Earthworks is a 1965 dystopian science fiction novel by British science fiction author Brian Aldiss. Plot introduction The novel is set in a world of environmental catastrophe and extreme socio-economic inequality. Outside crowded cities controlled by a police state, a class of wealthy and powerful "Farmers" exploit a rural prison labour population and hunt down subversive "Travellers" who have broken free of social controls. Land Art In 1967, the artist Robert Smithson took a copy of Earthworks with him on a trip to the Passaic River in New Jersey (where he created The Monuments of Passaic, 1967). He reused the title to describe some of his works, based on natural materials like earth and rocks, and infused with his ideas about entropy and environmental catastrophe. External links Earthworks on Brian Aldiss's official site Footnotes 1965 British novels British science fiction novels 1965 science fiction novels Overpopulation fiction Novels by Brian Aldiss Faber and Faber books