I haunt secondhand shops, looking for books from the golden age of science fiction. Last week I found Agent of Chaos by Norman Spinrad, the New English Library edition of 1972, described on the jacket as “A new novel by the mind-toppling author of ‘Bug Jack Barron’.”
The blurb on the back reads: “The Solar System was ruled by total terror. There could only be one hope for galactic peace – and that meant violent death. Fifty men were prepared to pay with their lives to destroy the Council.”
So far, so usual for the genre. Then: “Boris Johnson felt the tension rising in him as the seconds crept by. He brushed his hands against the reassuring bulge of his laser gun – One minute!
“He glanced up at the sun leaking through the opaque plastic dome. Slowly he edged closer to the platform, ready to kill. From the social chaos that followed assassination there might come freedom: There were seconds to go. Now!”
As so much of science fiction foreshadows events, let us hope that the foreign secretary hasn’t read this one.
John Davies
Lancaster
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