To Serve Oneself or One's Society?

Title: On My Way To Paradise
Author: Dave Wolverton
Published: 1989
Pages: 521

Reading Time: Summer/Fall 2010. Maybe.

Plot Teaser:
In a world of ever-worsening crisis, Angelo Osic is an anomaly: a man who cares about others. One day he aids a stranger...and calls down disaster, for the woman called Tamara is also a woman on the run, the only human with the knowledge that will save Earth from the artificial intelligences plotting to overthrow it.

Fleeing the assassins who seek him now as well as Tamara, Angelo seizes the only escape route available: to sign on as a mercenary with the Japanese Motoki Corporation in its genocidal war against the barbarian Yabajin. Jacked into training machines that simulate warfare, Angelo "dies" a hundred times...and is resurrected to fight again. In a world of death, he dreams only of life - and the freedom to love once more.

How I Got It:
I picked this up at either a Value Village or a used book store at some point in 2009, or maybe even 2008. After a while, these things start to blend in together. I was attracted by Orson Scott Card's blurb on the front cover, and the colourful embossed cover. Yep.

The Review:
This was Dave Wolverton's first novel. Today, he is more commonly known by his pen name, David Farland, and is famous for his Runelords fantasy series. Not being familiar with his fantasy works, I went into On My Way To Paradise with a completely fresh mind. As a fan of science fiction, I have always been interested by stories of a single man being affected by the environment around him, and this one is a good entry into that field.

The protagonist is Angelo Osic, a doctor who has a lot of compassion for his fellow man, but whose world and ideals are challenged the day a mysterious woman named Tamara staggers into his practice. She seems to be on the run, and gives veiled answers when Angelo tries asking her questions about her past and how she sustained her injuries. Unwittingly, the doctor is forced into a grander narrative, and ends up being swept away into a much larger celestial conflict. Without ruining anything, Angelo is forced to enroll in the military, and to serve a giant Japanese corporation against what the corporation calls barbarians.

Orson Scott Card's praise on the front of the book does not seem coincidental, as Osic and a mixed crew of humans and cyborgs spend a lot of time in combat simulations similar to those in Scott Card's Ender's Game. However, unlike Ender's Game, Wolverton does not pull any punches in his use of crude language, and goes into some very gory and uncomfortable areas, including rape. This is an adult book and features explicit language and scenes. The front cover almost seems inappropriate for such a dark story, unless it was meant to add contrast and show that violence seems unreal and cartoony in a simulation. Regardless, the real consequences of war and battle are in the mind, if not moreso than in the real world.

Wolverton is very interested in the causes of conflict, the power of choice, and the nature of humanity. His depiction of different social systems is interesting, especially as they pertain to the role of the individual in those social systems. How much should a person have to give up for their own freedom, and the freedom of their nation or planet? How much should a person allow others to invade their space, both physical and mental, in the interests of greater peace? The book sometimes feels like a critique of socialism and individualism, and those are often the most fascinating bits to read. The only downside is that sometimes it feels like Wolverton is trying to take on too much, which dilutes each issue that he is trying to explore. Nevertheless, this is a good book, not just as a first book, but as something that a seasoned veteran would be proud of.

The Verdict:
As an exploration of what it means to be an individual and how to retain dignity in a forced social system, On My Way To Paradise succeeds. It does feel slightly long at times, as well as a little bloated in its themes, but when it goes into detail about social philosophy, it provides some very satisfying brain food. It is not one of my favourite books ever, but it is still worth a look if you are looking for something in the style of an adult Ender's Game.

3.5/5

Up Next:
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury.