The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a fascinating old SF, and no mistake.

I had this weird idea that it would be something like a space opera-lite, but I was very pleased to get something quite different. Pubbed in 1952, it has the feel of the Golden Age of SF, sure, but there are better descriptions. It's s Mad Men in bigger SF form. There's an underground revolt of the populace and propaganda is everywhere and it's definitely a rags-to-riches kind of tale, as is implied by the title, but there's very little business.

It's a pure adventure with a noir sensibility, fast-paced and brutal, complete with femme fatale.

At its core, however, it feels like it would do very well in today's SF market... after all, a labor uprising is kinda hot right now. :)




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