| Author: | John Barns |
| Copyright: | 1992 |
| Date Reviewed: | 6/2/01 |
| Rating: | 7.0 |
Synopsis: In the previous centuries, humankind has established a thousand cultures on hundreds of planets. Because of the great distances involved, these cultures have largely been left to evolve their own unique way of life. Now, with the development of the instantaneous Springer device, the cultures are being consolidated into a powerful economic federation. This is causing economic booms but also changing the old ways.
Giraut and his young friends live a leisurely life in Nou Occitan. Before they settle down to careers and marriage, they are encouraged to pursue a lifestyle of art, music and honor. Honor demands that a man fight for his beliefs and belongings and Giraut's band is no exception. They occasionally fight among themselves but these days most of their quarrels are with the Interstellars who have emigrated to Nou Occitan now that the Springer has come to this world. The Interstellars don't respect the honorable old ways. The men of this male-dominated culture "keep" beautiful women but pay them little regard. Giraut has trouble adapting to the new ways and when he finds his girlfriend making an X-rated S&M video, he decides to leave everything behind. His friend Aimeric has just been ordered to return to his home culture, Caledon, as assistant to the new Ambassador. The Springer is about to come to Caledon and Aimeric's knowledge of the culture will be vital to prepare them for the coming changes. Giraut accompany Aimeric as his assistant, along with Bieris, Aimeric's girlfriend.
Giraut arrives on Caledon to find a culture very different from his own. The economy is strictly controlled by an ultra-conservative, Catholic government. Inhabitants can not own anything because that violates religious principles. Instead, everything must be leased and the government controls the prices so that it can encourage right behavior and right thinking. Spartan conditions and the total omission of aesthetics are encouraged because it moves the "soul" closer to God. The opening of the Springer and the free Markets that comes with it will have particularly devastating impact on this culture, more so than any other because it is currently so closed. The government, led by Chairman Carruthers, is opposed to any major changes but knows some are inevitable. Chairman Carruthers is a hard man and has little respect for his son Aimeric. Still, he assigns Pastor Clarity Peterborough, Pastor of Market Function, to work with the Ambassador. To make himself useful, Giraut proposes and is granted permission to open the Occitan Center for the Arts. His intent is to teach those who are willing about one of the thousand cultures, his own.
As the government moves closer to establishing ties with the thousand cultures, a coup is staged by Reverend Santini. Carruthers and Peterborough are ousted and placed under house arrest. This angers the students at the Center and a revolution committee is established. While the leaders of the revolution are out of the way fighting for their lives after a traffic accident in the mountains, Santini's police forces encourages a mob to storm the Center and many students are killed. This action gives Ambassador Shan the excuse to have the Council on Humanity revoke the Caledon charter and a small army is brought in to put down the secret police and arrests Santini, paving the way for a new government that will work with the thousand cultures. During his stay on Caledon, Giraut realizes some of the limits of his own culture and even learns to appreciate and fall in love with a woman who is not beautiful.
Review: This could have been an outstanding novel but instead degenerated to just a good one. While it held my interest throughout, it could have been a lot more. I read "A Million Open Doors" while in China and the parallels between the Chinese economy and the Caledon economy were striking. While the name wasn't used, the Caledon economy was clearly a communist one and didn't work very well. Both governments knew change had to come and while they were prepared for economic change, they would not allow a change of political philosophy. I liked the parallels and looked forward to them being explored.
As the staff reaches Caledon, there is some talk about market economies and their possible consequences. This could have been a unique subject to explore in a Science Fiction but it was glossed over. Instead, much of the focus was on the Center and the individuals trying to make it work; a far less galactic theme than the book cover promised. The revolutionary spirit of the students would have also been good to explore, as they worked to topple the government. However, they were poorly organized and anyone could see they could never have much impact on anything. The excursion to the mountains was a monumentally stupid idea and simple did not belong. While the author focused on their troubles, the more important changes were happening back home and we only learn of them after the fact.