katiedoodle's review against another edition
4.0
George R. R. Martin has said that the only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself. Much to my benefit, for in this novel he was able to craft a sci-fi story that centers human relationships and emotions while still exploring broader issues of culture and society.
The story began slowly and featured a few expo-dumps that made it a bit hard to get through, not to mention a long sequence of various cities being visited one after the other- but the world-building itself was excellent and I find myself interested in learning more about Kavalar society and the other worlds mentioned.
The climax of the story was heart-wrenching with a cruel cherry on top that I did not expect, though with the author, I ought to have known better.
Overall a great novel with some pacing issues, though admittedly I struggle with paragraphs of description and do better with dialogue.
The story began slowly and featured a few expo-dumps that made it a bit hard to get through, not to mention a long sequence of various cities being visited one after the other- but the world-building itself was excellent and I find myself interested in learning more about Kavalar society and the other worlds mentioned.
The climax of the story was heart-wrenching with a cruel cherry on top that I did not expect, though with the author, I ought to have known better.
Overall a great novel with some pacing issues, though admittedly I struggle with paragraphs of description and do better with dialogue.
avalon111's review against another edition
2.0
Martin's first novel and the first in his "Thousand Worlds" universe.
The issue is that I reckon it misses an awful lot of opportunities. With the world of Worlorn, a wandering planet that has seen a brief summer and has been stocked with wildlife, some of it lethal to mankind, from numerous settled planets, there was a novel waiting-to-be-written.
Having set the scene though, DotL focuses on human drama, whilst the planet and its abandoned cities take second place. There are some great scenes, but no character who the reader will want to empathise-with, indeed they all as bad as one another. There are some troubling narrative holes, not fixed even with a re-read of some pages, and some of the technology - flying cars for instance - read like novels from the 1950/60's.
Ultimately though, despite not being anything like a ground-breaking first novel, DotL demonstrated Martin's potential. He was really at this point in his career, a short-story writer, and a damn good one too. The longer pieces would improve, and indeed they did, hugely.
The issue is that I reckon it misses an awful lot of opportunities. With the world of Worlorn, a wandering planet that has seen a brief summer and has been stocked with wildlife, some of it lethal to mankind, from numerous settled planets, there was a novel waiting-to-be-written.
Having set the scene though, DotL focuses on human drama, whilst the planet and its abandoned cities take second place. There are some great scenes, but no character who the reader will want to empathise-with, indeed they all as bad as one another. There are some troubling narrative holes, not fixed even with a re-read of some pages, and some of the technology - flying cars for instance - read like novels from the 1950/60's.
Ultimately though, despite not being anything like a ground-breaking first novel, DotL demonstrated Martin's potential. He was really at this point in his career, a short-story writer, and a damn good one too. The longer pieces would improve, and indeed they did, hugely.
marzhare's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
22lukem's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
willmo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
3.75
llava_'s review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
samjonester's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nathanruggles's review against another edition
Disliked so much, did not finish. Did not find characters or story engaging.