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The Joy Makers Classics of modern science fiction #2 James Gunn George Zebrowski Isaac Asimov 9780517551844 Books

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The Joy Makers Classics of modern science fiction #2 James Gunn George Zebrowski Isaac Asimov 9780517551844 Books

The three parts of James Gunn's fix-up novel The Joy Makers (1961) were originally published in magazine form in 1955 as `Name Your Pleasure,' `The Naked Sky', and `The Unhappy Man.' I have not read the originals so I'm unsure of how much was added or subtracted or completely re-conceptualized. Largely a satire -- Gunn pushes his point to the logical, and terrifying extreme -- each part is a further chronological progression of a society whose chief aim is to make people happy. It is hard not to read Part I as a satirical take on some aspects of Scientology, a movement that was gaining force in the early 1950s.

Because each part is only thematically linked to each other I'll rate each individually.

Plot Summary/Analysis (*spoilers*)

Part I 4.75/5 (Very Good): Part I was my favorite portion of the novel. Joshua R. Hunt, President of Hunt Electronic Manufacturing Company, is an unhappy man. He begins to notice that advertisements for Hedonics Inc., proclaiming to have discovered a "science of happiness" (12) have permeated his world -- they appear in newspapers, all around town, are mentioned by everyone, and slowly, endorsed by everyone. What is this mysterious cure for all human ailment? Joshua finally succumbs to the allure and heads off for treatment. He sits in a mysterious chair -- and his physical ailments are healed! The agent charges him a minimal amount -- and then, guarantees complete happiness if he agrees to psychological therapy. Not only will physical ailments be cured, but his psychological happiness guaranteed, and his life completely managed by the company. The price, everything you own!

This portion is inundated with quotes about happiness from a vast variety of authors: Samuel Johnson, Charles Dickens, Robert Lewis Stephenson, etc. The message of Hedonics Inc. itself seems to sprout from such proclamations In part III, Gunn does the reverse and selects quotes about how miserable life would be if one is continuously happy... I generally dislike extensive use of quotes for it often creates a pseudo-intellectualism that comes off as showy or hollow. But here not only does Gunn integrate them themselves into the novel -- they appear on business cards -- but in so doing pokes fun at "tag lines" and nebulous appeals to authority.

Part I ends on a thematic punchline: Is happiness a human right? If so, what extremes would mankind go to ensure not only one's own happiness but guarantee the same happiness for others? What happens if Hedonics Inc.'s technological, therapeutic, and lifestyle formulating bundle is offered to all? Remember, one hands over everything.... And we all want eternal happiness.

Part II: 4/5 (Good): The year 2035 A.D. is virtually unrecognizable from the near future of Part I. The implication is clear -- Hedonic Inc.'s product was adopted by all. Its practitioners, called Hedonists, are pillars of the community. Queue: older men "treating" nubile women who are unhappy by "preparing" them for marriage, preventing people from committing suicide, requiring plastic surgery for the unhappy, and lobotomizing the untreatable who threaten to make others unhappy by their unhappiness etc. The Hedonist himself is "Doctor, teacher, psychiatrist, priest, philosopher, wardheeler, God-surrogate, father-image, lover-symbol..." (47).

The plot follows a Hedonist through his daily routine. My favorite portion tracks the Hedonist's lessons for certain age groups from young children to advanced students.

"The morning's lessons were like a fairy tale turned upside down.

To the little ones, he said ..."And so the world lived happily ever after."

As he left the room, one little girl pressed against his leg and lifted up her shining face. "I love you, Hedonist," she whispered.

"I love you," he said quietly and smoother her blond hair" (46).

Eventually the Hedonist discovers a government plot to get rid of his position. The reason: a new technology means that controlling one's own happiness (and having people help guarantee your happiness) is no longer necessary, virtual realities guarente a perfect state of happiness. A series of silly and lengthy chase sequences unfold replete with clown faced enforcers, pleasure houses, and holographic purveyors of drugs, sex, and alcohol...

