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alreadyemily's review against another edition
3.0
VERY much a book of its time and author. Unsurprisingly very white, hetero and patriarchal. Beyond that, a fun romp infused with a love of cats.
vero_nika_'s review against another edition
5.0
A very approachable SF novel, easy to follow and surprisingly entertaining.
While it has some problems and definitely reflects some ideas of the time it was written, those problems didn't make me enjoy the book less.
While it has some problems and definitely reflects some ideas of the time it was written, those problems didn't make me enjoy the book less.
anazuz704's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
madfil's review against another edition
2.0
(5 December, 2022)
Great idea, bad execution! A story slightly akin to Gerrold's '[b:The Man Who Folded Himself|16959600|The Man Who Folded Himself|David Gerrold|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1604707621l/16959600._SX50_.jpg|610483]', but that one was beautifully done. This one... yeeeeech!
Bland protagonist gets the predictable shaft from his barely defined partners. The whole thing is a mess, really. An extended prologue, with a crappy set-up, turns a shitty way to 'time travel' into actual time travel - but in horribly boring way, like, just the worst.
Some work-at-all-costs asshole ('cause, you know, America) gets to right some wrongs. He then turns into a creep and after that, the end.
Holy fuck!
Great idea, bad execution! A story slightly akin to Gerrold's '[b:The Man Who Folded Himself|16959600|The Man Who Folded Himself|David Gerrold|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1604707621l/16959600._SX50_.jpg|610483]', but that one was beautifully done. This one... yeeeeech!
Bland protagonist gets the predictable shaft from his barely defined partners. The whole thing is a mess, really. An extended prologue, with a crappy set-up, turns a shitty way to 'time travel' into actual time travel - but in horribly boring way, like, just the worst.
Some work-at-all-costs asshole ('cause, you know, America) gets to right some wrongs. He then turns into a creep and after that, the end.
Holy fuck!
theleafencounter's review against another edition
4.0
Very enjoyable and suspensfull read with a lot of thought provoking ideas and concepts; despite its lack of character development, dry prose, dated depiction of American culture and some weird and non-logical plot threads and decisions made by the main character. I will restrain myself from giving any details since those are spoiler heavy. This is not a character driven book (although the narrative is in first person), but an speculative exploration of ideas (a lot of ideas) through the lens of engineer and inventor living in the 70s with a touch of revenge story (not a conventional one by any means).
peer_pastinakel's review against another edition
3.0
Original of well-known tropes, with overly Heinleinian characters
rperce's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
roc_ko's review against another edition
3.0
Great story by the Master Heinlein. Lots of fun characters and inventive Sci-Fi.
lesserjoke's review against another edition
3.0
This 1957 sci-fi romp is fun, but it bears many problematic hallmarks of the genre fiction written by white men in that era. Minor setbacks are blithely compared to slavery and rape, female characters are treated patronizingly, and the 30-year-old protagonist kind of falls in love with a preteen girl. (She asks him to marry her before he enters cryogenic sleep. He says that if she still feels that way when she turns 21, she can go into suspended animation herself at that point, and they can get married when they wake up in the future together. It's a pretty small part of the overall plot, and you can argue that the character ultimately has adult agency, but their romance verges on predator grooming in a way that personally makes me uncomfortable.)
If you can get past all of that, this novel really is a neat little adventure story from the golden age of science-fiction, with clever time loop shenanigans and some imaginatively goofy visions of the then-future. It especially sparkles anytime the hero shows his utter devotion to his pet cat, as when he insists that it get cryo-frozen along with him. But the book is very much a product of its time, and some modern readers may wish to give it a miss.
If you can get past all of that, this novel really is a neat little adventure story from the golden age of science-fiction, with clever time loop shenanigans and some imaginatively goofy visions of the then-future. It especially sparkles anytime the hero shows his utter devotion to his pet cat, as when he insists that it get cryo-frozen along with him. But the book is very much a product of its time, and some modern readers may wish to give it a miss.
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Not my favorite Heinlein but a pleasant re-read nonetheless. It's hard to say much without spoilers, but vaguely speaking, it's funny how certain plot elements I remember as central to the story don't come in until 3/4 of the way through the book.
I was definitely not aware of how close to being sketchy the central romance is when I read this as a teen... Paying close attention this time through, I believe he stays just this side of actually being inappropriate at every moment, but if you're sensitive toadult/minor relationships you may not enjoy this one.
I was definitely not aware of how close to being sketchy the central romance is when I read this as a teen... Paying close attention this time through, I believe he stays just this side of actually being inappropriate at every moment, but if you're sensitive to
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Kidnapping