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482nd out of 879 books
—
901 voters
Starplex
The acclaimed author of Far-Seer and End of An Era embarks on a fantastic journey. A series of mysterious, artificial wormholes have brought the far reaches of space immediately close. But is the Earth ready for who--or what--the wormholes may bring?
Paperback, 289 pages
Published
October 1st 1996
by Ace
(first published January 1st 1996)
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I would have loved to give this book five stars and don't know if the length or lack of a second book kept me from doing so.
For a far-out science fiction novel it was a joy to read. I could almost hear one of the sentient beings barking as I read what it was translating into speech and that's a wonderful immersion to put your readers in.
The socio-political climate and reactions of the humans to the threat of war was a little hard to stomach, but the author let me suspend disbelief enough to get...more
For a far-out science fiction novel it was a joy to read. I could almost hear one of the sentient beings barking as I read what it was translating into speech and that's a wonderful immersion to put your readers in.
The socio-political climate and reactions of the humans to the threat of war was a little hard to stomach, but the author let me suspend disbelief enough to get...more
"The same painting is pretty each time you look at it. The same dish is tasty each time you eat it. shouldn't the same joke be funny each time you hear it?"
A neat little novel, heavy on the SF as is Sawyer's wont. he's also a dab hand at the philosophy, though, and even squashed in the Canadian angle. This one was a little different from some of the others I've read, with much focus on the inter-species side of things, very much like a James White novel or series, it seemed at times. with a fasc...more
A neat little novel, heavy on the SF as is Sawyer's wont. he's also a dab hand at the philosophy, though, and even squashed in the Canadian angle. This one was a little different from some of the others I've read, with much focus on the inter-species side of things, very much like a James White novel or series, it seemed at times. with a fasc...more
Erinomaista viihdettä, suosittelen lämpimästi kaikille avaruusoopperan ystäville. Tästä löytyy kaikkea oleellista - on eksoottisia elämänmuotoja, isoja ja pieniä avaruusaluksia, avaruustaisteluita ja eeppisiä tapahtumia koko maailmankaikkeuden mittakaavassa. Sawyerin tyylin mukaisesti mukana on paljon nykytieteen löytöihin perustuvaa ideoiden edelleenkehittelyä, joka pysyy hallitusti oman maailmankaikkeutensa uskottavuuden rajoissa. Kirjoitustyyli on niin ikään tuttua kirjailijan muista teoksist...more
Sawyer usually excels at telling character-driven sci-fi stories that could easily take place in the contemporary world, so it's interesting to see him attempt to tell a story that's a little more space opera-y.
Overall, this was a fun read, with many of Sawyer's characteristic elements, but I thought that the pacing was a little off during the first half of the story, and that there were some parts that were a little too infodumpy. Aside from that, though, it's an engaging, fun little story abou...more
Overall, this was a fun read, with many of Sawyer's characteristic elements, but I thought that the pacing was a little off during the first half of the story, and that there were some parts that were a little too infodumpy. Aside from that, though, it's an engaging, fun little story abou...more
This was a good intorduction for me to Robert J. Sawyer. I definitely plan on seeking out more of his books.
This, the first one of his I have read, concerns life aborad "Starplex", a huge inster-stellar habitat crewed by four races---Human;Cetecean/dolphine;Walhudin and Ibs.
I found some of the science a bit hard to follow---cosmology; dark matter, etcetc, but the interactions of the four species working together was very well done. The novel showed clearly the advantages and problems of having f...more
This, the first one of his I have read, concerns life aborad "Starplex", a huge inster-stellar habitat crewed by four races---Human;Cetecean/dolphine;Walhudin and Ibs.
I found some of the science a bit hard to follow---cosmology; dark matter, etcetc, but the interactions of the four species working together was very well done. The novel showed clearly the advantages and problems of having f...more
It took me approximately 50 pages to go "Oh. Interesting." Another 50 to go, "OH. INTERESTING." And another 20 or so after that to really see how even MORE interesting it was going to be. After that, I stopped keeping count.
This is obviously one of Sawyer's earlier works, he's a bit clunky in the exposition, there's definitely a good deal of interesting in the beginning, but it's shrouded in uneven introduction and clunky science. It might have been that this particular science was not something...more
This is obviously one of Sawyer's earlier works, he's a bit clunky in the exposition, there's definitely a good deal of interesting in the beginning, but it's shrouded in uneven introduction and clunky science. It might have been that this particular science was not something...more
This was an interesting story with great characters. Not as good as his more recent books. I'm glad I picked up the audiobook version of this-I love the voices of the different characters. You can tell Robert J. Sawyer described the voices in the book but that's something I normally don't remember so the characters would have lost some of their identity if I just read this book. There were some ideas in this book that I hadn't seen in other books. Some things didn't make as much sense as I'd lik...more
A fascinating and thought provoking read on space/time travel, non-human intelligent life forms, the origins of the universe, the origins of life, eternity, immortality, and the overarching role of dark matter. Sawyer presents a page-turner of a cosmology that makes very good sense to my rational, non-religious side and has me gazing at the night sky and stars with renewed awe and hope.
