Gateway

I really couldn't get into this book, and parts of it I found downright irritating. About the only thing I enjoyed was the setting. The dystopian future where risking horrific death is preferable to living with no or little medical insurance while working in strip-mined fields growing vitamin sludge is pretty terrifying. Add to that the idea that the main goal of getting rich is being able to afford Full Medical so you can add years to your life, and we have a poignant and timely tale.

That said, the idea that this technology is not being so much researched as test-driven (often at the expense of losing the technology) is a little hard for me to believe. I also really couldn't stand the Freudian robot psychotherapy. Pohl seems to have done very little researching into how therapy works (or therapy was way different in the seventies). Most importantly, the main character is absolutely reprehensible. Every choice he makes, every snide comment, it all builds to showing just how awful he is. I'm not one to say main characters have to be likable, but this guy is just not enjoyable to read and spending time with him is pretty repellent.

I recognize that the book was written 40 years ago, but at times, it felt even more dated than that. Not my cuppa.