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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
Hated the ending but gritting my teeth trying to remember how much I loved the first 98% of this….absolutely captivating. i dont even read a lot of hard sci fi but even the intricacies of astrophysics were fascinating here. raised all the questions that great sci fi should and made me feel grudging hope and love for humanity. -.25 bc the characters felt VERY mouthpiecey at times - I was very interested in sagans musings on religion but they could have been handled more gracefully in the narrative than just having characters go on long ass monologues with perfectly structured arguments, -.25 for an unnecessary ass twist at the end, -.25 for weird jabs about how the mc is such a bitch for not calling her parents enough when she’s literally making the most important scientific discovery in human history and the implication that she isnt really fulfilled by FINDING ALIENS bc she doesnt have a child
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved it! Even better than the movie. Enjoyed the exploration of faith in the scientific field.
I was torn between giving Contact 3 stars or 4 stars. I was generally fascinated with the story, and Sagan weaves an elegant, intertextual narrative, elucidating the tension between religion and science, individualism and collectivism, and our personal mythologies and our cosmic mythologies. The climax was a riveting page-turner. However, the last 20 or 30 pages were a real let-down. In those pages, the text was very heavy-handed in its declarations of intelligent design and a creator, which is incredibly disappointing. Why can't it be enough to show us the magnificence of space, the awe-inspiring complexity of science, the power of humanity when it chooses to unite in a common cause, and the expanding layers of the mystery that is our universe? The movie did a better job of uniting religion and science as a quest for truth without telling us what to believe in the end. Part of the beauty of this story was that the more we ask, the more we learn, and the more we learn, the more we realize we have yet to learn. Leaving the story there would've been beautiful, poetic, and full of truth.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not a perfect book, but a great book. The last quarter of the book in particular is highly moving.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Truly mindblowing — I only regret not having read this sooner. My only critique was that some fat could’ve been trimmed, particularly from in the 20-50% range of the book (specifically exposition that didn’t really advance the themes, characterization, or plot)
As a product of a conservative Christian upbringing that touted a young-earth creationist worldview and labeled most science "conspiracy" who discovered in college that he was both gay and enamored by all things Science and Astronomy, I feel like this book stared straight into my soul. I read it for the first time back in 2020 and remembered enjoying it but couldn't recall the finer details and philosophical points so I decided to re-read now in 2024, and I am so deeply glad that I did. I captured so many quotes in this book - about love, relationships, the vastness of space, the idea that we aren't alone in the universe, concepts of futility, awe, the Numinous, etc. This book is a rare but FULLY deserved 5 star rating from me.
I have seen the movie half a dozen times and consider it one of my favorites, so reading the book was more of a completionist activity than anything. And much like a previous review of "I am Legend", I couldn't help but compare the book to the movie the whole time. Here are the highlights:
1. The basic plot is extremely similar in both versions. If you are reading the book to get the "real" story, you will have very little to hold your interest.
2. A lot of reviewers were saying that there is no love story in the book, but there is. Only the love interest in the book has even less significance. In the movie, Joss turned on Ellie because of what he believed in and it was a big part of the plot. In the book, der Heer just seems to lose interest and fades away. Why bother writing in a love story at all, then?
3. Drumlin had more to him in the movie. In the book he's just a pompous ass. In the movie he was an ass too, but he had an angle that he really thought made him better suited for the mission than Ellie; even if it was a little too similar to Joss' position.
4. The movie was lean. It didn't bother getting into many backstories of extra characters. This is more an effect of the runtime than prudent storytelling, but I still preferred it.
5. I really liked the book's ending message about finding a cosmological meaning in the far reaches of the value of pi. That was a nice tie-in that the movie could have done with 5 extra minutes. They missed out there.
All and all, I'd have to say I liked both really well. However, if push came to shove, I'd chose to re-watch the movie than re-read the book.
1. The basic plot is extremely similar in both versions. If you are reading the book to get the "real" story, you will have very little to hold your interest.
2. A lot of reviewers were saying that there is no love story in the book, but there is. Only the love interest in the book has even less significance. In the movie, Joss turned on Ellie because of what he believed in and it was a big part of the plot. In the book, der Heer just seems to lose interest and fades away. Why bother writing in a love story at all, then?
3. Drumlin had more to him in the movie. In the book he's just a pompous ass. In the movie he was an ass too, but he had an angle that he really thought made him better suited for the mission than Ellie; even if it was a little too similar to Joss' position.
4. The movie was lean. It didn't bother getting into many backstories of extra characters. This is more an effect of the runtime than prudent storytelling, but I still preferred it.
5. I really liked the book's ending message about finding a cosmological meaning in the far reaches of the value of pi. That was a nice tie-in that the movie could have done with 5 extra minutes. They missed out there.
All and all, I'd have to say I liked both really well. However, if push came to shove, I'd chose to re-watch the movie than re-read the book.
This is my favorite science fiction novel because it epitomizes all that is science fiction; the theory and imagination of what science can do, the discovery of intelligent alien lifeforms (everyone loves a good "first contact" story), the moral and religious debate which naturally arise in science and after reading it you are left to make your own decision about what you believe is right or even possible. Required reading for science fiction lovers!