The Fall of Colossus

by D.F. Jones

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399112820
• ISBN13: 9780399112829
• Release Date: January 1974
• Publisher: Not Avail
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.

Customer Reviews

An entertaining sequel to a sci-fi classic

D. F. Jones's tale of a computer's takeover of the world picks up five years from where his previous novel, Colossus, left off. Having replaced itself with a more advanced system of its own design, Colossus is now established as the unchallenged overlord of humanity. From its sprawling complex on the Isle of Wight, the computer has eliminated poverty and developed naval war games fought between automated battleships as an outlet for aggression. Having ended famine and war, a growing cult called the Sect worships Colossus as a god. Charles Forbin, the creator of the first Colossus, now serves the computer and is reconciled to his rule, yet a resistance movement called the Fellowship conspires to bring Colossus's reign to an end. Among the leading members of the Fellowship is Forbin's own wife, Cleo. One morning while taking her son to a secluded beach, she receives a radio transmission from Mars offering to help destroy Colossus. Though skeptical, she contacts Blake, Colossus's Director of Input and the leader of the Fellowship. Together they collect the information requested I the mysterious transmission, but Cleo is arrested by Sect and imprisoned. With nowhere else to turn, Blake uses Cleo's capture to enlist Forbin's help to complete the instructions in the transmission and get the information necessary to destroy Colossus. Yet as Forbin accomplishes his mission, it quickly becomes apparent that Colossus is not the only threat facing humanity . . . Jones's novel is an enjoyable sequel up to his first book, a minor classic of science fiction. While plagued with some glaring continuity errors, the author compensates for this with his description of Colossus's global management, where peace is tempered by a secret police and people are frequently tested and tortured as part of the computer's effort to understand human emotion. Fans of the original novel will find it an entertaining book, one that fulfills the speculations made at the end of the first book while setting the stage for the concluding volume in the trilogy.

Brilliant, misunderstood and underrated, though the cover is a giveaway

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS: As an avid fan of science fiction it is my opinion that all three books in the Colossus trilogy are vastly underrated, as is D. F. Jones as an author in general. (It is a crying shame that greatly-overrated writers like Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein get so much attention and so many reprints, to the sad neglect of the brilliant likes of John Wyndham, Jack Finney and D. F. Jones.) Part one, Colossus, is a masterpiece of the genre--a white-knuckle thriller, brilliant sci fi and amazing political commentary. Contrary to popular belief, I contend that the two sequels, The Fall of Colossus and Colossus and the Crab, are at least as good as the first book. In fact, having just read all three books back to back, one of the greatest impressions I was left with is that Jones' writing got better with each subsequent novel. It is a shame that his books are now out of print and that he is not more widely read in the genre. This could soon change however, as the Colossus books may soon be republished given that Ron Howard has just announced that he will soon be filming another version of Colossus. Now, The Fall of Colossus: Part one ends with Colossus and Guardian, after having combined themselves, announcing that a new Colossus is to be built to their specifications, and that this new Colossus, designed by them, will be as advanced compared to them as they are compared to their human designers. The Fall of Colossus begins years later, with this new Colossus already complete. It is a gigantic super computer the hardware of which fills in the entire hollowed-out British Isle of Wight. The Colossus staff lives in a complex on the Isle. We learn that, as Colossus has predicted, Forbin has come to love Colossus, and further, a new religion has emerged, called The Sect. Sectarians worship Colossus as a God and treat Forbin as their Pope, since Forbin is the only human on earth with whom Colossus will communicate directly. Sectarians are insanely devout, for, unlike with other religions, their God actually exists, is a presence on earth, is heard and obeyed, or else. There is also The Fellowship, those, mostly scientists, still devoted to the overthrowing of Colossus. We also learn that the new Colossus has created The War Games in order to satiate and satisfy mankind's yearning for battle and conquest. Instead of fighting actual wars, naval officers remotely control fleets of great, unmanned ships. The rest of mankind watches the battles on television. This further drives home one of Jones' main points, a point that a great many readers of the first novel seem to have entirely missed: In part one, Colossus and Guardian do not "go bad" and "take over." Rather, they do exactly what they were built to do in the only way they could do it. Humankind is a warring species with warring instincts and propensities. The only way to end war, which is what Colossus was ostensibly built to do, is to take all powe