It reminds me of several sf short stories (I think they weren't novels) about something related -- the world overtaken by stupid people and the "real" workers, kind of like Wells' morlocks living hidden away. The pov character, when asked, was directed to go down to the bathroom attendant to find information...the real rulers...something. Can't remember what precisely.

I tried reading "Atlas Shrugged" when I was about 19, but it was too deep for me. I later listened to it via "book on tape" during long drives and was AMAZED at the depth of the story. It's probably the most complex plot and story that I've ever read. I'd guess there are 50-100 major characters, but it is a phenomenal story.

ANTHEM is sci-fi, LOGAN'S RUN took Rand's premise from ANTHEM and improved on it.

quote:

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and a court of law finds the hero not guilty because his principles were compromised

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On a side note Gail Wynand, the tycoon publisher character in THE FOUNTAINHEAD, was similarly fashioned after William Randolph Hearst.

Gary Cooper is cast as Roark in the movie, an exact duplication of the book with the dogma excised.

THE FOUNTAINHEAD novel is a wealth of riches. Each time I re-read it I think it's gonna be trite and tired, but it's gripping. And I know what's gonna happen!

And Kathleen, you reveal what a well-adjusted childhood you had if you didn't get into Atlas Shrugged. It was a major hit with disaffected nerdy youth who thought the social hierarchy should depend on IQ. Although, in a lot of ways, she was talking about codependency, which I think is part of the reason she hooked up with Nathanial Brandon, who was then a very young psychologist. She was in her forties or fifties, and left her husband for him. It was quite the scandal. One of the first cougars.

I loved Galt's big rave. I think it was actually eight pages, but the bit about how cigarettes were the ultimate symbol of man's triumph over our caveman ancestry - I bet I read that a couple of hundred times. I thought it was the best, ever. Mostly when I was feeling very, very sorry for myself. Then I found Robert Heinlein, and life changed.

Rand's two best-known works, "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged", are somewhat Freudian, in that both books feature central female protagonists that are independent, wealthy, powerful, willful women, and yet each of these women ultimately yearns to be "taken" by an even more powerful and willful, not to mention creative, male protagonist.

For "Shrugged" it was Hank Rearden, the metalurgist genius and steel industry magnate.

In the case of "Fountainhead", it was Roark, the architectural genius.

Both men were specifically "self made" and were often contrasted with other male characters, all of whom suffered some kind of Wimp Syndrome that made them whiny, catty, cowardly, craven, or otherwise lacking in Rand's preferred blend of Moral Fiber.

Personally, I couldn't read either book all the way through. Rand tended to hit you between the eyes with The Moral Message, and never let up. Her worlds she paints are bleak, on the downward spiral, and populated by ugly, petty human beings whose only purpose seems to be that of sabotaging the lone, brave, sexy protagonists who stand, "athwart history, yelling 'Stop!'", as William F. Buckley once said.

But the longevity of Rand's work is evidence that her Moral Message does ring true in many ways, even today.

As a fiction writer, she leaves a lot to be desired, as her characters are without exception one dimensional archetypes of specific traits she deems either desirable or undesirable. As people, they are unbelievable, but her desire was to make a specific philosophical point, not accurate depictions.

I am absolutely fascinated with Rand's writing. While her style may leave a little to be desired, I find the novels highly readable and Atlas is perhaps the best "plotted" novel I have read.