The Sun is about to go Nova. Earth and Moon have ceased their axial rotation and present one face continuously to the sun. The bright side of Earth is covered with carnivorous forest. This is the Age of vegetables. Gren and his lady - not to mention the tummybelly men - journey to the even more terrifying Dark side. One of Aldiss' most famous and long-enduring novels, fast moving, packed with brilliant imagery.
Hothouse (Penguin Modern Classics)
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About the Author
Brian Aldiss is a distinguished science fiction writer and was made Grand Master of Science Fiction by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 2000. In the sixties he originated the three science-fiction anthologies which combined to form THE PENGUIN SCIENCE FICTION OMNIBUS (1973). Aldiss was awarded an OBE in 2005 for his services to literature. He lives in Oxford.
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29 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format: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.
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.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Maciej
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format: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.
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.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By jack
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Much like the non-rotating earth pictured in the novel (which has the most abundant life on the side closest to the sun and gets steadily more dreary as you move away), as the protagonists progress through the story, what was initially a hugely imaginative and dynamic story degenerates to the point that really begin to stop caring about the characters. That said, it picks up a bit right at the end, whilst the first half of the book makes it well worth the purchase.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dodgy pricing
Simple question - why is the Kindle version more expensive than the paperback? There's no paper involved (no trees to fell, no shipping of logs to the mills, no transportation of... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. A. Hodges
5.0 out of 5 stars
Banyanboogie.
A true sci fi novel written by /arguably/ are only true sci fi author - on a par with American writers. I first read it in the 60s and now again. Read more
Published 7 months ago by G. G. Cunliffe
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, not great.
I definitely enjoyed reading Hothouse. Although I wouldn't say its a classic or a must-read.
A world, two thousand million years in the future, dominated by plant life,... Read more
A world, two thousand million years in the future, dominated by plant life,... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. Smeaton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Myths Of The Distant Future
In the far distant future increasing solar radiation has lead to the decline of animals and the triumph of the plants. Nature is green in tooth and claw. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Pensato
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Surreal Joyride Through The Future
What one loves about Aldiss is his propensity for variety in style and subject matter. If someone unfamiliar with his work were given copies of this and, for instance, `Report on... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Rod Williams
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hothouse by Brian Aldiss
I thoroughly recommend this book as a classic piece of Sci Fi that is overbrimming with the most lively, fecund and imaginative landscape I've ever encountered. Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2009 by Elish Bul
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hothouse
There's a fascinating level of thought and detail that's gone into this novel. Aldiss depicts an almost unimaginable far-future world, a planet overtaken by vegetation and warped... Read more
Published on 15 July 2009 by B G Charman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Death to the Tummybellymen!
Brian W Aldiss is a living legend. Unfairly pigeon-holed as "just a sci-fi novelist", he invites favourable comparison with that other "just a sci-fi novelist" Arthur C Clarke and... Read more
Published on 2 May 2009 by GRBD
4.0 out of 5 stars
A dark, twisted fairy-tale from the end of time
Hothouse is a 'fixup' novel originally published in 1962, comprising five novelettes originally published in 1961 in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Read more
Published on 20 Mar 2009 by A. Whitehead
5.0 out of 5 stars
When I was young...
say thirty years ago, this book gripped my imagination like few other sci-fi's. The vivid density of it was unforgettable. Read more
Published on 30 Jun 2001
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