7.6 /10 1 Votes
Language English Media type Print (Paperback) ISBN 978-0-553-27763-0 Genre Science Fiction Country United States of America | 3.8/5 Goodreads Publication date April 1, 1989 Pages 320 Originally published 1 April 1989 Page count 320 Publisher Bantam Spectra | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Ian McDonald books, Science Fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Out on Blue Six is a 1989 science fiction novel by the British writer Ian McDonald, his third novel. The plot describes the adventures of groups of outcasts and "pain criminals" in the Compassionate Society, a civilization in which all forms of pain and unhappiness have been made illegal.
Critical reception
The book is known for its cult following. Author Cory Doctorow (who wrote the forward to the 2014 reprint) described the book as "a 16-car pileup in Dr Seuss country, where the colliding zithermobiles are piloted by William Gibson's console cowboys and Mad Magazine caricatures". Kat Hooper, described the book as "Really bizarre".
Ian McDonald dislikes the book and has stated "I wish I hadn't written the damn thing" and that "[the book is] too forced, it tries to hard, everything is too artificial".
British radio DJ Mark Radcliffe named his 1991 radio show after this book.