As an SF prison break adventure it's fine, but honestly, it's everything that's under the surface that makes this book pretty fantastic. It was nominated in '68 for the Hugo even though it was a first-time author who spent 7 years writing it. Interesting? Especially since he's a hugely recognized name now?

The fact is, beyond the prison break, it's a psychological horrorshow that spotlights its very own Oedipus tragedy, wold-spanning telepaths, commentary on the nature of love and hate, complete with a truly horrible inversion, and just a little more tragedy.

This is the novelized SF form of Freudian unconsciousness, travelling the labyrinth, and the eventual rise from the darkest spaces of our own souls to reach the light, as it seen in the title. Chthonic?

But don't worry about any of these themes being too deep to spot. Anthony keeps everything pretty much on the surface, putting his knowledge of myth and classic literature a direct service to *his* story, and not as a nod.

I'm honestly very impressed, but I can also see why people might not give this higher stars, too, because the deeper themes and even the general one of a SF prison break has been done many times. Still, this one is done extremely well, so I'm giving it full props. It's complex but very readable, disturbing in the sexual themes, the love themes, in all the ways that people hurt each other or are even programmed to hurt each other. It might be too rough for the casual reader. I'm honestly a bit shaken, myself, and I pride myself on knowing my dark side.

Very impressive. :) ( )

Een avontuur op een vreemde planeet. Iedere veroordeelde gevangene wordt opgesloten in een ondergrondse gevangenis. De meeste proberen hieruit te ontsnappen. Dit lukt echter slechts enkelen van hen... ( )

I didn't actually even finish this book. I questioned for a long time whether I would or wouldn't finish it and I got through about 3/4 of it and then abandoned it.

My first questions about whether or not I would actually finish it arose because of the blatant disregard with which rape is treated. The main character, Anton, rapes a woman as a way of "teaching her a lesson" and this woman goes on to be totally in love with him. This falls into this theme that women receive love as abuse and hurt. Maybe at the end there was some sort of "redemption" for this perspective, but I couldn't take reading this abuse and vitriol launched at women; this condoning of abusive relationships, arguing that women [i]want[/i] abuse, that this is the way that women feel and want love. This is an entirely ridiculous proposition and really just evidence of the hate women have to endure, especially in early science fiction.

My second questions about whether or not I would finish it, and the reason I eventually abandoned it, was just how badly the second half was written. I couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on and I read Faulkner for fun. Anthony became more obsessed with talking about how woman should be treated and explicating the female psyche that his prose suffered.

The parts of the story that revolve around the prison break and being in the prison (besides the totally okay rape??) are really great. But then it devolves for the writer's own agenda. ( )

Chthon is not a difficult book to review. What I struggled with was the rating. Ultimately, I'm not sure even now how exactly I felt about the novel.

Chthon is primarily a prison tale. It is the story of Aton Five, the son of a wealthy farmer, who is sent to an underground prison with no guards and no escape. His crime is an unquenchable obsession with a dangerous siren he first encounters as a boy. In the world Anthony has weaved, some of the biproducts of genetic engineering are human subspecies, one of which is similar to the sirens of mythology. But there are vast differences revealed throughout the novel, so that this similarity is tangential.

Anthony's writing style in the novel is engaging, and must have been quite difficult to pull off. The story jumps between Aton's time inside the prison, his time after his escape, and his time before he was incarcerated. Anthony does this without cheap gimmicks, yet also without revealing any plot points too soon. I was amazed by this balancing act. The story was clear and the time jumps only increased the tension. For me, his time inside the prison is the most interesting. Anthony fleshed out a complete world in the underground labrynth. It's no coincidence this was the bulk of the story, as Anthony seemed to realize it was where the novel's strength lay. Anthony created consistent characterization, and subtle as well. It is quite a long time before you realize the main character is insane. There is nothing in terms of writing, I can criticize, save a handful of awkward moments the novel could have dropped (giant caterpillars for example).

If you are waiting for a "but", here it is: My problem with the novel is that it is incredibly dark. It is probably the darkest novel I've read. It is not gory or graphic. Anthony never explains in detail when horrible things happen. Leaving it to the reader's imagination is probably worse, in all honesty, as the novel's main character engages in rape, murder and incest in his obsession to find the siren. These are not themes I normally read, especially since this is absolutely not a novel about redemption. In the end, I'm not quite sure what Anthony was trying to say, except perhaps when we are looking for evil in the world, it may be wise to look in the mirror.

As I said though, there is nothing Anthony puts in simply as shock value. It all flows naturally from the story, and if you can handle an unapologetically dark novel, Chthon will not disappoint. I can't say it is a novel I especially enjoyed, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth reading. ( )

Un prisionero en una cárcel espacial en un futuro muy lejano trata de escapar a una vida entera de cautiverio por medio de la astucia y del Karate (porque al autor no se le pasó por la cabeza que en miles de años en el futuro conservaremos el Karate en perfecto estado, de entre todas las cosas de nuestra sociedad).

Ciencia ficción con ribetes eróticos de bastante mal gusto. ( )