My second post…The Return! (that’s the name of the book)

Hi there! Welcome to post number two. The book I’m going to write about is The Return by Isidore Haiblum. I mentioned to my friend Steve that I was reading a book by Isidore somebody and he said, “Haiblum…Isidore Haiblum. There’s not a lot of Isidores writing science fiction.” Truer words may never have been spoken. Haiblum was born in Brooklyn in 1935. He was nominated for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for his 1971 novel The Tsaddik of the Seven Wonders. The Return was published by Dell in 1973. Cover price: 95¢

Plot- 7 out of 10: This is the story of Cramer, a veteran of the wars in Texas and California. He is a Starky, prone to manic psychotic episodes. He is institutionalized in a building called Kenmore (like the square!) and when we first meet him he is making a daring escape. He experiences his worst freak-out while watching an astronaut’s return (on a 3-D television!). He can sense something off about the event. He knows that Gibbs, the astronaut, is not the same as he was when he left, and he knows that he is the only one who can sense this. Soon after his return, Gibbs vanishes and Cramer makes it his mission to find him and discover the truth about what has happened to the astronaut. The book is for the most part a fugitive-esque story, with Cramer keeping one step ahead of his pursuers, trying to find the astronaut and maybe the source of his freak-outs.

All in all The Return had a pretty satisfying story. I’m somewhat surprised that Peter Weller didn’t star as Cramer in a mid-nineties adaptation of this novel. I guess there’s still time.

Cover- 8 out of 10: This is a fantastic cover. I love the bizarre head machine thing, and the ice sculptures of deer and birds and seals. It really has nothing literal to do with the plot, but conveys the sense of Cramer’s solitude as a fugitive, and the lack of his control over his mind. Also I love the bizarre heavy-footed typeface used for both the title and author’s name. Cover artist unknown.

What The Return taught me about the future: In the future there will be some sort of war with battlefronts in California and Texas. We will call the government the Fed Gov, which is maybe something we can start doing today. Also we will have 3-D television. Yeah!