Richard Paul Russo

If you know me at all, you'll know that my favorite horror film and my favorite science fiction is Alien. I found Ship of Fools to be akin to Ridley Scott's sci-fi/horror classic, although Russo's novel is more psychological horror rather than "slasher in space". Ship of Fools and Alien both have a similar tone and somewhat similar plot in that a seemingly-abandoned alien spaceship is discovered by the crew of a human-occupied ship. But this is about the extent of similarities between the show more two.

The set-up of Ship of Fools is amazing and most of the novel is quite intriguing. We follow Bartholomeo, resident of the upper levels of the generation starship Argonos, which is where the more privileged citizens of the ship reside (government officials, ship crew, etc.), while the bottom levels are reserved for the lower classes. It's pretty much a city in space. The ship has been traveling through the galaxy for so long in search of a habitable planet that no one really knows the ship's origin. Some, like the ship's bishop, believe it has always existed. Finally the ship lands on an unknown planet. There the crew finds a Dante-esque scene in a chamber located deep within a jungle: ""There were hundreds of bones scattered about the floor, strips of decayed flesh, pools and smears of viscous fluid. Just as it was impossible to avoid brushing against the hanging skeletons, so was it impossible to avoid stepping on bone or in thick, sticky liquid as I moved through the room."" A mutiny follows. Bartolomeo is imprisoned, but when a mysterious ship, seemingly imbued with evil, shows up, he is released and named leader of an exploration team. Terror ensues. As well as philosophical and moral debates.

Ship of Fools is a fast-paced novel that deals with the tension of interpersonal and societal conflicts on a space ship whose mission seems futile and whose discovery mandates a response. It also deals with issues of faith. Its horror comes not from the unknown alien ship necessarily but from what this discovery does to the inhabitants of Argonos. The horror also comes from the existential fear of abandonment that Russo puts within the novel. Since Bartholomeo has only ever known the starship he lives on, why should he believe in a God that has seemed to abandon him and those on Argonos and allow evil to exist, even when his friend, Father Veronica is so convincing in her arguments about the existence of God?

While the end of the novel does appear to be a bit abrupt, I thought Russo gave us a hopeful conclusion to the plight of the Argonos and its inhabitants. It might not have been the payoff we were expecting but I liked it. The crux of this story is about humans trying to survive in space and find a new home for themselves amidst the realization that the problem of evil will follow us wherever we may roam. And the evil can manifest itself in various ways. With that knowledge, we have to choose life in the end. The Argonos after years of drifting in space, has found a path forward.

As Batholomeo states: "Life. That, at least, is something I believe in." show less

The book cover hooked my eye. I didn't know that the author, Richard Paul Russo, had won the Philip K. Dick Award for this work, his second. I'd never even heard of him. I was looking for someone new to try so I read the back cover.

No one remembers where they came from or where they're going. For hundreds of years, the starship Argonos, home to generations of humans, has wandered throughout the galaxy, searching for other signs of life. Now, a steady, unidentified transmission lures them show more toward a nearby planet.

The colony has vanished. But deep within the planet's steamy jungles, the exploration team finds horrible evidence of its fate.

Once more, a signal lures the crew of the Argonos. Haunted by what they have seen, they have no choice but to follow - deep into space, where an alien mystery awaits...

"Interesting," I thought. So I bought it. But the book really wasn't about all that. Oh sure, it's the story, but it's not what the book is about. Despite the fact that the book won the Philip K Dick Award in 2001, it turned some people off, including this guy. While I don't agree with his conclusions, he makes several good points that I won't refute. He's right about the story, but not what the book is about. What the book really is about, IMO, is our beliefs.

The story is told from the viewpoint of one man: Bartolomeo Aguilera. He was born with several physical deformities: stunted arms, a damaged spine, and a club foot. He makes up for it through the use of prosthetics and a metallic exoskeleton. He's a negative atheist who's intrigued by Father Veronica (yes, a woman priest), her faith in particular.

"I understand hypocrites, like the bishop, and I understand fanatics, or at least I can more easily predict their behavior, which is much the same thing, as far as I am concerned. But I admit I did not know what to make of true believers like Father Veronica. Her belief, her faith, was both profound and real. Her faith disturbed me."

