crowyhead's review against another edition
4.0
I think I actually read an omnibus edition with the entirety of Cyteen, but I'm having difficulty finding the correct edition on GoodReads.
Anyway, this took me almost two months to read (not of constant effort, mind). Was it worth it? I think so. It's a strange book, one of those books where most of the action is taking place beneath the surface, inside peoples' psyches. It takes careful reading, and there are many references and mysteries set rolling in the first 100 pages that are not resolved until the last fifteen (if ever).
The central idea is fascinating: A powerful woman creates a clone of herself as a kind of reincarnation. Experiments in recreating powerful or especially talented individuals have by and large failed in the past. Will this time be different, or will Ari Emory II slip into mediocrity or madness?
The entire plot takes decades, and at times it's slow-going (as you can tell by how long it took me to read this). But I don't feel I wasted my time. On some level I feel tantalized -- for all of its length, there are so many questions left unanswered.
Anyway, this took me almost two months to read (not of constant effort, mind). Was it worth it? I think so. It's a strange book, one of those books where most of the action is taking place beneath the surface, inside peoples' psyches. It takes careful reading, and there are many references and mysteries set rolling in the first 100 pages that are not resolved until the last fifteen (if ever).
The central idea is fascinating: A powerful woman creates a clone of herself as a kind of reincarnation. Experiments in recreating powerful or especially talented individuals have by and large failed in the past. Will this time be different, or will Ari Emory II slip into mediocrity or madness?
The entire plot takes decades, and at times it's slow-going (as you can tell by how long it took me to read this). But I don't feel I wasted my time. On some level I feel tantalized -- for all of its length, there are so many questions left unanswered.
imitira's review
3.0
A close friend has been trying to get me to read this book for years, and I finally took a tilt at it in multi-part form. It actually isn't all that bad. It doesn't really get the blood pounding with excitement on the one hand, and the politics don't have the grand sweeping scale to stretch your mind on the other, but it's pleasant enough, I suppose.
moonbroth's review
Review by David Langford: http://www.ansible.co.uk/writing/shortrev.html#cherryh1
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