Harvest of Stars offers several elements that are staples of science fiction—a totalitarian North American government, artificial intelligence, colonization of faraway planets may be found in numerous novels. The predecessor that comes closest to envisioning the society the Avantists try to create is George Orwell's 1984 (1949; see separate entry), which depicts a society in which people's lives are controlled from birth to death by leaders similar to Enrique Sayre—any lie, any cruelty is justified if it serves the party. Colossus (1966) by D. F. Jones offers an account of how the world may be taken over by artificial intelligence; in its case, a sentient computer that controls America's nuclear weapons unites with a Soviet version and takes over control of the world. It is not a happy place for human beings. John Varley frequently features the interaction of artificial intelligence and human beings, particularly...