hawkeyegough's review
3.0
Started out good. Got really, really weird. Excellent writer, super-strange plot.
sneakyawe's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this book at random off a new releases shelf and I have to say I was pretty happy with the selection.
First person narratives never seem to catch my interest, but this one did.
The only reason I gave it three stars is because I felt like once the 'big event' happened it seemed like things got boring fast. Then again, I never am a fan of characters coming in after half the novel is over and becoming integral to the plot line.
First person narratives never seem to catch my interest, but this one did.
The only reason I gave it three stars is because I felt like once the 'big event' happened it seemed like things got boring fast. Then again, I never am a fan of characters coming in after half the novel is over and becoming integral to the plot line.
mjfmjfmjf's review
4.0
Pretty good. But it started out fantastic and unfortunately peetered out about 100 pages before the end. So say the first bit was a 4.5 and the latter part a 3.5... so 4 it is. So basically a near-future on Earth post small yellowstone blast terrorist hologram futurist kind of tale.
verkisto's review
2.0
I know Pohl wrote some legendary science fiction novels (I've only read Gateway, but Lordy, he's up there with Asimov and Heinlein as far as recognition goes), but this one? It's about as far from legendary as a book can get.
It's not poorly written, nor is it a hot mess; it's just boring. The main character is a milquetoast, and everything seems to happen around him, instead of him being central to the story. It doesn't help that the plot doesn't really get going until about the 60% mark, and it REALLY doesn't help that Pohl, despite having published the book in 2011, holds on to a lot of the thinking and language of the 1950s. The female characters are there simply to prop up the male characters, and there's a tone that suggests disrespect toward women (plus there's a touch of transphobia that, admittedly, could have been a lot worse).
The science fictional element of the book is light, since, though we're in the future where projected holograms are the cornerstone of the entertainment industry, the book is really about terrorism and how horrible people are. The book rambles a lot, and despite the prose being compelling, the story, honestly, isn't. It reminds me a little of later Heinlein; that's either good or bad, depending on what you think of later Heinlein.
This was one of those books where I went days between reading it, and the only reason I powered through to the end over a couple of days is because I was just ready to be done with it. It never got better. I don't recommend this book at all.
It's not poorly written, nor is it a hot mess; it's just boring. The main character is a milquetoast, and everything seems to happen around him, instead of him being central to the story. It doesn't help that the plot doesn't really get going until about the 60% mark, and it REALLY doesn't help that Pohl, despite having published the book in 2011, holds on to a lot of the thinking and language of the 1950s. The female characters are there simply to prop up the male characters, and there's a tone that suggests disrespect toward women (plus there's a touch of transphobia that, admittedly, could have been a lot worse).
The science fictional element of the book is light, since, though we're in the future where projected holograms are the cornerstone of the entertainment industry, the book is really about terrorism and how horrible people are. The book rambles a lot, and despite the prose being compelling, the story, honestly, isn't. It reminds me a little of later Heinlein; that's either good or bad, depending on what you think of later Heinlein.
This was one of those books where I went days between reading it, and the only reason I powered through to the end over a couple of days is because I was just ready to be done with it. It never got better. I don't recommend this book at all.
psteve's review against another edition
3.0
Lots to enjoy in this novel about live in 2079, mostly set at a tourist-attraction Pompei, in 2079. Breezy narrative covers a lot of ground. It's mostly the story of terrorism, and a terrorist in particular. Fast narrative that is a lot like the last Pohl novel, the collaboration with Clarke, that's more focused on a lot of events that happen to the main character than to a story per se, though this time he ties it together better than in The Last Theorem.
jholub91's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-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
2.5
ranaelizabeth's review
3.0
Science fiction fluff but without the aliens! Thank god, because aliens bore me silly. And the geologist's girlfriend in me loves that one of the major plot points is Yellowstone (finally) blowing up.
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