jenzim's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This wasn't what I was expecting but it was a good time nonetheless.
alireuter's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
nwhyte's review against another edition
http://nhw.livejournal.com/475867.html[return][return]First published in 1954, set in 1963 and 1972, so as usual we can be slightly amused about predictions made about the future which is now the past. But actually this is a rather gripping book. There is a small group of Secret Guardians keeping watch over humanity's scientific and moral development (they happen to be from Mars but that is almost incidental). There is a renegade faction that wants to wipe out (most of) humanity to make Earth their own. For reasons not made completely clear, the conflict between the two focuses on a teenager in 1963 small-town Masachusetts and his piano-paying neighbour. There is a dramatic denouement halfway through the book, and we leap forward nine years, to the final struggle between the two in New York, against the background of unpleasant extremist US politics and biological warfare.[return][return]Yet the fundamental take of the book is very optimistic about human nature, and the message is a very moral one; not all fans are Slans. It almost reads like a 1950s reaction against today's libertarianism - perhaps I'm just not well enough read in the sf of the period - was this the height of van Vogt and Heinlein? I thought one peaked earlier and the other later. Interesting stuff, anyway.
tome15's review against another edition
4.0
Pangborn, Edgar. A Mirror for Observers. 1954. Afterword by Peter S. Beagle. Bluejay, 1983.
Years before Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman collaborated on Good Omens, Edgar Pangborn, an almost forgotten master of fantasy and science fiction, gave the idea a more serious treatment. In A Mirror for Observers, two Martians meddle in human affairs, one intending benevolence and one hoping to hasten the collapse of civilization. In a small New England town, they observe a young boy who they suspect will have special qualities. The story is character-driven in the extreme, to the extent that some reviewers argue that the science fictional elements of the novel are unnecessary. Perhaps, but the ethical message at the heart of the novel goes down easier if it is enunciated by a caring Martian than it would be by a human character or an angel. Is the novel a creature of its time? Sure. Is it slow at times? Yup. Is it still worth a read? Definitely.
Years before Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman collaborated on Good Omens, Edgar Pangborn, an almost forgotten master of fantasy and science fiction, gave the idea a more serious treatment. In A Mirror for Observers, two Martians meddle in human affairs, one intending benevolence and one hoping to hasten the collapse of civilization. In a small New England town, they observe a young boy who they suspect will have special qualities. The story is character-driven in the extreme, to the extent that some reviewers argue that the science fictional elements of the novel are unnecessary. Perhaps, but the ethical message at the heart of the novel goes down easier if it is enunciated by a caring Martian than it would be by a human character or an angel. Is the novel a creature of its time? Sure. Is it slow at times? Yup. Is it still worth a read? Definitely.
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