ryanseay's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Very underrated Hugo Winner, deeply philosophical in a good way with an interesting premise
brucehoward's review against another edition
1.0
I'm at a loss how this novel won the Hugo.
I'd like to believe it is an unfortunate victim of the ever improving standards against which Hugo candidates are measured, or that there was a dearth of competitive candidates in 1954-55. But then I recall that that was the same publication year as "I am Legend", "Brainwave" and all three novels of Tolkein's "The Lord of the Rings" saga.
They could have done better.
That said, it did win and warrants a (quick) read if only to serve as a cautionary lesson how not to develop your "big idea" into a novel.
I'd like to believe it is an unfortunate victim of the ever improving standards against which Hugo candidates are measured, or that there was a dearth of competitive candidates in 1954-55. But then I recall that that was the same publication year as "I am Legend", "Brainwave" and all three novels of Tolkein's "The Lord of the Rings" saga.
They could have done better.
That said, it did win and warrants a (quick) read if only to serve as a cautionary lesson how not to develop your "big idea" into a novel.
jstamper2022's review against another edition
4.0
Hugo winner #2. Like the first, this one deals with Telepathy. The underlying premise is that will have strong prejudices when little facts are available and will hold onto old ways of things because that's how it's always been, despite evidence to the contrary. They'd rather be right than admit they were wrong. The government orders the creation of a cybernetic brain that can foresee catastrophic events. Joe, the Telepath warns human nature will fear such a thing and they do, even when it's created and give you youth and immortality if you give up your prejudices and admit you were wrong. Bossy becomes ineffective due to mankind's fear. Fitting for a 1950s Red Scare Era novel
doctortdm's review against another edition
4.0
There is lot of hoopla online about whether this book deserved a Hugo award. it amusing because one of the themes in the book is opinion control. It's way too late to fuss over whether the book should have received the award, it did! Read it and form your on opinion if it is enjoyable.
oleksandr's review against another edition
4.0
This is the very first novel that won Hugo, which is the number one science fiction & fantasy award. There are a lot of comments here on Goodreads that this is bad novel and that it shouldn’t be in the list, etc. I disagree.
This is a classical example of the golden age SF, pulps that had not a lot of science in them but great imagination. It’ll tingle your nostalgia nerve if you are after such kind of book, but if you prefer more modern SF it may seem weak.
The story concerns Joe Carter, the first human telepath. He is alone in the world and his desire is to find someone, anyone with whom he can be equal and free. And if there are no natural partners, he builds one, Bossy, an AI. Bossy is smart tool, able to do great marvels and find answers to any correct question. Of course such an AI is desired by anyone.
The story is very uneven, great parts are intermingled with very dull ones, so that its mark fluctuates from 5 stars to 2 and back again. Science is a kind of naïve hand-waving but dialogues and insights about human nature are pure gold.
This is a classical example of the golden age SF, pulps that had not a lot of science in them but great imagination. It’ll tingle your nostalgia nerve if you are after such kind of book, but if you prefer more modern SF it may seem weak.
The story concerns Joe Carter, the first human telepath. He is alone in the world and his desire is to find someone, anyone with whom he can be equal and free. And if there are no natural partners, he builds one, Bossy, an AI. Bossy is smart tool, able to do great marvels and find answers to any correct question. Of course such an AI is desired by anyone.
The story is very uneven, great parts are intermingled with very dull ones, so that its mark fluctuates from 5 stars to 2 and back again. Science is a kind of naïve hand-waving but dialogues and insights about human nature are pure gold.
jbragg6625's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
devilstatedan's review
challenging
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A young man with the gift/curse of telepathy recruits two renowned scientists and together they build a machine to answer all of life's questions - just so long as you know how to ask!
The discovery that this machine can regenerate the human form, upgrade the mind, and extend life perpetually sends humanity into a frenzy. The trio negotiate the dangerous path of introducing such a powerful tool to the world without it falling into the wrong hands, and this is the story of how they did it.
A great read that still stands up today with plenty to say as to the state of our world currently.
The discovery that this machine can regenerate the human form, upgrade the mind, and extend life perpetually sends humanity into a frenzy. The trio negotiate the dangerous path of introducing such a powerful tool to the world without it falling into the wrong hands, and this is the story of how they did it.
