The Stone That Never Came Down

I have enjoyed this book ever since it was published. I have had several copies (both paperback AND hardback), and usually re-read the book every year. I had been wishing that they had a Kindle copy of the book, and they finally did. So I bought it, and will keep it on my Kindle as long as I can.

Firmly set in the postWorld War II atomic age, this is a tale of an accidentally discovered drug which transforms all humanity for the better... so much so that it promises to save us from nuclear annihilation. Heavy on British jargon but that kind of added to its charm. Good plotting made it a page turner and also required me to pay close attention. I’m definitely going to read more of Bruner‘s books!

one of my favorite book SCI-FI

I generally like Brunner's speculative fiction- and to me, a lot of it really works today even given the vast changes in everyday tech.Plus- sometimes he really called it!This was copyrighted 1973, and sometimes that really shows- but I am surprised at how much it doesn't! The main issue I see that dates it is the lack of female protagonists; there is NO reason, except dated conventions, that some of the roles could not be filled by women- although the "morality crusades" tend toward the misogynist, which is still true. I just would have really loved to see at least one strong female character on the side of good!What WAS very frustrating is all the typos. It is pretty clear that the original text was scanned and converted- and no one hired a copyeditor or proofreader to catch and correct all the flaws in the OCR (optical character recognition). All considered, there weren't that many flaws, and the text was readable- but sometimes it was disconcerting.Still! Interesting ideas, and a still-pertinent take on the novel's future- and our present.

Due to the poor editing and plenty of printing errors only three stars; otherwise it could have been four!The idea is very good, but today the time is a different one. Good reading though, especially if you remember the times of early seventies.

This was always one of my favorite books that I've often read a number of times. It's clear, concise, and it lets the reader see a dystopian future that is still quite applicable to the modern day. And while some of the science fiction is dated how Brunner shows the reactions, both as individuals and as a group still shines through. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good time reading, for the enjoyment and the idea of how to handle something that can affect humanity itself.

This is a novel written in 1973, and has always been a favorite of mine, and this is probably the third or fourth time that I have read this fine book. Although the tale is set primarily in England, it describes a dystopia in which poverty, inflation, unemployment, and disillusionment are rampant around the world, and WW III seems just around the corner. And, to make matters worse, members of a right-wing political/religious group, The Campaign Against Moral Pollution (Godheads), are armed with crosses which they use as weapons to demand alms and obedience from anyone they can shake down. However, the entire world might change dramatically for the better if a mysterious new drug known as VC is allowed to to spread throughout mankind. There don't appear to be any negative side effects, and the drug drastically increases the individual's natural empathy, and grants total and complete access to one's memory. After being infected, a person's natural filters and prejudices are dismantled, and one is truly free to experience what it means to be human for the rest of their life. The novel describes how this change effects numerous individuals, and ends at kind of a 'dawning of a new age for mankind'. The characters are not that carefully delineated, but the storyline is so compelling that this can be overlooked. And, I think the book authentically demonstrates that the political and social status quo would be violently opposed to anything of this nature since their power lies in fear and divisiveness. I would recommend this book to anyone who understands that some of the best science fiction is more about adventurous storytelling than excellent writing.

John Brunner was a good writer/author, but he was hard to get into on a lot of his stories. This is one of them. Read it, think about it and come to your own conclusions. The idea was good, but it just took forever to get into it. I own all of his books that have been available, so I know his style pretty well. This one as I said is OK, but you have to work to get it.

Topical despite being fifty years old. By focusing on human nature, hypocrisy, and willful ignorance Brunner creates a gripping portrait of humanity on the edge. What constitutes the current precipice has changed —less fear of WWIII, more of climate disaster— but the people driving towards the cliff are ever so very familiar. And the proposed cure just as likely to work.

A ok