Sci-Fi Chess Novel: The Squares of the City by John Brunner, 1978 Edition

This is a “very good” or better vintage 1978 Ballantine paperback novel by John Brunner, Hugo-nominated when it first appeared in print in 1965.

Crisp, solid copy, with an uncreased spine. No marks or writing, no loose, torn or folded pages. Text and covers are square and close tightly. Text block edges are uniform, not rubbed or soiled, bright all around. Covers show some minimal surface wear. Very pleasing overall.
Somewhat scarce title.

Really nice vintage copy!
See accompanying images for full condition details.

Enter John Brunner’s Hugo-nominated masterpiece, The Squares of the City, where every citizen is a chess piece in a deadly game of power and control….
In the gleaming planned metropolis of Ciudad de Vados, capital of the fictional South American nation Aguazul, traffic analyst Boyd Hakluyt arrives to solve what seems like a routine urban planning problem.
Instead, he finds himself trapped in a meticulously orchestrated conflict where the 1892 World Chess Championship match between Wilhelm Steinitz and Mikhail Chigorin is being played out with human lives.
The city’s elite, led by the enigmatic President Vados, use subliminal messaging and media manipulation to control the population, while the impoverished native residents fight to reclaim their land and dignity.
As Hakluyt navigates between the sophisticated chess-obsessed ruling class and the desperate slum dwellers, he discovers that every death, every political maneuver, every act of resistance corresponds to an actual move in the historic chess game.

Brunner’s brilliant structural experiment transforms a political thriller into a profound meditation on colonialism, urban planning, and the ethics of social engineering.
This 1978 edition captures Brunner at his most innovative, blending Graham Greene-style intrigue with cutting-edge social commentary that remains startlingly relevant to our modern debates about gentrification, surveillance, and the price of progress.

Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

1 in stock