Phil Dick had the unique ability to write about his own insanity in a rational, reasonable way. A lot of drugs and religious agonizing went int4.0/4.0
Phil Dick had the unique ability to write about his own insanity in a rational, reasonable way. A lot of drugs and religious agonizing went into this book, and yet each step further into his twisted mind is as easy as the last. It's almost surprising how crazy it gets when the path is so clearly laid out in front of you....more
I haven't actually read this book in English, just German. It's fantastic in the original, though, so let me know if you find an English copy a4.0/4.0
I haven't actually read this book in English, just German. It's fantastic in the original, though, so let me know if you find an English copy and read it....more
Horror/comedy. Heavy on the comedy, light on the horror. Includes the best collection of dick jokes I've ever come across. Not for boring peopl3.5/4.0
Horror/comedy. Heavy on the comedy, light on the horror. Includes the best collection of dick jokes I've ever come across. Not for boring people....more
The craft is there, and the main premise of classics scholars reliving the Trojan War is intriguing. But Simmons has run out of ideas in other 2.5/4.0
The craft is there, and the main premise of classics scholars reliving the Trojan War is intriguing. But Simmons has run out of ideas in other areas. Too much recycling to too little effect....more
The plot's about an angry guy chasing a whale. There's not a lot of variation on this theme: he catches it, or he d4.0/4.0
It's the Moby-Dick question.
The plot's about an angry guy chasing a whale. There's not a lot of variation on this theme: he catches it, or he doesn't. Maybe he catches it and wishes that he didn't, maybe he doesn't and regrets that he failed. But this basic plot, a straightforward quest for revenge, is such thin gruel that you'd have to be on the lower end of the intellectual spectrum to fail to realize that the book's about something a little bit more than hunting a big fish.
Even so, there's no guarantee that you're going to tolerate 20 pages about rope. At the end of the digression, you're either going to respond in one of two ways. You might be of the sort to go, "Hmm, that was some fascinating rope discourse. I had no idea that rope could be used in such multifaceted ways, and having read that, I am now a different and slightly more rounded person." Then again, you could respond with a "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, enough with the stupid rope already! For fuck's sake, where's that son of a bitch whale? The white sea mammal is the TITLE of the book, and I'm reading about some shitty rope?! Christ, I need some vodka."
You should know what sort of reader you are before picking this book up, because The Baroque Cycle is about 3,000 pages long, and Neal Stephenson digresses like an ADHD kid on speed. Melville's focus is a goddamn space laser in comparison. Quicksilver has economics, mining, mathematics, piracy, slavery, early Puritan philosophy and I forget what else.
It is genius, pure and simple.
This is one of the first great works of the 21st century, and I can't recommend it highly enough. But odds are great that you'll hate it mightily if your concern is the destination instead of how you get there....more
Not science fiction, really. More like history-of-science fiction. A World War II cryptography/adventure/treasure hunt3.5/4.0
This is a brilliant book.
Not science fiction, really. More like history-of-science fiction. A World War II cryptography/adventure/treasure hunting story, with an overlarge dose of modern international computer corporation politics thrown in for good measure. Full of digressions, which are part of the feel of the story. If you don't like getting sidetracked, then avoid it. Unfortunately, even with all its brilliance, it has notable problems.
1) The ending is poor, which is a huge disappointment from a 1,000 page novel.
2) There are no good women characters. None. This is a boys-and-their-toys story, and the females have the same personality depth as cheap cardboard. Not super surprising from a war story, but still frustrating, especially given the modern day scenes.
Still, it's fascinating, and absolutely worth reading. But it's not as worth reading as Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle, which is (basically) the same genre but without the flaws....more
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