Part III: 4/5 (Good): Not everyone is happy in such a world. Humanity had previously established colonies on other planets in the solar system. They too follow the Hedonic principles but more pragmatically due to the fact that colonizing other worlds is a hard, brutal life, where happiness cannot be guaranteed. The plot follows D'glas, a colonist on Venus, and his attempt to uncover the reason why mysterious mechanical self-exploding Duplicate humans are infiltrating the planet. His quest takes him to a drastically transformed Earth. Clearly, the virtual reality model was adopted by all. Although, an unusual further transformation of happiness facilitation has transpired. No one is to be seen on the streets, everyone is locked in their own cells floating in amniotic fluids, tended by the Council building (a large computer) and its vast assortment of mechanical minions. D'glas encounters a lone survivor (a young woman of course!).

The ending, evoking Philip K. Dick, is pitch perfect.

Final Thoughts

It's fortuitous that the last sci-fi novel I read was Raymond Z. Gallun's The Eden Cycle (1974). Both examine the societal ramifications of drastic technologies/societies that facilitate human happiness. But not only was James Gunn's work written first, he is without doubt the better writer. His prose is more visceral, precise, and stylistically more adventurous (Gunn utilizes advertisements and extensive quotations from other works to great effet). However, because Gallun is more interested in character development I found that my emotional response to his work was greater.

Gunn's world building is delightful, the satire eviscerating, the message disturbing in its implications... He does resort to many 50s stereotypes of the era, especially relating to female characters who are only too willing to hurl themselves into our male heroes' arms at any given moment.


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The Joy Makers Classics of modern science fiction #2 James Gunn George Zebrowski Isaac Asimov 9780517551844 Books Reviews

"The Joy Makers" starts out slowly, with a narrow focus, then gradually expands to deal with philosophical and existential questions of cosmic significance. That's what good science fiction is all about think of A.E. Van Vogt's "The Weapon Shops of Issher" or Alfred Bester's "The Demolished Man." Yet, while those two novels have received huge accolades, "The Joy Makers" has almost been forgotten. This is a real shame, because it is every bit as thought-provoking as Van Vogt's and Bester's efforts.
"The Joy Makers" is composed of three novellas. The first contains a plot that has since become a cliche in the science fiction and horror genres. A new corporation comes to town, selling happiness. Using advanced technology, it can guarantee your proper adjustment in society and, ultimately, hedonic bliss. The episode follows the struggles of one man, who initially rejects the technology but later is tragically desperate to obtain it.
The second novella takes place many years in the future after the first. The hedonists have now taken over society. A sort of priesthood has developed, whose function is to regulate people's lives so that they remain happy. But already cracks are beginning to appear in the edifice the idea that happiness can be achieved through sublimation and redirection of one's desires through classical psychological and philosophical training is being challenged by a decadent hedonics that looks only to momentary gratification. By the end of the second section, it is unclear whether qualitative hedonism or cheap thrills will win out.
The third novella gives us the answer to that question. I don't want to spoil the plot, but it quickly becomes clear that people's desire for unearned bliss has won out over everything else. Family, achievement, struggle, creativity have all taken a back seat to unending bliss, with disastrous results. The world has become a sort of decadent, cybernetic opium den (amazing prophetic job by Gunn!). One non-decadent, newly arrived from the hinterlands of Mars, seeks to change this pattern. In the course of fighting the powers that control this plugged-in and dropped-out society, he engages in a brilliant philosophical argument on the nature of life. This meditation is absolutely wonderful, and I re-read it every so often just to immerse myself in the concepts. Should we withdraw from the pain of life, like Schopenhauer and Epicurus taught, or should we charge forward in the name of creativity and life itself, as Neitzsche contended? The answers this novel gives show the potential of science fiction to address deep philosophical and existential questions.
The three parts of James Gunn's fix-up novel The Joy Makers (1961) were originally published in magazine form in 1955 as `Name Your Pleasure,' `The Naked Sky', and `The Unhappy Man.' I have not read the originals so I'm unsure of how much was added or subtracted or completely re-conceptualized. Largely a satire -- Gunn pushes his point to the logical, and terrifying extreme -- each part is a further chronological progression of a society whose chief aim is to make people happy. It is hard not to read Part I as a satirical take on some aspects of Scientology, a movement that was gaining force in the early 1950s.

Because each part is only thematically linked to each other I'll rate each individually.

