review of
Mack Reynolds's Lagrange Five
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - December 7-8, 2021

For the full review go here: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/1380533-review-of-mack-reynolds-s

It appears that I've read & reviewed at least 17 novels by Mack Reynolds so far. There're very few writers that I've read & reviewed so many bks by. It helps that they're easy reads, it also helps that I like them all very much. Lagrange Five was no exception, I loved it. I've read & reviewed 22 novels by Greg Bear. I like Reynolds even more than Bear so I have some catching up to do. I've read almost everything by Phil K. Dick but only reviewed 6 of them b/c I read them all so long ago. Ditto for J.G.Ballard, I've reviewed 21 of his but they're mostly or entirely cursory reviews. I've read & reviewed 42 Ron Goulart bks but those reviews are so cursory they almost don't count. & then there's 53 by John Brunner! Ok, I take it back: there're quite a few writers that I've read & reviewed a large quantity of work by - all SF writers. Whatever.

There's an "Introduction" that begins:

"The Lagrange Five Project is developing so rapidly that it is all but impossible to keep up. New possibilities manifest themselves monthly, or even more often. There are even three newslatters devoted to space colonization and exploration. So it is that the reader must understand that this story is based upon the information available in the winter of 1976-1977. The present writer realizes that some of his background material will be antiquated before Lagrange Five can be rushed into print." - p -ii

Given that this bk was copyrighted in 1979, it's not as if the author was wishful-thinking about a distant future that he was hoping wd come into existence; instead, it's more like he was imagining that such a thing cd've been possible in his own day & age.

"He could use the camping trip. He had the feeling that he was going stale, that the job was getting on the monotonous side and life in general too much in the way of routine." - p 1

I can relate.

"Back at his little camp, he located the camouflaged outlet and plugged in the stove. In short order the coffee was on hand and he sat on a comfortable boulder." - p 4

"It wasn't a real spring, of course, no matter how well executed by those who had landscaped this whole area. There were pipes below, bringing in the recycled and sterile water.

"He staggered to his feet and stumbled back toward his camp, a fear growing.

"He stared accusingly at his little electric stove, plugged into the outlet. Outlets were everywhere in this supposed wilderness. The pollution of fire and smoke were taboo, the burning of wood was taboo. So, even in camping, you utilized the everywhere available electricity. No wonder so available. It cost all but nothing, the solar power stations took care of that—and the sun was good for a few billion more years, at least." - pp 4-5

The character's camping trip goes awry when he develops severe claustrophobia.

"He clawed at his pocket for his transceiver, finally got it out, panting, his eyes closed tightly.

"He flicked the stud and screamed, "Emergency, emergency. Get a fix on me. I've got Island fever. I've got Wide Syndrome. I've got . . . space cafard . . ."

"They came zeroing in on him within minutes. But by the time they arrived he was mewling, crouched in a fetal position behind the boulder on which he had been seated les than a quarter of an hour before." - p 6

& to think that North American tourists complain when they get the shits from drinking the water in Mexico.

"["]Once, when we were first colonizing the initial Island Two, a transport carrying a hundred and fifty colonists developed a single case. The pilot hung on until the end and reported how it swept through the ship. They all went mad and killed each other, tore each other apart with their hands and teeth. The pilot went last."

[..]

""Yes," he said, as they headed for the door and their much needed drinks. "Even hearing a news broadcast of that instant mental epidemic might have brought on cafard symptoms in others."" - p 9

It's like being in the same rm w/ someone who's puking, it's hard to stop yrself from doing likewise. Now imagine the same logic applying to the way the mass media has so successfully induced COVID-fear.

"Lagrange Five, that equidistant point in space from Earth and Luna" - p 10

In case you were wondering.

Lagrange Five, like many of Reynolds's places, is an intentional community operating w/ exceptional intelligence, imagination, & skill. Also like many of Reynolds's places, it's potentially endangered by the machinations of less intelligent but more diabolical interests. Reynolds always has details evocative of socio-political experiments of interest to me.

