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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
The writing was just not something I could finish. An example: "The representative of the law was marching through the middle of campus, followed by a stout man who had the self-important air of a typical politician and, in fact, was a politician..." The male characters are very flat; the female characters are worse, and the obvious villain is straight unbelievable.
Pearl put a lot of work into this story but it didn't 'resonate' with me. If I've ever been to Boston I don't remember the visit and the book doesn't increase that desire. Really it could have taken place in St Louis or San Francisco or London with few mods. Do The Technologists figure out ANYTHING on their own? Seems like a lot is dropped into their laps and explained in lecturing exposition.
I would enjoy a whole book of the two colleges feuding and trying to blow each other up in prank style!
It crosses the line from historical fiction into steampunk when the bit with the glass happens. Was that ever explained?
Mark Hodson's books are more fun, although into sci-fi. Also the Milkweed books.
But it's my review so there.
I would enjoy a whole book of the two colleges feuding and trying to blow each other up in prank style!
It crosses the line from historical fiction into steampunk when the bit with the glass happens. Was that ever explained?
Mark Hodson's books are more fun, although into sci-fi. Also the Milkweed books.
But it's my review so there.
The Technologists by Matthew Pearl is about a group of friends in the first graduating class of the yet-to-be-accredited Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) trying to solve the mystery behind some strange incidents in Boston. The first of these is the dissolving of the glass in a city block. The other is a ship running aground because its compass was way off.
At the head of the group is Marcos Mansfield, the school's charity case. He's a Civil War vet and he's on a full scholarship. His name right away is a clue to one of the one of the book's biggest flaws: a fully fictional lead cast written by an author who up until now has specialized in placing historical figures in fictional situations. The hokey but symbolic names (Mansfield, being for instance the "Fanny Price" of this novel), were a huge distraction for me.
The next problem is the age of the characters. In his previous books, Pearl's protagonists are older — midlife — and well established in their careers. They therefore have believable means and knowledge to accomplish the tasks at hand. Here though, we have college students. Yes, they're about to graduate, and yes, they're described as being the best of the best but that still doesn't give them the same level of on-hand expertise that Dicken's American publisher would have in The Last Dickens.
Since Mansfield and his buddies don't come preloaded with the credibility needed to jump into the investigation, the book spends an unfortunate hundred and fifty pages or so building their characters up to the point that they seem plausible as investigators for these tech crimes.
At the head of the group is Marcos Mansfield, the school's charity case. He's a Civil War vet and he's on a full scholarship. His name right away is a clue to one of the one of the book's biggest flaws: a fully fictional lead cast written by an author who up until now has specialized in placing historical figures in fictional situations. The hokey but symbolic names (Mansfield, being for instance the "Fanny Price" of this novel), were a huge distraction for me.
The next problem is the age of the characters. In his previous books, Pearl's protagonists are older — midlife — and well established in their careers. They therefore have believable means and knowledge to accomplish the tasks at hand. Here though, we have college students. Yes, they're about to graduate, and yes, they're described as being the best of the best but that still doesn't give them the same level of on-hand expertise that Dicken's American publisher would have in The Last Dickens.
Since Mansfield and his buddies don't come preloaded with the credibility needed to jump into the investigation, the book spends an unfortunate hundred and fifty pages or so building their characters up to the point that they seem plausible as investigators for these tech crimes.
I usually will truck through and finish a book, no matter how bad it is, but I'm three chapters in and I already think this is stupid, so I'm done. I think The Dante Club was just a broken-clock-right-twice-a-day thing, because nothing Pearl has written since then has managed to grab me.
interesting historical fiction/mystery set in the time and place of MIT's origin. pace of the novel was very slow at times though.
This was a horrible book to listen to, all do the reader. I think if I would have read it the experience might have been better.
Thoughts: Reading The Technologists by Matthew Pearl is a great reminder why cross-genre novels are popular these days. The appeal of a novel that is more than a mystery, more than a thriller, and more than a work of historical fiction creates a fairly broad reader base. Not only that, but it creates a much more satisfyingly intricate and robust story. The Technologists is definitely that. With its commentary of class and gender distinctions, presentation of historical fact merged with intriguing fiction, and a killer mystery, the complexity of the scientific sections is offset by its sympathetic characters and thought-provoking descriptions of Bostonian societal norms, creating a novel that will attract a wide swath of readers and more importantly, keep their interest.
