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Venusia by Mark von Schlegell
01/11/2005 . Source: Shaun Green 
pub: Semiotext(e) Native Agents/MIT Press. 244 page enlarged paperback. Price: £ 9.95 (UK). ISBN: 1-58435-026-1. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.semiotexte.com
It's the 23rd century, Earth is dead and a new kind of totalitarianism has emerged. A fascistic state apparatus headed by Princeps Crittendon oversees a populace whose memory is controlled by the use of organic narcotics called Flowers. The people of Venusia have no knowledge of the past or of history and see only the present. This is manipulated by Crittendon and his agents, g-ops and m-ops, who construct society by taking advantage of this malleability of awareness. They do not only shape perception but also reality. As a result of their machinations, Venusia is an inertiatic world that experiences no real growth or change.
Into this tightly-controlled and stagnant culture comes Rogers Collectibles, an anachronistic man who trades in antiquities and is registered not as an individual but as a corporation. When he finds and attempts to sell a book about early Venusian history, he sets into motion a chain of events that will alter Venusia. At the same time, neuroscop Sylvia Yang - a psychologist or brain/reality doctor of sorts - abstains from taking Flowers. The developing paths of these two quickly intertwine. Other characters such as Nifty Norrington, a dwarf and g-op, Martha Dobbs, a reality-v host and star, and a sentient plant are all rapidly involved. A war is set into motion although it is not a war similar to any previously known. Reality shifts and twists as characters struggle for control of the destiny of everything.
'Venusia' is not an easy read and nor is it an entirely successful one. It is at times difficult and there is so much going on that it is hard to keep on track as a reader. Perception differs between characters who are split in two and re-made. Events occur in different times and places that are not constant. Often, I was left unsure as to exactly what was transpiring. It is most probable that this was a deliberate conceit intended to share with the reader the condition of the Venusians. Whilst this works on one level, it also obscures other fascinating ideas in the story.
Whilst reading this book I often thought of John Clute's 'Appleseed'. There are only a few direct similarities but the conception of a recognisably human society that is at the same time utterly alien is a strong one. Clute achieved this with social mores and technology. Schlegell adopts a more Dickian approach with perception and reality being what makes this novel so alluringly Other.
This is definitely a novel to check out if you're interested in work that pushes boundaries, alters perception or enjoys suggesting new paradigms. It may not be entirely successful but it's tremendously ambitious and is a breathtaking pulse of radicalism in a field that is all too often overly conservative.
Shaun Green
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