Tom O'Bedlam

 

Tom O'Bedlam (1985) by Robert Silverberg

It's 2103 and the world is made up of patches of blasted wastelands, full of radioactive particles, made uninhabitable by the Dust War. The coastal areas of the former United States are havens of clear air and thousands of refuges had made their way there in the decades following the dusting. Life is still hard in California--the winds from the east might blow the radiation in or savage scratchers (looters) might kill you for what you have (or what they think you have). But into this landscape comes Tom--poor Tom--crazy Tom. Tom is a man who has scene visions from the time he was young. He sees other planets and other peoples. Godlike beings who rule in peace and joy for all. As he makes his way north through California, he realizes the time the Crossing is at hand--a time when the other worlds will beckon and mankind will be able to join in a new age of peace. And as the time nears, Tom isn't the only one having visions of the other worlds, soon hundreds and thousands of others are having the visions too and they converge on a psychic healing center where Tom has found friends. Also headed north is a huge caravan of people following another prophet of the gods. A former taxi driver who also believes a time of changes is coming. But when these groups meet up with a band of scratchers who are also looking for Tom, will it result in a new age or just the end of humanity?

First thoughts: Very confused. This is a post-apoplectic world There are people who find it hard to believe that there once were airplanes that could make the trip across the United States in a few hours and yet...there are "mind picker" machines that can wipe selected memories from people's minds. The center has walls which act like viewscreens that can display information. There are vehicles that can hover along the ground rather than having wheels. There are "cubes" that will play any kind of music the owner selects. All sorts of technology seems to have survived the Dust War that left radioactive dust across the country's midsection and disrupted everything.

Second thoughts: I'm quite sure that I would have liked this a lot more if I'd read this during my heavy science fiction phase. At that time (1980s/early 90s) I was reading everything by Silverberg that came along. Silverberg can get pretty "out there" (Dying Inside, anybody?) and this novel is out there on the edge. Reading Silverberg in the latter half of my life is more of a crap shoot (The Masks of Time didn't do a whole lot for me when I read it in 2012; The Silent Invaders had a much better hook and story line). 

Third thoughts: Silverberg could have used a more ruthless editor on this one. The book is almost 400 pages long--about twice as long as necessary. We really don't need a dozen or more rehashings of the various otherworldly dreams (especially the Green World and how beautifully green and peaceful it is). We got it the first time. Honest.

Fourth thoughts, Robert Silverberg, I'm sorry, but I'm just not feeling this one. It took too long to get to the Crossing and then when we got there....it just fell flat and it seemed like there should have been something more. Very anticlimactic. Not the best Silverberg I've read (but then...I'm wondering what I would think now of some of the work I enjoyed so much back in the 80s). ★★

First line: This time something had told Tom to try going westward.

Last line: And he got up, wondering if there was still time to find Tom somewhere back in that madness, and began slowly to walk through the rain toward the bright green light that blazed before him in the heavens.