Dan Simmmons' Flashback: "abundantly entertaining, often outrageous right-wing fantasy"

[alp227]

Dan Simmons’s “Flashback” is an abundantly entertaining, often outrageous right-wing fantasy about a weak, broken United States 20-odd years from now. The country is ruled over by the Japanese, lives in fear of the Islamic Global Caliphate, and its citizens mostly spend their time stoned on a drug called flashback that lets them escape to a better past. Some of the events that have occurred between now and the early 2030s can be summed up thusly:

U.S. Goes Bankrupt

Israel Destroyed by Nuclear Attack

Mexican Army Invades California

Sharia Law Rules Europe, Canada

Giant Mosque Built at Ground Zero

U.S. Down to 44½ States

full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-review-flashback-by-dan-simmons/2011/07/19/gIQA62F6lI_story.html

[SpiralHawk]

1. Proving once again that Republiconism is all about FEAR & Fail

What they hell are Republcons doing in the 'land of the free and the home of the brave?' They just don't fit.

[demguy72340]

6. so true

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. So, is it really a "RW fantasy" or is it a double-fantasy

Like Spinrad's "The Iron Dream" - postulating that Hitler became a science-fiction writer rather than a painter, and as a result his paranoid racist fantasies played themselves out in a heroic fantasy novel instead of the real world.

IOW, while it 'blames' Obama and his Cairo speech, is that the author's concept of a RW blaming game, or does he take the resultant dystopia seriously?

I don't know the author - the only thing of his I've looked at was Hyperion, and it didn't hold me - I didn't get past the second chapter (but the Shrike stayed with me, for some reason).

[MrCoffee]

3. From his website (I must defend him, he's a favorite sci-fi author of mine)

"Is Flashback A Novel Stating Dan Simmons's Political Biases?

In a word . . . no. In two words . . . hell no."

http://www.dansimmons.com/news/message.htm

If you've never read the Hyperion Cantos, I highly recommend it. I've never thought of him as a right-wing author at all.

[Fire Walk With Me]

4. Dear me, finding myself agreeing with MrCoffee...

But a drug called Flashback? Is this a blend of Chew-Z from "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch" and the film "Brain Candy"? :rofl:

[MrCoffee]

5. You just blew my mind

It's one thing to base a novel in right-wing fear and paranoia, it's another thing entirely to rip off PKD.

Shame on you, Mr. Simmons, shame on you!

:rofl:

[Dr. Strange]

7. Yeah, but if you're gonna rip off anyone...

Dick is the way to go.

[pitohui]

8. yeah the plot sounds like a total plagiarism of PKD

i actually HAVE heard that dan simmons is a winger, but i haven't read his work and i don't know if it's just gossip, while i read one shorter book of his but it was utterly forgettable and so i've forgotten it

however, usa ruled by japanese, everybody taking chew-z (excuse me, flashback)...yah, just the plot summary sounds like a re-writing of man in the high castle etc.

i prefer pastiche/homage to be shorter rather than novel length myself

[Onceuponalife]

9. Is it a right wing fantasy or

a right wing vision of America's future? Not the same thing.

I thought "Hyperion" was outstanding and I went out and bought up a bunch more of Simmons' books, so I hope I'm not disappointed...

[Enthusiast]

10. I have only read the one Dan Simmons book -

The Terror.

Is he a rightie? The Terror didn't seem to be politically biased, that I can remember. If he is a rightie I will stop reading Dan Simmons with the Terror.