Bartolomeo and Veronica are among the team sent down to the mysterious planet to investigate the source of the signal and the fate of the colony there. The two spend time together and slowly, over the course of the story, Father Veronica reveals a bit more of her faith to him. He also finds himself falling in love with her. In fact, since Bart isn't a member of the crew (he's the captain's adviser, a political position), he's free to dwell on these things while everyone else is engaged in their work.

So how did Bart find himself in this crisis of belief systems? His aforementioned deformities resulted in his being abandoned at birth. He was raised by the upper class community of which his parents, though he doesn't know who they are, are a part of. No compassionate conservatives here. He spent his whole life trying to find his own path. His deformities kept him isolated from the others and he had few friends (the captain being one). His predicament is just like the Argonos, the generational starship that he lives on.

Over a century ago, there was a strange plague that drove a large percentage of the ship's population mad. In the ensuing chaos, there was a lot of internal damage. Among the casualties were the historical records and navigational database. The ship has been lost since then and has no way of finding the other worlds that humans have colonized. They stumble upon habitable planets by accident. A star is chosen and they journey towards it, but it's been 14 years since their last contact. An ill-fated attempt by the bishop to play missionary to the masses of that world forced the Argonos to leave. So the ship keeps wandering around, lost, with no idea as to what its mission is or even its destination. Bart is merely the embodiment of that rudderlessness.

Bart learns that Father Veronica doesn't blindly follow her faith, nor is she the preaching type. She doesn't patronize, condescend, or condemn. She questions her faith regularly and periodically steals herself away for introspection. I won't reveal Father Veronica's confession to Bart and spoil it for would-be readers. Let's just say I found it to be intriguing. I'm sure that there are plenty people of faith who will disagree with what Russo has her say. And he certainly won't convince atheists to pick up a Bible. But it might give some people something to think about.

There's no point discussing many of the "real" plot elements. Russo leaves so many unanswered whys and hows that I can't see why I should bother. It's the faux story, which pissed some people off. The real story is Bart's quest for purpose, meaning, and belief. If the back cover was the real story, we would've been offered other viewpoints in the book. All of the major characters actions are revealed to us only through Bart's interaction with them. Reading Ship of Fools for the mystery teaser on the back cover is Russo's deceit to get readers to explore even deeper mysteries. show less

No one remembers where they came from or where they're going. For hundreds of years, the starship Argonos, home to generations of humans, has wandered throughout the galaxy, searching for other signs of life. Now, a steady, unidentified transmission lures them toward a nearby planet, where remnants of shocking brutality will send the ship reeling into deep space-and into a haunting alien mystery.
I read this as part of a November Ship Them Fools read hosted by Red Star Reviews. Horror is a show more new genre for me, so one set in space seemed just my sort.
This was creepy - less because of the monster (who is alluded to more than shown) but creepy because of the characters and the volatile nature of humans when we are afraid. Often, it was the characters who scared me more than the monster. The idea of being trapped on the Argonos for generations, the unknown, the inability to escape, the darkness inside the people who live there – that is the true terror to me.
Russo did an excellent job of creating a creepy, suspenseful world. show less

The starship Argonos is wandering through space, generations of crews manning the ship with no idea where they are headed or where they’ve come from. After finding an island whose colony has met a gruesome fate, the ship receives a signal from an alien ship that they can’t seem to resist.

LibraryThing is telling me I’ve had this book in my library since March of 2012, so I’ve owned it for at least four and a half years now (assuming I logged it right after purchase, which I’m not show more certain I did back then). Damn! I’m slightly ashamed to admit that Ship of Fools is probably not alone in this category.

At any rate, I finally picked this up thanks to a readalong and I’m so glad I did! The idea of a wandering ship with a crew that has no idea of what their purpose is or when they might be able to colonize, scares the shit out of me, but in the best way. Thinking about being stuck on a ship, even one as large as the Argonos seemed, makes me feel helpless, but it’s exciting to read about because it’s not happening to me.

This is primarily a plot-driven novel, though I did like our main character and I think he showed some growth and gave enough hints about his past to keep me satisfied. Plus, the main draw for me was finding out what happened to the colony and what the hell was going on with the ship they discovered. I also enjoyed one character’s perspective on religion – I didn’t really agree with her view, however it was well spoken and gave me something to think about (which I do enjoy now and then.)

My only real complaint is that the book ended and I still had questions – I want to know all the things! show less