Finished Th 5/16/13
My post on Good Reads-
This is a rather unsatisfying novel of 'the not too distant American future' about a power struggle over the use and distribution of a particular drug, PSI-40, that enhances psychic ability in the user. The Mental Freedom Syndicate is a consortium of 'Specials' who are wealthy and powerful individuals who have highly enhanced their psychic powers, and are trying to control who has access to the drug PSI-40, and thus limiting who has the power to perceive information hidden from the normal senses. 'Sensitives' are people who have been monitored by the Syndicate because they have been tested and seem to have nascent psychic abilities, so their use of PSI-40 is carefully monitored. And these 'Sensitives' are pressured to join the Syndicate, and they help protect the MFS from the ANTI'S, who are a group that wants to end the control of PSI-40. The novel's protagonist is Jon Rand and he is a 'Sensitive' agent for the MFS who has a change of heart about the true aims of the Syndicate. The story-line is driven by a load of corny theatrics that seem like tedious Ian Fleming outtakes, but basically the novel is about Power and Domination.
The novel was written in 1965, and I don't think anyone realized what a tremendous influence recreational drugs would have on society, and this novel doesn't provide much insight as to what might be just around the corner. Almost any of Philip K. Dick's novels (VALIS, THE THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER ELDRITCH, A SCANNER DARKLY, etc) leave PSYCHEDELIC-40 in the literary dust, and my favorite novel about future drugs that impact psychic ability is most definitely John Brunner's, THE STONE THAT NEVER CAME DOWN. PSYCHEDELIC-40 can only be considered one of the 'also rans'.
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