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Title: Paleozoic gulag
Review: Political prisoners are sentenced to exile one billion years in the past, before the appearance of the first land-dwelling lifeforms. The story alternates between the exiles in the past, ageing and battling mental illness brought on by their isolation, and the activities that resulted in their sentences. The primary character, Jim Barrett, struggles to maintain his deteriorating community while investigating the puzzle of a new prisoner who is unlike any of the others. The end is a bit unsatisfying--merely a conversation that wraps up the various plot points. Published in 1967, this novel nevertheless includes some startling predictions of later political developments, including an inconclusive presedential election that had very unfortunate results!
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