Plot Summary/Analysis (*spoilers*)

Part I 4.75/5 (Very Good) Part I was my favorite portion of the novel. Joshua R. Hunt, President of Hunt Electronic Manufacturing Company, is an unhappy man. He begins to notice that advertisements for Hedonics Inc., proclaiming to have discovered a "science of happiness" (12) have permeated his world -- they appear in newspapers, all around town, are mentioned by everyone, and slowly, endorsed by everyone. What is this mysterious cure for all human ailment? Joshua finally succumbs to the allure and heads off for treatment. He sits in a mysterious chair -- and his physical ailments are healed! The agent charges him a minimal amount -- and then, guarantees complete happiness if he agrees to psychological therapy. Not only will physical ailments be cured, but his psychological happiness guaranteed, and his life completely managed by the company. The price, everything you own!

This portion is inundated with quotes about happiness from a vast variety of authors Samuel Johnson, Charles Dickens, Robert Lewis Stephenson, etc. The message of Hedonics Inc. itself seems to sprout from such proclamations In part III, Gunn does the reverse and selects quotes about how miserable life would be if one is continuously happy... I generally dislike extensive use of quotes for it often creates a pseudo-intellectualism that comes off as showy or hollow. But here not only does Gunn integrate them themselves into the novel -- they appear on business cards -- but in so doing pokes fun at "tag lines" and nebulous appeals to authority.

Part I ends on a thematic punchline Is happiness a human right? If so, what extremes would mankind go to ensure not only one's own happiness but guarantee the same happiness for others? What happens if Hedonics Inc.'s technological, therapeutic, and lifestyle formulating bundle is offered to all? Remember, one hands over everything.... And we all want eternal happiness.

Part II 4/5 (Good) The year 2035 A.D. is virtually unrecognizable from the near future of Part I. The implication is clear -- Hedonic Inc.'s product was adopted by all. Its practitioners, called Hedonists, are pillars of the community. Queue older men "treating" nubile women who are unhappy by "preparing" them for marriage, preventing people from committing suicide, requiring plastic surgery for the unhappy, and lobotomizing the untreatable who threaten to make others unhappy by their unhappiness etc. The Hedonist himself is "Doctor, teacher, psychiatrist, priest, philosopher, wardheeler, God-surrogate, father-image, lover-symbol..." (47).

The plot follows a Hedonist through his daily routine. My favorite portion tracks the Hedonist's lessons for certain age groups from young children to advanced students.

"The morning's lessons were like a fairy tale turned upside down.

To the little ones, he said ..."And so the world lived happily ever after."

As he left the room, one little girl pressed against his leg and lifted up her shining face. "I love you, Hedonist," she whispered.

"I love you," he said quietly and smoother her blond hair" (46).

Eventually the Hedonist discovers a government plot to get rid of his position. The reason a new technology means that controlling one's own happiness (and having people help guarantee your happiness) is no longer necessary, virtual realities guarente a perfect state of happiness. A series of silly and lengthy chase sequences unfold replete with clown faced enforcers, pleasure houses, and holographic purveyors of drugs, sex, and alcohol...

Part III 4/5 (Good) Not everyone is happy in such a world. Humanity had previously established colonies on other planets in the solar system. They too follow the Hedonic principles but more pragmatically due to the fact that colonizing other worlds is a hard, brutal life, where happiness cannot be guaranteed. The plot follows D'glas, a colonist on Venus, and his attempt to uncover the reason why mysterious mechanical self-exploding Duplicate humans are infiltrating the planet. His quest takes him to a drastically transformed Earth. Clearly, the virtual reality model was adopted by all. Although, an unusual further transformation of happiness facilitation has transpired. No one is to be seen on the streets, everyone is locked in their own cells floating in amniotic fluids, tended by the Council building (a large computer) and its vast assortment of mechanical minions. D'glas encounters a lone survivor (a young woman of course!).

The ending, evoking Philip K. Dick, is pitch perfect.

Final Thoughts

It's fortuitous that the last sci-fi novel I read was Raymond Z. Gallun's The Eden Cycle (1974). Both examine the societal ramifications of drastic technologies/societies that facilitate human happiness. But not only was James Gunn's work written first, he is without doubt the better writer. His prose is more visceral, precise, and stylistically more adventurous (Gunn utilizes advertisements and extensive quotations from other works to great effet). However, because Gallun is more interested in character development I found that my emotional response to his work was greater.

Gunn's world building is delightful, the satire eviscerating, the message disturbing in its implications... He does resort to many 50s stereotypes of the era, especially relating to female characters who are only too willing to hurl themselves into our male heroes' arms at any given moment.