For_the_Love_of_Books

Great story. One of Heinlein’s best,

Revisado: 02-19-25

I’ve read this Title 3 or 4 times (I’m too old to remember which) since 1970, I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with this grandmaster because of his militaristic world view.
Fortunately, there is little of that nonsense in this brilliant book. Instead, Mr H focuses on humanity’s quest for the answers to the Big Questions.
I love the protagonist, the cantankerous Lazarus Long, He is one human that takes time to consider the Big Questions, At the same time, Lazarus is still a man of action who has little tolerance for those who waste time with inconsequential matters or chasing their own tails
In essence, this an adventure story that allows Long and the other long-lived members of the Howard families to travel the stars (much faster than light) and encounter a few possible “solutions” to the big questions.
The inferred partial answer that Long begins to suspect is that there may not be any real answers. No answers except those found in the search, the curiosity and the struggle itself which lend life meaning.
As to be suspected with a Sci-Fi novel this old, there are a few science mistakes. And, truth be told, Mr H, never was great because of his science. To be fair, H. does a worthy job of explaining Relativity here than breaks it with a gizmo that magically (and without explanation) defies it.
Methuselah’s Children is a fun easy read. The only problem with it is that it fails to address the ethical questions of eugenics.
I’ll read it again in another 20 years,
Forever yours,
Mr Long

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A fully fleshed out novel of the Culture.

Revisado: 09-06-24

I’m engrossed in the Details of Mr Banks fictional future and the civilization he calls the Culture. As usual, this novel has little in common with other novels in the series except the shared. existence of the aforementioned Culture.
Aside from one female protagonist, all of the other protagonists and interesting characters are AI ship minds. I love the books, but I do wish the author would tighten up the plots and develop a few more characters.
All the Best
PS
I wrote this on my phone without my glasses so I apologize for misspelling and grammatical errors

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Love the World created in Book 1

Revisado: 02-26-24

Most of the action takes place in Book 1. Book 2 brings back and explored the characters, but has much less action and suffers from a dearth of new ideas. I surmise that Mr Bear had not originally planned for a sequel.
I enjoyed the Book2 thoroughly because I was so involved with the characters from Book 1. And of course, I loved the big ideas and world (universe) building from Book 1.
Book 1 was an A+. Book 2 is a C+.

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Mind Blowing in Scope

Revisado: 01-10-24

Asimov is a Big Idea Man. Most characters are not as fully developed as per current taste, and dialogue suffers. But the ideas!
Although I’m glad I got to see the TV series, it waters down and distorts the original series, even as it attempt to modernize it,
The idea of a reader as an actor is one I sincerely applaud, But the nuances of character and dialogue are sacrificed for the immense grand scale of ideas. So I don’t believe most listeners will appreciate either the original narrator or even the talented Scott Brick who reads the central trilogy.
So. I reluctantly begin to see the idea of rewriting the core of the Foundation Books for a modern audience. But I firmly believe the genius of this masterwork can only fully be appreciated by reading the original books/series, This, even as my failing eyesight prevents me from tackling the task.
As it has always been as books age, it is up to the reader to supply the historical context of the time when the books were written. With these books in particular, it is also necessary for the reader to supply the inner lives of the characters, imagine their motivations and subtleties of response, and modernize the language and dialogue.Leave the science and Big ideas up to Isaac. He is still ahead of his time.
-S
Please excuse spelling and punctuation. My eyes alas are not up to the task. On the positive (positronic?) side. I notice that spell correct and word choice suggestions have made a vast leap.

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A modern classic narrated by a pro.

Revisado: 10-02-21

This book, like all of Peter Hamilton’s main sequence Commonwealth books is a modern classic. Great story, with memorable characters, and interesting sci-fi concepts this series is one of my all time favorite series.
I’m a lifetime sci-fi-fi reader and at nearly 70, I’ve read all the best. This series is an amazing combination of sci-fi and fantasy. Start with Pandora’s Star and read them all. They will be treasured friends that you (like I )will read again and again. Incidentally, most of Mr Hamilton’s other works are not quite of this quality.
John Lee is one of my favorite narrators.
Enjoy!

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Great Story, Abbreviated End. Spoilers!

