Note: My read but “waiting to be reviewed pile” is growing. Short rumination/tangents/impressions are a way to get through the stack before my memory and will fades. My website partially serves as a record of what I have read and a memory palace for future projects. Stay tuned for more detailed and analytical reviews.

1. Joe Haldeman’s All My Sins Remembered (1977)

4/5 (Good)

The vast Confederación is comprised of radically distinct worlds ruled by the entire spectrum of political systems with both alien and non-alien inhabitants. There are few rules: don’t take advantage of indigenous populations and don’t wage wars on neighboring planets. At 22, the naive Otto McGavin, an Anglo-Buddhist, joins the Confederación as an agent to “protect the rights of humans and non-humans” (1). But there’s a twist. Under “deep hypnosis” (6) a “construct” of Otto McGavin will be created for each mission. He’ll take on the identity–under a sheath of plasticine flesh–of whatever person he needs to be depending on the task. Otto, and all his training, will only kick in when his life is at risk.

The story follows Otto on three missions over many years. The first two of the three novellas “To Fit the Crime” (1971), “The Only War We’ve Got” (1974), and “All My Sins Remembered” (1977) appeared in Galaxy magazine. In the first, he must become Dr. Isaac Crowell –“ten per cent Otto McGavin and ninety per cent your artificial personality overlay” (19)–and investigate a murder on a planet in which the aliens must be forced to pause frenetic mining. In the second, he must investigate a scheme to attack a neighboring planet on a human colony world filled with brutal predators. He takes on the persona of a master duelist. And in the third section, he must become one of the founding fathers of the Congregation of Mary Magdalene in their attempt to convert the local, immortal, aliens. The interlocking segments convey the deep trauma Otto must confront before he’s immersed in another persona and sent on another mission. His idealism clashes with the violence he must perpetuate. His sense of self attempts conflicts with the violent actions of his “constructs.” The looming sense of dread and despair must finally have its reckoning.

If you’re new to Joe Haldeman’s science fiction, definitely check out The Forever War (1975) and Mindbridge (1976), first. However, All My Sins Remembered (1977) is not to be missed. Often the previously published sections of a fix-up novel meld poorly with the new material inserted to tie the sections together. Fix-ups can feel hasty. That is not the case here. Haldeman adeptly weaves together the stories via interviews between Otto and his contact before the next mission. The interlocking sections in which Otto must confront his actions, become the scenes of the reckoning with personal and ideological anguish. The double-sense of self is rendered in starkly powerful, and horrifying, ways–informed by Haldeman’s own experiences in Vietnam.

Recommended.

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2. Burt Cole’s Subi: The Volcano (1957)

3.25/5 (Above Average)

Burt Cole (1930-) spins a disturbed and savage near-future tale set in a nameless Southeast Asian country. The story focuses on an American military camp surrounded by a sprawling tent-city of a desperate and diseased local population. A nameless enemy looms somewhere over the hills beyond. It’s impossible to escape the sense that Cole was inspired by the French defeat at the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ (1954) in Vietnam¹ and the re-establishment of the status quo at the end of the Korean War (1950-1953).² Due to my deep fascination with Vietnam-inspired science fiction–I’ve compiled a massive list over the last few years–I eagerly devoured this lesser-known and early commentary on America’s Cold War involvement in Asia. The parallels with later American involvement in Vietnam are coincidentally unnerving.

Four elements will immediately rear their heads to the unsuspecting reader: 1) A disengaged, almost cavalier narrator who survives the traumatic and hyper-violent horror that swirls around him with disquieting flippancy 2) An encyclopedic obsession with suffering — countless scenes devolve into descriptions of extreme poverty, starving children, dead animals, disease, sex trafficking, etc. 3) the deep-seated racism that the American soldiers hold for the Indo-Chinese population suffering from the occupation and violence caused by the occupier and the nameless enemy 4) Claustrophobia — most of the action takes place in a military camp under siege by starving masses that attempt to break through their gates. The novel pairs the passive observations of the Intelligence Officer Fletcher, the narrator, with the active choices of Private Judson, prone to often bewildering (to his fellow soldiers) acts of empathy for the “enemy.” The third main character, Packard, attempts to recover and find purpose after the loss of half his face.

While Subi: The Volcano (1957) isn’t a lost classic, Cole does manage to create an unforgettable, if a bit unpolished, reading experience. Cole attempts to chart the different ways that traumatized soldiers process the horror of a war that they have caused. Brutal. Unsettling. Claustrophobic. Meandering. I’ll read Burt Cole’s later post-apocalyptic novel Blood Knot (1980) at some point in the near future.

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Notes

1. There are a few noticeable parallels: 1) Both historical battle and story are set in fortified camps 2) Both besieged groups assume the enemy has no aircraft support 3) Both Điện Biên Phủ and the nameless city in Subi: The Volcano were distant beachheads in enemy territory 4) A complex network of tunnels feature in the story and in the historical assault. 5) Those besieged are far outnumbered by their attackers and possess superior technology but far smaller numbers. 6)The novel mentions repeatedly Indo-Chinese populations in South East Asia placing the story somewhere in the region. ↩︎
2. I suspect it’s a combination of both. Spoiler: As the novel does not end in outright defeat, it’s easy to see it as commentary on the re-establishment of the 38th parallel in Korea. The explicit South-East Asia locale would suggest the French in Vietnam as an obvious reference as well. ↩︎

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