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Camp Concentration
Thomas M. Disch Book Review

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Plot Summary of Camp Concentration
"There is a war raging on all fronts, and Louis Sachetti is a 35 year old poet who is imprisoned for being a conscientious objector. A few days into his five year sentence, Sachetti is taken against his will to a mysterious subterranean compound. He is told he was chosen for his verbal skills, and is instructed to observe the other inmates in the compound, and to keep journals of all his observations.

Soon Sachetti learns that the other inmates are there voluntarily, recruited from military prisons and hospitals, and that they are taking part in an experiment. The inmates are given a drug that heightens their intellectual abilities to astonishing levels, though the side-effects are a series of illnesses that result in death within 9 months.

After a while, Sachetti begins to suspect that he himself has been infected with the drug. He continues to chronicle his observations, however, providing poetic observations of the mad/genius inmates who have been pursuing their own experiments in alchemy in hopes of finding the secret of immortality."

Billy Pashaie, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Camp Concentration
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%




Tone of book - cynical or dry-wit
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Lifeform altered? Yes
Kind of alteration: - personality change
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - artist
Age: - 20's-30's
Has magical/special powers? Yes
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Genius
Physique - quite fatty

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - bureaucrat
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a substantial amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
Terrain - Domed/Underground City
Earth setting: - 20th century
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - none/very little science jargon needed
How much dialogue? - significantly more descript than dialog
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Thomas M. Disch Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Billy Pashaie  

SCHOLARS:


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