M.L.Brennan takes the vampire genre and "fleshes it out" a bit with fascinating cultural and physiological background. As an urban fantasy fan, I LOVE...moreM.L.Brennan takes the vampire genre and "fleshes it out" a bit with fascinating cultural and physiological background. As an urban fantasy fan, I LOVE this book. It reminds me of the Artemis Fowl series in its richness and imagination, written for an adult audience, and with a unique storyline that harmonizes with a young hero's coming of age.
This sets the stage for our hero Fort, who gets kicked around by his family of fully-developed vampires, is stuck in a dead-end degree of film theory, and is basically a nice guy whose life sucks. (no pun intended) This is a hero that is easy to identify with, and you'll cheer him as he battles both the external threats and his internal demons.
How good is it? I offered to let my wife sleep in while I took care of the kids in the morning, stuck them in front of cartoons, forgot to feed them, and blew through four chapters before I realized they had missed the bus. AND I DON'T REGRET IT. Five stars!(less)
Interesting read. One certainly can't accuse Ford of not thinking outside the box.
I have the general feeling that his predictions of increasing workpl...moreInteresting read. One certainly can't accuse Ford of not thinking outside the box.
I have the general feeling that his predictions of increasing workplace automation and increasing productivity underestimate the ability of the free market and advancing technology to create new jobs. That is to say, he may be underestimating the resiliency of creative destruction in the face of advancing technology. I'm no economist, and neither is the author, and I just get the sense that there is a little bit of the "blind leading the blind" going on here.
The solutions the author suggests are creative, but bordering on farce. He proposes a slew of new taxes aimed at raising $trillions annually so that the government can pay full salaries to unemployed people to read books, exercise, and be environmentally friendly, in what essentially amounts to a collectivist utopian planned economy. Basically a 21st century Gosplan, but this time it's gonna work.(less)
A lot of books take themselves seriously, but this one is blatantly about gorgeous supers dishing out justice in the asteroid belt, while delivering c...moreA lot of books take themselves seriously, but this one is blatantly about gorgeous supers dishing out justice in the asteroid belt, while delivering corny punchlines, while looking fantastic.
Bennett doesn't just get the science right in this, he comes up with ideas for settings and background that I just haven't seen laid out in such a believable and rigorous manner. These were not info dumps, but a well paced story that kept on hitting you with new awesomeness through nearly the whole book. Ever read a story that made Coriolis forces actually exciting? Ever wonder what combat would be like in a three-dimensional floating warehouse?
That's Bennett's strength. But the story has some rough parts too. The dialogue can be pithy and eye-rolling if you take this more seriously than a comic book in space. And even though the author is very very clear that this IS a comic book in space, I think he comes on too strong with some corny aspects of it in the beginning before earning the reader's trust and interest. Pretend you're flipping through Marvel's next script and you'll have a lot more fun.(less)
Flying to Saturn on chemical rockets...technically possible if you can find a crew willing to sit in a cramped cabin for 6 years or so, and Baxter doe...moreFlying to Saturn on chemical rockets...technically possible if you can find a crew willing to sit in a cramped cabin for 6 years or so, and Baxter does a good job of explaining just how it would get done. But even Baxter can't make it believable that we would actually go do it.
The single-election-cycle takeover of American society by a Taliban-esque religious right is lame. It's one-dimensional, lazy, ignorant and unbelievable. He gets important details of American government factually wrong, and though he may be British, Baxter should not be excused from basic research in what is a key plot element. It is as if he did his research out of British tabloids.
The BIG event (you'll know it when you get to it) is just stupid. Nobody with the technological capability to pull it off would be capable of such a gross miscalculation. It's like inventing a laser cannon and then not understanding which end you're looking into when you fire it into your face. It's Loony Tunes stuff, and it is THE BIG EVENT around which Baxter's book revolves.(less)
This book is a collection of ethics articles, targeted toward a multidisciplinary audience (not professional philosophers). All the articles are excel...moreThis book is a collection of ethics articles, targeted toward a multidisciplinary audience (not professional philosophers). All the articles are excellently written, mostly as a review of different ethical positions on various topics with very light (if any) advocacy. Each article has a substantial list of references in case you want to delve further into the topic. This is a great book to pick up as an outsider if you want a general review of ethical fields.
