A review by henryarmitage
They'd Rather Be Right by Frank Riley, M.W. Carroll, Mark Clifton
4.0
This novel won the 1955 Hugo for best novel. Sometimes characterized as 'the worst Hugo.' I enjoyed it.
There's a cyber-MacGuffin named Bossy which has the ability to confer rejuvenation and eternal life through cellular-level psychosomatic therapy. The catch is, it only works if you have a flexible and open mind, not burdened by any strong convictions.
Another benefit conveyed by this treatment turns out to be telepathy, and we discover the whole process which made Bossy possible was orchestrated by a lonely telepath who hoped for this outcome so a telepathic companion for himself, and eventually a race of telepaths, would be created for himself.
The title refers to this dilemma. Would you rather keep stubbornly clinging to what you believe now, or would you possibly have an open mind to something different, especially with the reward of eternal life at stake? I couldn't help thinking of the message of salvation with Jesus Christ, which offers the same reward.
Like a lot of older SF, the prose is clunky and the science is off and sometimes laughable.
There's a cyber-MacGuffin named Bossy which has the ability to confer rejuvenation and eternal life through cellular-level psychosomatic therapy. The catch is, it only works if you have a flexible and open mind, not burdened by any strong convictions.
Another benefit conveyed by this treatment turns out to be telepathy, and we discover the whole process which made Bossy possible was orchestrated by a lonely telepath who hoped for this outcome so a telepathic companion for himself, and eventually a race of telepaths, would be created for himself.
The title refers to this dilemma. Would you rather keep stubbornly clinging to what you believe now, or would you possibly have an open mind to something different, especially with the reward of eternal life at stake? I couldn't help thinking of the message of salvation with Jesus Christ, which offers the same reward.
Like a lot of older SF, the prose is clunky and the science is off and sometimes laughable.