EDWIN EDWARDS

An odd story

Revisado: 04-12-23

More interested in making a nihilistic point than telling a story. The Doctor spends most of the story as an observer rather than an integral player, watching other characters argue two points of view clearly important to the author. The story literally ends with the debate unresolved; perhaps I'm old but I like my Doctor Who with a resolution. Even if it's "Victory of the Daleks" and he doesn't succeed, he gets some points back. In that episode the Daleks escape to s future where they look like plushies sold by Apple but the Scotish robot scientist bomb is saved by Amy. In this story, the Doctor literally says, "I don't think we influenced anything " and dematerilizes. Now that's more ironic than I can explain without spoilers but it doesn't reward 4 episodes of listening.
The cast do an excellent job bringing the characters to life but the sound editing is uneven. The background music annoyingly rises to the foreground on occasion and characters far from the action are realistically but irritatingly faint.

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Compelling story with poor ending

Revisado: 08-21-18

One of the few books where the story has kept me wanting to listen; in hard copy it would be a pageturner. My only complaint is that the whole thing just wraps up in the last 5 minutes of audio with none of the detailed narrative that marks the rest of the book. It's like working through a complex and intricate console game, beating the final boss and the it just goes "Game Over". You want the end cinematic, the payoff.

Kudos to the narrator who does an especially good job.

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Not one of Clark's greatest, but interesting

Revisado: 04-28-12

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The story is very much a morality tale on what happens when Man ceases to look out into the universe, ceases to grow & ceases to advance; stagnation, mechanisation and a slide into decadence. It's a theme of many of Clark's books but this one doesn't quite hit the mark. The inhabitants of the city (of the title) have immortality, freedom from all phyiscal needs and the elimination of crime, disease & all social ills. This lack of strife eliminates all desires for expansion but also eliminates everything you can hang a story off!

What other book might you compare The City and the Stars to and why?

The obvious comparision is "Childhood's End" which deals with the end of Man in a much better and more interesting way.

How could the performance have been better?

It could have been a performance. There's no emotional content and the variation between characters was attempted by varying the squeekiness of the reader's voice in subtle shades.

Do you think The City and the Stars needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

The book describes one man's struggle to break Man out of the decandent Nirvana he has trapped himself in. To prevent spoiling the plot, any follow up book could only be his continuing struggle to break Man out or Man's attempt to break back in! The book is a message not a story & having delivered the message, it's done where it is.

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One of Clark's better stand alone stories

Revisado: 01-02-12

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book is a marvellous mix of Clark's perfectly plausible technology (no warp cores, no transporters or ray guns) and a well executed story with fully fleshed out characters. Even if you were to take away the science it would still be a good story with the arc (and final tragedy) able to move you.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Vanevar Morgan

Which character – as performed by Marc Vietor – was your favorite?

Vanevar Morgan

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Can amibition reach to heaven?

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