Plague of Pythons
What if murder, arson and madness were not choices—but actions imposed by someone who could seize your body remotely?
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The most frightening crime is one you did not choose
In Plague of Pythons, apparently senseless violence spreads through a world where people can be made to act against their will. The protagonist’s search for an explanation reveals an elite able to hijack bodies from a distance—and a truth worse than simple possession.
Frederik Pohl turns mind control into a story about technology, power and the collapse of personal responsibility. The result feels eerily close to modern anxieties about drones, surveillance and mediated control.
Inside the book
- A mystery built around involuntary violence
- Remote control of human action
- A powerful critique of unaccountable elites
- Editorial context from the Forgotten Futures project
For readers who enjoy
- Frederik Pohl and political science fiction
- Technological paranoia
- Stories about autonomy, surveillance and control
Explore beyond the book
Read Andrew’s review and analysis or explore Forgotten Futures.
Enter a world without bodily autonomy
Read Frederik Pohl’s chilling precursor to modern technological nightmares.
Questions readers ask
Who wrote Plague of Pythons?
The novel was written by Frederik Pohl.
What is the central idea?
People discover that their bodies can be remotely controlled and used to commit acts they never chose.
Is this part of a series?
Yes. This edition belongs to Andrew G. Gibson’s Forgotten Futures project.