Hominids examines two unique species of people. We are one of those species; the other is the Neanderthals of a parallel world where they b...
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Jan 26, 2009
Jamie
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This is worth reading for the intriguing depiction of an advanced neanderthal society, but it's not a very well-written novel.
The narrative was more readable when it focused on the neanderthals, perhaps because the alienness of the society kept my attention, but as soon as it returned to the homo sapiens the prose became clunky enough to pull me out of the story. The characterizations are poor, particularly that of Mary, one of the main protagonists.
And the author almost More...
The narrative was more readable when it focused on the neanderthals, perhaps because the alienness of the society kept my attention, but as soon as it returned to the homo sapiens the prose became clunky enough to pull me out of the story. The characterizations are poor, particularly that of Mary, one of the main protagonists.
And the author almost More...
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Oct 31, 2011
Jonathan
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-- Warning, contains spoilers, mostly regarding an early traumatic event for a main character --
I would like to read the sequel to this book, although probably not for the right reason. I found the core concept interesting, but in some ways, it felt like the thought experiment was flawed. I'll stipulate that the premise interested me: how would things be different if things had gone another way in early earth life? It's a nice twist on the rugged science fiction horse of how an al More...
I would like to read the sequel to this book, although probably not for the right reason. I found the core concept interesting, but in some ways, it felt like the thought experiment was flawed. I'll stipulate that the premise interested me: how would things be different if things had gone another way in early earth life? It's a nice twist on the rugged science fiction horse of how an al More...
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Oct 31, 2011
Aaron
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May 27, 2008
Sandi
rated it: 
Wow! I have grown really sick and tired of books that take 100-200 pages to get into. I'm even more sick and tired of whole books that just set up the reader for the sequels. "Hominids" is neither. The first chapter just sucked me right in. It was probably the most exciting first chapter I've read in a long, long time. And, the book is a self-contained story. It does leave room for a sequel, but doesn't require that you read it. The premise is terrific too.
I've ne More...
I've ne More...
Jun 03, 2011
Nathan
rated it: 
Two parallel universes: one where our ancestors lived and Neanderthals went extinct and one where the Neanderthals lived and we died out. During a quantum computing experiment a Neanderthal physicist is accidentally shifted to our world. He becomes a celebrity here and back in his strange version of earth his partner is put on trial for his murder. This book is full of Well written characters and exciting scenes, the world building aspect of the Neanderthal society is very well done too. Awesome
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Dec 21, 2008
Angela
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Oct 07, 2011
D.L.
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Hominids is an engrossing tale of cultural contrasts. In this novel, Ponter, a physicist from a parallel universe, and his partner accidentally open a portal between their Earth and ours. Ponter is sucked into ours and his arrival makes quite an impression, not because of its unexpected nature or because of what it means to our understanding of physics but because Ponter is a Neanderthal. The book flips back and forth between showing what the consequences of this accident are in both worlds. In
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Feb 07, 2011
Alaina
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Jan 02, 2011
Matt
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In the interest of writing a fair review, I try to point out everything I can think of about a novel, both good and bad. I try not to gush too much about the things that I like, and similarly, I would like not to completely tear apart everything I don't like. The unfortunate thing about reviewing Robert J. Sawyer's Hugo award winning novel Hominids is that no matter how hard I try, I cannot come up with a single part of it I don't like.
The story is simple and brilliant: in a parallel u More...
The story is simple and brilliant: in a parallel u More...
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Dec 23, 2010
Sarah
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The book is about a Neanderthal scientist whose quantum computing experiment opens a bridge between his Earth and ours. On his Earth, it is humans who went extinct while Neanderthals survived and evolved.
There are many parallels between each version of Earth, and main extreme differences. There are mammoths and mastodons still living with the Neanderthals. They still live a hunter/gather lifestyle, with no agriculture. Their Earth is healthy and vibrant, without the pollution and ove More...
There are many parallels between each version of Earth, and main extreme differences. There are mammoths and mastodons still living with the Neanderthals. They still live a hunter/gather lifestyle, with no agriculture. Their Earth is healthy and vibrant, without the pollution and ove More...
Sep 27, 2010
Christopher
rated it:
My review from when I first read it: I just finished reading Sawyer's Hominids... rather, I should say devouring the book. I have been reading three books simultaneously; one at the office, one at home, one in my portable bag. But this one was so intriguing and endearing that it went everywhere with me, pushing aside the others.
Sawyer has accomplished the hugely esteemable task of mixing hard SF (anthropology, archaeology, sociology, AND physics) with deeply "human" insigh More...
Sawyer has accomplished the hugely esteemable task of mixing hard SF (anthropology, archaeology, sociology, AND physics) with deeply "human" insigh More...