With a novel written about the first students at MIT and titled The Technologists, one knows immediately upon picking it up that it is going to be heavily laden with scientific discussions and events. Science and technology in any novel can be tricky to write, as a reader needs to be able to understand the science mentioned and, in the case of science fiction, needs to be able to believe the possibilities of such technology. Thankfully, Mr. Pearl is up to the challenge. Most of the scientific descriptions involve issues that are considered common knowledge today, or at least are mentioned in most high school chemistry, geography, and physics classes. For those discussions that may be a little more complicated, Mr. Pearl uses the characters to explain the science in a fashion that is informative without being condescending. In addition, for a reader who may be struggling with some of the science behind the action, the nods to scientific discoveries that are common knowledge today but were in their infancy at the time in the novel, e.g. food science, bacteriology, robotics, create light-hearted moments of superiority. The Technologists allows the reader to remember just how far the world of science has come in a relatively short time span.
What does come as a surprise when reading The Technologists is the antagonism between Harvard and MIT. This is one area in which Mr. Pearl tried not to stray from fact as much as possible, and it is fascinating to discover how patronizing and smug the Harvard students and faculty were towards the fledgling college. For a city, nay a country, that prides itself on being equal opportunity for all, even though it struggles in the execution, the divide between the haves – those able to afford college – and the have-nots – those forced to work for a living – was almost insurmountable. Although modern readers may expect such a divide due to money and the overall cost of receiving any sort of post-secondary education, the astonishment in The Technologists comes at the attitudes. Those not considered part of “society” were considered inferior and therefore not acceptable material for any college or university, and heaven help the poor soul who attempted to rise above their position. It is a shocking and disturbing display of the fundamental attitudinal differences between the “one percenters” and the rest of society. It also creates an unprecedented amount of empathy for the poor students at MIT who faced ridicule, lack of actual diplomas, and uncertain futures to pave the way for a new type of education.
The overall story of The Technologists is full of the most subtle twists and turns. Just when a reader thinks the story is going in one direction, the plot twists into a new one. This allows the resolution of the mystery to remain shrouded, providing a surprising and satisfying ending to the story. Mr. Pearl ladens his plot twists with well-described details and thoughtful insight into his characters. The fact that a majority of the students involved were either real or are based on actual students allows Mr. Pearl to create fairly three-dimensional characters that do much to enhance the overall story. Through the requisite descriptions and scientific discussions, Mr. Pearl is able to maintain decent pacing, as there are only a few moments where the story bogs down in the details. Thankfully, he writes himself out of such danger traps to create a story that is fairly fast-paced with a fine balance between attention to detail and action.
The Technologists is a fun romp through Boston after the Civil War at a time where science was advancing in unprecedented leaps and bounds. Not only is it a thrilling mystery, it also provides readers with a fascinating look at the issues facing the creation of one of the most respected colleges today. While much of the action is fictional, Mr. Pearl’s notes provide an excellent breakdown of the fictional liberties he took versus the historical details he kept pure and unadulterated. Even though the blend of fact and fiction is not necessarily seamless due to the nature of the fictional pieces, the accurate factual events create a more robust and believable story. The end result is a creative, engaging, and informative historical technological mystery.
Acknowledgments: Thank you to LibraryThing's Early Reader Program for my review copy!
With a novel written about the first students at MIT and titled The Technologists, one knows immediately upon picking it up that it is going to be heavily laden with scientific discussions and events. Science and technology in any novel can be tricky to write, as a reader needs to be able to understand the science mentioned and, in the case of science fiction, needs to be able to believe the possibilities of such technology. Thankfully, Mr. Pearl is up to the challenge. Most of the scientific descriptions involve issues that are considered common knowledge today, or at least are mentioned in most high school chemistry, geography, and physics classes. For those discussions that may be a little more complicated, Mr. Pearl uses the characters to explain the science in a fashion that is informative without being condescending. In addition, for a reader who may be struggling with some of the science behind the action, the nods to scientific discoveries that are common knowledge today but were in their infancy at the time in the novel, e.g. food science, bacteriology, robotics, create light-hearted moments of superiority. The Technologists allows the reader to remember just how far the world of science has come in a relatively short time span.
What does come as a surprise when reading The Technologists is the antagonism between Harvard and MIT. This is one area in which Mr. Pearl tried not to stray from fact as much as possible, and it is fascinating to discover how patronizing and smug the Harvard students and faculty were towards the fledgling college. For a city, nay a country, that prides itself on being equal opportunity for all, even though it struggles in the execution, the divide between the haves – those able to afford college – and the have-nots – those forced to work for a living – was almost insurmountable. Although modern readers may expect such a divide due to money and the overall cost of receiving any sort of post-secondary education, the astonishment in The Technologists comes at the attitudes. Those not considered part of “society” were considered inferior and therefore not acceptable material for any college or university, and heaven help the poor soul who attempted to rise above their position. It is a shocking and disturbing display of the fundamental attitudinal differences between the “one percenters” and the rest of society. It also creates an unprecedented amount of empathy for the poor students at MIT who faced ridicule, lack of actual diplomas, and uncertain futures to pave the way for a new type of education.
