I kind of got this by accident. I really enjoy Robert Charles Wilson’s books and saw this available for pre-order on the Nook. I waited for months forI kind of got this by accident. I really enjoy Robert Charles Wilson’s books and saw this available for pre-order on the Nook. I waited for months for the release date, then decided to get the audiobook because a credit cost less than the ebook. I was a bit surprised that the Audible Frontiers version was released in 2009, but just thought that the ebook version was new. As I’m listening, it seemed a bit dated. The current-day events in this time travel story occur in 1989. I did more research on the book and found out that it was originally published 20 years ago and was re-released in late 2011. I’m just saying this for disclosure because it really didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story.
What did affect my enjoyment was this similarity between this novel and Stephen King’s newest, 11/22/63 which I listened to last month. I kept thinking that this book was so much like that one and had to remind myself that Wilson wrote it 20 years before King wrote his. In both books, an ordinary guy from the present travels back to the past. King’s protagonist to 1958 and Wilson’s to 1962. They both get jobs, rent apartments, make friends and fall in love in the past. The both face great danger because of their time traveling. As much as I enjoyed this, I felt like I was re-reading 11/22/63 and that really isn’t fair to “A Bridge of Years�. This book is worth reading, just don’t read it too close to King’s book.
This audiobook is one of Jonathan Davis’s better narrations. His voice is perfectly suited to the story and his tendency to talk like William Shatner wasn’t as bad as usual.
Merged review:
I kind of got this by accident. I really enjoy Robert Charles Wilson’s books and saw this available for pre-order on the Nook. I waited for months for the release date, then decided to get the audiobook because a credit cost less than the ebook. I was a bit surprised that the Audible Frontiers version was released in 2009, but just thought that the ebook version was new. As I’m listening, it seemed a bit dated. The current-day events in this time travel story occur in 1989. I did more research on the book and found out that it was originally published 20 years ago and was re-released in late 2011. I’m just saying this for disclosure because it really didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story.
What did affect my enjoyment was this similarity between this novel and Stephen King’s newest, 11/22/63 which I listened to last month. I kept thinking that this book was so much like that one and had to remind myself that Wilson wrote it 20 years before King wrote his. In both books, an ordinary guy from the present travels back to the past. King’s protagonist to 1958 and Wilson’s to 1962. They both get jobs, rent apartments, make friends and fall in love in the past. The both face great danger because of their time traveling. As much as I enjoyed this, I felt like I was re-reading 11/22/63 and that really isn’t fair to “A Bridge of Years�. This book is worth reading, just don’t read it too close to King’s book.
This audiobook is one of Jonathan Davis’s better narrations. His voice is perfectly suited to the story and his tendency to talk like William Shatner wasn’t as bad as usual....more
I read Stranger in a Strange Land twice. I loathed it with a passion the first time I read it, sometimes in the Eighties. I tried again in 2008 when iI read Stranger in a Strange Land twice. I loathed it with a passion the first time I read it, sometimes in the Eighties. I tried again in 2008 when it was a selection for one of my GoodReads groups. I thought maybe I was missing something, so I decided to go for the re-read. It was just as awful the second time. Because of my experience, I vowed I would never read Heinlein again. Several people told me that Stranger in a Strange Land wasn't really his best work and that I should try The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress instead. After listening to the discussion on the Sword & Laser podcast about this book, I decided to give it a try. (A $4.95 sale at Audible really decided it for me.) I will hereby vow never to read anything by Heinlein again. You will never convince me to read Starship Troopers or The Puppet Masters or any other Heinlein book. There just aren't enough reading hours in a lifetime to spend trying to discover why this author is considered to be a science fiction great.
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress started off promising. A computer repair guy learns that the computer he's working on has become sentient and they become good friends. Computer guy gets involved with revolutionaries and computer becomes a key figure in the revolution. However, the novel quickly digresses into lecturing about politics, gender relations, economics, and a plethora of other topics. It was a primer on revolution. There was a lot of talking, but not much action. Even if the book were cut in half, there would still be too much exposition.
The only thing that brought this book up from one star to two for me was the narrator. He did a great job with the voice of Manuel and with the other characters. He made the unbearable slightly tolerable.
Merged review:
I read Stranger in a Strange Land twice. I loathed it with a passion the first time I read it, sometimes in the Eighties. I tried again in 2008 when it was a selection for one of my GoodReads groups. I thought maybe I was missing something, so I decided to go for the re-read. It was just as awful the second time. Because of my experience, I vowed I would never read Heinlein again. Several people told me that Stranger in a Strange Land wasn't really his best work and that I should try The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress instead. After listening to the discussion on the Sword & Laser podcast about this book, I decided to give it a try. (A $4.95 sale at Audible really decided it for me.) I will hereby vow never to read anything by Heinlein again. You will never convince me to read Starship Troopers or The Puppet Masters or any other Heinlein book. There just aren't enough reading hours in a lifetime to spend trying to discover why this author is considered to be a science fiction great.
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress started off promising. A computer repair guy learns that the computer he's working on has become sentient and they become good friends. Computer guy gets involved with revolutionaries and computer becomes a key figure in the revolution. However, the novel quickly digresses into lecturing about politics, gender relations, economics, and a plethora of other topics. It was a primer on revolution. There was a lot of talking, but not much action. Even if the book were cut in half, there would still be too much exposition.
The only thing that brought this book up from one star to two for me was the narrator. He did a great job with the voice of Manuel and with the other characters. He made the unbearable slightly tolerable....more
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