Wednesday, 18 February 2026 03:17 pm
Book Review: The Cosmic Computer
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deckardcanineI had not read any of H. Beam Piper before, nor do I remember who recommended this title to me. It's not significant enough for its own Wikipedia page, so I have to rely on my memory more than usual to review it.
In an era when humans have colonized many planets without losing contact with Earth or meeting any aliens AFAIK, the postwar Federation is in decline, with rampant piracy and poverty. Rumor has it that the fabled supercomputer Merlin could help tremendously, but protagonist Conn Maxwell has found no documentation of it in the suspected area. Not wishing to kill hope, he and his influential father, Robert, lie to the public and arrange a major project to look for Merlin. But some believe that Merlin never existed, and others believe it's really bad news. The factions turn religious, and fighting breaks out once more.
This may be the most dated space travel story I've read since Orlando Furioso. Merlin is supposed to be the most advanced computer ever, yet it takes longer than modern AIs to answer questions, and users need hours to translate the output. It also takes up a huge amount of space, suggesting no microchip. On the cultural side, the gender values haven't aged well either: We get only a couple women, and they have little to do besides ask or judge what the men are doing. And the frequent use of "Gehenna" and "Niflheim" as expletives is just campy.
None of that disappoints me as much as the absence of Merlin for most of the book. We hardly learn anything about it. The main focus is on the search and related conflict. You might think the battles are exciting, but I've forgotten most of what happens. My daily reading rate dropped in apathy. If it weren't a mere 249 pages, I would have quit.
Thankfully, the last few chapters perked me up. They even remind me of Isaac Asimov, particularly the Foundation series. I'm thinking TCC should have been a novella at longest, letting the final controversy take up a larger percentage.
If I read another Piper novel, it'll be Little Fuzzy. At least it looks cute.
I was about to read a book set in Finland, but I'm saving it for a hot month. For now, I'll try Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans.
In an era when humans have colonized many planets without losing contact with Earth or meeting any aliens AFAIK, the postwar Federation is in decline, with rampant piracy and poverty. Rumor has it that the fabled supercomputer Merlin could help tremendously, but protagonist Conn Maxwell has found no documentation of it in the suspected area. Not wishing to kill hope, he and his influential father, Robert, lie to the public and arrange a major project to look for Merlin. But some believe that Merlin never existed, and others believe it's really bad news. The factions turn religious, and fighting breaks out once more.
This may be the most dated space travel story I've read since Orlando Furioso. Merlin is supposed to be the most advanced computer ever, yet it takes longer than modern AIs to answer questions, and users need hours to translate the output. It also takes up a huge amount of space, suggesting no microchip. On the cultural side, the gender values haven't aged well either: We get only a couple women, and they have little to do besides ask or judge what the men are doing. And the frequent use of "Gehenna" and "Niflheim" as expletives is just campy.
None of that disappoints me as much as the absence of Merlin for most of the book. We hardly learn anything about it. The main focus is on the search and related conflict. You might think the battles are exciting, but I've forgotten most of what happens. My daily reading rate dropped in apathy. If it weren't a mere 249 pages, I would have quit.
Thankfully, the last few chapters perked me up. They even remind me of Isaac Asimov, particularly the Foundation series. I'm thinking TCC should have been a novella at longest, letting the final controversy take up a larger percentage.
If I read another Piper novel, it'll be Little Fuzzy. At least it looks cute.
I was about to read a book set in Finland, but I'm saving it for a hot month. For now, I'll try Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans.