Subject: IN THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND, Michael Flynn

From: [email-masked] (C. Roald)
Date: 1 Aug 91 02:05:11 GMT

IN THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND
		  by Michael Flynn.

	Review Copyright (c) 1991 Colin Roald

	"'What were Typhoid Mary's rights?'
	'That's a loaded question!'
	'What good is an unloaded one?' he snapped."

IN THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND is heir to an old but little explored sf
tradition--concerning the fictional science of psychohistory, or cliology,
as Flynn here names it.

Flynn's cliology starts with speculations made by Charles Babbage in the
nineteenth century.  On the surface, those speculations developed into
systems theory.  His ideas that those theories might enable predictions of
societal behaviour didn't pan out-- according to the history books.  The
history books lie.

Brady Quinn, Jedediah Crawford, Isaac Shelton, and others took up in secret
Babbage's speculations and developed them into a workable science. The
Babbage Society, as they called themselves, saw the potential of their
science, and saw the horrors it predicted.  Acting from the highest ideals,
they began not only to predict the future, but to attempt to control it.
The work was necessarily done in secret, for fear of superstitious
reprisals.

In time, the ideals were lost and secrecy became raging paranoia and the
cabal fractured, just as the equations predicted.

Sarah Beaumont is a successful property-developer (her skin is also
brown-tinted, if that matters to anyone) who finds an old bundle of papers
in a building she's renovating, indicating that a man named Brady Quinn once
lived there.  Thinking there might be a gimmick there--naming the
development after people who once lived there--she starts researching Mr.
Quinn. And finds herself the target of an assassination attempt...

IN THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND delves into the conspiracies of the secret
puppet-masters of our society, as their secrecy is cracked and the scrutiny
of the world floods in.

In other hands, this could have been a rousing spy-thriller.  But though the
action is present and the plots are convoluted, Flynn doesn't go for
non-stop tension. And neither does he attempt to set up a classic climactic
resolution.

The pace is more measured, with a subtle momentum that I suspect will not be
to everyone's taste. Flynn spends a considerable amount of time exploring
the ethics of historical manipulation.  Several of his characters disagree
rather passionately on the issues, and their arguments are given full play.
In the process, he seems to display a considerable knowledge of history
himself, though I don't know enough to check him.  The only error I caught
him at was mistakenly abbreviating "Quebec" to "QE" rather than "PQ"--that's
for "province de Quebec".

I found it absorbing: Flynn is an entertaining, perceptive writer dealing
with a fascinating topic. Guaranteed to give you something to think about.

   Roald.

          %A   Michael F. Flynn
          %T   In the Country of the Blind
          %I   Baen Books
          %C   New York
          %D   1990 July
          %G   ISBN 0 671 69886 9
          %P   527 pp.
	  %O   paperback CDN$4.95 (US$3.95)