Revolt In 2100

Revolt in 2100 (1985) – Robert A. Heinlein
New English Library | ISBN: 9780450010330
Condition: Near Fine | Sold by Crappy Old Books

Religion and politics. Two subjects guaranteed to ruin a perfectly pleasant dinner party, particularly when somebody decides that the Almighty has appointed them personally to govern everybody else. Combine religious fanaticism with absolute political power, add a population discouraged from thinking independently, and you have the ingredients for a society in which asking awkward questions is liable to prove considerably more dangerous than forgetting to pay your taxes.

Welcome to Revolt in 2100, Robert A. Heinlein’s brilliantly provocative excursion into the uncomfortable possibilities of America’s future, where the land of liberty has somehow transformed itself into a theocratic dictatorship, and the constitutional separation of church and state has become a quaint historical curiosity.

At the heart of the collection stands If This Goes On—, a powerful story set in a future United States ruled by a succession of religious dictators known as Prophets. The government controls society through religious doctrine, political repression and the reassuring insistence that obedience to authority is not merely desirable but divinely required.

Naturally, the authorities are extremely enthusiastic about this arrangement.

Our protagonist, John Lyle, is a young officer serving within the Prophet’s elite military guard, initially accepting the beliefs and institutions of the society in which he has been raised. Unfortunately for his superiors, he develops the deeply inconvenient habit of thinking for himself, assisted by an encounter with a young woman whose circumstances force him to question the supposedly sacred foundations of the regime.

Before long, Lyle becomes involved with an underground resistance movement determined to overthrow the dictatorship and restore political freedom. What follows is a gripping mixture of conspiracy, military adventure, revolutionary organisation and the practical difficulties of challenging a government that regards dissent as both treason and blasphemy.

The volume also includes Coventry, in which a man dissatisfied with society’s restrictions discovers that the supposedly unrestricted world beyond civilisation’s boundaries offers a rather less attractive version of freedom than he imagined.

In Misfit, Heinlein turns his attention towards young men working on an ambitious space-engineering project, exploring intelligence, practical ability and the entertaining possibility that an apparently unremarkable individual may possess talents overlooked by conventional authority.

Together, these stories form part of Heinlein’s celebrated Future History sequence, an ambitious fictional chronology exploring humanity’s political, technological and social development across generations.

Originally published as a collection in 1953, Revolt in 2100 reflects Heinlein’s enduring fascination with individual liberty, authoritarianism, religious dogmatism and the tension between personal freedom and collective responsibility.

His conclusions are rarely subtle, his characters frequently argumentative, and his suspicion of people claiming absolute authority remains magnificently consistent.

This 1985 New English Library paperback, offered in Near Fine condition by Crappy Old Books, is an appealing acquisition for Heinlein collectors, classic science-fiction enthusiasts and readers interested in dystopian futures, political rebellion and the dangers of allowing any institution to place itself beyond criticism.

A fascinating collection of speculative adventures exploring freedom, conformity, intelligence and the extraordinary lengths humanity may have to travel to escape its own worst political instincts.

And a useful reminder that when a government announces that its leader speaks directly for God, it might be wise to request some independent verification.

Preferably before dissent becomes a capital offence.

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