Monday, 5 September 2016 10:18 pm
Book Review: Berserker
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deckardcanineThis is one of those books I wouldn't have heard of if not for forums. Nor would I likely have heard of author Fred Saberhagen. But if it's nearly 50 years old, the first of 17 volumes (the last of which came out in 2005, a couple years before Saberhagen's death), and still talked about sometimes, I figured it's worth a look. Once again, my folks bought an old copy for my gift.
The title is a little misleading: There are many berserkers. And what are they? Imagine if Skynet's terminators were planet-sized spaceships. We don't know much about the species that built them long ago. Given when Saberhagen wrote, I bet the builders intended a doomsday weapon for someone other than themselves, but thanks to inadequate specs, the berserkers are on a mission to destroy all life in the material universe (how would they know if they succeeded?), and their current focus is on Space Age humans.
Mercifully, berserkers' programming for unpredictability is a double-edged sword: Sometimes they miss opportunities for easy annihilation. But over the centuries of meeting resistance, their methods have become more nuanced. While they could hardly be called sadistic, they do see value in torture and even inefficient execution to get information from prisoners. (Any organic helper is designated "goodlife.") What I find especially creepy is that their "voices" consist of words recorded from various prisoners.
At least some chapters started as short stories published separately, like in The Martian Chronicles and Callahan's Crosstime Saloon. I think the writing improves a little in later chapters, when several characters start to reappear and present more of an overarching story. At any rate, each chapter ends with a human victory on some level.
Saberhagen does a pretty good job keeping the premise fresh with new variations. Some tales are never very troubling. I especially like when a joker persuades a confused, incomplete berserker that "life" means dire seriousness -- and directs its resources toward comedy.
If there's one way Saberhagen dropped the ball, at least for volume 1, it's in almost completely disregarding the mentioned existence of aliens, which may explain why I first assumed the berserkers to be made by humans. I understand that humans might play an especially important role as a warrior race, but they're not the only intelligent life forms left. Indeed, the glue between chapters consists of transitional monologues by a psychic alien who happens to have perceived all the stories in detail, speaking after the war has ended (which doesn't happen in volume 1).
I don't think I'll read any more about berserkers, but neither do I regret this foray. It's a pretty slim book that doesn't wear out its welcome once it gets going.
Now I've started Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson. I credit Nefaria for getting me interested in the start of the Thomas Covenant series.
The title is a little misleading: There are many berserkers. And what are they? Imagine if Skynet's terminators were planet-sized spaceships. We don't know much about the species that built them long ago. Given when Saberhagen wrote, I bet the builders intended a doomsday weapon for someone other than themselves, but thanks to inadequate specs, the berserkers are on a mission to destroy all life in the material universe (how would they know if they succeeded?), and their current focus is on Space Age humans.
Mercifully, berserkers' programming for unpredictability is a double-edged sword: Sometimes they miss opportunities for easy annihilation. But over the centuries of meeting resistance, their methods have become more nuanced. While they could hardly be called sadistic, they do see value in torture and even inefficient execution to get information from prisoners. (Any organic helper is designated "goodlife.") What I find especially creepy is that their "voices" consist of words recorded from various prisoners.
At least some chapters started as short stories published separately, like in The Martian Chronicles and Callahan's Crosstime Saloon. I think the writing improves a little in later chapters, when several characters start to reappear and present more of an overarching story. At any rate, each chapter ends with a human victory on some level.
Saberhagen does a pretty good job keeping the premise fresh with new variations. Some tales are never very troubling. I especially like when a joker persuades a confused, incomplete berserker that "life" means dire seriousness -- and directs its resources toward comedy.
If there's one way Saberhagen dropped the ball, at least for volume 1, it's in almost completely disregarding the mentioned existence of aliens, which may explain why I first assumed the berserkers to be made by humans. I understand that humans might play an especially important role as a warrior race, but they're not the only intelligent life forms left. Indeed, the glue between chapters consists of transitional monologues by a psychic alien who happens to have perceived all the stories in detail, speaking after the war has ended (which doesn't happen in volume 1).
I don't think I'll read any more about berserkers, but neither do I regret this foray. It's a pretty slim book that doesn't wear out its welcome once it gets going.
Now I've started Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson. I credit Nefaria for getting me interested in the start of the Thomas Covenant series.