anveshjain's review against another edition
5.0
Now this book is completely based on the movie, but even after watching the movie for 6-7 times, I didn't get bored, primarily the reason for engagement is you get to know the psyche of these characters, just like a novel, you always get to know what's going on in their minds when they are saying something or feeling something. Sometimes I feel like this was better in a way than watching the movie but then a movie comes with sound and visuals and actors performing what you are reading but this book still captures my attention fully. Now I wouldn't say anything about the writing style other than that it is pretty basic, it is a very easy read, which I liked. Even after watching the movie a day before I started reading this, I was still hooked to it. Now this maybe a plus point for the story which is from Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan. So you know a nice story with some internal thoughts and also some scientific explanations which helps you understand the story very well. Overall I enjoyed this book very much and I am completely biased that's why I am giving it 5 stars.
hazydazywaffles's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Easiest 5 stars. I loved every second.
darthjuno's review against another edition
3.0
This novelisation, in contrast with some others I've read, does not add a whole lot to the world of Interstellar as seen in the film. There's very few inner monologues and thoughts of characters that contribute to our better understanding of them, and just as few science explanations to tide over the curious. It's simply the screenplay turned to prose, which might work well for some; I have to admit I need my books to be a bit more meaty than that. I expected backstory, flashbacks, thoughts we never got to see in the film... if you did too, maybe just put the movie back on.
nicolashoyle's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
4.3
regnarenol's review
4.0
I blazed through this book in a way I no longer seem to be able to, so it can't be terrible, right? It's not.
I don't think I have read any movie novelizations in my life, so I didn't know what to expect when I picked this one up. All the questions I had concerned how badly it would (because it surely would) botch up a much loved film. Would they change plot points? Dialogues? How would the pacing of the book be?
The answer, at least when it comes to this novelization, is that everything's remarkably faithful to the original. I could only pick out a handful of dialogues that were different from the film, but the rest of the book is merely dedicated to poring over the thoughts of Cooper, Brand or whosever point of view was currently being explored, but mostly Cooper.
The flipside of this faithfulness is that if you're looking to read the book with a view to understand some unresolved plot points from the film, you'll be disappointed, because this book doesn't touch anything the film doesn't.
Alright, so how's the pacing? Pretty darn good! Not Matthew Reilly quick, but there's very little philosophizing and adequate description.
My perspective, of course, is of somebody who's watched the film first (thrice!) and loved it, so I have no qualms at all about the story. I'm not sure how it'd be like for somebody who's reading this book first. I enjoyed the nostalgic walkthrough that this book turned out to be!
A weakness with this book is however the quality of writing - there were a number of occasions when I felt the author didn't quite have the literary chops of some of the top writers today, but with the story and dialogues he's been supplied with, and the pacing he's set for the tale, you aren't too inconvenienced.
I don't think I have read any movie novelizations in my life, so I didn't know what to expect when I picked this one up. All the questions I had concerned how badly it would (because it surely would) botch up a much loved film. Would they change plot points? Dialogues? How would the pacing of the book be?
The answer, at least when it comes to this novelization, is that everything's remarkably faithful to the original. I could only pick out a handful of dialogues that were different from the film, but the rest of the book is merely dedicated to poring over the thoughts of Cooper, Brand or whosever point of view was currently being explored, but mostly Cooper.
The flipside of this faithfulness is that if you're looking to read the book with a view to understand some unresolved plot points from the film, you'll be disappointed, because this book doesn't touch anything the film doesn't.
Alright, so how's the pacing? Pretty darn good! Not Matthew Reilly quick, but there's very little philosophizing and adequate description.
My perspective, of course, is of somebody who's watched the film first (thrice!) and loved it, so I have no qualms at all about the story. I'm not sure how it'd be like for somebody who's reading this book first. I enjoyed the nostalgic walkthrough that this book turned out to be!
A weakness with this book is however the quality of writing - there were a number of occasions when I felt the author didn't quite have the literary chops of some of the top writers today, but with the story and dialogues he's been supplied with, and the pacing he's set for the tale, you aren't too inconvenienced.
laneyreadz's review
5.0
Awesome read! Perfect if you love the movie.
This was an excellent version of Interstellar. Highly recommend. Pleasant and simple, but it capture the film's spirit and it's message perfectly.
