The Manhattan Projects, Vol. 1: Science. Bad.

Argh, my eyes. What is it about this period in history, these famous physicists, that inspires the most crazy, far-out stories? I refer specifically to Lydia Millet's Oh Pure and Radiant Heart, which is another insane Manhattan Project-derived sci fi/fantasy... thing.

Unfortunately, I just didn't enjoy this comix. In fact, it felt like the second half of Oh Pure and Radiant Heart, when the novel just falls apart, gratuitous carnage abounds, and the characters don't make any sense to me. This is kind of like that. It combines (uncomfortably, for me) a sort of rampant cynicism (all the characters are either pathetic or cruel or disgusting or all of the above) with gleeful stupidity (the aliens... sigh...).

I wanted smart commentary about, you know, the whole “our technology outstripping our moral capacity” thing. The whole “we're gonna blow ourselves up” thing. Oppenheimer, Fermi, Einstein, etc. are such interesting figures! Here they become inscrutably, monstrously silly.

So as not to completely bash this (since it's not terrible, it just wasn't for me), I did enjoy the Feynman excerpts, I can rationally admire the inventiveness of the plot (which takes many sharp turns), and I can also say that there are some very clever curlicues: e.g. the “Cast of Characters”, with its changing epithets. Even though I don't necessarily AGREE where they're taking this story, I can say they're skillful storytellers.