Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsMy Guilty Pleasure
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 February 2013
A long time ago I had a fairly complete collection of Ballard's short stories and novels until I had to downsize my collection during a divorce and gave them away to a friend who was also a Ballard fan. This collection of 39 tales helps to fill the chasm left behind. It is hard to fault any of the stories except occasionally the technology is dated, valves and tapes etc. The point about Ballard's style is that although it often has science fiction themes he really writes about people and their obsessions. There is always a central character who is obsessed about something most of us would not even notice, until that obsession leads to his downfall or death. Frequently an exotic, distant, and beautiful woman helps to drive the protagonist although he never consummates his lust.
I would find it difficult to pick out favourites from such an excellent selection but one of the most memorable, to me, is possibly "The Overloaded man" where Ballard deals with subliminal advertising and its effect on waste and consumerism. "Chronopolis" deals with the excesses of capitalism.
"With a clock you can time how long it takes for a man to do a job"
"What is wrong with that?"
"Then you can make him do it faster..."
That is not an exact transcription of the dialogue but gives the basic theme. Having endured "Time and Motion" studies when I used to work in one of Arkwright's mills I understand his point. The machines I ran used to put the twist in yarn and thread and there was an optimum speed beyond which excessive waste was produced, cancelling out any perceived increase in production. Once a year some wet behind the ears manager, just out of university, would come along and speed up the machines. After a couple of weeks of increased waste the machines would be set back to their original speed when the idiot realised he knew less than the men who tended the machines. Unfortunately it was hellish for two weeks as we spent such a lot of time cutting waste from spindles and rollers caused by the yarn snapping regularly. You probably are not interested to know that the mill is now a tourist attraction in Cromford, Derbyshire although I have resisted the urge to visit after several unhappy years working there.
Highly recommended although if you want a hard back copy Amazon can supply one for only £79.00!!!