the world was and art/experimental creation

[gdgatsfc]

EHi
I am trying to find the title of a sci fi novel, probably from the 1969_1970.
The plot was that the world had evil manipulators who only appeared in glass, window, mirrors etc. The hero stumbles upon their existence and must fight them to hold unto
His girl. The other main character has amnesia but finally realizes he is a member of the
Entities who created the world as an experiment and you might think of his as an art critic
He eliminates the flaw of the manipulators and all is well. Anybody remember anything like this
Thanks

 

[PaulMmn]

Vaguely like The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, by Robert A Heinlein (It was originally published in the October 1942 edition of Unknown Worlds magazine under the pseudonym of "John Riverside". - Wikipedia).
.
--Paul E Musselman

 

[mellotronman]

MORE than vaguely like 'Jonathan Hoag' - all plot points match.

 

[Abernovo]

Jonathan Hoag would be my thought as well.

The story itself is novella in length, but The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag was also the title story for a Heinlein collection of short fiction. I've attached pics of two of the editions below, to see if they ring a bell.

Hope that helps.

 

[gdgatsfc]

You guys have nailed it thanks so much, I've been looking for ages.
Thanks so much

 

[anivid]

Jonathan Hoag would be my thought as well.

The story itself is novella in length, but The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag was also the title story for a Heinlein collection of short fiction. I've attached pics of two of the editions below, to see if they ring a bell.

Hope that helps.

You're pretty much into it, aren't you Abernovo ??

 

[The Judge]

Ha! I can't tell you how pleased I am you asked this! I've no memory at all of the art critic plot line, but out of curiosity I've just checked the plot summary in wikipedia, and the ending, with the handcuffs, I remember vividly, and for years I've been annoyed I couldn't recall anything else. Thank you, all!

 

[mellotronman]

Bit of an unsung classic, this - a rare Heinlein excursion into semi-fantasy realms (let's draw a discrete veil over Glory Road, OK?), although he used elements of magical realism in some later works. Again according to Wikipedia, there's a film version in production, due out this year, seemingly to little fanfare. Other than updating the setting, let's hope they don't make too many changes...