Preview of Bug Jack Barron Summary:

Despite its concentration on political and media tactics, Bug Jack Barron is not really about these subjects. Many critics have missed this point. When the book was first published, it created a storm of controversy. Those reviews which did not simply deplore its four letter words and explicit sex — then rare in science fiction — praised it for its treatment of media techniques. With the exception of the bioethics issue, the deeper themes are more hidden in the novel's structure. Perhaps because of this, perhaps because they are more upbeat than savage, or perhaps because they contradict Spinrad's reputation as one of science fiction's bad boys, they have been relatively ignored.

The most obvious theme is the price of immortality. In the Foundation's procedure, it comes at the cost of another human life. Jack Barron discovers this under the grimmest of circumstances, when he is already, unwittingly...