Hothouse (Penguin Modern Classics)
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Product Description
Book Description
In this science fiction classic, we are transported millions of years from now, to the boughs of a colossal banyan tree that covers one face of the globe. The last remnants of humanity are fighting for survival, terrorised by the carnivorous plants and the grotesque insect life.
Winner of the Hugo Award for the best Science Fiction Novel of the Year 1962. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Winner of the Hugo Award for the best Science Fiction Novel of the Year 1962. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Brian Wilson Aldiss was born in Norfolk, in 1925. He wrote his first novel, The Brightfount Diaries (1955), while working as a bookseller in Oxford. But he is perhaps better known as one of the most noteworthy voices in science fiction writing. His first work of science fiction, Non-Stop, appeared in 1958. Since then, he has written over 40 novels and 300 short stories, as well as poetry and critical works, and received all of the major science fiction awards. He has reviewed for the Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian and the Washington Post, and he has edited Science Fiction Horizons, as well as several anthologies. Brian Aldiss recently celebrated his seventy-fifth birthday and is presently working on several new books.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Predatory Vegetables,
This review is from: Hothouse (Paperback)
This book is similar in some ways to J G Ballard`s book `The Drowned World` which was published the same year (1963). Both novels are set in a future in which life on our earth is returning to a Triassic past, where plantlife and vegetation has taken over as the dominant form of life. Both novels also clearly show an interest in the ideas of the psychologist Carl Jung, and in particular his belief that within the unconcious mind of every human being there lies a collective subconcious memory which stretches way back through our entire human history.
But whereas Ballard`s novel is set in the very near future, Hothouse is set millions of years in the future, and the ecological change and increased climate is a natural process caused by the inevitable expansion of our sun as it reaches its final stages before extinction. Also, Aldiss`s world is a far more more threatening place than Ballard`s. It`s a hostile and impossibly crowded world where lifeforms are in brutal competition for survival and most animals and humans are virtualy extinct. The increased heat and radiation from the sun has resulted in the domination of plant and vegetable life over all other forms of life. The few remaining humans live mainly in the middle branches of the great Banyan tree which thickly covers the entire contenent, because to set foot on the decaying forest floor would usually entail being digested by some predatory and carnivoures plantlife. And in fact the term `falling to the green` has become a common term for death. Aldiss has filled this terrifying but fascinating world with many strange and fantastic creatures, such as mutated plants and trees which have mimetisised into the forms of annimals which have become extinct such as birds and the octopuss. The main bulk of the story follows the adventures of young Greg - a curiously minded individual, who has been outcast from his tribe, and who sets out with the aid of an intelligent fungus to explore and understand his world. Some people have critisised this book for its scientific unfeasibility, and some have called it `fantasy desguised as sci-fi`. Personally I regard these as pointless observations, as much of the story is symbolic. In short - this is an excellent read, brilliantly realised and beautifully told.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A stunning, courageous and horrifying vision of a future Earth,
By
This review is from: Hothouse (Hardcover)
This was one of the first SF books I ever read and it is one of those which I will never forget.We are mostly used to see ourselves as masters of our world, the alpha predators in the food chain and the gardeners of the planet. Well, this book offers a vision of a distant future in which Earth became much warmer and most humid and in consequence was covered by an incredibly complexe and dangerous jungle of giant plants (some trees are mountain like), populated with creatures such as enormous spiders and intelligent mushrooms. All civilization disappeared long ago and humans are now again hunters gatherers, trying to survive in this vegetal maze. Food is of course not a problem - but predators are. In fact, this world is so dangerous that it is unlikely that without any technology humans could survive there - this is one of the weaker points of the book. However, the appeal of "Hothouse" is in its description of this terrifying and alien ecosystem and of its inhabitants. The plot - well, there is not much of a plot, but I was OK with it, considering, that this is not really the point in this book. Give it a try and you will be stunned by the imagination of Brian Aldiss - he managed to create one of the most incredible SF worlds. It is a classic and a must for every SF fan.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A classic picture of a future Earth...,
By A Customer
This review is from: Hothouse (Hardcover)
Of all the science-fiction novels dealing with Earth's future, this is one of the most beautifully written. Although he pays little attention to what is scientifically feasible, Aldiss paints a compelling picture of an overheated world covered with dense, steaming jungle. It will strike many chords with younger readers, who have grown up with television and newspaper reports relating the threat of global warming.At the core of the book, however, is the story of a boy, part of a tribe of future human beings (now reduced to superstitious hunter-gatherers and tree-dwellers). His break away from the tribe and his willingness to risk his life and venture out on his own to discover the truth about his world is a common theme in many of Aldiss' works. Try reading novels such as Greybeard and Non-Stop (both highly recommended), that share this plot structure to a limited degree. You may come to the conclusion that Aldiss believes we are all too happy to accept the status quo, and much good would come of us taking a more active interest in the world around us and not accepting everything at face value. But even without reading any deeper meaning into Hothouse, it is a book that deserves a place in any collection of classic science-fiction.
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