Dykstra's dark-room work on his latest "find" is ruined when his wife opens the door before the photos are developed. To punish her, he takes her "treasure hunt" invitation to a party at Chaim Aleuker's house, and solves the puzzle himself so effectively, he comes to the attention of the world leaders. When the party is overrun by local terrorists, he grabs a young "wild girl" guest and flees with her. Like trying to grasp a cobweb without breaking it, his attempts to have the things he believes he wants lead Dykstra only to destroy them.
The action in the novel is physical as well as mental, but the webs that unite each place to everywhere else serve also to bind people together. Cobwebs in unused dwellings echo the threads of connection that link people to each other. At the center of all these webs dwells Mustapha Sharif, a Way of Life believer whose household is Muslim, a respected elder who directly abets Dykstra's crimes, a peaceful man whose former partners met violent deaths, a blind man whose observations are sharp and precise.
Once I met a manYou'll have to watch for it in used bookstores. Ignore the cheesy cover art. This is a story that deserves a wider exposure.
who every day
went around the planet counterclockwise.
He said by this means
he gained a day
and would therefore live for ever.
Unluckily for him
Death measures time
otherwise than with clocks and watches.
—Mustapha Sharif
*Gully Foyle is the central character of The Stars My Destination, an unwitting champion of mental trans-mat jaunte energy who has succeeded in breaking the planetary barrier to jaunting. Even after 50 years, this novel is still the starting point for many science fiction readers.
Please join us at BlogCritics to comment on this review.
Article comments
1 - SFC SKI
I don't know how William Gibson or Neal Stephenson feel about him, but I think Brunner is woefully unsung as a truly visionary author ( I wonder if he has a biography). I will have to look for this one, I'd never even heard of it before.
2 - ESSIA MEFANE
La paix soit avec vous!