When analyzing this cycle, it is first necessary to separate the flies from the cutlets. Actually, only the first and latest novels cycle, as well as the only story in this series. Starting from the second novel, the cycle turns into a parody postmodern crossover, despite periodic references to the characters and events of the first, self-sufficient and complete work, the original message and spirit of the title novel is absent in the sequels.
This cycle, through the efforts of both the master himself and his co-authors, is part of the Harry Harrison Universe, into which, in addition to Bill, the Hero of the Galaxy, the Steel Rat and the World of Death can be linked. There are end-to-end cross-references in the mentioned cycles and they are obvious to the attentive reader, although the main characters did not manage to meet within the same work, this is not surprising, because they are separated by millennia, but purely theoretically this option would be real, given the possibility of time travel described by Garrison, and if specialists from Marvel had gotten down to business, perhaps we would have gotten an analogue of “The Avengers”, but this, fortunately or unfortunately, did not happen .
Before us is the distant future, humanity has settled throughout the Galaxy, forming a gigantic Empire, strife, it would seem, is behind us, but on the horizon new threat- to their misfortune, the lizard-like race of peace-loving Chingers came into contact with humanity and a war broke out - endless, senseless, merciless. The author paints before us the image of a typical soldier of the Empire; the stupid, lustful alcoholic Bill dreams of only one thing - demobilization. The process of transforming an ordinary civilian into a complete army bastard is perfectly shown in the first novel, it would be worthwhile to put an end to this, because, as Garrison admitted in one of the interviews, agreeing to turn the original work into a series was his mistake, which he regrets.
From the second novel, the postmodern feast begins - constant references to the works of not only Garrison, but also other authors, both science fiction and realists, ridicule of colleagues in the literary workshop, often beyond the bounds of foul, low-grade parodies of popular fantasy universes - “ Star Wars», « Star Trek", "Alien" - this is the main content of the works of the successors of the cycle. All this would be interesting if there were funny jokes, internal logic and extraordinary plots - there is none of this in the sequels, the literary level of these works is quite low, even the eminent R. Sheckley was rather disappointing, let alone the lesser-known co-authors.
Perhaps I am something of a literary masochist, but I can admit that I read the entire series twice. The first time this happened was about ten years ago, having decided to refresh what I had forgotten in my memory, I re-read it - indeed, apparently, the good remains in the memory for a long time, and the bad is quickly forgotten, I read most of the sequel novels as if for the first time, amazed at the delirium and absurdity of the imagination of the authors who decided to compete with each other in "originality".
However, I would definitely recommend reading the first novel and the story of Bill's first vacation. For those who want to test in their own skin the truth of my conclusions regarding the series and get an idea of the series, I recommend two novels - these are Bill's adventures on the planet of robot slaves and on the planet of ten thousand bars, the rest of the material, to put it mildly, is designed for a strong amateur and evokes impressions in the spectrum from boredom to irritation and indignation.
Rating: 5
The cycle is very interesting in terms of “thinking about it.” This is not humor, this is rather harsh sarcasm. It seems funny and really witty, but inside there remains a feeling of bitterness and resentment for humanity and people. In some of the mamentations, especially in the afterwords, it pierced straight to the heart. Of course, this is not a light satire of Pratchet, sometimes rather harsh words cause disgust, but if you think about it, it fits perfectly with the general idea of the series.
Especially the first book, only a true master could place so much poison in such an exquisite form in a truly funny novel.
The first time I read it about 10 years ago, it seemed to me that this was a very superficial work, and clearly average, I was much more attracted to the steel rat, but now I understand that I was superficial as a reader.
Of course, the subsequent novels in the series are much weaker than the first. Apparently, Harry let go of what was really boiling over and did not allow him to sleep peacefully, and only then decided to continue, but the fuse was not the same.
In general, we can say one thing: “Who are you laughing at? You’re laughing at yourself.”
Happy reading.
Rating: 9
An excellent first book in the series - anti-militaristic, anti-bureaucratic and many other anti- (despite the fact that I don’t like army jokes and rude humor a la “Svejk” by Hasek) with a shock ending, and a slide into incredible stupidity further. I gave it a C out of respect for the author (despite the fact that the first “Bill” is a ten, and I don’t even want to rate the remaining parts).