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Aug 09, 2010
Jon
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I read this book on my first day of jury duty. The premise is fairly interesting -- a Neanderthal scientist from an alternate Earth creates a portal to our Earth. In their Earth, Neanderthals became the dominant species. The interactions between humans and our primate cousins (siblings?) provide a neat opportunity to examine our assumptions about "human nature" and how things "have to be". Unfortunately, this promise is wasted with somewhat preachy contrasts between the pacif
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Jun 05, 2009
Nick
rated it:
While the author let some interesting cultural biases slip in, the speculations about what a Neanderthal-based civilization might have been like are fascinating. For instance, if your civilization has no strong privacy taboos, how would that be reflected in the culture and the law?
Oddly, the place I had to suspend disbelief was socio-economic, as I didn't think the Neanderthal culture's structure worked well...it amounts to a high-tech barter system with no agricultural underpinning, and m More...
Oddly, the place I had to suspend disbelief was socio-economic, as I didn't think the Neanderthal culture's structure worked well...it amounts to a high-tech barter system with no agricultural underpinning, and m More...
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Apr 13, 2009
Lilly
rated it: 
I wish I could give this 3.5. Hmph. Anyway, I liked the premise - Neanderthal physicists accidentally open a gateway into our version of Earth. Their alternate universe is one in which Neanderthals, not Homo sapiens, became the dominant (and only) humans. One of the physicists gets trapped on our side of the universe for a bit, and hilarity ensues.
The descriptions of Neanderthal society are v. interesting, with a good basis in what we know of them - it's plausible they would have evolved i More...
The descriptions of Neanderthal society are v. interesting, with a good basis in what we know of them - it's plausible they would have evolved i More...
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Jan 06, 2012
Mei-Lu
rated it:
Hominids is a fascinating work of speculative fiction and I can readily understand why it won the Hugo. The novel combines some really cool, interesting science with a fun, page-turning plot. If John Grisham had started out as a scientist instead of a lawyer, his books might be something like this one. In the book, two parallel universes, ours and a universe in which the Neanderthals (rather than homo sapiens) survived to become the dominant species, collide and a Neanderthal physicist is pul
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Jun 14, 2010
Christin
rated it:
What a pity a book with a reasonable array of new angles on ideas and social commentary had to be marred by clunky, clumsy, even offensive, writing, such as the author's emphasis and harping on what he unblushingly calls "periods" (no, not a full-stop, but yes indeed, that very embarassing menstruation thing); not to mention the graphic rape scene that he introduces one of the main characters with.
..and indeed the character undergoing this (seemingly unneccessary to the plo More...
..and indeed the character undergoing this (seemingly unneccessary to the plo More...
May 09, 2010
Joshua
rated it:
I definitely enjoyed this book, and had a lot of trouble putting it down. The plot marched along pretty quickly, and the two stories were both very interesting. The science felt plausible, and where it didn't I was willing to suspend disbelief, except maybe in the area of the theory of consciousness which just seemed totally ridiculous.
My main criticism is that, at least so far, most of the characters seem somewhat one-dimensional. They react plausibly, but it feels like they are More...
My main criticism is that, at least so far, most of the characters seem somewhat one-dimensional. They react plausibly, but it feels like they are More...
Nov 04, 2011
Althea
rated it:
I read this as part of my "reading all the Hugo winners" goal.
All I have to say is: This book was up against China Mieville's 'The Scar' - and THIS won? WHAT?
Sorry, but this is just not a very good book.
The premise is that, due to an accident that occurs during a quantum physics experiment, a Neanderthal scientist from a parallel universe where humanity is the race that went extinct, finds himself stranded in our world.
There's plenty to work with there, l More...
All I have to say is: This book was up against China Mieville's 'The Scar' - and THIS won? WHAT?
Sorry, but this is just not a very good book.
The premise is that, due to an accident that occurs during a quantum physics experiment, a Neanderthal scientist from a parallel universe where humanity is the race that went extinct, finds himself stranded in our world.
There's plenty to work with there, l More...
Jun 17, 2011
Robert J. Sawyer puts together intriguing and engaging SF novels. I’m going to concentrate on a major complaint in this commentary, but put it in perspective: I keep reading Sawyer’s novels, and I’m glad I do so. He’s a good storyteller, he doesn’t fall back on cliche (even though the concepts behind many of his novels could easily be co-opted for the breathless potboilers that crowd airport kiosks), and he draws rational human characters without ignoring their emotional side.
My compla More...
My compla More...
