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ronschae4's review
4.0
A fantastic peek into the Sci-Fi counter-culture ("geekdom"). I think this is fashioned after the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society chums of Niven's and the type of all-for-one and one-for-all camaraderie they share. A fun and quick read.
iroise's review against another edition
1.0
Possibly the worst worldbuilding I have ever encountered.
Technology bad. But the big bad ecologists still use cars, radios, fax machines, airplanes, electricity- basically, everything that was used in the real world when this was written. Why? "it's a necessary evil". Alright, so no actual explanation.
Oh but you can be jailed for owning a computer.
And there's barely any science being taught in schools and universities. No explanation as to how the government can still manage the country when technology is so scarce.
Big bad ecologists KILLED SEVERAL SCIENTISTS and managed to get away with a "justified manslaughter". Alright.
No real explanation as to how technology became so hated. And science-fiction is despised. For some reason.
Rape scene that's passed as a joke because it's a guy. The only secondary female characters are cosplayers in tiny outfits.
This entire book was a weak attempt from the authors at making themselves look in power thanks to the great Power of Fandom
If I could give this book 0 stars I would.
Technology bad. But the big bad ecologists still use cars, radios, fax machines, airplanes, electricity- basically, everything that was used in the real world when this was written. Why? "it's a necessary evil". Alright, so no actual explanation.
Oh but you can be jailed for owning a computer.
And there's barely any science being taught in schools and universities. No explanation as to how the government can still manage the country when technology is so scarce.
Big bad ecologists KILLED SEVERAL SCIENTISTS and managed to get away with a "justified manslaughter". Alright.
No real explanation as to how technology became so hated. And science-fiction is despised. For some reason.
Rape scene that's passed as a joke because it's a guy. The only secondary female characters are cosplayers in tiny outfits.
This entire book was a weak attempt from the authors at making themselves look in power thanks to the great Power of Fandom
If I could give this book 0 stars I would.
celli's review
3.0
This is a fun book, with a lot of affection for classic sci-fi fandom. I'm only peripherally a part of that group--I do media fandom, mostly Internet-based, instead of lit sci-fi fandom, with 'zines and cons--but I definitely felt a kinship with these people, and a lot of them I was sure I'd met at one point or another in my life.
I also felt like it did a great job of universe-building. I read this over several days on my commute home, and every time I had to drag myself out of the book to get off the bus I would have a few moments of disorientation trying to get myself back into reality. It probably didn't help that I was reading a book about an ice age in the middle of a snowy Chicago winter. :)
I also felt like it did a great job of universe-building. I read this over several days on my commute home, and every time I had to drag myself out of the book to get off the bus I would have a few moments of disorientation trying to get myself back into reality. It probably didn't help that I was reading a book about an ice age in the middle of a snowy Chicago winter. :)
bokelsker's review
2.0
Dreary denialist drivel that no amount of fannish references could rescue. Had a small hope for the two female protagonists, but nooo, they were just included for silly 'mars needs women' type punchline. Grudgingly giving two stars for proper grammar and spelling.
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