Rating: 3
For me personally, science fiction fades into the background. First and foremost, I view this novel as a satire. If you replace fantastic things with real ones (for example, a spaceship on a nuclear submarine), you will get a narrative in the style of “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller (read in translation into Ukrainian: “Pastka na durniv” - “Trap for fools”). Written with knowledge of the matter, it is immediately obvious that the man served his American Motherland. In every third or fourth sentence a native language was recognized Soviet army. Well, now I recognize the Ukrainian Army in almost everyone.
For the fragile psyche of purely civilians, in some places it can be a bit rude.
But how insightful G. Harrison is! Is this an accident or a guess or what?! Recruit training camp named after Leon Trotsky! I read it during the Soviet Union, and I see a harsh satire on the military. But which one? Amer's? What does Lev Davydych have to do with it then? Soviet? Again, Trotsky has nothing to do with it, and besides, despite guessing the barracks spirit common to any army, it does not look like the SA. But now that neoliberal Trotskyists have come to power in America, everything is falling into place.
Rating: 9
Compared to all the other books in the series, the first one undoubtedly stands out in better side. I can say the following about everyone else.
Imagine an award-winning author who has spent his entire life writing serious fiction, sitting by the fireplace and thinking, “You’re all annoying me. I’ll take it now and write some nonsense in revenge. You all choked on yours good opinion about me." Well, I wrote it.
Rating: 3
A very, very difficult cycle to understand. It's not even a matter of numerous rudeness, cynicism and disgust, but also the structure itself. The plot behaves as it wants, locations replace each other in the most unexpected combinations, the motivation, logic and characterization of the characters are recognized class enemies. You read - and you don’t understand what you’re reading, how, why, why, what’s going on here at all.
But at the same time, it is a wonderful, almost perfect example of anti-war satire. And the matter is not limited to the chaos reigning in the army, Harrison goes further and shows what is really behind the war and all in beautiful words about her. When people are forcibly and deceitfully torn away from their home and sent to die for goals that are unclear and unknown to them. How they intoxicate soldiers with fairy tales that anyone can become a general with demonstrated valor, although the circle of generals is extremely narrow, does not allow outsiders to join them, and only a few manage to get there solely on merit. How the military live and rave about war so much that they are ready to start it with anyone, even to their own detriment, as long as the war goes on. How people become cannon fodder, literally sent to slaughter - without purpose, without meaning, without regret, and the dead civilians are declared “collateral damage”, and no one will bear responsibility for their deaths. Harrison shows all this and much more, albeit with banter and burping, but so authentically that one becomes uneasy.
To be honest, this is very similar in spirit to “The Adventures of Schweik” - exactly the same unpleasant satire in every way, which is difficult to read, but worth it. So if you liked one, check out the other.
Result: Satire - 10, the work itself as a whole - 5.
Rating: 7
I was a little disappointed in the “great classic”. Skillfully written, a good horse will not spoil the furrow, and nevertheless, almost all the books in the series are heavily imbued with infantile and, as Unicorn accurately noted, “excessively rude and direct as a gut humor”!
In my opinion, this series of books could have been skipped...
Bill - Hero of the Galaxy - 1
Book 1
Bill never understood that all this happened to him only because of lust. After all, if such a hot sun had not shone in the clear sky of Figuerinadon-2 that morning and if Bill had not accidentally spotted the sugar-white, barrel-shaped buttocks of Inga-Maria Kalifigia, who was bathing in the stream, the burning languor of the flesh would not have distracted If he had been away from plowing, he would have plowed the furrow all the way over the edge of the hill long before the mesmerizing sounds of music came from the road. Bill wouldn't have heard her, and all of him future life Everything would have turned out completely differently. But since they were playing somewhere nearby, he released the handles of the plow connected to the robomulus, turned around and opened his mouth in surprise.
The spectacle was truly fabulous. The parade was led by a twelve-foot-tall robot orchestra, stunning with its towering black shako, which concealed speakers. Gilded columns of legs solemnly carried him forward, and thirty jointed arms pulled the strings, sawed and pressed the keys of countless musical instruments. The fiery sounds of the march excited Bill, and his strong peasant feet, shod in rough boots, began to dance of their own accord when the glossy boots of the soldiers crashed along the road. The paratroopers walked with their chests puffed out bravely, medals rattled on their scarlet uniforms, and there was definitely no more beautiful sight in the world. The procession was closed by a sergeant, sparkling with copper and braid, thickly hung with medals and ribbons, with a broadsword and a carbine, with a belt on his stomach and with steely eyes. He cast a tenacious glance at Bill, who, leaning on the fence, gazed at all these miracles. The sergeant nodded his gray head, winked conspiratorially and twisted his mouth, like an iron trap, into a kind of friendly smile.
