surrounding Evilness is laughable, but then again, I doubt that Sheckley would have minded it being described like that. This is a comedy after all people, we're here to laugh! Come to think of it... I don't think I laughed much. The characters weren't funny, and in fact, they weren't much at all...
But yeah... good stuff.
Straightforward sci-fi with a pretty cool premise, though for the most part, Sheckley is writing for entertainment here, and not to blow our minds on the nature of evil or whatever. Which is fine. And in this case, it makes for an amusing time-killer.
Now, some aspects of the worldbuilding are quite corny. The cult surrounding Evilness is laughable, but then again, I doubt that Sheckley would have minded it being described like that. This is a comedy after all people, we're here to laugh! Come to think of it... I don't think I laughed much. The characters weren't funny, and in fact, they weren't much at all...
But yeah... good stuff.
corymojojojo's review against another edition
4.0
4.5. This story contained a cool, tight premise about a prison planet with memory-wiped inhabitants who have created a system of governance based on law-breaking and murder: basically The Purge planet. Sheckley’s satire on classism and conformity is a bit on the nose but I appreciate it when an author has a good concept and takes it all the way efficiently with focus on the idea alone. While the ending was pretty abrupt and could have used another 30 pages or so, I really really enjoy Sheckley’s tongue-in-cheek style and Douglas Adams-esque tone. This is undoubtedly a story sharply focused on one thing only, but I often like this style of story prominent in the Sci-fi golden age. Sheckley’s becoming a consistent favorite of mine.
simonfromtaured's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
httpecaeris's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
annbonny2035's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
johhnnyinla's review against another edition
4.0
Robert Sheckley deftly manipulates — in a mere (but dense) 127 pages — a plot straight from the pulps involving prison planets and gladiatorial fights against terrifying robots into a scathing and artfully constructed work of satire.
Due to the almost novella length of The Status Civilization do not expect any unnecessary declamations on technology or the nature of the world or government or endless interior character monologues for Sheckley clearly prefers — and revels in — the shorter form.
Told with energy and wit The Status Civilization (1960) is a fast and enjoyable read. Highly recommended for all fans of 50s/early 60s science fiction dystopia (you get two dystopic worlds in this novel) — especially of the satirical bent.
You may read this book free now online via ProjectGutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20919
Due to the almost novella length of The Status Civilization do not expect any unnecessary declamations on technology or the nature of the world or government or endless interior character monologues for Sheckley clearly prefers — and revels in — the shorter form.
Told with energy and wit The Status Civilization (1960) is a fast and enjoyable read. Highly recommended for all fans of 50s/early 60s science fiction dystopia (you get two dystopic worlds in this novel) — especially of the satirical bent.
You may read this book free now online via ProjectGutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20919
jayshay's review against another edition
3.0
Actually this is more a 3.5 review. Despite a fairly two dimensional main character and a lot of explaining, the ideas and wit of this novelette really carried the day. Favourite bits were the identical religious speeches on both Omega and Earth (only spoiled a bit because Sheckley couldn't restrain himself from pointing out the same point at the end) and the copying of past authors that passes itself off as creation, both for the pulps and the higher literary forms. (In the camp of there are no new ideas in art, I suppose.) Some of his points like the insularity of people's pursuits on Earth have to strike rather close to home for people, like myself, who spend a large part of their energies on the internet.
It is good that the book ends where it does because I found myself fairly easily formulating a lot of counter-measures that the computers/robots could come up with to ensure that the Omegans don't get anywhere with their plans. (If you've programmed everyone to police themselves it would be fairly easy to also slip in a solider program in case a part of your population rebelled or broke free from conditioning. This doesn't even address the problem that the computers are really the only ones with up to date technology.) But that really isn't the point of this story, which is to dissect with urbanity the culture of conformity of the 50s and early 60s. That the work still has bite today shows how society is always in that balance between unrestrained, creative, yet dangerous energy and the safety of stultifying security. All hail our internet nanny overlord!
********
I listened to the librivox production of this work, read by Gregg Margarite. His reading style is slightly wooden, but he is a terrific reader and well suited to the 50's tone. And best of all, librivox is free!
It is good that the book ends where it does because I found myself fairly easily formulating a lot of counter-measures that the computers/robots could come up with to ensure that the Omegans don't get anywhere with their plans. (If you've programmed everyone to police themselves it would be fairly easy to also slip in a solider program in case a part of your population rebelled or broke free from conditioning. This doesn't even address the problem that the computers are really the only ones with up to date technology.) But that really isn't the point of this story, which is to dissect with urbanity the culture of conformity of the 50s and early 60s. That the work still has bite today shows how society is always in that balance between unrestrained, creative, yet dangerous energy and the safety of stultifying security. All hail our internet nanny overlord!
********
I listened to the librivox production of this work, read by Gregg Margarite. His reading style is slightly wooden, but he is a terrific reader and well suited to the 50's tone. And best of all, librivox is free!
toonitopia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
looruzki's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0