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14th out of 46 books
—
17 voters
The Boat of a Million Years
Others have written SF on the theme of immortality, but in The Boat of a Million Years, Poul Anderson made it his own. Early in human history, certain individuals were born who live on, unaging, undying, through the centuries and millenia. We follow them through over 2000 years, up to our time and beyond-to the promise of utopia, and to the challenge of the stars.
A milesto...more
A milesto...more
Paperback, 480 pages
Published
May 1st 2004
by Orb Books
(first published 1989)
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I recently re-read this book. It had been so long since I had read it, and I was pretty young then, so the main thing I remembered about it was that I really liked it. It was practically like reading it for the first time! Basic synopsis: There are some people being born here and there that are essentially immortal. What happens?
"The Boat of a Million Years" was the first book by Poul Anderson I ever read, and to be honest, the only one I liked very much. Though I wouldn't recommend his other bo...more
"The Boat of a Million Years" was the first book by Poul Anderson I ever read, and to be honest, the only one I liked very much. Though I wouldn't recommend his other bo...more
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2 likes · like · see review
Long time ago I turned these pages.
There's been very little written by Poul Anderson that i did not like. I'm going on memory here, but this story was more about the people involved rather than classic, hard Science Fiction. As an omnibookworm, I don't particularly mind if an author draws on non-genre-specific influences to make a tale work better. Anderson was always all over the map: his books spanned SF, fantasy, history, and non-fiction. I can't recall ever been disappointed by him.
"The Boat...more
There's been very little written by Poul Anderson that i did not like. I'm going on memory here, but this story was more about the people involved rather than classic, hard Science Fiction. As an omnibookworm, I don't particularly mind if an author draws on non-genre-specific influences to make a tale work better. Anderson was always all over the map: his books spanned SF, fantasy, history, and non-fiction. I can't recall ever been disappointed by him.
"The Boat...more
Ambitious idea but it tends to drag.
Read by Tom Weiner.
Duration: 20 hours.
Published by Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Multiple award winner and science fiction legend Poul Anderson’s The Boat of a Million Years did something that science fiction all-too-rarely does when it was published in 1989 – it got the attention of the mainstream literature critics. The New York Times named it a “New York Times Notable Book.” Besides mainstream recognition, it was also nominated for multiple science fiction awards...more
Read by Tom Weiner.
Duration: 20 hours.
Published by Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Multiple award winner and science fiction legend Poul Anderson’s The Boat of a Million Years did something that science fiction all-too-rarely does when it was published in 1989 – it got the attention of the mainstream literature critics. The New York Times named it a “New York Times Notable Book.” Besides mainstream recognition, it was also nominated for multiple science fiction awards...more
It's been a number of years since I read this so this isn't entirely a fair review. But I've long thought of this as the only book I've read by Poul Anderson that I didn't like.
For one thing, this is basically two completely different stories rammed together with the thinnest of justifications. The first half of the book is about a group of people who are immortal, and who over the centuries gradually find each other and go through various adventurers in various times and places. Then in the sec...more
For one thing, this is basically two completely different stories rammed together with the thinnest of justifications. The first half of the book is about a group of people who are immortal, and who over the centuries gradually find each other and go through various adventurers in various times and places. Then in the sec...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
It was ok. Not so much from a hard SF standpoint. Most of the book was about a few immortals who "just don't die(easily)". They don't get sick, age(past ~25), and are "vigorous"(survive most wounds). It starts with a Phonecian guy sometime before the Roman Era. There is a Taoist "philosopher", who isn't anything special-other than a really old Chinese peasant. There's a Viking. There's a Japanese courtesan. A prostitute in Constantinople. A Native American. A Roman bureaucrat. An American slave....more
Poul Anderson wrote this story so well that I felt that the individual characters were real. They seemed to be true individuals who's thoughts were recorded in the book. The poetic style of Anderson struck a chord with me, and also reminded me strongly of Virginia Woolf's "Orlando." The promise of alien (in the truest sense of the word) peoples and cultures was made quite alluring in this book. The section toward the very end where the wonders of space are talked about and not by any character s...more
Anderson does a great job carrying us through the full spread of human history. Each chapter is like a short story of its own, with the same characters playing different people in different cultures. By the time we get to the final chapter (really, the only science fiction chapter in this book), we are used to and comfortable with the main characters, even if we don't agree with all of their actions.
