Children of the Thunder
Encyclopedia
Children of the Thunder is a 1988 science fiction
novel by John Brunner
.
The novel
explores several themes: environment degradation of the modern world (which Brunner believed was shortening his own life), paternal irresponsibility (in the form of accepting cash for donating sperm to a sperm bank
), and conservative (fascist) tendencies in British politics. The latter may reflect that the book was written during the Thatcher
years.
Like other Brunner books, the novel lacks cohesiveness in various ways, and is best read as a series of interconnected vignette
s, each of which explores the above themes in a different context, with a culminating scene at the end of the book which is frightening in various ways, including a partial role reversal
of the protagonist
and villain
.
In those terms, the book can be seen as an attack of the author on excessive sexual freedom of men gained in the so-called sexual revolution
. While sexual fulfillment itself is not demonized, the book catalogs extensive collateral damage
in the form of single mothers and offspring not properly cared for. But this is not a kind-hearted appeal for better support systems for these people: they just might counterattack their oppressors which is to say the parents who abandoned (or neglected) them.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel by John Brunner
John Brunner (novelist)
John Kilian Houston Brunner was a prolific British author of science fiction novels and stories. His 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar, about an overpopulated world, won the 1968 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel. It also won the BSFA award the same year...
.
The novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
explores several themes: environment degradation of the modern world (which Brunner believed was shortening his own life), paternal irresponsibility (in the form of accepting cash for donating sperm to a sperm bank
Sperm bank
A sperm bank, semen bank or cryobank is a facility that collects and stores human sperm mainly from sperm donors, primarily for the purpose of achieving pregnancies through third party reproduction, notably by artificial insemination...
), and conservative (fascist) tendencies in British politics. The latter may reflect that the book was written during the Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
years.
Like other Brunner books, the novel lacks cohesiveness in various ways, and is best read as a series of interconnected vignette
Vignette (literature)
In theatrical script writing, sketch stories, and poetry, a vignette is a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a trenchant impression about a character, an idea, or a setting and sometimes an object...
s, each of which explores the above themes in a different context, with a culminating scene at the end of the book which is frightening in various ways, including a partial role reversal
Role reversal
In psychodrama, role reversal is a technique where the protagonist is asked, by the psychodrama director, to exchange roles with another person on the psychodrama stage. The former assumes as many of the roles of the other as possible and vice versa...
of the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
and villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
.
In those terms, the book can be seen as an attack of the author on excessive sexual freedom of men gained in the so-called sexual revolution
Sexual revolution
The sexual revolution was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the 1960s into the 1980s...
. While sexual fulfillment itself is not demonized, the book catalogs extensive collateral damage
Collateral damage
Collateral damage is damage to people or property that is unintended or incidental to the intended outcome. The phrase is prevalently used as an euphemism for civilian casualties of a military action.-Etymology:...
in the form of single mothers and offspring not properly cared for. But this is not a kind-hearted appeal for better support systems for these people: they just might counterattack their oppressors which is to say the parents who abandoned (or neglected) them.