Here's a list of the topics:
(1) Practical Ethics (2) Ethics and Social Justice (3) Theology and Practical Ethics (4) Environmental Ethics (5) Ethics and Economic Policy (6) Legal Ethics (7) Ethics and Social Policy (8) Medical Ethics (9) Ethics and Human Reproduction (10) Ethics and Planetary Engineering (11) Ethics and Politics(less)
Ugh. I should have put this series down after book #2.
IMHO, Clarke's biggest flaw is his tendency to spend way too much time describing alien minutia...moreUgh. I should have put this series down after book #2.
IMHO, Clarke's biggest flaw is his tendency to spend way too much time describing alien minutia that are not interesting or important. Also, the main character has really worn out her welcome. I'm just tired of her. Not a good sign when you're hoping the hero gets pulled out an airlock so the story can just end faster.
I don't know why I finished it. Maybe I was hoping for some interesting overarching idea of the alien "Ramans", but it was silly stuff about them being all-powerful-do-gooders and not very believable or exciting. The only conflict is in humanity's general inability to move beyond trivial infighting...that's not plot conflict, that's just a depressing self-indictment of mankind.(less)
One frequent basis for SF is to imagine a disruptive technology and explore a story in that environment. In this story the disruptive technology is mi...moreOne frequent basis for SF is to imagine a disruptive technology and explore a story in that environment. In this story the disruptive technology is mind control, which is used on a frequent and everyday basis. Need a lawyer quick? Grab someone and mind-program them with a legal-code personality. Need a doctor? Need a bodyguard? Etc. The technology is based on "wetware", some kind of viral or genetic something or other. That's left pretty fuzzy. Regardless, the author does a great job of exploring just how fundamentally this would change society. In this respect, the book reminded me a lot of Neuromancer, which dropped you in the middle of a completely strange and fleshed out world.
The author also does a great job of getting the science right on all the background stuff. All the little details about space flight, asteroid culture, living and working in zero-g. This is especially important since he's asking you right up front to swallow a really big one with the whole mind control thing. Making science stumbles in the rest of the story would damage suspension of disbelief, which is already pushed about as far as it can go with the main topic.
Unfortunately the story wanders a bit. It sags in the middle, a few times I found myself wondering why the main character was doing things, where she was going, who all these other people were, why this subplot was important, etc. Authors with complex plots and very strange story worlds should really keep things tightened up and clear for the poor reader. Frequent reminders are helpful.(less)
Great honk, this is the longest friggin' book ever.
LIST OF SHORT STORIES & RATINGS:
Paul McAuley -- Gene Wars (***) Greg Egan -- Wang's Carpets (***...moreGreat honk, this is the longest friggin' book ever.