Mar 25, 2010
Rob
rated it:
...If you consider science fiction the literature of ideas, you can't get much better than this book. Hominids is so full of ideas and interesting theories than one reading is probably not enough to catch them all. I think it did go at the expense of the story itself though. As you can see I used one paragraph for the synopsis where I usually need two or even three. I felt I couldn't write more without giving the entire plot away. The story is a bit thin. I hope Sawyer manages to create a bit mo
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Jul 03, 2011
Jeph
rated it:
Anthropological science fiction is rare, but Robert J. Sawyer does it well. Hominids is the first book in a series called the Neanderthal Parallax, telling the story of Ponter Boddit, a Neanderthal living in a parallel world to our earth where Homo Sapiens died out instead. Sawyer paints an interesting parallel world where technology and humanity live in harmony with nature, and the comparisons and conflicts that arise when these two worlds meet. The book draws somewhat on quantum physics and is
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Sep 26, 2011
Brandy
rated it:
This was an interesting "parallel worlds" concept. Without giving too much away, it asks the standard question of science fiction: What if? This is the driving question of contemporary speculative fiction, which is really my main favorite sub-genre of sci-fi. In this case, the novel asks the question "What if, in a parallel version of earth, Homo sapiens sapiens hadn't become the dominant, successful hominid? What if, instead, Homo sapiens Neanderthalensis had survived and flouris
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Dec 28, 2009
Ben
rated it:
Few things are probably scarier than suddenly being utterly and totally alone. Robert J. Sawyer reminds us of that fact by transposing Ponter Boddit, a Neanderthal physicist, from the parallel universe in which he resides to our universe, where Neanderthals have been extinct for tens of thousands of years. Aside from having instant celebrity status—including the paparazzi that come with it—Ponter must face the fact that he might never return to his own universe. And back in his universe, this
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Feb 23, 2009
Melanie
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Anthropology, Biology and Phyics were my three favorite subjects in school, along with History, I guess. And this book completely straddles all of them. The writing style/character development may have lacked in certain areas, but overall, I found the story very entertaining. The idea of an advanced neandertal society based on other primate social structures was very enjoyably depicted to me. And I love learning about quantum theory, so really enjoyed the bits of physics sortof haphazardly throw
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Dec 07, 2011
Jason
rated it:
I'm way behind everyone else in our bookclub on reviewing this. I've read all of the bookclub member's reviews, and I don't think I can disagree with anything or add too much. The characters were shallow, the entire story was way too Canada-centric to make sense, and all of the dialogue seemed geared toward denigrating the entire human species. Apparently there is nothing in our cultures/societies that is preferable to the Neanderthals' way of life in the alternate universe. Maybe this lopsi
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Nov 29, 2010
Sazerac
rated it:
I have a couple of problems with this book. It contains a depiction of rape that seems exploitative to me. Clearly some effort went toward addressing issues surrounding sexual violence in a thoughtful manner; however, I wonder that perhaps the strong feelings that this topic would engender in some readers present a risk wisely avoided. In general this book does not tend to deal with issues deeply, but is pleasantly thought provoking nevertheless. The plot and characters are interesting, but
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Oct 04, 2010
Bruce
rated it:
This was a good "concept novel", where the contrived concept was "what if Homo Sapiens and Homo Neanderthalis were to separately develop in different timelines, and then meet."
Good idea, interesting anthropology and extrapolations based on fossil records.
It suffered badly by the fact that the author was more in love with his idea than his characters. In short, they are all two-dimensional. Rather like Arthur C Clark, good for the ideas, but not every More...
Good idea, interesting anthropology and extrapolations based on fossil records.
It suffered badly by the fact that the author was more in love with his idea than his characters. In short, they are all two-dimensional. Rather like Arthur C Clark, good for the ideas, but not every More...
May 09, 2010
mlady_rebecca
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 24, 2009
Evan
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Overall, I liked this book. It was able to hold my attention enough not to relieve me of some insomnia I was experiencing one night. What I liked best about this book is that I was completely expecting the government to come in and try to abduct the poor Neanderthal like they did with ET, Starman, and Bumblebee from Transformers.
"Of coarse!" I said when I realized that that wasn't going to happen. Because this book takes place in Canada! A land where scientists can have in More...
"Of coarse!" I said when I realized that that wasn't going to happen. Because this book takes place in Canada! A land where scientists can have in More...
Oct 08, 2009
Christopher
rated it:
Like everything I've read by Sawyer, I liked this book, even though I found much of the writing pretty cringe-worthy. The first two paragraphs should show pretty well what I don't mean:
The blackness was absolute.
Watching over it was Louise Benoît, twenty-eight, a statuesque postdoc from Montreal with a mane of thick brown hair stuffed, as required here, into a hair net. She kept her vigil in a cramped control room, buried two kilometers — “a mile an’ a quarder,” as she so More...
The blackness was absolute.
Watching over it was Louise Benoît, twenty-eight, a statuesque postdoc from Montreal with a mane of thick brown hair stuffed, as required here, into a hair net. She kept her vigil in a cramped control room, buried two kilometers — “a mile an’ a quarder,” as she so More...
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