Howard

Hard to follow

Revisado: 05-30-24

This story goes back and forth in time, not an unusual technique but here I found it hard to figure out where we were. It might be a good story, but it's too much effort to find out.

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A Dreadful Book

Revisado: 12-30-21

There is nothing good that can be said about this book. The writing is amateurish, the characters two-dimensional stereotypes, and what little plot exists depends on extreme coincidences. No character — and apparently not the author — recognizes any moral imperative beyond get whatever you can for yourself.

The positive reviews can only be explained by the author having a large family.

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Good storyteller, no story

Revisado: 10-30-21

I’m a big fan of John Irving, but this novel is not a good book. He retains his talent as a storyteller, but he has no story to tell. The characters are two-dimensional stereotypes, and we learn little from the book. And the plot is driven by far too many coincidences. Reread Garp or Owen Meany.

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Dreadful. Perfectly Dreadful.

Revisado: 09-21-19

I am a big fan of the first book in this series (Children of Time), but this second book is dreadful. It started well, became tedious, and ended horribly with a last-minute kumbaya moment. And the science was laughable. I have no explanation for the strong reviews. Perhaps if you like non-human animals (which I do) and have no serious science background (which leaves me out), it will appeal to you.

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Bad science, bad ending. Two thumbs down

Revisado: 08-10-19

It is hard to write a story about time-travel without the reader continually wondering about logical inconsistencies. This story is about time travel -- albeit a peculiar kind of time travel -- and the inconsistencies just jump out of the story: in fact, the major story line is based on an inconsistency of the inconsistencies! And for me the worst part of the story was the quest to create a "quantum mirror" that could be used to understand the past and to perfectly predict the future. If the universe were deterministic, such a device would in theory be possible. But of course the universe is not deterministic: that is the most important consequence of quantum physics. So of all the possible names for the device, what caused the author to call it the "QUANTUM mirror"???

And while aliens did not fall from the sky to solve the problem, the author's ending was no better. If you want to read (or listen to) a broadly similar tale done very much better, get Benford's "Timescape."

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Not up to her usual standard

Revisado: 07-04-19

Sets the stage and then has no way to end the story. Very disappointing. Far from her usual effort.

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Starts interesting, ends ridiculously

Revisado: 07-26-18

Bad science fiction almost always follows the same pattern: an interesting mystery is presented but because the author has no way to solve the mystery, aliens, coincidences or magic end the story. That describes The Fold perfectly even down to the aliens who want nothing more than to dine on humans. All connection to plausible science is discarded as the author brings his story to its dreadful conclusion. Two big thumbs down.

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Nice conclusion

Revisado: 05-24-18

A good trilogy with a satisfying ending. Science fiction rather than fantasy but still plenty of human interest and much humor. An excellent listen.

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Meh

Revisado: 03-22-18

Not much going on. A mystery that is neither clever nor surprising. Meh. He's done much better.

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No There There

Revisado: 03-22-18

Card remains a good storyteller but he seems to have run out of stories to tell. This prequel to Ender's Game introduces characters for no reason, resolves nothing, and plainly is the first book in another series. It it supposed to end on a cliffhanger, but since we've all read Ender's Game already, we already know (in broad terms) what happens. Even the first book in a series should stand alone: it should resolve the minor plots it introduces. Card resolves nothing.

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