- Paperback
- Publisher: Baen Books (July 1990)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671698869
- ISBN-13: 978-0671698867
- Product Dimensions: 16.8 x 10.4 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,224,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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"The rain fell in torrents, beating a staccato rhythm on the cobblestoned street." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
"The rain fell in torrents, beating a staccato rhythm on the cobblestoned street." Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I purchased Michael Flynn's "In the Country of the Blind" on the say so of a few positive reviews right here on Amazon. I'm not sure why it even came up on my Amazon radar screen; the book suggestions here often seem as randomly generated as a roll of the dice. Perhaps it was because I profess to enjoy Tim Powers, whose oeuvre consists of similar history-bending themes. Maybe it was because I happened to stumble across a Harry Turtledove book or two. Who knows?
For that matter, who cares? When a book is this good, maybe I should just thank divine providence for sending it my way. Or, um, maybe the Babbage Society.
When Sarah Beaumont accidentally stumbles across some old machinery and a list of obscure historical dead ends, she thinks little of it. But when people around her begin dying or disappearing, she comes to the conclusion that her finds have greater importance. She learns through her researches that she has inadvertently set a secret society bent on predicting and controlling the future in motion to silence her.
From this interesting premise springs an intriguing book that works on a number of levels, each weaving in and out of the others into a tight tapestry. While some fans of this book promote it as an example of "secret history" (books that take an existing bit of history and make up a fictional reason for its occurrence), "In the Country of the Blind" barely deals with this subject. Instead, the bulk is more like a spy novel a la John LeCarre, with a framework of historical meddling by the Babbage Society. It is a bizarre love story. It is a novel of awakening. And, importantly, it is a novel of ideas. If you could change the future, would you? What if it required the death of an innocent in order to save thousands? What if it required the death of thousands to prevent the deaths of millions? What if you just wanted to make a few bucks in the stock market?
Flynn handles these disparate parts well, giving each its due and creating a satisfying novel. He is remarkably evenhanded in his examination of the ethics of engineering the future, allowing every conceivable argument of which I could think (and a few that didn't even occur to me) a fair shot at representation. His writing style is not necessarily the most skilful, producing many odd clunkers or awkward sentences, but the overall effect is nice, smooth. It's an easy read and a good one.
I started this novel without a clue and ended it caring about most of the characters. They had become familiar and friendly and I hated to see it end.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is an exellent read: a nicely consistent plot, fair enough characterisation, and some fascinating ideas talked through in the text, and underpinning the text. Well worth reading. I happily recommend it.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
22 reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
A terrific "thinking man's" novel . . .
29 Nov 2000
Format:Paperback
One of the usually less successful types of science fiction story (in my opinion) is the "secret history" story, in which the plot turns on events that most of us don't know about -- things we aren't *supposed* to know about, secret things that allow some individual or group to (usually) rule the world. Generally, the key events or relationships that give the secret group its power are a little too pat, a little too coincidental, and the stories usually are not believable. Asimov's Foundation trilogy was an exception, up to a point, and so was Wilson & Shea's Illuminati triology. And now, so is this novel.
The early 19th century was a time of amateur gentleman scholars who thought that if you could only gather enough information, enough data, about people and society at large, you could work out policies that would improve everyone's lot in life. According to Flynn, a small group of those do-gooders in New England (1) managed to develop a mathematical approach to social engineering, (2) got Babbage's engine to work, and (3) began to do something about the state of the world. And they've been at it ever since. Only, they're really not very good at it.
Flynn has a real knack for the language and he seems to know his history. The "fulcra" he selects, the points where a small change might tip the course of events in quite a different direction, are quite reasonable, and he'll tell you exactly why. The characters are believable and three-dimensional and often sympathetic, even the bad guys. And coincidence is kept to a minimum. There's lots of juicy quotes in this one, too. This book was recommended to me by a friend several years ago, but I've only just gotten around to reading it -- and now I have to go see what else Flynn has written!
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating, thought-provoking . . . but where's the sequel?
11 Feb 2000
Format:Paperback
Michael Flynn's "In the Country of the Blind" is set primarily in the present (ca. 1990, so some of its computer 'net lingo is remarkably dated after only ten years), with intriguing and illuminating flashbacks to the 1800's. The flashbacks are about a small group of idealists deciding to utilize the theories of Charles Babbage, build Babbage Analytical Engines and use mathematical models to chart the likely course of future events, and -- ultimately -- to modify the undesirable outcome they foresaw: a United Germany armed with unimaginably powerful bombs in 1939. To forestall this eventuality, the "Charles Babbage Society" began taking an active part in history by engineering key historic events, such as the permanent "deletion" of Abraham Lincoln from their equations. . . . Flash forward to the 20th Century when the novel's heroine innocently stumbles upon century-old records of the group -- and evidence that they are still active -- very, very, VERY active she learns as she suddenly finds herself hunted by assassins and everyone she knows begins disappearing or dying as the heirs of the Society strive to preserve the Secret that for more than a century they have engineered wars and assasinations and negative social trends for what seems to be their own advantage. This is a very intellectually stimulating book (as well as a fair thriller) and a good steampunk adventure, but the ending is acutely disappointing. Without spoiling the ending, suffice it to say that it is abrupt and MANY sub-plots (literally!) are left unresolved. "In the Country of the Blind" cries out for republication (the Ayn Rand-like philosophical discussions about history, politics, and the control of society are FAR more relevant today than they were even ten years ago) and the book really needs a sequel to tie up its loose ends and bring the discussions of the major characters to bear upon themes which proved to be sadly prophetic.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
I hate to complain, but...
14 Nov 2001
Format:Hardcover
Yeah, yeah, it was a good read, but I had several problems with this book. Not with the science, but with the fiction. There were too many characters in the book. It did read like a serial, every chapter a substory that was ultimately linked by a common character. I had to keep marginal notes to remember who was who and how they fit in. I also had a real problem with our hero. Ms. Beaumont was just too heroic. Was there anything she did not know, or could not do? As a mature Black woman I am attracted to books with characters like me, but jeez, this woman could do everything and do it well. If this is a story about a regular citizen caught up in a situation of life and death, she is just too calm and collected. I also had problems with our male hero. Mr. Malone seemed to be more concerned, more questioning, more nervous about what was going on and he was the experienced professional. The characters were too sketchy, too good or too bad. Too sterotypical, like Mr. Collingwood from the fop to the cool leader, to be credible. I think the most interesting part went to Mr. French, the thread that tied all the motives together. Ah, if only we had followed his story from beginning to end. Speaking of the ending, the book just seemed to stop. Oh well, I guess I was tired of reading it by then anyway.
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