The Silver Eggheads

One hundred years in the future, humans no longer writes books to read, instead feeding a single word into a "wordmill" which in turn generates pages and pages of mind-numbing pablum for the masses. These machines are still cared for by so-called writers who one day are fed up with not being allowed to write for themselves. They rebel against the machines, destroying them in a massive riot, only to discover they really have no idea how to write. But one publishing company -- Racket House -- has a contingency plan, based upon thirty brains from the greatest minds of a century ago, kept alive in giant silver eggs to allow them time to think and to create. It's up to writer Gaspard de la Nuit and his robot companion/writer Zane Gort to show more keep the eggs safe while the publishers at Racket House devise a way to get the brains to write novels before the rioters discover their existence.

Believe it or not, "The Silver Eggheads" is a classic 1960s, sci-fi sex comedy romp that I absolutely loved. Much of it deals with what it means to write, where do the ideas come from, how do they get transferred to paper (or computer). Simply sitting in front of a typewriter doesn't make you a good writer; a good writer draws from experiences, living life, trying new things, and reading books instead of mindless drivel that makes no sense. As for sex, the intricacies of relationships are presented mostly through the robot Zane Gort and the robix (female robot) Miss Blushes. Zane isn't sure how to approach the beautiful Miss Blushes and through talking with the human Nurse Bishop (caretaker of the silver eggheads) learns how humans handle getting to know one another. Definitely a book for both fans of science fiction and for those wanting to know about creativity and writing. show less

Great sci-fi, in terms of creating a compelling (if not entirely credible) future reality, madly imaginative characters and plot twists, and a felicitous writing style. But not serious -- not at all serious -- which is probably why it is so far down on all the lists. This is one of the funniest sci-fi novels ever written, particularly for those who know more than they would like about the literary world.

This has dated badly

01634.

En el mundo editorial del futuro, el nombre de San Isaac Asimov es pronunciado con el máximo respeto. Ello se debe a que la producción de "mecalingua" (literatura de consumo) está casi enteramente confiada a máquinas y robots. Una "róbix" (robot hembra) se encarga de la censura, y mientras los editores distraen sus ocios en brazos de "robotrices" (robots prostitutas), los escritores están reducidos al papel de simples monigotes publicitarios.

URANIA COLLEZIONE NR. 137