Camp Concentration

Camp Concentration is a science fiction novel by American writer Thomas M. Disch. It was first serialized in four parts in New Worlds from July to October 1967 and was published in book form in the United Kingdom in 1968, followed by a first U.S. edition in 1969. Presented as the journal of the conscientious objector Louis Sacchetti, the novel is set in a secret research prison where a compound derived from syphilis sharply increases intelligence while destroying the body. Critics have associated the novel with the New Wave, and discussion of it has emphasized its Faustian and alchemical motifs, dense literary allusiveness, and inward, experimental narrative style. The novel received a restrained but positive contemporary notice from Kirkus Reviews. Later critics including John Clute and Carl Freedman treated it as one of Disch's major works; David Pringle included it in Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels, and Rob Latham later grouped it among Disch's books that had come to be celebrated as classics. The novel also received Australia's Ditmar Award.