Tue 14 Apr 2026
NORMAN SPINRAD – Bug Jack Barron. Avon M206; paperback, June 1969. Cover art by Alex Gnidziejko, Hardcover edition published simultaneously by Walker. An abbreviated version appeared earlier in New Worlds SF, December 1967 through October 1968.
From the back cover: POWER PLAY. The lines of power are tangled in a future America threatened by a conspiracy of evil. Politics, communication, sex, love – all are sources of power, all are tools for the maniacal ambitions of one man of vast wealth, Benedict Howards. Opposing Howards is Jack Barron, who has incalculable power of his own – but who first must learn how to use it,,, Combines the soaring imagination of science fiction with uncompromising realism.
The issue if immortality (is there anything so rank you wouldn’t do for immortality?)
The language is necessary.
Rating: *****
April 15th, 2026 at 7:54 am
One of the most controversial science fiction novels of the late Sixties; you could not swing a cat without someone discussing or arguing about it. Spinrad, then considered one of the enfant terribles of the field, followed this book with the only slightly less controversial THE IRON DREAM — part of which was written by Adolph Hitler, now cast as a failed politician turned science fiction writer. I count 37 editions of BUG JACK BARON listed in ISFDb, including the peripatetic six-part serialization in NEW WORLDS. It has been translated into six languages. It was nominated for both a Nebula and a Hugo and missed out on both, and was included in David Pringle’s SCIENCE FICTION: THE 100 BEST NOVELS. A great book, whose time has appeared to be long past — the only English reprints in the past quarter-century are from small, specialist houses. A major reprint edition is long overdue.
April 15th, 2026 at 12:21 pm
You’re quite right, Jerry. The book was extremely controversial at the time, but I’d agree that it’s mostly forgotten now. I wish I’d said more myself at the time, instead of quoting the back cover for most of my review.
The book was also the high point of Spinrad’s career. He wrote maybe a dozen novels, but a ton of short work. He’s still alive but in poor health, I’m told, and remembered today more as a top notch reviewer, critic and SFnal historian than for his own fiction.
April 15th, 2026 at 2:48 pm
I hazard to claim Spinrad is still better known as an author.
The Void-Captain’s Tale(1983) is one of his other career highligths.
April 15th, 2026 at 7:42 pm
That’s one I haven’t read, and I really ought to. I suppose I could argue the point about his fiction in general, but I won’t — or in other words, you’re probably right. He was a very good writer.
April 15th, 2026 at 7:58 pm
I was trying to find something online that would explain why BUG JACK BARRON was so controversial when it first came out. My review didn’t come close, nor is the plot description on Wikipedia. But here’s a link to a “real” review I found online. It doesn’t do what I was looking for, but I found it interesting:
https://schlock-value.com/2019/12/08/bug-jack-barron/