In the rearguard of the small army, a line of dusty auxiliary robots rolled, bouncing and slipping on potholes. When they clanged past, Bill clumsily fell over the fence and trotted after them. In their rural wilderness, interesting events happened no more than twice every four years, and he was by no means going to miss the event that promised to be the third in a row.
By the time Bill arrived at the market square, a crowd had already gathered there, attracted by the inspirational jazz concert. The robot dived headlong into the invigorating waves of the march "Space Marines Storm the Skies", fought through "The Rumble of Star Battles" and almost self-destructed in the frantic rhythms of "Sappers in the Trenches of Pithead". He became so enraged that his leg bounced off his body and flew into the air. The robot deftly picked it up in flight and continued to play, balancing on one leg and beating time with the severed limb. When the horns let out their last heart-rending scream, he pointed the piece of debris to the other side of the square, where, as if by magic, a three-dimensional cinema screen and a portable bar appeared. The soldiers, without hesitation, disappeared into the depths of the bar, and the recruiting sergeant was left alone, surrounded by robots, smiling from ear to ear.
- Get over here, guys! Free booze at the emperor's expense and amazing films with adventures in distant lands that will not allow you to fall asleep while you swig your swill! - he barked in an unusually loud, rasping voice.
Most - including Bill - accepted the invitation; only a few experienced, experienced men evaded conscription and furtively hid behind houses.
A robot with a tap instead of a belly button and an endless supply of plastic cups in one of its hips served soft drinks. Bill, sipping from his glass with pleasure, admired the breathtaking adventures of the space marines. The picture was in color, with noise effects and infrasound stimulators. There were battles, and death, and victories, although, of course, only the Chingers died: in the worst case, the soldiers got off with trivial scratches, which were immediately hidden under gauze bandages.
However, he did not want to publish it. For the first time in an abbreviated form called “ Star pickers"(English: The Starsloggers) the work was published in December 1964 in Galaxy Science Fiction, of which Frederick Paul was the editor at the time. Almost at the same time, the novel was published in several issues of Michael Moorcock's magazine New Worlds. It was published as a separate book in 1965 by Doubleday.
Encyclopedic YouTube
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Harrison Harry Steel Rat
Loafer Bill (1.1)
Harrison Harry Birth of the Steel Rat
Subtitles
Plot description
Country boy Bill from the farming planet Figerinadon-2 falls for the bait of a recruiter and ends up in the ranks of the space landing force. After going through a mocking drill in the camp named after Leon Trotsky, the recruits get on board the ship Fanny Hill, where Bill becomes a loader and during one of the battles he accidentally gets into the conning tower and involuntarily knocks out an enemy ship. He is presented for a reward, which should be presented by the emperor himself on the capital planet Helior.
After the award, Bill goes on an excursion to the imperial gardens, where he falls asleep and becomes a victim of a thief who stole his Plan, without which it is impossible to navigate the huge planet-city. Bill manages to get to the Army Transit Center, but is mistaken for a spy. Fleeing, he reaches the lower levels, where he joins a gang of thieves. However, after the first raid on the sausage pipeline, the police catch everyone. Bill reaches the very bottom, where the soil of Helior opens to his shocked gaze. He is picked up by an inspector from the Sanitary Department and hired. Employees of the department are using incredible tricks to try to get rid of millions of tons of disposable tableware, and Bill comes to the court, putting forward fresh ideas.
Revolutionary H. comes to him. Bill rejects the offer to join the party of conspirators, but after GBI agent Pinkerton threatens to shoot him for aiding the enemy, he is forced to join the revolutionaries. H. organizes an attack on the power plant. Bill fulfills Pinkerton's conditions and meets the entire party of conspirators in an ambush; every single one of them worked for the GBR. X, who found himself alone, was shot on the spot. The ruthless Pinkerton turns Bill over to the police as a deserter. Using his hidden capital, Bill hires a clever lawyer who, using the precedent case of Private Lowenig, who hid for 14 months in a barracks attic during the war, saves Bill from death penalty. However, the chairman decides that Bill slept on duty during his service and sentences him to a year and one day in prison.
