Hardcover, 154 pages

English language

Published April 30, 2003 by SFBC.

ISBN:
978-0-7394-3218-1
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OCLC Number:
58591331

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4 stars (19 reviews)

In this classic send-up of American commercialism, a near-future earth is resource-depleted but callously ruled by advertising, splitting society between all-powerful ad agencies & exploited consumers. Mitchell Courtenay is a glib ad-exec who has just landed the assignment of a lifetime: enticing consumers to colonize Venus. So what if the atmosphere reeks of formaldehyde, the ambient temperature boils water & the winds reach 500 mph? Here was a bright new tomorrow to sell. No one was better at convincing consumers to stake their futures on a hellhole than Mitch Courtenay.

But Mitch no sooner dusts the confetti of victory from his shoulders when he discovers that his wife wants to end their trial marriage & that someone is out to kill him. Then his cushy existence is stolen outright when his ID tattoo is altered to the status of a lowly consumer. Rather than serve out a 5-year contract as …

22 editions

Big Brother is selling advertising

4 stars

This 1952 novel has new currency in the age of surveillance capitalism. Pohl and Kornbluth conjure a dystopian future where the advertising industry has come to dominate human affairs. Politicians no longer represent districts, they are instead controlled by one of several all-powerful advertising conglomerates. Anyone who speaks against sales and marketing is immediately suspect as some sort of traitor or terrorist. When a new industrial project is developed, it is not owned by the traditional industrial leaders, like the factory maven or the shareholders. Instead, the company which advertises the product has control.

The biggest ad agency takes it to a new level when an international plan is hatched to modernise and industrialise India. The ad company ends up effectively running the country, which is now referred to as "Indiastries". Then they move on to the ultimate prize - the colonisation of Venus. The dream/nightmare is of a whole …

Review of 'The Space Merchants' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Everyone said it before and I am saying it too... This is Mad men thrown into a pulp SF blender with glorious results. Frankly for it's writing I would give this book only 3 stars, but I was in the mood for some light SF cheese and anti corporate messaging and this book delivered.

I was greatly surprised to find the anti corporate and nature preservationist sentiments in a book from the 50s. "When we look back we also look down" (I can't remember whose quote this is so please tell me in the comments so I can add it). I always have to remind myself of this quote to remember that we are not dealing with all of this just now, it is a long fight, and not all of the people in the 50s were just repeating propaganda and ads instead of speaking. I mean People had to …

Review of 'The Space Merchants' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I read this back in 2004. It was one of those scifi classics I had meant to read for a while. I finally got to it, and it was definitely worth it. As it often happens, the edition I have does not match the covers here, so I just picked one that looked nice. I got my copy second hand, a nice one with a nice cartoon-like character on the cover that looks like a very good ad man. Very appropriate. Overall, this is one to read, and it is still very relevant today.

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