What Mad Universe
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| What Mad Universe | |
 Dust-jacket from the first edition |
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| Author | Fredric Brown |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | E. P. Dutton |
| Publication date | 1949 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 255 pp |
| ISBN | NA |
| OCLC | 1030471 |
What Mad Universe is a science-fiction novel, written in 1949 by the American author, Fredric Brown.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Keith Winton is a journalist for a science-fiction review. With his glamorous co-worker girlfriend, Betty, he visits his friends one day in their elegant estate in the Catskills, unfortunately, as we'll find out, on the same day as an experimental rocket is to be launched. Betty has to go back to New York. Keith is alone in his friends' garden, deep in thought, when, suddenly, the engine of the rocket (whose launch has been a failure) crashes and explodes upon his friends' residence, taking him to a strange but deceptively similar parallel universe. Wild-eyed and astray, Keith is astonished to see how credits have replaced dollars; is amazed when he encounters some scantily-clad pin-up girls who are, at the same, astronauts; is driven to stupor when he encounters his first Arcuturian. But it is when he tries to get back to his usual world when he finally understands his problem, if not the solution.
[edit] Style
What Mad Universe is full of humour, mostly stemming from the description of the culture shock that the protagonist feels, and the strange things that are in the universe, like knitting machines that open the way for a voyage in space. A half-serious, half-humorous take on modern society and the reality of our world, its light-hearted style would be built on by subsequent books, most notably his 1955 work, Martians, Go Home.
[edit] Accolades
The novel has been named amongst the capstones of science fiction literature by several sci-fi critics, including [1]
- Annick Beguin, Les 100 principaux titres de la science-fiction, Cosmos 2000, 1981 ;
- Jacques Sadoul, Anthologie de la littérature de science-fiction, Ramsay, 1981 ;
- Jacques Goimard and Claude Aziza, Encyclopédie de poche de la science-fiction. Guide de lecture, Presses Pocket, coll. « Science-fiction », n°5237, 1986 ;
- Denis Guiot, La Science-fiction, Massin, coll. « Le monde de... », 1987 ;
- Enquête du Fanzine Carnage mondain auprès de ses lecteurs, 1989 ;
- Lorris Murail, Les Maîtres de la science-fiction, Bordas, coll. « Compacts », 1993 ;
- Stan Barets, Le science-fictionnaire, Denoël, coll. « Présence du futur », 1994.
[edit] Notes
- ^ To see a complete list of accolades, check Top des Tops.
[edit] References
- Tuck, Donald H. (1974). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Chicago: Advent, 69. ISBN 0-911682-20-1.
