Five to Twelve (Berkley Medallion, No. X1768)

by Edmund Cooper

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425017680
• ISBN13: 9780425017685
• Release Date: January 1969
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 153 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Women rule but they are mentally dying of boreDom

Dion Quern is a male poet and social malcontent in a world that is completely dominated by women. While the advent of female rule has led to many positive things such as an end to war and tremendous medical advances, people can now live hundreds of years, it is a largely stagnant society. The rulers, called Doms, are bored with the task and are always looking for new thrills, which often involves the keeping of a man. Female prostitution is almost nonexistent, male prostitution is a booming trade as the Doms try to find that new thrill that will make their world interesting and exciting again. Dion is also a rebel, yet unsure as to what he should do about it. When he contracts himself to Dom Juno, it becomes a love/hate relationship where neither emotion is very strong. Dion proves to be largely uncommitted to the cause of rebellion, although he does manage to execute two dramatic acts of political terror. The book ends with a bit of hope for a more balanced future as Juno takes the semen of the condemned Dion and uses it to sire a line of strong and healthy males. This novel develops the standard themes of the dystopia very well; there are very strong and positive consequences of the societal changes yet there is also a significant loss of human drive and spirit. Rebels arise to try to recapture that loss and yet there is little that they can truly do. It is interesting reading that also depresses your spirit, as it is a description of a lackluster future where even the powerful have succumbed to an overpowering despondency.

Girls Rule Boys Drool

Edmund Cooper dealt in weird satirical sci-fi, and his works are worth tracking down if you like cheap out-of-print paperbacks. This novel from 1968 explores a future society in which men are outnumbered by women five-to-twelve, thanks to advances in birth control, and where women now run the show. This is a simple satirical device used to shed light on the present, in which dominant men act like sexist pigs and women are held back. But Cooper's future is not incredibly creative, with the dominant women merely taking over in the sexism department, using the rare men as objects. It's also rather hard to believe that the novel's hero is the only man in this future world to lament the situation and to strive for a world of sexual equality. Cooper's ultra-hip writing is also an issue, with the people of 2071 using slang terms like "grotty" or "modcons" which were popular in London about a century previous. But while the plot is thin and the hipsterisms are dated, Cooper's satire is still pretty funny, with bodacious dialogue that is fun to read, and a hilariously inept manly revolution. There is also a surprisingly effective mood swing with the story's conclusion. Cooper's satire doesn't lead to much that's really unexpected, but it's still fun and it really adds some illumination to the current real world. [~doomsdayer520~]