This was an excellent version of Interstellar. Highly recommend. Pleasant and simple, but it capture the film's spirit and it's message perfectly.
babaroga's review against another edition
5.0
This was my first time reading a novelization of a movie so I wasn't sure what to expect. Interstellar is my favorite movie of all time and I was a bit reluctant to pick this up cause oh my god, how could anything compare to the perfection of that movie? But I decided to go into this book with an open mind cause it was a birthday gift from a friend and I figured I owed her that much, at least. It turned out to be a really enjoyable read, almost as thrilling as the movie itself. I got new insight into characters, the science was much better explained than in the movie (or at least easier to follow) and I think this book fixed one issue the movie has that really bothered me and that's Cooper's relationship with his son. Obviously I know Cooper loves his son but he's never mentioned in the movie as much as his daughter is (the reason for that is because she's much more involved in the plot of the movie than he is) and that kinda gives an impression that Cooper doesn't care about his son as much (again, I know that was never the movie's intention but that's how it came across to a lot of people). Here we see and hear Cooper thinking and worrying about his son Tom, as much as he does about his daughter Murphy and we even learn that Tom died two decades before Cooper was found which personally gave me a closure to his story I wasn't even aware I needed. All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes this movie and even to those who don't. Who knows, maybe it could help them connect to this beautiful story in ways the movie couldn't.
tvil's review
4.0
Interstellar is one of my favorite movies of all time. Watching it at the local Cinematheque prepremiere was perhaps my greatest cinematic experience. And yet, when rewatching it recently, I felt that the movie moved far too fast to do its sprawling plot justice. Of course, just shy of 3 hours, the movie could hardly be longer. Luckily there’s a novelization! Actually, this novel is a quick read, and if you’re a fast reader it might not last you a lot longer than the movie itself.
When I watched the movie for the second time as mentioned, I watched it with my wife, who had actually read the novelization but not watched the movie. She enjoyed the movie a lot, but in my opinion you should watch the movie first, so there’s no sense for me to talk about the plot here. And really, if you’ve watched the movie, you’ll know yourself if you’d like to read this novelization or not.
It’s pretty much just a page-by-page retelling of the movie. If you loved the movie as much as I did, you’ll want to devour both this and THE SCIENCE OF INTERSTELLAR. If you thought it was OK, this book won’t give you anything the movie didn’t. It’s literally a line-by-line reading of the spoken script, with good descriptions and prose to weave it together.
The book adds little to the film, however. We get some glimpses into the characters’ minds, and some things are explained rather than inferred, but don’t expect any extra chapters following side plots from the movie here. It’s a faithful adaption, but some things just can’t be adapted from a visual (and aural) medium. Also, some things that verged on plot holes in the movie, but that were dismissable because of the limited time, feel fairly out of place here. Just simple stuff like inserting a briefing scene before the mission where Cooper was explained how the wormhole worked and what time dilation was, would make some things seem less dumb when you read them in a novel.
I love books, and I love the images they can create in my mind. I will never know how the images this book could have created would be if I had read the book first. For another movie, that might not have mattered. In Interstellar, though, the cinematography and the music itself are enough for me to urge you to just go and watch it.
When I watched the movie for the second time as mentioned, I watched it with my wife, who had actually read the novelization but not watched the movie. She enjoyed the movie a lot, but in my opinion you should watch the movie first, so there’s no sense for me to talk about the plot here. And really, if you’ve watched the movie, you’ll know yourself if you’d like to read this novelization or not.
It’s pretty much just a page-by-page retelling of the movie. If you loved the movie as much as I did, you’ll want to devour both this and THE SCIENCE OF INTERSTELLAR. If you thought it was OK, this book won’t give you anything the movie didn’t. It’s literally a line-by-line reading of the spoken script, with good descriptions and prose to weave it together.
The book adds little to the film, however. We get some glimpses into the characters’ minds, and some things are explained rather than inferred, but don’t expect any extra chapters following side plots from the movie here. It’s a faithful adaption, but some things just can’t be adapted from a visual (and aural) medium. Also, some things that verged on plot holes in the movie, but that were dismissable because of the limited time, feel fairly out of place here. Just simple stuff like inserting a briefing scene before the mission where Cooper was explained how the wormhole worked and what time dilation was, would make some things seem less dumb when you read them in a novel.
I love books, and I love the images they can create in my mind. I will never know how the images this book could have created would be if I had read the book first. For another movie, that might not have mattered. In Interstellar, though, the cinematography and the music itself are enough for me to urge you to just go and watch it.
imanreads's review against another edition
4.0
I LOVED the movie and was just not ready to let it go. The book wasn't anything new, read like a fleshed out screenplay, but I still enjoyed it.