The last chapter was worth the whole read. Parts were pretty depressing
(what would humanity do i...more
The last chapter was worth the whole read. Parts were pretty depressing
(what would humanity do i...more
This is the book I was reading when Katrina hit. I took it with me when I evacuated but could never bring myself to finish it. In our book club we call this one "The Book of a Million Years."
Anderson sketches, and maintains, a plausible plot line encompassing the entirety of human history--and not as James Mitchener would. If I told you more, I'd spoil it.
Read, enjoy.
Read, enjoy.
There are a few people who have born throughout the centuries with an amazing gift, the gift of immortality. Hanno, the main character of the book was born in ancient times and is the oldest of the group followed here. The story is told through flash forwards through time, jumping from century to century and introducing us to each character along the way. Each immortal has for a time believed themselves to be alone, however with much searching they eventually find each other, and for a time a fa...more
This is quite possibly one of the most inventive and insightfull books I have ever read . It's narrative covers the live's of a group of Imortals for over two thousand years. epic, compelling ,grand and often times moving and though provoking.
This book sweeps you along on an epic odyssey of discovery and history from the sailing ships of Phoenicia and Greece to the Stars and beyond.
I love it , I have read it so many times, and will no doubt read it many more times to come.
This book sweeps you along on an epic odyssey of discovery and history from the sailing ships of Phoenicia and Greece to the Stars and beyond.
I love it , I have read it so many times, and will no doubt read it many more times to come.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Excellent, epic novel. What would happen to human society if we were forced to flee the destruction of our planet? This novel details the years of social, spiritual, and even physical evolution that would accompany a society being forced to survive on a travelling spacecraft for thousands upon thousands of years. Very interesting novel. I found myself eager to read each chapter, wondering what the next millennium would bring.
Big, interesting novel about a handful of people who don't age - they can be killed, but otherwise will stick around indefinitely. The first chapters are all about separate individuals, some of whom are really fantastic characters, while others are pretty annoying. Later chapters have the main characters meeting each other and doing things together. Each chapter comes chronologically after the previous ones, so the book spans a long time period - ~300 BCE to far in the future.
Strangely, the his...more
Strangely, the his...more
Among us live a very few people who never age and never die. Slipping unnoticed through the ages, each one has found a way to survive unnoticed. This is the story of several such people; it follows their story from the distant past to the distant future, when they board a spaceship to explore other star systems.
Not a lot of action, but some interesting characters and fascinating ideas.
Not a lot of action, but some interesting characters and fascinating ideas.
Most of this book is a delightful romp through history of the sort that Poul Anderson does really well (which is, in turn, just one of a number of things, not very connected besides possibly their inclusion in SF, that Anderson does very well). The end is rather different (and, in my opinion, worse), to the extent that it would probably be better off as a separate novel.
7 IMORTAIS QUE SE ENCONTRANDO ESPORADICAMENTE AO LONGO DOS SÉCULOS E COMO VÃO SOBREVIVENDO A CADA ERA, TORNANDO-SE CADA VEZ MAIS DIFÍCIL TORNAREM-SE INVISÍVEIS NA ERA MODERNA. AS RELAÇÕES ENTRE TODOS QUANDO DECIDEM ABANDONAR A TERRA E IREM SOZINHOS EM BUSCA DE OUTRO PLANETA TEM ALGUM INTERESSE.