LIST OF SHORT STORIES & RATINGS:
Paul McAuley -- Gene Wars (***) Greg Egan -- Wang's Carpets (***) Poul Anderson -- Genesis (*) Kim S. Robinson -- Arthur Sternbach Brings the Curveball to Mars (**) Stephen Baxter -- On the Orion Line (**) Nancy Kress -- Beggars in Spain (***) Gregory Benford -- Matter's End (**) Arthur C. Clarke -- Hammer of God (did not read, already read the novel) James P. Kelley -- Think Like A Dinosaur (****) Ben Bova -- Mount Olympus (did not read) Robert Reed -- Marrow (did not read, will read the novel instead) Joan Slonczewski -- Microbe (*) Charles Sheffield -- The Lady Vanishes (***) Bruce Sterling -- Bicycle Repairman (**) David Brin -- An Ever-Reddening Glow (***) Kim S. Robinson -- Sexual Dimorphism (*) G. David Nordley -- Into the Miranda Rift (***) Robert J. Sawyer -- The Shoulders of Giants (***) Geoffrey A. Landis -- A Walk in the Sun (**) Joe Haldeman -- For White Hill (***) Brian Stableford -- A Career in Sexual Chemistry (*) Paul McAuley -- Reef (**) Hal Clement -- Exchange Rate (did not read) Greg Egan -- Reasons to Be Cheerful (did not read) Michael Swanwick -- Griffin's Egg (**) Alastair Reynolds -- Great Wall of Mars (***) Peter Watts -- A Niche (****) Stephen Baxter -- Gossamer (**) James P. Hogan -- Madam Butterfly (*) Ted Chiang -- Understand (***) Karl Schroeder -- Halo (*) David Langford -- Different Kinds of Darkness (**) Vernor Vinge -- Fast Times at Fairmont High (**) David Brin -- Reality Check (**) Paul Levinson -- The Mendelian Lamp Case (**) Sarah Zettel -- Kinds of Strangers (**) Allan Steele -- The Good Rat (**) Michael Flynn -- Built Upon the Sands of Time (*) Bruce Sterling -- Taklamakan (***) Frederick Pohl -- Hatching the Phoenix (**) Gregory Benford -- Immersion (****)(less)
Ok, so Daniel finds himself in possession of a time-travel belt through circumstances that will make sense as the story progresses. He does the usual...moreOk, so Daniel finds himself in possession of a time-travel belt through circumstances that will make sense as the story progresses. He does the usual time-travel gimmicks to make himself rich, fiddle with historical details, etc. And, like any good time-travel book, the ending explains the beginning.
So why the five-star rating? Gerrold paints a story of a character losing control. Not just losing control over the events around him, but losing his place in the world, becoming fallen and lost. The story explores Daniel's self-destructive narcissism in a way that is logical, captivating, repellent, and hopeless. Can Danny salvage happiness and find a way to love someone other than himself?
---The Good--- These are interesting, though not entirely new, ideas for the various colonies between Mercury and Saturn...this should be fun for anyon...more---The Good--- These are interesting, though not entirely new, ideas for the various colonies between Mercury and Saturn...this should be fun for anyone who likes terraforming or colonization themes. There are some powerful viewpoints of spacers returning to the Home Planet, and it's nice to see the emphasis on the beauty of Earth even in a setting where Manhattan is the new Venice. Robinson's prose and description are a real talent.
---The Bad--- The downside of such a vast setting is that the story feels scattered and difficult to hold together. And, in order for the characters to frequently zip around the solar system as required by the plot, no small number of rules of spaceflight and logic get left in the waste bin.
The pace is very slow, and at times it sags completely as he dives off on long subplots. He further interrupts the story with off-topic chapters called "extracts" and "lists". While interesting concepts on their own, at best they halt the story with background info dumps on some technology or space project. At worst they look like drunken scribbles from someone's bucket list. The two main characters are a frogman who makes me want to nap and a borderline mental case who ought to get tossed out an airlock...they don't exactly make this smooth reading, but after the first 400 pages or so you get used to that.
There is also some lazy and contradictory science going on here, which damages the suspension of disbelief. I'm not quibbling with the speculation on the speciation of homo sapiens, or on the terraforming and colonization ideas. That's all author's license to play around with (including the extremely broken ideas for terraforming Venus and interplanetary spaceflight). What I'm talking about are scenarios which are impossible even when accepting all the rules of technology that he lays out.
Here's an example. Humanity is cooling Venus by placing a humongous solar shade in front of the planet. Great! But Earth is a sweltering hot-house due to global warming, with wildlife extinctions and loss of habitats and rising sea levels inundating coastal cities. Bummer! Hey KSR, if humanity had the technology to put a giant solar shade in front of Venus and drop the planetary temperature by about 550 degrees, how come they didn't simply put a smaller or mostly transparent one in front of Earth to drop the temperature only 10 degrees? The answer is that story plot requires it to be such, but the result (and this is just one example) is that you recognize the author's hand shaping the plot in defiance of logic and it pops you out of the story world.
