 First edition | |
| Author | Barrington J. Bayley |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Frank Kelly Freas |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | DAW Books |
Publication date | August 1983 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 159 |
| ISBN | 0-87997-851-1 |
The Zen Gun is the eleventh science fiction novel by Barrington J. Bayley.
Like many of Bayley's books, The Zen Gun is space opera with all the conventional trappings: a declining, anthropocentric, Galactic empire loses its grasp on power as it slips into the Long Night of civilization, star fleets with the ability to ravage worlds warp through the void at superluminal velocity and a hyperweapon threatens to end life itself. However, Bayley extensively reworks these ideas for the purposes of his novel: the humans of the galactic empire are seen to have ceded most of their imperial power to evolved animals in an attempt to prolong their decadent existence, Admiral Archier's starfleet has been despatched to collect overdue taxes from colony worlds, the empire have ripped a hole in the fabric of reality and the pseudoscientific belief that gravity is repulsive rather than attractive is literally true.
The events of the primary plotline are instigated by a message from Archier's Oracle, which alerts him to the existence of the Zen Gun, a weapon capable of destroying suns, which the chimeric, human-hating Pout wishes to use to annihilate the empire. Powerful as the weapon is, its existence is a paradox, as only those who have attained inner peace can use it. In his attempts, Pout is aided by kosho Ikkematsu (one of an order of futuristic Samurai), Ikkematsu's nephew Sinbiane and the rebel Hesper.
Rhys Hughes regarded The Zen Gun as Bayley's most entertaining late-period novel, where "[s]o many ideas are played off against each other that there is hardly any room for the reader to breathe." [1]
Bruce Sterling enthused extensively about the novel in the legendary fanzine Cheap Truth : "Yet Bayley's elemental energy, his mastery of the sense of wonder, cannot be denied. His work is the very antithesis of tired hackdom. To invent an entire self-consistent cosmology and physics for a $2.50 DAW paperback (THE ZEN GUN, 1983) is one of those noble acts of selfless altruism that keep SF alive." Earlier in the review, Sterling had labelled Bayley "the Zen master of modern space opera." [2]
Dave Langford reviewed The Zen Gun for White Dwarf #49, and stated that "The deadpan humour blends with loony physics [...] the fabric of space coming apart, and the zen gun itself, which is the most powerful weapon ever, designed to make centralized empires impossible – and is pocket-sized, carved from wood." [3]
Colin Greenland reviewed The Zen Gun for Imagine magazine, and stated that "Sounds like Douglas Adams territory, but it's not comedy. In fact Bayley has a whole new theory of physics to expound, and does so in meticulous detail. A shame, then, that you have to work to extract the good bits from some very clumsy writing generously seasoned with misprints." [4]
Algis Budrys reviewed The Zen Gun favorably, "commending" Bayley for "as good a set of adventure characters, placed in the context of as good an adventure premise as I've seen in a very long time." [5]
The Zen Gun was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award in 1983,[ citation needed ] and won the Seiun Award for Best Foreign Language Novel of the Year in 1985.[ citation needed ]
Ground Zero Man is a science fiction novel by British writer Bob Shaw, first published in 1971, and then revised as The Peace Machine in 1985.
Barrington J. Bayley was an English science fiction writer.
Ghastly Beyond Belief is a book by Neil Gaiman and Kim Newman published in 1985.
Collision Course is the fourth novel by the science fiction author Barrington J. Bayley. The novel was inspired by the multiple time dimensions proposed by J. W. Dunne. The plot centers on the collision of two alternate "presents", with disastrous implications for reality.
The Fall of Chronopolis (ISBN 0-87997-043-X) is the fifth novel by the science fiction author Barrington J. Bayley. It details the eternal conflict through time between the Chronostatic Empire and its enemy, the Hegemony.
The Grand Wheel is the eighth science fiction novel by Barrington J. Bayley. The novel follows Cheyne Scarne, a professor of "randomatics", as he is selected by the eponymous organization to represent humanity in a card game with infinitely varying rules. The name of the main character appears to be a reference to John Scarne.
Annihilation Factor is the second science fiction novel by Barrington J. Bayley, expanded from a 1964 short story originally published in New Worlds. It centres on the strains placed on a galactic empire by the appearance of the mysterious, planet-devouring "patch".
Star Winds is the ninth science fiction novel by Barrington J. Bayley. In the future Solar System of the novel, humans travel through space using solar sails and, as with much of Bayley's work, alchemy and other pseudosciences play a role alongside more conventional technology.
The Rod of Light is the thirteenth science fiction novel by Barrington J. Bayley and his only sequel.
The Forest of Peldain is the twelfth science fiction novel by Barrington J. Bayley. Set on the water world of the Hundred Islands, the Arelian empire attempts to seize control of the last island, Peldain, which within its dense forests contains an independent kingdom and an ancient secret.
The Knights of the Limits is the first science fiction collection by Barrington J. Bayley. The book collects nine short stories published between 1965 and 1978, one of which is original to this volume.
A Rose for Armageddon is a novel by Hilbert Schenck published in 1982.
The Hamlyn Book of Horror and S.F. Movie Lists is a book written by Roy Pickard and published in 1983.
Empire of the East is a novel by Fred Saberhagen published in 1979.
Darkchild is a novel by Sydney J. Van Scyoc published in 1982.
Against Infinity is a novel by Gregory Benford published in 1983.
The Castle of Dark is a novel by Tanith Lee published in 1978.
Raven of Destiny is a novel by Peter Tremayne published in 1984.
The Warrior Who Carried Life is a novel by Geoff Ryman published in 1985.
Damiano is a fantasy novel by R. A. MacAvoy published in 1984.