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olityr's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book takes place over hundreds of millions of years. Tau Zero is one of the few books I've read with a longer time scale, and it's by the same author.
davybaby's review against another edition
2.0
High-concept science fiction. A bit disorienting in its fragmented presentation of the way sentient software would experience the world, but it presented an interesting trial of sorts about the ethics of playing god.
I'm sure it would be stronger on a second read, but not my favorite at first blush.
I'm sure it would be stronger on a second read, but not my favorite at first blush.
vailynst's review
3.0
Notes:
Enjoyed the idea of the book but it was too short to really explore the main themes. More of a teaser of maybes than a fully formed story.
Enjoyed the idea of the book but it was too short to really explore the main themes. More of a teaser of maybes than a fully formed story.
jrpoole's review
3.0
There's some really interesting stuff here, as the novel explores the singularity of human and machine, predicting the rise of a galactic consciousness, and touches on what it means to be human and the way human civilizations develop. If the execution of the narrative was as impressive as those thematic ideas, this would be a truly great book, but, in the end it leaves a good bit to be desired. I have two major complaints here:
1) The narrative structure is way too clunky. Just as the novel starts humming, it breaks off into a series of vignettes showing the development of human culture thousands of years into our future. This might not be a problem if these sections were written better, but they're largely boring and derivative.
2) The main female character comes from hundreds of years in our future, and is one of the brightest minds of her time. She's also fawning and insufferable and about as strong a woman as one of Captain Kirk's galactic concubines. I don't think every book with a female character has to make some sort of feminist statement, but damn.
All in all, though, Genesis is good enough to support its exploration of ideas, even if it sometimes drops the ball.
1) The narrative structure is way too clunky. Just as the novel starts humming, it breaks off into a series of vignettes showing the development of human culture thousands of years into our future. This might not be a problem if these sections were written better, but they're largely boring and derivative.
2) The main female character comes from hundreds of years in our future, and is one of the brightest minds of her time. She's also fawning and insufferable and about as strong a woman as one of Captain Kirk's galactic concubines. I don't think every book with a female character has to make some sort of feminist statement, but damn.
All in all, though, Genesis is good enough to support its exploration of ideas, even if it sometimes drops the ball.
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