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bluehaneul's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I thought I'd really enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, but it was nothing like it. And it has (almost) nothing to do with it. It's basically a sequel to the 1982 Blade Runner movie (which btw is horrible)
The disappointment starts with the writing, so awkward and confusing.
-There is a repetitive cycle of events that made things predictable.
-The dialogues are shallow and boring.
- The characters are so stupid and take a long time figuring out something so obvious.
I can confirm that the first and last 50 pages of the book were good, and everything in between is screwed up.
The disappointment starts with the writing, so awkward and confusing.
-There is a repetitive cycle of events that made things predictable.
-The dialogues are shallow and boring.
- The characters are so stupid and take a long time figuring out something so obvious.
I can confirm that the first and last 50 pages of the book were good, and everything in between is screwed up.
donnyeatsbooks's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
I forgot just how much of a thrill-ride this book is. I still don’t understand the hate. It does read like a glorified (although, exceptionally well-written) fanfic. But K.W. Jeter finds a few uncharted corners of this universe to explore; providing his own unique commentary and flair in the process, and introducing enough new ideas (and twists and turns) to keep things REALLY interesting! I mean, that final reveal… Holy shit. I dream of a timeline in which Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human was adapted as an official sequel.
mfeezell's review against another edition
1.0
It wasn’t a horrible book if you remove it from its context, but it really didn’t need to exist. At all.
david_agranoff's review
3.0
This book sat unread on my shelf for 10 years. I bought it for a quarter at a library book sale in Port Angeles Washington. I knew the back story, KW Jetter who is a cyberpunk author I respected had been friends with PKD during his life. The story goes that he and Dick had discussed before his death his thoughts on seeing the rough cut of the movie, and his plans to write sequel novel Jetter then with permission of the family wrote a series of books that are a sequel to the movie more so than the novel.
The main reason I decided to give this book at spin was to kinda get back into the Blade Runner world before the release of the new film. So I re-watched the blu-ray of the final cut, and read this book. Thought that would be a fun way to get excited for the new film. I read Do Andoirds Dream Electric Sheep and re-watched Blade Runner about 10 years ago. At the time I remember thinking that the movie was more faithful to the source material that it is often given credit for. Certainly there are many concepts in the novel that don't get explored like the empathy boxes and the very term Blade Runner is only in the movie.
That being said the concept of animal extinction, empathy towards animals and the very idea of empathy as a test for humanity is very clearly a translation of the novel into the film format. Watching it again I found little subtle moments that I realized meant nothing to me when I first saw the film and would have no meaning to me without having read the novel. When Deckard asks the replicant stripper if her snake is real and she says "of course not, how could I afford it?" Having read the novel I understand that most animals on earth are extinct that fake animals are status thing. Or in the Tyrell corporations penthouse when Tryell's owl gets a close-up it is clearly a fake but that is never mentioned.
So considering that it was interesting after watching the film again to enter into Jetter's sequel. While there are nods to Dick's novel, this is not an androids sequel it is very much a Blade Runner sequel. There are pros and cons to this. If there is one serious negative is that Jetter doesn't introduce new characters hardly at all, the setting hardly changes. He takes very few risks. It was almost like he was told we have to use all the same actors and sets. Understandable for a movie or TV production just didn't make sense in a prose setting.
Odd choice because it was a book, none the less he finds interesting twists into the story and brings back characters (some of whom died) in interesting ways. At this point I am going to talk about spoilers. The book is many years old, and about to become obsolete. I think many of you want to read this review to skip the book rather than actually than deciding if you want to read it. As a fan of Blade Runner I enjoyed it, but unless you are hugely devoted to the film I don't you have to read it.
I enjoyed reading it rated four stars at first but lowered my score to three after thinking deeper about it. It is fun, but it breaks no new ground and pretty much re-hashes the film over and over.
SPOILERS:
In this novel Rachel has been put in a sleep chamber and Deckard is forced back to LA to look for a last Nexxus 8 Replicant. This mission is given to him by Sarah the template for the Rachel Android. Roy Batty returns in the form of the human template. Holden the Blade Runner shot in the early scenes of the movie returns with a new heart and lungs after nearly dying. Holden and Deckard are both convinced that the other Blade Runner is the last Replicant. This is pretty good PKD paranoia,but the best twist of the novel comes at the end of chapter 8 on page 153. Holden comes the conclusion that perhaps all the Blade runners are Androids.
I thought this was a fun twist. In the end we are left with the same mystery and I am not sure I have reading the other two books.
The main reason I decided to give this book at spin was to kinda get back into the Blade Runner world before the release of the new film. So I re-watched the blu-ray of the final cut, and read this book. Thought that would be a fun way to get excited for the new film. I read Do Andoirds Dream Electric Sheep and re-watched Blade Runner about 10 years ago. At the time I remember thinking that the movie was more faithful to the source material that it is often given credit for. Certainly there are many concepts in the novel that don't get explored like the empathy boxes and the very term Blade Runner is only in the movie.
That being said the concept of animal extinction, empathy towards animals and the very idea of empathy as a test for humanity is very clearly a translation of the novel into the film format. Watching it again I found little subtle moments that I realized meant nothing to me when I first saw the film and would have no meaning to me without having read the novel. When Deckard asks the replicant stripper if her snake is real and she says "of course not, how could I afford it?" Having read the novel I understand that most animals on earth are extinct that fake animals are status thing. Or in the Tyrell corporations penthouse when Tryell's owl gets a close-up it is clearly a fake but that is never mentioned.
So considering that it was interesting after watching the film again to enter into Jetter's sequel. While there are nods to Dick's novel, this is not an androids sequel it is very much a Blade Runner sequel. There are pros and cons to this. If there is one serious negative is that Jetter doesn't introduce new characters hardly at all, the setting hardly changes. He takes very few risks. It was almost like he was told we have to use all the same actors and sets. Understandable for a movie or TV production just didn't make sense in a prose setting.