The overall story of The Technologists is full of the most subtle twists and turns. Just when a reader thinks the story is going in one direction, the plot twists into a new one. This allows the resolution of the mystery to remain shrouded, providing a surprising and satisfying ending to the story. Mr. Pearl ladens his plot twists with well-described details and thoughtful insight into his characters. The fact that a majority of the students involved were either real or are based on actual students allows Mr. Pearl to create fairly three-dimensional characters that do much to enhance the overall story. Through the requisite descriptions and scientific discussions, Mr. Pearl is able to maintain decent pacing, as there are only a few moments where the story bogs down in the details. Thankfully, he writes himself out of such danger traps to create a story that is fairly fast-paced with a fine balance between attention to detail and action.
The Technologists is a fun romp through Boston after the Civil War at a time where science was advancing in unprecedented leaps and bounds. Not only is it a thrilling mystery, it also provides readers with a fascinating look at the issues facing the creation of one of the most respected colleges today. While much of the action is fictional, Mr. Pearl’s notes provide an excellent breakdown of the fictional liberties he took versus the historical details he kept pure and unadulterated. Even though the blend of fact and fiction is not necessarily seamless due to the nature of the fictional pieces, the accurate factual events create a more robust and believable story. The end result is a creative, engaging, and informative historical technological mystery.
Acknowledgments: Thank you to LibraryThing's Early Reader Program for my review copy!
Oh I had so much fun with this.
I was going on a trip to Cambridge, MA to visit my sister. She's studying at Harvard for the year and I wanted to read something that would give some life to my trip, a nice bit of historical fiction. While this was not the right book for a trip to Harvard, especially since it casts Harvard in a negative light, it was certainly a great read for making that region come alive for me. I've long been a fan of MIT and this was such a delight to read.
I did read some reviews first, some of which warned of a confusing cast of characters. While I certainly felt that way in the beginning, once I got into it I found it easy to keep track of the characters. Similarly, I found the plot a little scattered at first but once The Technologists got down to work I was captivated. There were many times when it truly felt like all hope was lost for the characters and for MIT! I was pretty impressed by the plot.
However, I did find that the book was a little hard to follow whenever the narrative moved to a new setting or switched to a flashback. I was listening to the audiobook so perhaps that was easier to follow in a print edition. It would take me some time to figure out where, when, and who the narrative was referring to.
Additionally, I will agree with other reviewers that Pearl's dialogue is sometimes cringey. He valiantly attempted to write with historically accurate language, sometimes to a fault. Most of the time it was fine, sometimes it was just funny, and other times it was painfully awkward. This must be a common problem with historical fiction but somehow I've witnessed other authors tackle the challenge a little more gracefully.
That being said, I think the fun characters and surprising plot more than made up for the awkward dialogue. I recommend this book, especially to any MIT enthusiasts and historical fiction fans!
I was going on a trip to Cambridge, MA to visit my sister. She's studying at Harvard for the year and I wanted to read something that would give some life to my trip, a nice bit of historical fiction. While this was not the right book for a trip to Harvard, especially since it casts Harvard in a negative light, it was certainly a great read for making that region come alive for me. I've long been a fan of MIT and this was such a delight to read.
I did read some reviews first, some of which warned of a confusing cast of characters. While I certainly felt that way in the beginning, once I got into it I found it easy to keep track of the characters. Similarly, I found the plot a little scattered at first but once The Technologists got down to work I was captivated. There were many times when it truly felt like all hope was lost for the characters and for MIT! I was pretty impressed by the plot.
However, I did find that the book was a little hard to follow whenever the narrative moved to a new setting or switched to a flashback. I was listening to the audiobook so perhaps that was easier to follow in a print edition. It would take me some time to figure out where, when, and who the narrative was referring to.
Additionally, I will agree with other reviewers that Pearl's dialogue is sometimes cringey. He valiantly attempted to write with historically accurate language, sometimes to a fault. Most of the time it was fine, sometimes it was just funny, and other times it was painfully awkward. This must be a common problem with historical fiction but somehow I've witnessed other authors tackle the challenge a little more gracefully.
That being said, I think the fun characters and surprising plot more than made up for the awkward dialogue. I recommend this book, especially to any MIT enthusiasts and historical fiction fans!
It's rare for me not to finish a book, even if I am not enjoying it, as I always think it might get better towards the end ... but I had just about enough of this when, on p227 (of 476), the Dastardly Villain declares: '"I am to have my proper revenge, and for that I am to operate in the shadows."' It's a great idea for a novel, exploring the historical antededents of MIT, and Pearl has done a lot of impeccable research on life in Boston at that time ... except the characterisation is like a Hardy Boys novel. To whit, on p147: '"Am I that important and handsome?" Bob bellowed with his deep bass laugh, and tossed his head.' One of the characters even declares: '"Hurrah for the nineteenth century!'" Aargh!!!