Master of Life and Death
by Robert Silverberg
Form: Novel
Year: 1957
ID: 733
Publication history:
- 1957: Master of Life and Death/Secret Visitors, Ace Mass market paperback, 163 pp.
- 1968: Master of Life and Death, Avon Mass market paperback, 144 pp.
- 1970: A Robert Silverberg Omnibus (The Time Hoppers/Invaders from Earth/Master of Life and Death), Sidgwick & Jackson Hard cover book
- 1972: Macht über Leben und Tod, Heyne Mass market paperback, in German
- 1977: Master of Life and Death, Sidgwick & Jackson Hard cover book
- 1978: Science Fiction Special #28, Sidgwick & Jackson Mass market paperback
- 1979: Conquerors from the Darkness/Master of Life and Death, Ace Mass market paperback, 386 pp.
- 1979: Master of Life and Death, Panther Mass market paperback, 143 pp.
- 1984: Droit de vie et de mort, Fleuve Noir Mass market paperback, in French
- 1986: Master of Life and Death, Tor Mass market paperback, ISBN 0-812-55458-2, 219 pp.
- 2001: Master of Life and Death, Rosetta Online, 163 pp.
- 2002: Master of Life and Death, FoxAcre Trade paperback, ISBN 0967178398, 152 pp.
Blurb:
(from Avon 1968)
Hour by hour, the computers produced the names of those to die. Simple. Neat. Ruthless.
In a world where human feelings seemed frozen, one spirit flared with defiance and hope...while two powerful brothers fought their old blood feud to a brutal climax.
And hurtling through space...a lost explorer desperately tries to reach earth with word of a new paradise for man beyond the stars.
Other resources:
[None on record]
Comments:
It is 2232 AD, and the human population of Earth has been unable to curb its constant growth. Living space is at a premium, and a massive effort by DF FitzMaugham has led to the creation of the United Nations Bureau of Population Equalization.
(as it is called) has three main duties: redistribution of people from overcrowded areas to sparsely populated ones, euthanasia of undesirable people, and research into alternative means of alleviating population pressure, including terraforming Venus and the development of faster-than-light travel to search for habitable planets. The who are euthanized include babies with birth defects and the criminally insane. Although a great many people find Popeek deplorable, there are also a large number who feel that Popeek does not go far enough given the severity of the problem. When FitzMaugham is assassinated, his assistant Roy Walton takes over the reigns of the massive enterprise only to find that things are not what they seem: the FTL project has been successful and the first ship is already out looking for a suitable planet; the Venus team is long past their contact date and presumed dead; and there are several other secret projects going on.But Walton has other problems, most notably his brother Fred. The two have never been close, and now their animosity endangers the entire planet.
An enjoyable read, well-plotted and full of surprises, though (like most science fiction from the 50s) it's quite short, with little fleshing out of characters or situations. In some ways, I feel the need for a sequel. Walton, the
of the book, is quite ruthless, very much believing that anything he does is justified for the good of humanity, and I would prefer to see him brought down by his own abuse of his power.