Odd choice because it was a book, none the less he finds interesting twists into the story and brings back characters (some of whom died) in interesting ways. At this point I am going to talk about spoilers. The book is many years old, and about to become obsolete. I think many of you want to read this review to skip the book rather than actually than deciding if you want to read it. As a fan of Blade Runner I enjoyed it, but unless you are hugely devoted to the film I don't you have to read it.
I enjoyed reading it rated four stars at first but lowered my score to three after thinking deeper about it. It is fun, but it breaks no new ground and pretty much re-hashes the film over and over.
SPOILERS:
In this novel Rachel has been put in a sleep chamber and Deckard is forced back to LA to look for a last Nexxus 8 Replicant. This mission is given to him by Sarah the template for the Rachel Android. Roy Batty returns in the form of the human template. Holden the Blade Runner shot in the early scenes of the movie returns with a new heart and lungs after nearly dying. Holden and Deckard are both convinced that the other Blade Runner is the last Replicant. This is pretty good PKD paranoia,but the best twist of the novel comes at the end of chapter 8 on page 153. Holden comes the conclusion that perhaps all the Blade runners are Androids.
I thought this was a fun twist. In the end we are left with the same mystery and I am not sure I have reading the other two books.
rptrumpet's review
3.0
First of all I would like to apologize for all of my negative opinions. I have great respect for anyone who has taken the time to publish a book, article, blog or tweet. Putting your thoughts out into the world for any clown like me to criticize takes guts and should be commended.
That’s why it’s with great disappointment that I inform you that this book was just not super great.
The first issue, and this is something you can look past, is that Jeter’s style is just not the same caliber as Dick’s. He paints the same dark setting but the narrative feels unpolished. Dialog especially feels forced, redundant and cyclical at times. Have you ever turned a page in a book and thought, didn’t I just read that? Well this will happen to you multiple times in BR2. Also the way most characters speak feels overly colloquial, like the dialect from a bizarre 90s urban sitcom starring Bob Saget, the Terminator and the orange ninja turtle. And if I read “sonofabitch” one more time…
The second issue, slightly more flagrant, was with Isidore. His character is a “special” whose genes were damaged by exposure to radiation. This character story is essential to BR1. And yet suddenly, he is able to have a complex metaphysical conversations with the protagonist in BR2. Just no. And the entire interaction, which went on for pages (did it span chapters?) was pointless.
Speaking of spanning chapters, Jeter weaves between characters and scenes without any regard for the chapters of the book. Sometimes a scene will start in the middle of one chapter, span into the next chapter, only to then break away to another scene in the middle of that same chapter. Why did he even need chapters? Or why not change chapters with the scene?
Three stars may be generous here but I will say I enjoyed the end well enough that I’ll probably check out BR3 also.
Bottom line, if this is a universe you appreciate definitely see if you can get these books from your library or used book store. Just don’t expect Shakespeare.
That’s why it’s with great disappointment that I inform you that this book was just not super great.
The first issue, and this is something you can look past, is that Jeter’s style is just not the same caliber as Dick’s. He paints the same dark setting but the narrative feels unpolished. Dialog especially feels forced, redundant and cyclical at times. Have you ever turned a page in a book and thought, didn’t I just read that? Well this will happen to you multiple times in BR2. Also the way most characters speak feels overly colloquial, like the dialect from a bizarre 90s urban sitcom starring Bob Saget, the Terminator and the orange ninja turtle. And if I read “sonofabitch” one more time…
The second issue, slightly more flagrant, was with Isidore. His character is a “special” whose genes were damaged by exposure to radiation. This character story is essential to BR1. And yet suddenly, he is able to have a complex metaphysical conversations with the protagonist in BR2. Just no. And the entire interaction, which went on for pages (did it span chapters?) was pointless.
Speaking of spanning chapters, Jeter weaves between characters and scenes without any regard for the chapters of the book. Sometimes a scene will start in the middle of one chapter, span into the next chapter, only to then break away to another scene in the middle of that same chapter. Why did he even need chapters? Or why not change chapters with the scene?
Three stars may be generous here but I will say I enjoyed the end well enough that I’ll probably check out BR3 also.
Bottom line, if this is a universe you appreciate definitely see if you can get these books from your library or used book store. Just don’t expect Shakespeare.
blackwaterlilly's review
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
patrickkanouse's review
2.0
If this hadn’t been a sequel to BLADE RUNNER (and a non canon one now), then I would’ve liked it more. As it was, I didn’t think Deckard came across as the Deckard of the films, and I didn’t care for the way the plot came together—it tried to re-create BLADE RUNNER rather than add to it (like the BLADE RUNNER 2019, 2029, ORIGINS, 2049, and BLACK LOTUS attempt to do).
kalindamage's review
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
calypte's review against another edition
2.0
I've read this before, but could remember absolutely none of it - it's got that kind of impact. The author is clearly trying to bridge the gap between Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and BladeRunner, the movie, whilst being a sequel to the latter. Is it successful? Hmm, yes and no. There are some interesting questions being asked about what it is to be human, and half an attempt to answer some of the questions left by the movie (although possibly answered in a different way by subsequent Director's Cuts!). The writing style really does seem to be trying to describe a movie, which doesn't always work. Overall, though, the story is the weak point, so...!
Will be interesting to see if any of the ideas here make it into the new movie (squeeeeeeeeee!).
(Blog review)
Will be interesting to see if any of the ideas here make it into the new movie (squeeeeeeeeee!).
(Blog review)
ninja5ifty's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0