---The Ugly--- There is an undue amount of focus on gender-bending anatomy...Robinson isn't satisfied to drop hints, and frequently describes a whole new world of organ combinations as humanity finally embraces its destiny as a socialist utopia filled with polyamorous hemaphroditic hippies. Look, there's "being edgy", and then there's "being disgusting". A scene where one character is cleaning up another character's explosive diarrhea, all the while cataloguing the discovery of dual-gender bits...this is not a tender moment. This is disgusting.
Good Stuff: It's near-future SF. I'm a sucker for near-future SF. The conflict between characters takes center stage, personal motives are clear. The...moreGood Stuff: It's near-future SF. I'm a sucker for near-future SF. The conflict between characters takes center stage, personal motives are clear. The asteroid belt is an enormous wealth of resources, but this setting doesn't get enough attention in space SF. Good on Bova for that. The last quarter of the book is much better than the rest, enough to bring it up to a 2-star performance overall. Barely.
Bad Stuff: For the first three quarters of the story, the main characters are shallow, stupid and predictable, with lots of melodrama. The writer's craft is mediocre. Character viewpoint is sloppy, some scenes just leave you wondering why they are part of the story, and Bova is a case-study for why you should "show" rather than "tell" in writing. Too many times there are severe logical problems. For example, hero's spaceship is answering a distress call to rescue his buddy whose ship was crippled by a pirate. During the two days journey he doesn't bother to ask what happened. Then when he rescues buddy, they realize the pirate is probably still lurking nearby and they'd better alert authorities...but hey, let's have lunch first! With dessert! And nice hot showers! Oh no, we wasted too much time and now the pirate blasted our antennas off!
There are also some very basic logical problems with the premise, such as why Earth would be importing materials from the Belt rather than from near-Earth asteroids. This storyline would make sense in a more developed interplanetary society with a large space-manufacturing industry. There are problems with internal consistency, such as why they were building spaceships with nanobots in book #1 but apparently forgot how to use nanobots by book #2.(less)
Really nice idea of an emergent AI "waking up" in the WWW, and there's some interesting ideas about the nature of consciousness. But the book was a bi...moreReally nice idea of an emergent AI "waking up" in the WWW, and there's some interesting ideas about the nature of consciousness. But the book was a bit weak in the middle and end.
There was a side plot with a chimp developing an intelligence breakthrough that was a parallel to the main AI plot, but the side plot never connected to the main one. It was just tacked on. The side plot showed up irregularly and was never really resolved, just left hanging out there as an incomplete statement on mankind.
I think the biggest struggle for the author (and the reader) was the lack of an antagonist. Every single character was rooting for the heroine. The topic is the WWW becoming self-aware, the most significant event in the last 2000 years, and the closest thing to an antagonist was some horny teen who grabs the heroine's butt at a dance. Come on. The last 100+ pages have too little rising tension and climax, and too much of the AI reading wikipedia entries and learning the nuance of capital vs lowercase letters. This is probably better handled in the sequel when the US govt decides the AI is a national security threat, but the lack of an antagonist here dragged this story down a notch.(less)
The major complaint I have with Return To The Moon is that the author's line of reasoning cannot be taken seriously as policy proposals between now an...moreThe major complaint I have with Return To The Moon is that the author's line of reasoning cannot be taken seriously as policy proposals between now and 2050, which is how he presents it. But if you pretend that he's talking about the 22nd century instead of the 21st, and if you ignore the alarmist chicken-little sham science in the first few chapters about how we are only decades away from running out of fossil fuels, the later chapters are at least plausible. It's otherwise well organized and easy to read, with a topic I find very interesting. Several of the chapters are quite good on Lunar geology and 3-He mining considerations, though others are unavoidably a tad dry (managerial lessons of the Apollo missions for example).
