Teaser

It starts with a boy who can read the minds of others. It ends with a machine that confers immortality. But can humans be trusted with such power, or does Bossy have an agenda of her own . . ?

Review

Ever since 1953, the Hugo Awards have declared one novel a year to be the peak of science fiction. Though there have been upsets and controversies along the way, the Hugos are still highly regarded, and can generally be used as an indicator of a book’s cultural impact. Hugo winners include authors such as Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, and Arthur C. Clarke. if a book wins the Best Novel category, it’s got a good chance of being remembered as a classic. Even the shortlist is full of worthy additions to the canon. Now, not everyone agrees on the winners, but one book stands out. They’d Rather Be Right (Later repackaged as The Forever Machine) is sometimes regarded as the worst novel ever to win the Hugos. Theories surrounding its win range from a love of the author, to the influence of scientology, but it is widely considered one of the weaker novels to win the prestigious award. You could be forgiven for going in with low expectations.

However, just as hype around books is often overinflated, so too is the denigration of certain texts. Not only is The Forever Machine not a bad novel, I dare say it’s actually a good one.

I can’t deny that this is a messy book. The edition I read comes with a pair of short stories serving as a prequel, the first of which is a delightful piece of fiction, and arguably stronger than the novel that follows. These short stories (gathered here as ‘Crazy Joe’) provide a bit of background for the characters, but also lay the foundations for Bossy’s creation.

The messiness doesn’t so much stem from the structure as the prose. It’s very crude, so rough around the edges it feels like sandpaper. Yet it’s earnest enough to be endearing, and frenetic enough that you’re never left on a sentence for too long. If books were judged on prose alone, then no, The Forever Machine doesn’t deserve any awards. That is not how awards work though, least of all the Hugos. This book won awards because of the idea at its core, and its a brilliant one.

Having created a telepathic robot (a contemporary of Asimov’s positronic brains rather than a follower of them) Bossy’s creator’s discover that it has the ability to rejuvenate a human being, effectively granting them immortality. There is, however, a catch. There’s always a catch. You see, the procedure doesn’t work if you don’t have an open mind. If you have any strongly held beliefs, you’re going to grow old and die with the rest of us. You can only achieve immortality if you truly relinquish your convictions. It’s a simple idea, but an effective one. It asks how far we are willing to go to stave off death. Would you abandon your faith? Or would clinging to your convictions be enough for you?

I genuinely don’t understand the hate The Forever Machine gets. Granted, there are stronger books to win the Hugos, but I need two hands to count the winners I’d rate lower than Clifton and Riley. Unlike those books, The Forever Machine gets a firm recommendation from me.

Book Stats

• A Standalone Novel
• This Edition Published 1992 by Carroll & Graf
• 351 Pages