IN transit prison Bill meets the "eternal soldier" clerk Blackie, who claims to have been serving since prehistoric times. Blackie arranges for himself and Bill to be transferred to a planet with comfortable service conditions, but due to a mistake, the latter ends up on the swamp planet Veniole, where heavy battles with the aborigines are taking place. During one of the skirmishes, Bill escapes into the jungle, where he frees his captive comrades. He then shoots off his own foot so that he can be evacuated from Veniola. Many years later, having turned into an elderly recruiting sergeant, he ends up on his home planet and tricks his younger brother into recruiting him into the army.
Sequels
Following the novel's release, six sequels were published between 1989 and 1992. The first of these, "Bill, Hero of the Galaxy, on the Planet of Robot Slaves", was written by Garrison himself. Further sequels were written by other authors and edited by Garrison:
- "Bill, Hero of the Galaxy, on the Planet of Bottled Brains" (1990) - Robert Sheckley
- "Bill, Hero of the Galaxy, on the Planet of Unknown Delights" (1991) - David Bischoff
- "Bill, Hero of the Galaxy, on the Planet of the Zombie Vampires" (1991) - Jack Haldeman
- Bill, Galactic Hero on the Planet of Ten Thousand Bars (1991) - David Bischoff and Harry Garrison. Also published under the title - "Bill, Hero of the Galaxy, on the Planet of the Hippies from Hell"
- Bill the Galaxy's Last Adventure (1991) - David Harris and Harry Garrison
Garrison expressed his disappointment in an interview with Brian Ireland on Ireland Online :
“In the US there is a thing called sharecropping, where you have a series because of a character and you have other writers to work with it... I never wanted to do that, I’m not interested. But one of the program writers said, going back to what I said about violent pornography: Harry, why don't we do an episode of "Bill the Galactic Hero" and thereby do a little anti-war propaganda instead of being all pro-war. So they finally convinced me of this. I wrote the second part - “Bill - the hero of the Galaxy on the planet of robot slaves”; there was a little satire there. If only they could all be like this. But no, no. We've all made mistakes. I'm a professional writer. This is how I earn my living. That's the only thing I did wrong."
Garrison's story "Bill, Hero of the Galaxy, Takes His First Vacation" first appeared in Galactic Dreams (1994).
Plot elements
- Drunk engine(Bloater Drive)
Reviews
A Vietnam veteran describes the novel as the only true book about the military.
Links
- “Bill the Hero of the Galaxy” on the “Fiction Laboratory” website
- Cycle “Bill - Hero of the Galaxy” in “Fiction Lab”
Notes
| Series " | |
|---|---|
Early in the morning, Bill was awakened not by a bugler's recorded signal, but by an ultrasound transmitted through the metal frame of his bunk, which shook him with such force that the fillings in his teeth began to loosen. Bill jumped up and immediately shivered from the cold. It was summer time, and therefore the floor in the barracks was artificially cooled: in the camp named after Leon Trotsky it was not customary to be almond-free. One after another, pale, frozen recruits jumped out of the neighboring beds. The soul-sapping vibration stopped. The recruits hastily pulled off their everyday uniforms, made of sackcloth like sandpaper, from the headboards of their beds, put their feet into heavy red recruit boots and trudged towards the exit.
- I'm here to break your spirit! - someone's fierce voice thundered.
At the sight of the main demon of this hell, the recruits began to shake even more.
Chief Petty Officer Smertvich Drang was a master of his craft, from the tips of his viciously spiky hair to the corrugated soles of his boots, shining like a mirror. Broad-shouldered, narrow-hipped, long arms dangling below the knees, like some creepy anthropoid, the knuckles of his fists crushed by thousands of knocked out teeth - looking at this image, it was impossible to believe that he was born from a tender woman’s womb. He could not have been born - such a thing could only have been made by special order of the government. The worst thing was the head. And the face!.. A narrow strip, the width of a finger, separated the hair from the shaggy black eyebrows, hanging in thick thickets over the dark gaps in which the eyes were hidden - not eyes, but ominous red flashes in the utter hellish darkness. A broken, crushed nose crawled right onto the mouth, gaping like a knife wound on the ripped open belly of a corpse, and two-inch white wolf fangs protruded from under the upper lip, making deep grooves in the lower lip.
“I am Chief Petty Officer Deathwitch Drang, and you must call me “sir” and “my lord.” - Drang walked gloomily along the line of shaking recruits. “Now I am your father and mother, your entire universe and your eternal enemy, and very soon I will make you regret that you were even born into the world.” I will break your will! And if I call you toads, you will immediately have to croak! My task is to turn you into soldiers, to hammer discipline into you. Unquestioning submission, no free will, absolute obedience - that's what I demand from you...
