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Tom O'Bedlam
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Tom O'Bedlam

by Robert Silverberg

In a collapsing post-industrial world, a man feigning madness is plagued by mysterious mental images. When a deep-space probe transmits matching pictures from a distant planet, he becomes humanity's spokesperson to a world that may offer salvation.

Accession 8927 ISBN 0446340022 Publisher Warner Books
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TAGS
Curated Derived
Astronomy Collapse Communication Dreams Literature Madness Philosophy Science Social Sciences The Mind Time Wit and Humor
CONNECTIONS
No connections
State
on_shelf
False
position_updated_at
never
orientation
unknown
Details

Physical

binding_type
Hard Back
dimensions
none captured
spine_text
none captured

Metadata

Book form
LOCATION HISTORY
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Last synced 2026-06-09 15:20 (1 day ago)

Identity

name→ title
Tom O'Bedlam
vernon_id
12718
accession_no→ accession_number
8927
vernon_slug
tom-obedlam-robert-silverberg

Drives Pulse state

curr_loc_status→ on_shelf
Transit
location_name
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location_reason
Transit
isbn_issn→ isbn (when valid)
0446340022

Descriptive

production_date
Circa 1985
object_type
Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication
object_status
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brief_description
Tom, like the medieval Tom O'Bedlam, can't decipher the meaning of the images plaguing his mind. Much like the wondering and mad Tom of the medieval ballad, the Tom O'Bedlam of 2103 doesn't know what to make of the images that keep cluttering his mind. To preserve the last shred of his sanity and keep these never-ending wonders a secret, he feigns insanity. But then a probe that has travelled over four light years away transmits the very pictures that have been haunting Tom's dreams. In this post-industrial world on the verge of a total collapse, Tom has become humanity's spokesperson to the distant planet that may be his world's salvation.

Subjects & people

authors→ author (initial fill only)
Robert Silverberg
tags→ tags
Science, Psychology, Literature, Philology, Astronomy, Physical sciences, Future, The, Time, Geodetic astronomy, Spherical astronomy, Fiction, Science fiction, Parapsychology, Interplanetary voyages, Astronautics, Space sciences, Fantasy fiction, Fantasy literature, Space and time, Psychic ability
subject_people
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subject_objects
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Cover image

vernon_cover_image_id→ cover_image
23383

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