"They had approached a sizeable bicycle rack and she pulled a woman's model and began to mount it.

""Take one," she said.

[..]

""They're public property and available to anyone whenever needed. There are racks all over town. You pick one, ride it as long as you wish and leave it at the nearest rack when you're through."" - p 17

Remember the white bicycles of the Dutch Provos?

"In the summer of 1965, Dutch designer and political activist Luud Schimmelpennink suggested a simple radical scheme that would eventually change the world. Schimmelpennink had an idea for creating a more sustainable environment by giving away free bicycles for communal use in Amsterdam’s city center. The suggestion was called the “White Bicycle Plan” and was part of a series of “White Plans” devised by the Dutch anarchist group Provo.

"Provo is a Dutch word for “young trouble-maker” and was considered an appropriate name for a group of young anarchists to carry out political “happenings” and stunts that were inspired as much by DADA as by Herbert Marcuse. Provo was formed by artist and anti-smoking campaigner Robert Jasper Grootveld, writer and anarchist Roel van Duijn and activist Rob Stolk in May 1965. Their motivation, they explained, was to fight back against capitalist society that was “poisoning itself with a morbid thirst for money,” where its citizens were “being brought up to worship Having and despise Being.”"

[..]

"However, as soon as these 50 white bicycles were made freely available they were impounded by the police on the grounds the bikes were not “lockable.” Apparently, all bikes in Amsterdam at that time had to be lockable. Undeterred by the police actions, Provo waited until the bikes were returned and they then fitted each bike with a simple combination lock with the number painted on the bike’s frame. Of course, some of the bikes were stolen, but the White Bicycle revolution had begun.

"Provo’s ideas may seem obvious to us today, but in the 1960s, they were considered radical, threatening and dangerous to society. This was the start of a bicycle revolution that has spread across many European countries today, with bikes being readily (and often freely) available for use. In 2010, Glasgow-based art collective NVA launched a new “White Bicycle Plan” donating 50 bikes for use across the city."

- https://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_white_bicycle_revolution

I take it for granted that Reynolds knew about this when he wrote this bk. These days, in Pittsburgh &, presumably, elsewhere, there's a more capitalist SPIN on such things.

"A fleet of little electric scooters has invaded the city this summer, and they’re impossible to miss. Bright orange and often left in the most inopportune of places, scooters from the Ford-owned company Spin have spurred a wave of debate from supporters and critics alike.

"On one hand, they’re an accessible and eco-friendly alternative to cars in a city where parking is often a chore. They also provide a viable alternative to a crowded bus or an expensive Uber for residents who don’t drive, or simply don’t own a car. Riders with lower incomes can even apply for discounted rental rates — Spin Scooters usually cost a starting fee of $1 plus an additional 39 cents per minute — through the Spin Access program. In areas of accessibility and transit efficiency, there’s no doubt that Spin is unparalleled."

- https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/spin-scooters-spark-outrage-as-users-abandon-...

"there’s no doubt that Spin is unparalleled"? Well, let's say you want to go someplace 3 miles away. Let's say their maximum speed is 15mph. That means it might take 12 minutes to get there. That's $1 12 X 39¢ = $5.68, assuming that you experience maximum efficiency - I think we can take it for granted that that won't be the case. A white bicycle wd cost NOTHING to the user & wd take about the same amt of time. Walking wd take me about an hr. $5.68 wd be an extravagance for me - furthermore, it seems to me that they'd be the most fun to use for a casual exploration, maybe for an hr. That wd cost $24.40, definitely an extravagance. I've noticed that most of the Spin riders seem like younger college students w/ presumably disposable income. As usual, the capitalist 'alternative' really isn't that great. Still, I'm glad they're out there - if only as an addition to the variety of possibilities.