What I mean by sham science: First, he exaggerates current population growth and ignores the fact that the rate of growth is slowing, settling on an estimate of population in 2050 of 12 billion that is well above the highest UN projections. Second, he picks a growth in worldwide per capita energy consumption that is over 2.5x faster than historical trends which have held steady for over 200 years. Upon what does he base this extraordinary growth? The laudable goal of ending world poverty, but since when does anyone think that ending poverty is the world's actual mid-century goal? Aah, if only wishes were ponies. Third, he combines these crazy overestimates of growth with a serious underestimate of actual fossil fuel reserves to give the desired alarmist "result": that fossil fuels will be exhausted by mid-century. Then he proceeds to the contrived conclusion: that as a solution we'll be mining 3He from the Lunar landscape as the answer to Earth's energy crisis. Nevermind that mid-century research goals of ITER and other fusion facilities are aiming for economically feasibility of the much easier D-T reaction, rather than providing a serious source of worldwide energy. So the author just hand-waves over how we jump from demonstration of D-T fusion to fully developed D-3He fusion and mining of Lunar regolith to solve the world's problems in the next couple of decades. That's awfully optimistic for a field of science that has spent the last 50 years being "at least another 20 years away".(less)
This book offers a thorough rebuttal to the "population bomb" hype of the last few decades, showing that world population is slowing its growth and, i...moreThis book offers a thorough rebuttal to the "population bomb" hype of the last few decades, showing that world population is slowing its growth and, if current trends continue, will enter rapid decline and graying in the latter half of this century. This is the central point, combined with the fact that no historical precedent exists for increasing wealth during a population implosion. Historical reasons for America's declining fertility are well researched and presented clearly. The author includes over 40 pages of citations to various studies and literature for further reading. Yet despite this he keeps the pace moving along on what would ordinarily be a pretty dreary topic.
This isn't an advocacy book for having children. It would be more accurate to say that he is laying out the demographic reality of America's future and letting the facts speak for themselves. This also isn't an advocacy book for abolishing entitlement and safety net programs, though he lays out how those programs contribute to falling fertility rates. To preempt accusations of racism and sexism in a discussion about demographics, readers would serve themselves well to read some house-keeping items from pages 9 and 10:
"Our concern isn't that Hispanic Americans are having too many babies. No, what should worry us is that while recent Hispanic immigrants have large families, their own children are likely to quickly decline toward the national average. The problem with the elevated fertility level of Hispanic Americans is that it isn't likely to last."
"I'd also like to offer a preemptive defense against readers who may take this book to be a criticism of the modern American woman. Nothing could be further from my intent. The constellation of factors that drive the baby-making decisions of couples is so vast that it's often impossible to pinpoint exactly why some women have four children and other women have none. But that should not prevent us from noticing important trends. For example, as we just noted, one of the great predictors of fertility is a woman's level of education. The more educated a woman is, on average, the fewer children she will have. To observe this is not to argue that women should be barefoot, pregnant, and waiting at home for their husbands every night with a cocktail and a smile."(less)
High-school level of introduction to information about Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, & Kuiper Belt. Useful info, but there was very little which could n...moreHigh-school level of introduction to information about Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, & Kuiper Belt. Useful info, but there was very little which could not also be gleaned from Wikipedia. About as interesting too. Nice collection of color pictures and interesting historical anecdotes. Unfortunately, there were an intolerable number of mislabeled graphics and equations with typos in them. Not what I'd expect from a second edition. Get a new editor! (less)
November 2011. I only read a few of the short stories in this collection, which were not very compelling. The best was "A Walk in the Sun" about the a...moreNovember 2011. I only read a few of the short stories in this collection, which were not very compelling. The best was "A Walk in the Sun" about the astronaut who crashes on the moon and has to keep walking to stay in the sunlight to survive, which might be worth 3 stars on its own. "Impact Parameter" was an interesting idea but predictable throughout with a cute twist at the end. "Into the Blue Abyss" was neither compelling nor believable. "Elemental" was annoying. The other short stories were not interesting enough to get me past the summary.(less)
It was published in 1974, so one would expect some of the material to be dated. That's fine of course. However, there is a lack of critical thinking g...moreIt was published in 1974, so one would expect some of the material to be dated. That's fine of course. However, there is a lack of critical thinking going on in this book as well, and that doesn't seem excusable regardless of the starting information.
