''The Merchants' War'' is a 1984 satirical

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by American writer

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...

. Set in a near future commercial dystopian interplanetary society, the novel was a sequel to ''

The Space Merchants ''The Space Merchants'' is a 1952 science fiction novel by American writers Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth. Originally published in ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' magazine as a serial entitled ''Gravy Planet'', the novel was first published as ...

'', and was originally co-published with it as ''Venus, Inc.'' Pohl's collaborator in the first novel,

C.M. Kornbluth Cyril M. Kornbluth (July 2, 1923 – March 21, 1958) was an American science fiction author and a member of the Futurians. He used a variety of pen-names, including Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, W ...

, died in 1958, and so did not contribute to this sequel. In the story, the colony on Venus has managed to stabilize itself to a point. However, agents from the trans-national corporations on Earth attempt to undermine the stability of the colony. The story follows the trail of two advertisement company employees from the colony back to Earth, as one of them, Tennison Tarb, struggles with addiction and its effect on his advertising career. Eventually, he uncovers a 'Veenie' plot to take over Earth and has to choose sides. As with the preceding book, the characters are not what they seem, and the main character's loyalty changes drastically.

Reception

Dave Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...

reviewed ''The Merchants' War'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...

'' #70, and stated that "The original 'comic inferno' ended with the hero's escape to Venus: the hero of ''The Merchant's War'' stays on Earth and reforms it, with a priggishness which wrecks the satire. It's easy reading, but a completely unnecessary book."

Reviews

*Review by Richard D. Erlich (1985) in ''

Fantasy Review ''Fantasy Newsletter'' was a major fantasy fanzine founded by Paul C. Allen and later issued by Robert A. Collins. Frequent contributors included Fritz Leiber and Gene Wolfe. Publication history The first issue appeared in June 1978, and Allen c ...

'', March 1985 *Review

rench The Rench is a right-hand tributary of the Rhine in the Ortenau (Baden (Land), Central Baden, Germany). It rises on the southern edge of the Northern Black Forest at Kniebis near Bad Griesbach im Schwarzwald. The source farthest from the mouth is ...

by Michel Cossement (1985) in ''SFère'', #21 *Review by Tom A. Jones (1985) in ''

Vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

'' 128 *Review

by Richard D. Nolane (1985) in ''Fiction'', #367 *Review by Kenny Mathieson (1985) in ''

Foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

'', #35 Winter 1985/1986, (1986) *Review by Ken Lake (1987) in ''Paperback Inferno'', #65 *Review erbianby Miodrag Milovanović? (1987) in ''Alef'', #1 *Review

by Bertrand Bonnet (2008) in '' Bifrost'', #52

References

1984 American novels 1984 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Novels by Frederik Pohl Sequel novels Dystopian novels Novels set on Venus Novels about advertising {{1980s-sf-novel-stub