This is the only book of Katherine MacLean's I've ever read (or even known about); and that makes me sad because it is a well-written science fiction novel of the future, exploring themes such as "the good of the many outweighing the good of the few" and the increasingly disruptive yet beneficial role of technology in our lives. The characters are well-developed (and change over the course of the novel) and the story holds your attention through to the end.
The story is about a man named George who, with his own past secret and strange psychic abilities, lives on the fringes of a modern society that doesn't seem to have room for those who cannot find gainful employment in the city. The society that Ms. MacLean describes is a unique and richly-described vision of a world where ethnic/partisan individualism is heavily structured as a way to enable a diverse population to live together in relative peace. George and his long-time friend, an intelligent detective, must solve a mystery: the kidnapping of a city programmer by a terrorist organization. Time is running out and many lives are at stake.
The story is about a man named George who, with his own past secret and strange psychic abilities, lives on the fringes of a modern society that doesn't seem to have room for those who cannot find gainful employment in the city. The society that Ms. MacLean describes is a unique and richly-described vision of a world where ethnic/partisan individualism is heavily structured as a way to enable a diverse population to live together in relative peace. George and his long-time friend, an intelligent detective, must solve a mystery: the kidnapping of a city programmer by a terrorist organization. Time is running out and many lives are at stake.
