9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
A gramme is better...
Date of Review: Jul 17, 2000
I've just finished this book recently, so this struck me as the best time to write an opinion, the final lines still fresh in my mind.
Brave New World begins with plenty of description. So much so, in fact, that I was afraid that the story would turn into a fanciful E.M. Forster-type old school science fiction story. Luckily, the setting-up lasted only a few pages to the introduction of our hero (or is he?) Bernard Marx. While a setup to the atmosphere of the future is necessary, I wish it could have been done a little more smoothly.
Unlike much original sci-fi, though, Brave New World has aged well, and even though I've read enough modern science fiction to have seen similar future dystopias, this book still seemed original.
Probably, in fact, because it is. An earlier idea of a zombie future populace than Orwell's 1984, the influence of this book in much of modern fiction (not just sci-fi) is apparent after reading it. This is one of the defining works of science fiction, because it doesn't simply involve theoretical gadgetry for "ooh" factor, but is actually political and logical in its prediction of mankind's supposed advances.
I was very pleased with the storyline for a number of reasons. Primarily, I was glad that it avoided being predictable and cliche, as many ordinary-story-in-the-future books are. Just when you thought that the Savage might find good ol' love as the path to civilization, the author proves you wrong. And when you think this person might be a ray of hope or that one pure evil, something happens to make you reconsider. Twists and turns. Ford!
I won't give away too much of the storyline, other than to say that it's very much like 1984, though we end up with a different hero than one would expect, having read Orwell's work. The classic inevitable ending is, though depressing, satisfying because no other would fit. I would've liked a little more history on why Ford has become God, which could have been slipped into one of Controller Mustapha Mond's lengthy oratories. It's not that important though, especially given the lengthy introduction.
If parts of this novel don't seem completely original to sci-fi fans, it's because what they've read probably piggybacked Brave New World, not the other way around. Just more evidence of the importance and required reading of this classic. Take a look, and don't give up too soon.
