The Age of the Pussyfoot

by Frederik Pohl

Pohl’s 26th century is a place where death, at least for those with some money, is a temporary state. Charles Forrester wakes up in 2527, having died in a fire in the 1960s. He had been cryogenically frozen in hopes that someday he could be resuscitated. He was finally thawed, not just because the technology was there, but because his bank account had finally earned enough return to pay for his resuscitation. Forrester finds that things are much different than in the 1960s — one can file papers to legally kill someone else, provided they can pay for resuscitation of the victim, for example. Unfortunately, things are also expensive, and those without money, the Forgotten Men (and women) do not have protection against death. Oh! And Earth is at war with an alien race.

I went into this book expecting it to be fairly cheesy, since it was written in the 60s. However, I found it to be quite good, with some of Pohl’s predictions fun to read. The “joymakers” that everyone carries aren’t too far off from today’s Palm Pilots, though our Palms aren’t yet able to dispense happy drugs…

Overall a fun read.