Example: Terraforming Mars would be really expensive because the atmosphere is thin. So hey, let's go terraform Venus instead. Granted, the atmosphere is 100x thicker than Earth's and almost pure CO2 and the surface is a baked hellscape, but that can all be fixed by scattering some algae into the air to suck up all the CO2 and transform it into a paradise world. *smacks head* Here's what I mean by lack of critical thinking...photosynthesis requires WATER.
The rest of the book touches on the theory of relativity and deconstructing Jupiter to build a Dyson Ring around Sol, and wraps it up with a theological discussion about the laws of nature. Thin gruel.(less)
Silent War is a repeat of Rock Rats (book #2 in trilogy). All the same characters fighting over all the same things. The battles and settings have a f...moreSilent War is a repeat of Rock Rats (book #2 in trilogy). All the same characters fighting over all the same things. The battles and settings have a fresh coat of paint, but Bova has already told this story before. The only difference is the relative LACK of character development compared to the previous book. The action picks up in the second half of this book as it did in Rock Rats, but it's not enough to drag this book up to two stars.
On top of that there are the usual issues that keep Bova books stuck in the 1 or 2-star category: -- Viewpoint is sloppy -- Too many unimportant characters, each with a corny half-page biography -- Too much telling, not enough showing -- Too many morons -- Main characters are shallow, difficult to sympathize with them -- Frequent bad science & contradictions -- Frequent gaping holes of logic -- Too much melodrama(less)
Turco has plenty of solid advice on dialogue here, more than you can pick up from a generalized "how to write fiction" book. The written format is ent...moreTurco has plenty of solid advice on dialogue here, more than you can pick up from a generalized "how to write fiction" book. The written format is entirely in Socratic dialogue, which is a bit unusual...some thoughts on that:
PROS: The format makes it more entertaining and faster reading. There are plenty of examples of applying his lessons to dialogue, since the book is literally 100% dialogue.
CONS: About half the book is conversational filler, so in that sense it's not faster reading at all. The back-and-forth dialogue means you have to pay close attention to catch all of the author's advice, since he's working it into a conversation. In terms of usefulness as a reference on the bookshelf, the Socratic technique seems to obscure the author's lessons from quick skimming.(less)
Vengeance, thy name is "Anvil of Stars". This book is a must if you've read "Forge of God". Bear keeps the conflict among characters escalating as sur...moreVengeance, thy name is "Anvil of Stars". This book is a must if you've read "Forge of God". Bear keeps the conflict among characters escalating as survivors of Earth set out on a Ship of the Law to bring justice to those responsible for Earth's destruction. But where do humans fall in the morality of the galaxy? The slower-than-light galaxy has so much to offer in unique races, technological disparity, millenia-long-wars, and bittersweet loss and triumph. Bear is a master of it all.(less)
My personal favorite of the "Galactic Center" series. Benford has roughly sketched out the glorious future of humanity in the galaxy for tens of thous...moreMy personal favorite of the "Galactic Center" series. Benford has roughly sketched out the glorious future of humanity in the galaxy for tens of thousands of years, but most of the shooting is now over for humanity. "Great Sky River" drills down to the refugees of a shattered city in a long-defeated empire of man and gives us a glimmer of hope.
It's a lot of story to absorb and it leaves you wishing for a trilogy to fill the gaps between books #2 and #3.(less)
It's not that Simak ritually slaughters science as we knew it in the 1950's when he wrote the book. What kills this book is the hu...moreStoooooooooo-pid!!!!