O LIVRO É DEMASIADO LONGO, COM UMA ESCRITA ESAGERADAMENTE COMPLEXA E SÓ ME MANTEVE A LER PELO INTERESSE NUMA DAS PERSONAGENS "HANNO"
O LIVRO É DEMASIADO LONGO, COM UMA ESCRITA ESAGERADAMENTE COMPLEXA E SÓ ME MANTEVE A LER PELO INTERESSE NUMA DAS PERSONAGENS "HANNO"
This wasn't nearly as good as my memories from when I was a kid. Conceptually it was still cool, but the actual reading of it wasn't very enjoyable.
It probably deserves 3 instead of 2 stars, but the ebook version I read had countless errors in it, which I shouldn't hold against the book, but ah well.
It probably deserves 3 instead of 2 stars, but the ebook version I read had countless errors in it, which I shouldn't hold against the book, but ah well.
This is a story about a few natural immortals, starting in the Mediterranean when the Phoenicians were cruising those waters, and ending among the star in the far future. The first few chapters might be a bit difficult to follow, it reads more like an historic novella than an SciFi and those immortals keep changing name, which does not make it easier to read. However, I've read in other reviews that the final chapters really make the difference, and its true. The final ones will open the mind of...more
I listened to this as an audiobook and couldn't bear to finish it. The story just seemed like garbage. This is simply science fiction drivel. If you were trapped in a prison cell this might be pretty cool but if you have any options at all there is no reason to choose this.
This work of scifi is boring I could not finish the book because it did not even come close to grasping my interest. From page 1 it is not interesting, the only interest was the title. Reading this piece of work is a challenge for me but I will try to read it again.
Very well written story with three or four interwoven storylines that only come together in the last third of the book. It has many of the same issues that plague many Poul Anderson books, notably his heavy handed application of libertarian themes and concepts.
A fantastical and grandiose ideas that is marred by Anderson's political interjections and an unwieldy plot. The characters were all distinct and complicated, but the limp ending makes the journey a wild goose chase for all but the biggest fans.
I was surprised the book wasn't rated higher by Goodreads readers. I really enjoyed the book. I thought it was an entertaining romp through history, with each chapter early in the book chronicling a historical period and almost a short story in itself.
I found each character's struggle to deal with being immortal and how the character dealt with it to be quite thought provoking. I don't necessarily agree with how the author felt that humanity and society would evolve once the secrets of preventin...more
I found each character's struggle to deal with being immortal and how the character dealt with it to be quite thought provoking. I don't necessarily agree with how the author felt that humanity and society would evolve once the secrets of preventin...more
"Succeeds admirably!" � New York Times
Listen to The Boat of a Million Years on your iPhone, desktop, or smartphone.
Listen to The Boat of a Million Years on your iPhone, desktop, or smartphone.
I really really love this book. I've read it a zillion times or so. The themes it explores, such as the logistics of immortality, are realistically and beautifully dealt with. One of the best books I've read in years.
A solid tale of immortality, it explores the lives of a disparate set of individuals who cannot die from natural causes over the ages. Although the story is quite compelling, like most books on immortals, it ends fairly weakly. Perhaps there is a human failure of imagination when it comes to contemplating endless lives. Anderson is a sci-fi writer, so he takes his stab at it, and still comes up short.
Ughhh, so, so slow. So incredibly slow. So. Damn. Boring.
I gave this a big try, I've been reading it for a month and I'm only halfway through and if I skim forward everything seems just as boring. I don't really care about these characters, half of the book is gone and there's still new immortals showing up despite there being only like 8 of them, just, every time I say 'I'm gonna get some reading time' and I look at this book on my table I think to myself 'I could be reading something else, I n...more
I gave this a big try, I've been reading it for a month and I'm only halfway through and if I skim forward everything seems just as boring. I don't really care about these characters, half of the book is gone and there's still new immortals showing up despite there being only like 8 of them, just, every time I say 'I'm gonna get some reading time' and I look at this book on my table I think to myself 'I could be reading something else, I n...more
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Pseudonym A. A. Craig, Michael Karageorge, Winston P. Sanders, P. A. Kingsley.
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous a...more
More about Poul Anderson...
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous a...more
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