The Psychopath Plague by Stephen G. Spruill

These guys look like Pez dispensers to you?

“Forty-Nine days to Doomsday—

The computer projections left no room for doubt- in seven weeks, so many of Earth's people would have gone murderously mad that civilization would collapse beyond any possibility of recovery. There was no known cause for the outbreak of insanity, and only dilettante Elias Kane had as much as a hunch about its origin. With his giant alien servant Pendrake, Kane was prepared to risk his life to solve the riddle of the plague of psychosis- but first he had to evade the madness of the planet he hoped to save!”

-The Back Cover

Copyright 1978, published by Dell SF. $1.75 cover price.252 pages. 

The Psychopath Plague kicks off in an underwater casino as the novel's protagonist Elias Kane gambles with a recently received inheritance. After a year of living in a shack and brewing his own beer, Kane has relocated to a lavish suite. Within the first ten pages, he wins the services of Pendrake, whom he frees outright, after which Kane loses his fortune by  playing what seemed to be a futuristic version of Risk.

Pendrake is a Cephantine, a race known for its honesty, servility, and for possessing incredible strength, bizarrely coupled with an extreme distaste for violence. The Chirpones, a race of penguin-like aliens that are so instinctually fearful of predators that they often die of fear if a human being so much as touches them, have recently begun trading entertainment technology with Earth and are introduced a few pages later. Pendrake informs Elias about the Psychopath Plague, a disease that makes even the most reasonable person murderously violent at the smallest frustration, after the ex-slave’s previous owner makes an attempt on their lives.

There are numerous galactic suspects, as most of the galaxy views humanity as a barbaric menace, but Kane focuses on two—the human colonies of the solar system detest ‘Earthies' and think of them as soft and frivolous, but rely upon the foodstuffs they create for survival. The Chirpones, although seemingly innocent and benign, came into the galactic scene immediately before the plague began. Elias Kane is tasked with discovering who is behind the Psychopath Plague, if anyone, and finding a way to stop it if possible, which involves a lot of planet hopping and galactic intrigue. 

The Psychopath Plague is a decent little story, but its attempts at fusing mystery and science fiction are clumsy and full of tropes. Inside this short novel you will find vague space travel technology, numerous humanoid aliens with very human habits and desires, a red herring suspect, and worst of the entire last chapter: a 'parlor-room' scene where Elias lays out exactly how he unraveled the mystery.

This book was entertaining at times, frustrating at others, and fluff throughout. Nothing spectacular here, bring on the next book!

Before the Classics- Against the Fall of Night by Arthur C Clarke

'Destiny in his hands-

Alvin hesitated for a moment. None of his people had left the City for uncounted millions of years. "Diaspar has everything," they said. "Why should we go outside into the desert?" But Alvin knew the fear that underlay the seeming free preference—the records he had studied hinted at the dark truth.

We are safe as long as we stay in Diaspar, the records said. If we leave... the Invaders will come again from the wastes between the worlds. And Man will not survive another such attack...

Alvin knew the risk—but he knew, too, that if he did not take it, mankind was doomed to a lingering death—slower, but as sure as any the invaders would bring.

Knowing the fate of his race rested in his hands, he leaned forward and pressed the vehicles starting button...'—From the back cover

Printed 1962, copyright 1952. 159 pages. 40c cover price.

My buddy Neal (of Poland) gave me this book with a glowing recommendation of Clarke's early work, so I figured it was worth a read and a blog entry. Every now and then I am going to switch it up with books by renowned authors before they hit the big time, in order to showcase their pulpy roots, as well as give my brain a bit of an airing out. I hope the two people that read this blog don't mind.

Against the Fall of Night is a quick read, and interesting throughout, and it is a good indication of the talent Clarke was beginning to realize. I suppose you could characterize this novel as 'post-apocalyptic,' as it takes place hundreds of millions of years after mankind is brought low by 'the Invaders'—a race of feared alien beings that are only alluded to throughout the book.

The survivors banded together in Diaspar, an automated megacity, and are now capable of living thousands and thousands of years because of the technological pampering they receive. The 'hundreds of millions' of years apparently haven't changed mankind much, considering the city was designed to keep them in a kind of stasis, and because their minds have adapted to their environment over the ages, so no one has attempted to leave the city for eons. The people in Diaspar are miserable, listless, and terrified of the world outside the walls of their refuge. Someone drum up a precocious teenage protagonist!

Alvin, our main man, is your standard 'budding adventurer' archetype. The only child born in the last 7,000 years, Alvin is bored to tears with his life in Diaspar. The never-ending tutelage he undergoes does little to temper his desire to see the world—a compulsion bordering upon heresy in his culture. In his endless wandering of the city, Alvin discovers an inscription on a stone barring him from the outside world. “There is a better way. Give my greetings to the Keeper of the Records. –Alaine of Lyndar.”

The Keeper of the Record, a man named Rorden, is cowardly by nature like the rest of manking. Despite this, Rorden helps Alvin begin his quest by researching any possible means to leave the city using the archaic (and only half understood) computers that have continue t compile history throughout the ages.

Anything from this point on is pretty spoiler heavy, so I will drop many details. There are pet giant insects, lots of robots, a good cast of characters, and some space travel. Cool stuff, very old school. The only glaring mistakes were misspellings of the City as ‘Daispar’ a number of times.

In only 159 pages, Against the Fall of Night manages to convey both wonder and a message without coming across as too whimsical or heavy-handed. Clarke touches upon the implausibility of immortality, the stagnation undergone by an empire after over-expansion, and manages to take a light stab at evolution while he’s at it. I enjoyed delving into Clarke's humble beginnings and reading Against the Fall of Night made me appreciate how refined and talented of a writer he became. I plan on reading Clarke's other 'Pre-2001' works as soon as I am able.

Not only is font in my yellowed copy enjoyably pulpy, but you have to love that cover. I think that looks more like a phallic space potato than a robot. Good stuff.

Thanks again to Kris Adamo for the 'Oh shit I'm busy!' edits.