Novel Review Brian Aldiss Non-stop

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL REVIEW – BRIAN ALDISS –
NON-STOP 1958 Millennium Press Science Fiction Masterworks #33

An often gloriously violent, action packed
novel filled with great twists, turns and surprises throughout.

A man called Complain, of the Greene Tribe,
spends much of his day struggling to control the heavy jungle rich vegetation
that flourishes as a tangle of bamboo-like vines. When Complain’s girlfriend is
abducted and presumably killed by members of a rival tribe, Complain is
subjected to brutal scourging as punishment, as the politically incorrect
Greene population feels it needs its women to be able to breed & survive.

Complain yearns to escape from the tribe’s
limited circle of activity and its excessive disciplinarianism. He soon finds himself
in a group of fellow escapees, including Marapper, a pragmatic, enigmatic
priest in the Greene Tribe and the party set off into extraordinary danger and
makes a series of frightening shocking discoveries about his World.

The tribes they meet present resistance and
there appear to be strangers in the forests too, strange giants, and sentient
rat like monsters.

Spoiler warnings should be given here as the first big
shock comes early on in the narration. A few chapters into the story comes
their greatest discovery – a metal lift shaft. Their jungle is only part of a
vast spaceship. The band of heroes, with a possible traitor in their midst set
out to find out who is at the controls and where the ship is going. In doing
so, they discover many even more fantastic facts about their incredible journey
(within the ship and concerning it’s own expedition).

A smart novel with snappy dialogue and humour.
Hell becomes Hull, the priest is the most rationally minded figure on board
until given opportunity to kill his opponents, when he is torn between the task
at hand and his ministry services, and the rats are closing in…. Giving more
away would spoil the fun.

Arthur Chappell