sheacb's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
bbboeken's review against another edition
3.0
***1/2
I couldn't give four stars because the content and --especially-- the behaviour are really dated. Nonetheless: entertaining read. I'd like to see the movies again now.
I couldn't give four stars because the content and --especially-- the behaviour are really dated. Nonetheless: entertaining read. I'd like to see the movies again now.
woolfen's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars.
Despite the not so high rating, this is a genre-defining piece of work, and has shaped lots of similar stories, tropes and other sci-fi works. Whilst it is about as subtle as a thrown brick, it does convey quite an interesting and valid concern of certain political communities and the role of the individual. Whilst uncritical; the 1950s America approaching the height of the Cold War was not known for its nuance and is an interesting insight into citizens perceptions.
In the book, there's a lot of rushing back and forth, lots of to-ing and fro-ing but the tension is well sustained as it slowly ramps up and there were lots of genuinely well written passages which sustain this tension and draw you in.
Despite the not so high rating, this is a genre-defining piece of work, and has shaped lots of similar stories, tropes and other sci-fi works. Whilst it is about as subtle as a thrown brick, it does convey quite an interesting and valid concern of certain political communities and the role of the individual. Whilst uncritical; the 1950s America approaching the height of the Cold War was not known for its nuance and is an interesting insight into citizens perceptions.
In the book, there's a lot of rushing back and forth, lots of to-ing and fro-ing but the tension is well sustained as it slowly ramps up and there were lots of genuinely well written passages which sustain this tension and draw you in.
amy_da1sy's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve not read a load of scifi books but this is one of the best ones I’ve read so far. It’s very obviously if it’s time with the character tropes but I think it’s still very good and well written. Becky and miles were fairly likeable characters which made reading it a lot better.
caz_the_calzone's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
ananaga's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
derivative's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I like most of this book, but you can definitely feel the age of it with how the narrator talks about Becky. It is really lacking any character besides Miles which is a bit unsatisfying. But overall, decent plot and suspense. It ended a bit too quickly, I can see why the movie made the choices they did
kandicez's review against another edition
3.0
I love the innocence of science fiction written from the late 40's to about the mid 60's. This was a perfect example of that style. Written in 1955, references were made to the early 70's as the future. It's so entertaining to see how the "future" looked to these writers. We're all familiar with the idea of "pods from space" replacing human beings with- well, who knows what, quietly, quickly, and without a lot of fuss. The whole premise is that someone "get's wise", and tries to stop it.
There were descriptions in this book that gave me literal chills. I'll have to look for more of Finney's work. It's easy to see why this book has spawned the movies and re-makes it has. What's being done to the human race doesn't hurt, and is barely noticed. How terrifying to know something very bad is happening, but be unable to convince anyone of that. THEN, you finally convince someone, but...what's to be done? When our laws and system of morality encounter something so foreign we have no black and white way to deal with it...we improvise.
One of my favorite passages in the book is where a main character, Becky Driscoll, explains the stereo-types held as common belief about women in the 50's. She describes what men expect a woman to do during a fight- stand there, against a wall, wide eyed, hands to mouth, unable to move. She then proceeds to say that this is a result of movie watching. No REAL woman would act that way, it's just what we, as a society have been taught to expect. The fight takes place, and as a women's right precursor, Becky kicks some ass! This scene takes place near the very end of the book, and despite her having acted very, very "feminine" the rest of the story, this one scene made me love her. It may have been worth reading the rest.
If you've seen the move (any of them) you know the ending is usually portrayed as hopeless. Not so with Finney's book. I prefer HIS ending.
There were descriptions in this book that gave me literal chills. I'll have to look for more of Finney's work. It's easy to see why this book has spawned the movies and re-makes it has. What's being done to the human race doesn't hurt, and is barely noticed. How terrifying to know something very bad is happening, but be unable to convince anyone of that. THEN, you finally convince someone, but...what's to be done? When our laws and system of morality encounter something so foreign we have no black and white way to deal with it...we improvise.
One of my favorite passages in the book is where a main character, Becky Driscoll, explains the stereo-types held as common belief about women in the 50's. She describes what men expect a woman to do during a fight- stand there, against a wall, wide eyed, hands to mouth, unable to move. She then proceeds to say that this is a result of movie watching. No REAL woman would act that way, it's just what we, as a society have been taught to expect. The fight takes place, and as a women's right precursor, Becky kicks some ass! This scene takes place near the very end of the book, and despite her having acted very, very "feminine" the rest of the story, this one scene made me love her. It may have been worth reading the rest.
If you've seen the move (any of them) you know the ending is usually portrayed as hopeless. Not so with Finney's book. I prefer HIS ending.