Who Goes Here?

Warren Peace joined the Space Legion to forget. But in these modern times, you don't have to soldier in dangerous places to forget an unhappy past: the Legion hook you up to a memory-erasing machine when you join up and hey presto! Unhappy memory gone!

Except at that point they show you that you've just signed up for 20, 30, 40 or more years with the Legion - something that you have no memory of because they've just erased it...

This is a genuinely funny novel from Bob Shaw that recreates the inventiveness and humour of his fan writing and Serious Scientific Speeches at UK Eastercons. Recommended. (The sequel, 'Dimensions', is nowhere near as good.)

Oh, and there is a very good reason why the chief protagonist is called "Warren Peace"....

This starts off as a slapstick comedy in the vein of Harry Harrison's 'Bill the Galactic Hero'. In the far future, men join the space legion in order to forget their past - literally as the case may be, since their memories are wiped in return for joining up to fight in dangerous, distant wars. The story follows 'Warren Peace', who must have been such a monster in his past life that the memory of his entire life is wiped away. But life in the legion is as promising as the life expectancy is short. The only way for Warren to get out of the contract with the Legion is if he can remember who he was. As Warren desperately tries to track down clues about who he was and what terrible crimes he committed that made him want to join the Legion, show more the humour takes a backseat to some genuinely interesting (if often off-the-wall) science fiction ideas. Overall this is a decent, if not exceptional read. show less

"What Mad Universe]"crossed with "All You Zombies" crossed with Shaw having his usual fun with word play and silly scientifiction ideas. But for me the mixture was too artificial. I never got involved in the story nor had more than a chuckle or two.

Must be a monster
signed up for lifetime service
fighting pointless wars.

A semi-frequent re-read when I'm in the mood

I bought and read the paperback in 1979, and commented in my diary that it was “quite good really. A bit Sheckley-ish.”

The paperback then sat forgotten among my other books until I decided to try it again in 2024. It is quite good really. The story is imaginative, exciting, and frequently surprising. It’s a short novel and not an award-winner, but it makes an entertaining ride. For me, it’s let down a bit by the ending, which is not really bad but seems a bit frivolous. It’s hard to end a novel in a way that will satisfy everyone.

The Kindle edition, which I now have, also contains a short story, “The Gioconda Caper”, which is frankly frivolous, but quite amusing. It’s not in any way related to “Who Goes Here?”.