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shawnthulhu's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
It's hard to believe this book was written in the fifties... until you realize only three women existed lolol. Still, it's crazy how this stands the test of time. I really enjoyed it.
yili's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bookstuff29's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
faroreness's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
socialamoebaemily's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Interesting enough but I feel like I never really got to know any of the characters and that everyone beyond the main character of each story was completely flat. The plots were good but I have such a hard time thinking that not a single person on any of the thousands of worlds would continue moving science forward or just teaching the next generation how things worked. Everything just seemed so ... contrived and none of it felt real because the people didn't feel or act like like people. Worth a read as a classic but not really as it's own novel.
evnp's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
zingloir's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
peregrinwho's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
A classic in sci-fi, and one I wanted to try after falling in love with the world in the tv show. Boy is this different. It's such a departure in fact, that I don't think it's right to compare the two, so I will be judging this strictly on its own.
The world is hardly different from our own back when this was written. The story focuses less on sci-fi and more uses the genre as a conduit to cover large swathes of time. If you don't care about characters and just want to explore the idea of psychohistory/mob psychology then this is very focused on that. It will, however, be so focused that everything is delivered in a bunch of smug monologues explaining why everyone else in the story is stupid. Interesting at first, I became fatigued by it near the end and found myself wanting a moment to breathe to enjoy the world set up for us. We're hopped through decades at a time and thus have to have the state of things explained to us repeatedly. It's a hard task, and one that's done well, but something to keep in mind. I'm going to continue to see where this goes. Hopefully there's more than one woman in the next book (doubtful) and there will be at least one scene where the room isn't clouded with cigar smoke (doubtful).
The world is hardly different from our own back when this was written. The story focuses less on sci-fi and more uses the genre as a conduit to cover large swathes of time. If you don't care about characters and just want to explore the idea of psychohistory/mob psychology then this is very focused on that. It will, however, be so focused that everything is delivered in a bunch of smug monologues explaining why everyone else in the story is stupid. Interesting at first, I became fatigued by it near the end and found myself wanting a moment to breathe to enjoy the world set up for us. We're hopped through decades at a time and thus have to have the state of things explained to us repeatedly. It's a hard task, and one that's done well, but something to keep in mind. I'm going to continue to see where this goes. Hopefully there's more than one woman in the next book (doubtful) and there will be at least one scene where the room isn't clouded with cigar smoke (doubtful).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Minor: Racial slurs, Suicide, and Misogyny