Hell's Pavement
Encyclopedia
Hell's Pavement is a science fiction
novel by Damon Knight
. The story postulates a technique for dealing with asocial behavior by giving everyone an "analogue", a mental imprint of an authority figure that intervenes whenever violent or otherwise harmful acts are contemplated.
Chapter I first appeared in Astounding Science Fiction in January 1952 as "The Analogues". Parts of Chapters II, III, IV and VIII were adapted from Knight's story "Turncoat", which appeared in the April 1953 Thrilling Wonder Stories. The novel was renamed Analogue Men starting with the 1962 Berkley Books
version, but regained its original title with a 1971 paperback edition.
Most of the story takes place in the 22nd century after analogue treatments have been universally applied for more than 100 years. The United States has broken up into semi-autonomous regions in which the analogue treatment is used to enforce whatever societal norms benefit the ruling classes. The narrative centers on Arthur Bass, who realizes at an early age that he is an "immune", i.e. resistant to the analogue treatment. Bass is identified and recruited by the members of a clandestine group of immunes who are working to overthrow the analogue system.
"The chief pleasures of the novel come from Knight's inventiveness. The society he portrays is vividely exhibited."
Groff Conklin
praised the novel for providing "a tense experience in a mad and tragic world of tomorrow." Anthony Boucher
gave Hell's Pavement a mixed review, praising its "dazzling ingenuity and plausibility," but concluding that it never add[ed] up to a consecutive coherent story." P. Schuyler Miller
rated it "no masterpiece, but one of the better pieces of science-fictive entertainment out this year [1955].
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 Damon Knight
Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre.-Biography:...
. The story postulates a technique for dealing with asocial behavior by giving everyone an "analogue", a mental imprint of an authority figure that intervenes whenever violent or otherwise harmful acts are contemplated.
Chapter I first appeared in Astounding Science Fiction in January 1952 as "The Analogues". Parts of Chapters II, III, IV and VIII were adapted from Knight's story "Turncoat", which appeared in the April 1953 Thrilling Wonder Stories. The novel was renamed Analogue Men starting with the 1962 Berkley Books
Berkley Books
Berkley Books is an imprint of Penguin Group that began as an independent company in 1955. It was established by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein, who were working for Avon and formed "Chic News Company". They renamed it Berkley Publishing Co. in 1955. They soon found a niche in science fiction...
version, but regained its original title with a 1971 paperback edition.
Synopsis
Early in the novel, one of the characters gives a description of the analogue treatment:
"He's got an analogue," said Martyn. "In the classical sense, he is even less sane than he was before. He has auditory, visual and tactile hallucinations -- a complete, integrated set. That's enough to get you entry to most institutions, crowded as they are. But, you see, these hallucinations are pro-societal. They were put there deliberately. He's an acceptable member of society, because he has them...Nobody knows [what the analogue looks like] except himself. A policeman, maybe, or his mother as she looked when he was a child. Someone whom he fears, and whose authority he acknowledges. The subconscious has its own mechanism for creating these false images; all we do is stimulate it -- it does the rest."
Most of the story takes place in the 22nd century after analogue treatments have been universally applied for more than 100 years. The United States has broken up into semi-autonomous regions in which the analogue treatment is used to enforce whatever societal norms benefit the ruling classes. The narrative centers on Arthur Bass, who realizes at an early age that he is an "immune", i.e. resistant to the analogue treatment. Bass is identified and recruited by the members of a clandestine group of immunes who are working to overthrow the analogue system.
Critical response
In Voices for the Future: Essays on Major Science Fiction Writers, Thomas D. Clareson wrote:"The chief pleasures of the novel come from Knight's inventiveness. The society he portrays is vividely exhibited."
Groff Conklin
Groff Conklin
Edward Groff Conklin was a leading science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories , wrote books on home improvement and was a freelance writer on scientific subjects as well as a published poet...
praised the novel for providing "a tense experience in a mad and tragic world of tomorrow." Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
gave Hell's Pavement a mixed review, praising its "dazzling ingenuity and plausibility," but concluding that it never add[ed] up to a consecutive coherent story." P. Schuyler Miller
P. Schuyler Miller
Peter Schuyler Miller was an American science fiction writer and critic.-Life:Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a life-long interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as an amateur archaeologist and a member of the New York State Archaeological Association.He...
rated it "no masterpiece, but one of the better pieces of science-fictive entertainment out this year [1955].