''Synthajoy'' is a science fiction novel by

D. G. Compton David Guy Compton (born August 19, 1930) is a British author who writes science fiction under the name D. G. Compton. He used the name Guy Compton for his earlier crime novels and the pseudonym Frances Lynch for his Gothic novels. He has also writ ...

. originally published in 1968 as an Ace Science Fiction Special in the United States and in hardcover by

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publishe ...

in Great Britain. An Italian translation appeared in 1972.

Gregg Press Gregg Press was founded about 1965 by Charles Gregg in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey to distribute in the United States the antiquarian reprints published in the UK by Gregg Press International. Gregg decided he wanted to publish scholarly repr ...

issued an archival edition in 1977.

Orion Books Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, ...

revived the novel as part of its Gateway line in 2011.

Summary

The novel explores the social consequences of the development of a "

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...

" technology "which enable unremarkable people to enjoy the experiences of those who are more gifted or fortunate". The protagonist is the wife of the creator of Synthajoy, who - realizing what damage it would do to society - murdered her husband, and was committed to a mental hospital. In a 2007 interview, Compton recalled that it was likely based "on the sort of popular science stuff that I as a non-scientist would have picked up out of the media or the general press and latched onto as something I could develop".

Reception

James Blish James Benjamin Blish () was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his '' Cities in Flight'' novels and his series of ''Star Trek'' novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel '' A Case of Consc ...

wrote that " body has handled he novel's themea tenth as well as this English writer." George Edward Slusser characterized ''Synthajoy'' as a precursor to

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian Futurism, futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of low-life, lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial in ...

."Literary MTV", ''

Mississippi Review The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

'', v.16 2/3, 1988

References

{{Reflist 1968 American novels Ace Books books American science fiction novels Novels about virtual reality