Montgomery Webster
Story: 3.5 / 10
Characters: 8.5
Setting: 6
Prose: 7.5
Tags: Suicide, suicide assistance, brotherhood, women, love, swinging
Might currently be my favorite book (circa 2020).
Significantly better than Ender's Game; the ending of the first book was simply worthless.
Story: 10 / 10
Characters: 10
Setting: 10
Prose: 10
Absolutely the best fairy tale I've come across. An essential, 30-minute read.
Themes: Politics, poverty, wealth, charity
Story: 8 / 10
Characters: 10
Setting: 10
Prose: 8.5
Original review from 2013:
Profound. Definitely one of the best scifi books I have come across. The real key is the character design of the Tines and the setting, namely the “Zones of Thought”. A Tine is a small group of separate entities with a local-based collective intelligence. Never come across another character like it, though there are not really that many collective intellect characters around. The Zones is a theoretical universe framework addressing both technology and intelligence. Everyone about the book was strong, but these two elements are especially unique.
Looking forward to reading the rest.
More a collection of similarly themed short stories than a actual novel, the story never really is addressed. Thus, despite the good writing, the unsatisfying structure ruins the work.
I might never get to the other books in the series.
Not a good book at all. Suffers from the same fate as most contemporary or semi-autobiographical fiction books: The story has no direction. Instead, the reader is simply taken through the life of the main character, focusing on his relationship with his father and a friend. Of course, the writing is good, the events are sad, and I did learn more about Afghani / Islamic culture, but there really is no point.
A bad recommendation...
Story: 6.5 / 10
Characters: 7.0
Setting: 7.0
Prose: 7.0
Tags: Class, language, character, science, goals, responsibility
Read this when I was 13 or so and was not thrilled for this to be the 1st book I ever reread. However, it really is a gem.
My favourite character is Malcolm, the mathematician and consultant in Jurassic Park. I don't remember too many other scientist personalities that so perfectly complement the story. His explanations of Chaos Theory and its role in everyday life is philosophical, comprehensible, and relevant to the story. In general, Crichton does an excellent job basing all the innovations the book introduces on fact.
In the end, the book is really just a suspenseful thriller. However, it is one of the best in the genre. Definitely recommend.
Definitely one of the best science-fiction books ever written, probably top 15. The writing is solid and the story is sufficiently complex. The only thing really wrong with the book is the spelling and possibly grammar. I don't know Scientology well enough to pick up the themes throughout the book, but they certainly didn't diminish the book's worth.
Sadly, this seems to be the only novel by this author, which is really a shame.
A painful abstract and obtuse read. I really could not at all say what happened. Zamyatin stopped a lot of sentences short. Maybe it is some sort of love betrayal story for the One-State. Let me know if you figure it out.
Story: 7 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 7.5
Prose: 4
Themes: Old, obligation, youth, war, work
Yes, it was a surprisingly good book. However, it was not an appropriate first venture into Romance. The main character had been raped as a high-schooler, so she had a lot of intimacy issues. The whole theme made me uncomfortable and the book was not the most pleasant read. Theoretically, if 33% of women have been raped in their lives, then the probably of meeting a person like Phoebe is not so slim. Still, my romances do not start with overcoming such an obstacle.
In addition, the entire beginning with the inheritance and team ownership was too unbelievable. Surely, the story would have worked on a smaller scale. Why does these authors feel the need to inflate the importance of their characters?
Despite the enjoyment of the read, it was also a bit too erotic. Every time I sit down and read I get hot and bothered. Certainly there is a place for that and it is reserved for short stories.
Will not read Phillips again...
I liked the conclusion, especially the drawn out recovery. Not much else to say except that I am eager to see what else S. Collins comes out with.
Generally liked the book, my first Hesse novel is probably 10 years. The structure was quite loose. Nevertheless, the conflicted mountaineering rural man finally finds his place in society. Hopefully, my own life will end as well.
Story: 2.0 / 10
Characters: 4
Setting: 8.5
Prose: 3.5
Tags: Communism, Socialism, peasantry, work, meaning, generations
Remarkably dense content, introducing a host of fiction technologies. However, the prose itself it dry and factual. Overall worth reading.
Story: 6.0 / 10
Characters: 7.0
Setting: 6.5
Prose: 6.0
Tags: Sports, baseball, talent, secrets, goals, direction, teamwork, superstition
Story: 9 / 10
Characters: 9
Setting: 8
Prose: 8
Certainly one of the 10 best science-fiction books I've ever read. Will definitely continue the next book in the series shortly.
My first favourite book, from age 15 to about 30.
The ending is a bit ambiguous, so it's definitely worth watching the film to see how Kosinski's screenplay differs slightly from his novel.
