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goodkoopa's review against another edition
3.0
When science-fiction authors go over the top with the sex theme, I can't help but imagine they didn't get laid enough in their teens and twenties, and the pent up horniness comes out in their fiction. Pohl is nowhere nearly as bad at this than Larry Niven in the Ringworld sequels. But it did get a bit tedious.
I'm a bit disappointed in this sequel. The first book was enthrawling. Number 2 is not as interesting. A bit too many info-dumps. I was mostly entertained, but not often very engaged. I had no problems putting it down, and sometimes had difficulties paying attention during info dumps and other boring parts.
In the end though, I'm satisfied with the progress we get with the mystery of the Hychee. I want to learn more about this universe and see what happens next.
I'm a bit disappointed in this sequel. The first book was enthrawling. Number 2 is not as interesting. A bit too many info-dumps. I was mostly entertained, but not often very engaged. I had no problems putting it down, and sometimes had difficulties paying attention during info dumps and other boring parts.
In the end though, I'm satisfied with the progress we get with the mystery of the Hychee. I want to learn more about this universe and see what happens next.
resigned_dilettante's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
outcolder's review against another edition
3.0
I love the space opera stuff but the heavy breathing sexuality wore on me pretty quickly. That everyone is so horny might be a welcome change after the celibate golden age but I felt like it was slowing the space adventure stuff down. Also, some stuff that was probably progressive in 1980 seems a bit not P.C. now, maybe. Other 1980-isms, like 'bubble memory' and videotape and the idea that by now-ish the rich would live in reasonably good health for an absurdly long time, are fun. I love expired science fiction and it is always interesting to me when a story has, like this one, holographic, anthropomorphic AIs that can speculate but cameras still store video on tape. It is more challenging to write SF that takes place in the next half-century or so than far future or low-tech dystopia because you don't have to try to get the science "right." One of the cool things about Pohl is that he takes a page or two to explain how the alien FTL ships work. If you leave that stuff unexplained or make up some mumbojumbo one sentence excuse, that's cool, but Pohl belongs to what the nerds call "hard-SF" which means that you can read it and pretend that it really was scientific. So that's also fun, if you are into that sort of thing.
anyajulchen's review against another edition
4.0
I prefer Gateway, but I definitely enjoyed the book.
bigal_rsa's review against another edition
4.0
I much preferred this to the first book. I like that the author has tried to include some science in the story.
scheu's review against another edition
4.0
This book lacks the claustrophobic tension that made Gateway so great, but deserves a higher rating than its average. More mysteries of the Heechee are revealed along with subtle commentary on modern healthcare.
rocketiza's review against another edition
4.0
Despite some faults, a pretty solid sequel and took the storyline in a new direction.
posole's review against another edition
1.0
I really didn’t like this book. It baffles me that the average rating is so high. There were a few unnecessary sexual scenes in the beginning that I think were supposed to be funny, but they were just… cringey. The plot was slow and the characters were flat. I made it to page 200 with a lot of speed reading but I couldn’t take it anymore so I just read the Wikipedia plot summary. I liked Gateway, but this sequel was substandard.