A great read that still stands up today with plenty to say as to the state of our world currently.
geeklet's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
2.5
TL;DR: Uh..maybe like 2.5 stars but I'll round up again.
Book two of my Hugo & Nebula Best Novel challenge down!
Poor Joe Carter has a problem. He's telepathic (because someone's always telepathic in older sci-fi). He's spent his life learning how to appear completely ordinary. However, in college, he falls in with some professors who are working on creating a thinking machine. Named Bossy, this machine becomes the focal point of a battle between different groups. Will Bossy bring destruction to mankind or will it bring about a new age of humanity?
Positives:
Uhhh....well, I'm certain there were some positives. There's a lot of philosophy in this book that would possibly be interesting if it was in a more engaging story. The story never really had a chance breathe on its own because the philosophy just bogged down the narrative. It’s certainly not a bad story, it was just suffocated. As a reader, I just felt like I was being beaten over the head over and over by the same idea. I guess that's not really a positive though. Okay, positives....Joe wasn't nearly as annoying as he could have been. The story had a lot of potential. A big part of the story revolves around how a publicist influences public thinking. I really enjoyed those parts. There was also an interesting part about governments forcing universities to do research.
Negatives:
Whew, there are many. Usual complaints about early SF characters apply here. They're fairly dull and one-dimensional. I won't remember any of their names tomorrow. Crazy things happen to some of the characters and the aftereffects are just never explored. The story is filled with plot holes. No one bothered to tell the authors that you can show things instead of telling them. There are a lot of info dumps in this book. I have a pretty high tolerance for that sort of thing so it's unusual for me to notice them.
It's not a bad book. It's just not a good book. I am sure there were better books published the year that this one came out. I truly doubt that it really deserved to win a Hugo but it's not like a dumpster fire of a book. It's just dull and to me, that's worse than being bad. I'm sure I will toss this paperback on a shelf and completely forget everything about it by this time next ye
Book two of my Hugo & Nebula Best Novel challenge down!
Poor Joe Carter has a problem. He's telepathic (because someone's always telepathic in older sci-fi). He's spent his life learning how to appear completely ordinary. However, in college, he falls in with some professors who are working on creating a thinking machine. Named Bossy, this machine becomes the focal point of a battle between different groups. Will Bossy bring destruction to mankind or will it bring about a new age of humanity?
Positives:
Uhhh....well, I'm certain there were some positives. There's a lot of philosophy in this book that would possibly be interesting if it was in a more engaging story. The story never really had a chance breathe on its own because the philosophy just bogged down the narrative. It’s certainly not a bad story, it was just suffocated. As a reader, I just felt like I was being beaten over the head over and over by the same idea. I guess that's not really a positive though. Okay, positives....Joe wasn't nearly as annoying as he could have been. The story had a lot of potential. A big part of the story revolves around how a publicist influences public thinking. I really enjoyed those parts. There was also an interesting part about governments forcing universities to do research.
Negatives:
Whew, there are many. Usual complaints about early SF characters apply here. They're fairly dull and one-dimensional. I won't remember any of their names tomorrow. Crazy things happen to some of the characters and the aftereffects are just never explored. The story is filled with plot holes. No one bothered to tell the authors that you can show things instead of telling them. There are a lot of info dumps in this book. I have a pretty high tolerance for that sort of thing so it's unusual for me to notice them.
It's not a bad book. It's just not a good book. I am sure there were better books published the year that this one came out. I truly doubt that it really deserved to win a Hugo but it's not like a dumpster fire of a book. It's just dull and to me, that's worse than being bad. I'm sure I will toss this paperback on a shelf and completely forget everything about it by this time next ye
nwhyte's review against another edition
http://nhw.livejournal.com/197756.html[return][return]Well. It's not a great book, but it's not utterly terrible either; more sort of forgettable. Machine is invented that takes humanity to the Next Step of evolution. The misunderstood genius hero triumphs against the stupid mundanes. That's about it. Another tick in the box for me; if I can bring myself to finish Cyteen I'll only have three left.
ninj's review against another edition
3.0
I have to say, within the first page I was already groaning and thinking this was a poor choice: the telepath wandering along and using his ESP powers to sense out the other minds on the street. But it all turned into a very interesting and enjoyable story. Some lengthy ramblings and paragraphs of metaphors and expositions, but otherwise pretty good.