Revisado: 08-10-19

Great Story and storytelling. Narration was superb, and felt like it belonged to the protagonist. Interesting as the heroine unravels the confusing mystery of alternate timelines while maintaining her tenuous hold on sanity. At the same time, she figures out the greed, manipulating propaganda, and lies that start and maintain most wars.
The ending felt abbreviated and somewhat unsatisfying given the complexity, bravery and incredible intelligence that the story required up to that point. I realize that it’s difficult to make a satisfying ending to a story that revolves around ending or preventing a war. To the author’s credit, the protagonist realizes that war is unfortunately an almost inevitable part of the human condition. But she retains hope for the future. I just wish that future could have been outlined more concretely. The story and heroine reminded me of Heinlein (although slightly more mature and complex). This is a great compliment from me.
I will read more from Kameron Hurley.
All the Best,
Humble Reviewer #12,834,911

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Romantic, hard science (fiction), Time Travel!

Revisado: 07-07-19

Great start and finish. The more lengthy middle is almost a Faulkner-like story of the virtues and horrors of the South. The Science Fiction Time travel thread is almost lost. But somehow, this cobbled together story (which I bet started life as two different short stories ) hangs together.
There are two unifying threads. One is the love story of the hero (he is more worthy than most protagonists) and his human/alien soulmate. The second thread are the hero’s unceasing efforts to build a time machine and go back to prevent the murder of his brother.
There are adventures, romance , and lots of hard science (fiction). Not the Best Time Travel novel, but I’m a sucker for this stuff. I’m more critical of my favorite genre (epic, space opera-Peter Hamilton, Asimov, etc). This is easy and fun.
Thumbs and flippers up.

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Narration Terrible; Prador’s Moon has Big Ideas and Epic Scale

Revisado: 08-09-18

The Narrator mispronounced many words, including words an average high school student should know. In particular, he mispronounced words that are often found in science fiction in general and words that are in particular an integral part of the detailed universe that Asher created. In addition, the narrator displayed no acting ability; no ear or skill with differentiating voices; and no sense of pace, timing or nuance. Most non professional writers do a better job reading to their children.
At first, I was stunned. Then I blamed the horrible narration on the narrator’s unfamiliarity with Science or Science Fiction. But then I realized it was just a lack of general knowledge that any mildly inquisitive reader should know. Who, after all, has not heard of Occam's razor? In this novel there is a spaceship with that name (although probably “Razor.”) Every time the narrator butchers the name, it’s like fingernails scraped on a blackboard.
At first, I wanted to blame all the problems of “Prador’s Moon” on the narrator. But isn’t there a producer in the control room? Doesn’t an editor have to listen to the production? Doesn’t the author or at least one of his representatives bear any responsibility for checking the work?
The many, many, MANY faults of the narrator detracted greatly from my enjoyment of the production. I continued to listen, because I have read (or listened to) several other works by Asher and knew these were not his mistakes, and I know that he produces quality fiction. If this had been my first Asher book, I would have returned it.
It’s difficult to judge the actual merits of this book apart from the distracting narration. But in brief:”Prador’s Moon” has all the merits of most of Mr. Asher’s work and all of the faults. It has fine, detailed world building, and BIG important ideas set on an epic scale. It does NOT have enough character building or differentiation, and suffers from a lack of interpersonal relationships. Prador’s Moon has a gross excess of minutely described violence and gore, and a panoply of confusing space battles where just a little more clarity would have helped.
Aside from a cocktail or two, Prador’s Moon does not reveal any hint of the free time, fun, enjoyment, and recreation that humans are able to find in all but the most extreme of circumstance.
Peter F Hamilton is my clear cut favorite for epic “space opera” sci-fi writing. Despite my nit-picking, Asher is also one of my favorites, though I am just beginning the “Polity” series. I enjoyed Asher’s “Owner’s Trilogy” with many of the caveats raised above.
I wish more authors had the strength, imagination, and endurance to take up these big ideas and big stories.
Thanks for your time,
And thanks to Mr. Asher for his.
All the Best
Glenn
PS To Audible: please have a Sci Fi fan, someone with a college education, or anyone who knows good story-telling listen to each audio book. There is no excuse for a “professional” narrator to mispronounce words, have a flat emotionless voice, and not seem to have any idea of what is happening in the book he/she is reading. I have listened to several hundred audio books and this was by far the worst narration I have ever endured.

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Good Story & Great Narration

Revisado: 02-09-18

An AI that you can trust or even love? I saw some of the twists coming and I still enjoyed the ride. Not my favorite Sci-Fi book of all time, but a fun ride nonetheless.

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