The central character is a detective brought from Earth to Lagrange Five, an idyllic small artificial planet, to search for a missing public figure.

"Rex turned abruptly to the chairman and snapped, "What did the police discover?"

""We have no police," Hans Ober said.

""Well, security, or whatever you call it."

"Ober shook his head. "We have no police of any kind connected with the Lagrange Five Project, nor any other kind of appurtenances of the State such as jails, or even courts in the ordinary sense of the word. We're civilized, Mr. Bader. Crime in the ordinary sense is unknoen in Lagrangia."" - p 28

When Reynolds writes about such a society, his deep knowledge of political philosophies & experiments serves him well for describing something plausible - at least plausible to a person such as myself, someone who's spent much of their life thinking about such possibilities. Many of his bks interweave a type of action that wd appeal to readers looking for not much else w/ socio-political imaginings that provide context but are also intended to be thought-provoking.

"Rex said, "That reminds me. How do I pay for something, such as renting a car? Can I get an advance on my salary?"

""You won't need it, she told him. "For all practical purposes, you, along with all Lagrangists, are on an unlimited expense account."

"He almost stopped the bike to stare at her. "Unlimited expense account!" he said. "You mean that I don't have to pay for anything?"

""That's right. Neither does any Lagrangist. Tourists and others, up from Earth-side, are another thing. But they can pay at the hotels for rooms and meals, or renting cars, or whatever, with their ordinary International Credit Cards. It's all kept track of in our account in Switzerland."" - p 38

Of course, in the novel, all of this is explained in much greater detail. I'm just giving a teaser here.

"It was only after he had climbed upon a stool and leaned on the bar that he realized that it wasn't truly wood but some sort of plastic done up in such wise as to resemble it remarkably. The Pub had ten tables and half-a-dozen booths along one wall. On the wall were faded posters going back to World War One days; scenes in London music halls, complete with dancing girls, war propaganda posters, including Huns cutting the hands off little children and nuns, that sort of thing." - p 52

Given that this pub on L5 is supposed to be an authentic reproduction of an actual British pub I assume that that last detail is something that Reynolds had either actually seen in such a place or knew to've been common enuf to be worth using as a detail. Still, it's strange isn't it? Who wd want to be getting drunk in a place w/ pictures of children & nuns getting their hands cut off? That wd definitely ruin the mood for me.

"It had been years since Rex Bader had been in a bar that boasted a live bartender. The class of drinkery he could afford was invariably automated. Swanker restaurants, he knew, often sported live waiters and bartenders but such were not for citizens on Negative Income Tax or Guaranteed Annual Stipend, GAS, as it was sometimes called." - p 53

It interests me that Reynolds isn't writing about a future time, in wch such things as automated bars & GAS might be expected as possibilities, but is, instead, writing about his own time as if it weren't what it was - w/o in any way justifying that in the plot w/ something like, say, a parallel universe element or some such.

Racial issues often play a big part in Reynolds's bks. In this one, a white woman engages in impromptu debate w/ a black man.

"Susie sighed and said, "The Causcasians, too, have made contributions to progress, Mr. Ford."

""Yes, from the military use of gunpowder to the atom bomb. Oh, I'll admit you've made developments in the sciences we originated, and you instituted the industrial revolution. But you never would have gotten underway if we hadn't given you such little items as the wheel. And now, as a result of your military prowess, we of Africa and Asia are second- or third-class citizens. That's why we want off the world."" - p 64

The government, such as it is, consists of a unpd council.

""Then, what do they get out of it?"

""The honor of serving. The honor and respect granted them by their fellow Lagrangists."

""To each according to his needs and from each according to his abilities, eh?"

""Why, I suppose so," Susie said, not recognizing the quotation.

""Syndicalism,"" - p 87

&, yes, there's a villain - someone who definitely wdn't be having such 'idealism'.