He stopped in front of Bill, who was shaking a little less than the others, and
snarled angrily:
- What a disgusting face... A month of dressing up in the kitchen on Sundays!
- Sir...
- And another month for arguing.
Bill said nothing. He had already learned the first soldier's commandment: keep your mouth shut.
locked.
Smertvich moved on.
- Who you are this moment? Flabby, stinking civilian meat of the lowest grade. I will make real muscles out of it, I will turn your will into jelly, and your brain into a machine. Either you become real soldiers, or I will finish you off. You'll hear a lot more about me different stories, like how I killed and ate a recruit who refused to follow orders.
He stopped and glared at them. The upper lip, like a coffin lid, slowly crept upward in an evil parody of a grin, and drops of saliva hung on the tips of the fangs.
- And this story - pure truth!
A groan passed through the ranks of the recruits, they shook as if under icy gusts of wind. The smile disappeared from Drang's face.
- You’ll go eat after volunteers are found for light work. Who can drive a heliocar?
The two recruits raised their hands hopefully, and he motioned them forward.
- Wonderful! Rags and buckets outside the door. You will clean the toilet while the others are having breakfast. Work up an appetite for lunch.
Bill learned the second soldier's commandment: don't volunteer.
The first novel in the series was started by Harry Harrison in Denmark in 1959 as an experimental story. It was planned as a comic book series and radio drama. The first chapter and sketches for the novel, titled If You Can Read This You're Too Damn Close, were submitted to Damon Knight for review. He liked the idea, and Harry Garrison was given an advance of $1,500 to finish the novel.
The first novel in the series, Bill, the Galactic Hero (1965), is a masterpiece of satirical fiction. Garrison, who hates war and the military, wrote it as a kind of parody answer to Robert Heinlein's openly militaristic Starship Troopers. It should be noted that for American young readers of that time it was very likely that they would be sent to the Vietnam War, so the story of the misadventures of the hapless “eternal Landsknecht” in a world where everyone fights against everyone else was very relevant. Later, Harrison spoke with pleasure of how, at one of the meetings, the young father told him that after reading “Bill” he refused to join the army. This recognition was the best reward for the writer.
After the success of the first novel, Garrison wrote a sequel, some of which were co-authored with other science fiction writers. In total, the series about Bill includes novels:
The main character of the series is a simple peasant guy, Bill, who by the will of fate was thrown into the imperial space infantry. The story follows his journey in the army: training, fighting, and finally he accidentally becomes the man whom the entire inhabited cosmos knows as Bill, the Hero of the Galaxy. But as a result, it turns out that Bill is a cynical, “gray” officer whose goal is to survive recruitment and leave the army. The many adventures of the long-suffering Bill are described in an ironic manner. The series about Bill can rightfully be called anti-science fiction. Soldiers imperial army armed with atomic (!) guns, and on one of his forced trips Bill goes on a plastic (!) spaceship. However, what else can you expect from a fantastic satire if not a magnificent grotesque? In one episode, Bill becomes a garbage service employee in the imperial capital. Here an astonishing discovery awaits us: it turns out that the fate of the planet depends not on the emperor, the government or the police, but on... the garbage service. “Where should I put the garbage?” - the unfortunate scavengers rack their brains and show miracles of ingenuity: they send it out by mail, occupy residential areas with it, and even throw it to neighboring stars (which ultimately almost leads to the death of the planet). The main goal Bill's desire is simply to survive. And he succeeds.
- Bill, the Galactic Hero (1965)
- Bill, the Galactic Hero: On the Planet of the Robot Slaves (1989)
- Bill, the Galactic Hero: On the Planet of Bottled Brains (1990), co-written with Robert Sheckley
- Bill, the Galactic Hero: On the Planet of Tasteless Pleasure (1991), co-written with David Bischoff
- Bill, the Galactic Hero: On the Planet of Zombie Vampires (1991), co-written with Jack Haldeman II
- Bill, the Galactic Hero: On the Planet of Ten Thousand Bars (1991), co-written with David Bischoff
- Bill, the Galactic Hero: The Final Incoherent Adventure! (1992), co-written with David Harris
- "Bill, the Galactic Hero's Happy Holidays" (1994).