It's not that Simak ritually slaughters science as we knew it in the 1950's when he wrote the book. What kills this book is the huge flaws in how characters (specifically) and humanity (generally) ACT. Stimulus, response, motivation are all utterly disregarded in order to tell the events as the author wants them. You can't identify with or invest in characters so shallow and unbelievable.(less)
A "light" overview of the engineering and astrophysical challenges of interstellar flight. Good information about our near stellar neighbors and other...moreA "light" overview of the engineering and astrophysical challenges of interstellar flight. Good information about our near stellar neighbors and other data tables available. The analysis of interstellar propulsion systems is the dominant topic, as it should be considering the difficulties, and the authors do an honest job of assessing a wide range of non-magical propulsion techniques.(less)
This is a classic Forward style book. Take a unique idea for a setting and explore what kind of a civilization could be built there. This is his basic...moreThis is a classic Forward style book. Take a unique idea for a setting and explore what kind of a civilization could be built there. This is his basic formula for similar books like Saturn Rukh (intelligent life in Saturn) and Dragon's Egg (intelligent life on a neutron star). In all of these books the science is thoughtfully explored (to a fault at times) and is clearly Forward's priority, to the extreme detriment of characters and story.
If you haven't read Dragon's Egg, try that on for size first for an example of Forward writing at his best. Camelot 30K is only for the more experienced and determined reader. Don't read this book near sharp objects or heavy machinery.(less)
I have a fondness for books that dabble in deep-time. Reynolds takes a ship of reluctant heroes beyond humanity's reaches. He paints all-powerful alie...moreI have a fondness for books that dabble in deep-time. Reynolds takes a ship of reluctant heroes beyond humanity's reaches. He paints all-powerful alien races more enjoyably than does Clarke, he stays true to slower-than-light physics (and all the unappreciated themes therein), and he sketches snapshots of humanity at its peak and its valley of death. All while keeping it personal with the characters.(less)
Is this even science fiction? The aliens aren't necessary...swap them out for some ordinary motivating force and the story would be largely unaffected...moreIs this even science fiction? The aliens aren't necessary...swap them out for some ordinary motivating force and the story would be largely unaffected. And when Clarke focuses on the "sci-fi" part of his story, he bores me with unimportant minutia about the design of the alien ship.
I can't believe I read the whole thing. Run away!(less)
As far as I'm aware, this is the only book detailing a large-scale interstellar war which is restricted to slower-than-light travel and communication....moreAs far as I'm aware, this is the only book detailing a large-scale interstellar war which is restricted to slower-than-light travel and communication. And what a refreshing difference it makes! Bound by relativity, the space marines can return to Earth but they can never go "home". Thoughtfully explores what it means to be alien. Absolutely excellent.(less)
Awful. What starts out as an interesting plot rapidly descends into a death spiral of pointlessness and absurdity. I'm very fond of Haldeman's writing...moreAwful. What starts out as an interesting plot rapidly descends into a death spiral of pointlessness and absurdity. I'm very fond of Haldeman's writing, but once you step back from the prose and look at the overall story he's telling you'll recoil in horror as he urinates all over his classic Forever War.
Excellent resource, well researched, very detailed. Unfortunately, it reads like a 616 page project management flow chart. I only made it about 100 pa...moreExcellent resource, well researched, very detailed. Unfortunately, it reads like a 616 page project management flow chart. I only made it about 100 pages in before I started only reading the section titles and summaries.
Pick this up if you're interested in the non-technical aspects of management/politics/government/case studies for space projects between 1950 and 2000, as well as possible future projects in the 2000 - 2050 time frame.
If you're looking for SF ideas, or far future stuff, technical details, or pleasure reading, that's NOT what this tome is about. It's more like a huge HR training manual.(less)
I might have given this four stars, but for the fact that I don't like stories involving a team of wildly contrasting characters who find themselves o...moreI might have given this four stars, but for the fact that I don't like stories involving a team of wildly contrasting characters who find themselves on a heroic quest together and by the end of the book they are linking arms and singing songs (yes, literally). Also too much Canterbury Tales for me.
That said, Simmons does a very good job with a style of story that I dislike. Three stars.(less)
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