"Doctor Johannisberger need never fear unemployment. If all else failed, he could without difficulty have gotten a job portraying a German scientist on Tri-Di shows. He was a stereotype to end all stereotypes. He would have been particularly good as one of Adolf the Aryan's devoted experimenters on subjects pertaining to the final solution to the Jewish problem." - p 103

Reminds me of Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, & architect of the "Great Reset".

""You know, I've been there. When I was a young fellow. But I finally came to this conclusion. It's the old Roman adage. Divide and Conquer. Pit whites against Blacks, youth against the older generations, nation against nation, religion against religion, one sex against the other. As long as they're so occupied, they don't see the sources of their real troubles. The last case is as good as any. As long as they were supposedly fighting each other, the two sexes didn't see who was really fucking them."

"Who is?" Whip said sourly, unaccepting.

""The socioeconomic system.["]" - pp 112-113

Yeppur.

& there's an ongoing mystery character. I had my educated guess as to who it was from more or less the get-go but there's no sense in giving that away here, eh?!

"When the two men had gone, Susie sank back into her chair and let air out of her lungs.

"Another entered the room from a different door. The newcomer said, "Well, things are coming to a head, aren't they?"

""It looks that way," Susie said, tiredness in her voice, "I think that Rex, in particular, is beginning to smell a rat."" - pp 124-125

Lagrange Five really is a paradise by my standards. Here's further 'proof':

"The lack of advertising signs came to him again. And, now that he thought about it, he realized that there had been no advertising whatsoever in New Frisco as well. Not even signs before restaurants or theatres. But it would seem that the Lagrangists took it to the extreme, made a real principle of it. No advertising period. He assumed that it applied to their Tri-D and radio programs as well. Come to think of it, there would be no need for advertising if you produced only the best quality of everything and everything amounted to being free." - p 138

We get a little back-story on Rex, the PI:

"["]When I was younger, I used to like to read stories about the old private eyes, Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, even Mike Hammer, and it occured to me that here was a profession I might be able to get into. I studied up on everything that seemed to apply and, sure enough, got my private investigator's license.["]" - p 142

As an autodidact, I have an ongoing problem w/ the fraudelnce problems connected w/ PHDs. I like to say that I "Give it the old anti-college try". Reynolds, very much 'a man of the world', expresses similar thoughts thru his characters:

"Rex took a pull at his drink and said, "The fact that a man's got a phenomenal Ability Quotient, a doctor's degree or so, and a stupendous I.Q. doesn't mean that he has integrity. Some of them seem to think that their strength is the strength of ten because their hearts are pure. And why are their hearts pure? Because they've spent several thousand hours in classrooms, lecture halls, and laboratories. It doesn't prove out. Some of the most vicious people in history have had high I.Q.s and probably Ability Quotients had they been able to test them in those days. Look at Napoleon. Look at Hitler, Goering, Schacht, and Speer.["]" - p 153

Alas, Rex isn't really a very good detective. He has opportunities to learn more about what's going on & seems to miss his chances:

"As he turned, someone jostled him.

""Sorry," the other apologized and grabbed Rex to keep him from stumbling.

""That's all right," Rex said. "I wasn't looking very carefully, myself."" - p 176

& , then, here's a little tidbit of interest:

"["]You know, until Mao's communists took over, a sizeable percentage of China's land was devoted to graveyards, going back for centuries, even millennia. The communists plowed them under."" - p 207

If there were a revolution in the US maybe the golf courses wd go.

Gotta love the author's bio:

For the full review go here: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/1380533-review-of-mack-reynolds-s ( )

This novel gets a free ride to a certain extent because I'll read anything with the Gerard K. O'Neill L5 High Frontier concepts as a backdrop.

Outside of this, it's basically a bland Mob/Organized crime story moved into a space setting.

Infuriatingly the characters will often use the word 'wizard' or phrases like 'Holy Jumping Zen' which belong in the worst of the golden age and should have stayed there.

3 Stars if you're an L5 nut. 2.5 if you aren't. ( )