- Hardcover: 229 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins (Sep 1975)
- ISBN-10: 0060138688
- ISBN-13: 978-0060138684
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 14.5 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,461,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Stochastic Man (Gollancz S.F.)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Lew Nichols is in the business of stochastic prediction. A mixture of sophisticated analysis and inspired guesswork, it is the nearest man can get to predicting the future. And Nichols is very good at it. So good that he is soon indispensable to Paul Quinn, the ambitious and charismatic mayor of New York whose sights are firmly set on the presidency. But there is nothing paranormal about stochastic prediction: Nichols can't actually see the future. However, Martin Carvajal apparently can and he offers to help Nichols do so too. It's an offer Nichols can't resist, even though he can clearly see the devastating impact that knowing in advance every act of his life has on Carvajal. For Carvajal has even seen his own death.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Robert Silverberg was born in 1935 and began to write while studying for his BA at Columbia University. He is one of the most prolific of all sf writers and among his many fine novels are Dying Inside, Downward to the Earth, The World Inside and Shadrach in the Furnace.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
We are born by accident into a purely random universe. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
We are born by accident into a purely random universe. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of Silverberg's best.
May be a little slow starting but soon grips.
I don't need stochastic techniques to predict that you will enjoy this book.
May be a little slow starting but soon grips.
I don't need stochastic techniques to predict that you will enjoy this book.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
"The scene so long rehearsed, now finally played."
17 Jan 2009
Format:Paperback
Random House Dictionary says that 'stochastic'= "of or pertaining to a process involving a randomly determined sequence of observations each of which is considered as a sample of one element from a probability distribution". If that enlightens you at all. The Webster's Dictionary simply notes: "Conjectural; able to conjecture." Knowing the meaning of the word isn't really necessary to understanding the book. But, since Silverberg went to the effort of putting a 50 cent word on the cover, it seemed to me at least polite to look it up.
This 1975 novel is not the strongest of the books that I have read by Silverberg, although it is a very nice example of science fiction's (earlier?) role in exploring worlds and probabilities. Particularly in the 1970s, there was an interest in picking up one principle or idea, and exploring it narrowly. This is one of those books. The concept that Silverberg is playing with here is time-- the idea of time as a fixed line, rather than a variable sequence. He pits two kinds of fortune-tellers against each other-- one who understands well enough to predict statistical trends, and one who understands nothing but simply sees down the line. This book, at its broadest level, is about what heppens when the two talents come together.
For me, the demands of science fiction have changed enough that I find this kind of idea study incomplete. I wanted more in the way of character. I found that Silverberg's future world in the novel was a tad predictable and sketched-in. While there were engaging aspects, it felt more like an exercise than some of his more character-oriented works.
I picked this up second-hand as part of my continuing interest in exploring the non-Valentine books by Silverberg. It's probably worth reading if you are engaged in the same or similar exercise. It would not be where I started with Silverberg.
This 1975 novel is not the strongest of the books that I have read by Silverberg, although it is a very nice example of science fiction's (earlier?) role in exploring worlds and probabilities. Particularly in the 1970s, there was an interest in picking up one principle or idea, and exploring it narrowly. This is one of those books. The concept that Silverberg is playing with here is time-- the idea of time as a fixed line, rather than a variable sequence. He pits two kinds of fortune-tellers against each other-- one who understands well enough to predict statistical trends, and one who understands nothing but simply sees down the line. This book, at its broadest level, is about what heppens when the two talents come together.
For me, the demands of science fiction have changed enough that I find this kind of idea study incomplete. I wanted more in the way of character. I found that Silverberg's future world in the novel was a tad predictable and sketched-in. While there were engaging aspects, it felt more like an exercise than some of his more character-oriented works.
I picked this up second-hand as part of my continuing interest in exploring the non-Valentine books by Silverberg. It's probably worth reading if you are engaged in the same or similar exercise. It would not be where I started with Silverberg.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Stochastic Man: An interesting read, but nothing special
30 May 2000
Format:Hardcover
I can happily say that I started to read this book with no expectations as to the quality of the storyline etc. I think if I had had any, I may have been disappointed.
That said, Mr. Silverberg tells an interesting (to a point) tale of a character who is able to predict the future with a reasonable degree of accuracy. His life changes radically when he meets someone who actually can see the future as it will happen.
Throw in stuff about bone smoking, Kama Sutra style sex (not explicit) and a healthy dose of politics and thats the novel.
I've read better, and I've read much worse. If nothing else, you might get a new view on life and death.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Standard Sci-Fi Fare
14 Nov 2005
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The Stochastic Man was written in 1975. It is standard science fiction fare, with some interesting ideas, but not imperative in this day and age to the genre. It was shocking to me to see that it was a finalist (not the winner) for both the Nebula and Hugo Awards for that year. Maybe it was cutting edge at the time. Still it was 5th place for the Hugo and one of 18 Nebula finalists. There are many superb works from the 70's (like Gateway by Frederik Pohl), but anyway this is a good novel to read if you get it cheap at a library book sale, want something to read while on travel for work, etc. The bleak state of major American cities, as in the novel, somewhat dates the book as much hasn't been written about it since the 70's (although that's not saying that it doesn't need to be in the style as in the novel.) The chieftain imbedded in the inner city has the protagonist working for him, and the protagonist begins to realize that this character can indeed predict the future and is informed of his own future. Sound great? Well, what if ones future is somewhat mixed. What if you knew your marriage will lead to divorce and that you will never marry again nor find love again? Would you want not to know what you might consider a bleak aspect, or would you want to know so as not to expend effort on false hope. My personal feeling, which is the novel's positive point to have one consider this, is that if your future is foretold as bleak, you would both want it NOT to be mostly pre-determined and have a good possibility to change it for the much better.
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