A few books have one big, though provoking idea. A few have two. Starplex has at least three, that I recall (it has been a while since I finished reading it).
The story is sufficient to maintain an engaging read. But the concepts Sawyer addresses provide the oomph needed to drive the 5 star review.
The story is sufficient to maintain an engaging read. But the concepts Sawyer addresses provide the oomph needed to drive the 5 star review.
Aug 05, 2011
Larry Ratcliffe
added it
All the little character squabbles were like a thick orbital shield of galactic rubbish that pocked my tin hull, and switched me back to Pilsner. Robert J. Sawyer is so damn smart that he could probably find me and beat me up in my sleep so this review is done boys.
Really neat ideas and good characters. It read a bit like a really good Star Trek episode. Once again though, I wish he wouldn't have put on the last chapter. In the WWW series, I felt the end undermined the rest of the series. In this one, it just was a little too neat. Never gild the lilly baby! Never gild the lily!
Excellent scifi novel set in a future where space travel is speed up with wormholes allowing to visit distant stars.
The novel explore some interesting astronomical concepts, intriguing aliens and a lot of action.
The novel explore some interesting astronomical concepts, intriguing aliens and a lot of action.
A little too science-y, which is weird for me to say. I think the physics vocab got in the way of the story. But I still liked it. It brought up some really cool theories =)
some interesting plot elements but the writing was pretty mediocre - flat characters, unrealistic scenes, etc. I think Sawyer has a great imagination, just wish he'd partner with someone who can tighten up the writing.
Typical Sawyer fare maybe a titch heavy on the hard science side, but not hard to follow if you've read a decent amount of sci-fi. I found the ending floundered a little bit and I would have liked to follow Keith's storyline a little more. But a decent read non-the-less.
Very interesting ideas in this one.
Sep 27, 2012
Howard
added it
1, 9
Very different from Sawyer's newer books. Very enjoyable. I wonder if he feels Asimov was a big influence in his work. This book gave me that impression.
Dolphins are intelligent creatures capable of flying spacecrafts and they all talk like Yoda. The entire story takes place aboard a starship which has no weapons. It shouldn't work at all, but Sawyer's knack for telling character driven stories first, backed up by sound science second, allows him to pull it off. I was expecting this to be my least favorite of his novels, but I think it's moved to the top of the list.
Jun 02, 2010
Brian R. Mcdonald
marked it as books-with-go-references
Go refs: p. 110, 126
Want to read a far out space adventure that introduces several very cool and unusual concepts? Well, Robert J Sawyer presents this wacky story with unexpected twists and turns. You'll be kept unbalanced throughout the pages beginning with the introduction of weird aliens and their oddly interesting interactions to worm holes to time travel to . . . well, read it for yourself and enjoy!
Really interesting book. Based on real science too.
Discussed at SF Gospel:
"Starplex is a kitchen sink sort of novel. For the first hundred pages or so, every chapter introduces a new idea, any one of which would be enough to fill an entire novel. To Sawyer's enormous credit, he pulls it off."
Full review here:
http://sfgospel.typepad.com/sf_gospel...
"Starplex is a kitchen sink sort of novel. For the first hundred pages or so, every chapter introduces a new idea, any one of which would be enough to fill an entire novel. To Sawyer's enormous credit, he pulls it off."
Full review here:
http://sfgospel.typepad.com/sf_gospel...
Me costó mucho leer esta novela. Parte de una forma que no promete nada, y luego se obsesiona con los detalles. Bueno, es hard scifi, asi que era de esperarse. Sin embargo, de a poco va agarrando vuelo y se pone interesante. Es un librito que sin ser un clásico, cumple.
The acclaimed author of Far-Seer and End of An Era embarks on a fantastic journey. A series of mysterious, artificial wormholes have brought the far reaches of space immediately close. But is the Earth ready for who--or what--the wormholes may bring?
Sawyer continues to expand my mind with respect to real-world possibilities! His science is well founded, his endings make me say wow! He takes humanity where we can only hope to go, to achievements that would make our ancestors proud.
I think Sawyer may need three books per plot to really developed his characters. His more recent work is far superior to this.
Very intriguing and enjoyable SF book! Wins bonus points for creating new quarks.
Reread in February 2010.
Jun 13, 2007
Punk
marked it as find-and-read
five stars from amireal
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Robert J. Sawyer is one of Canada's best known and most successful science fiction writers. He is the only Canadian (and one of only 7 writers in the world) to have won all three of the top international awards for science fiction: the 1995 Nebula Award for The Terminal Experiment, the 2003 Hugo Award for Hominids, and the 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Mindscan.
Robert Sawyer grew up in...more
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Jun 13, 2007 12:43am