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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
While I loved the science in this book, I didn’t enjoy how it was written. The pacing was way off—very slow at times and skipping years at others. The characters, including Ellie, felt flat and uninteresting, and the information was often delivered in long info dumps. I struggled to finish the book, even in audio format, as I kept zoning out.
The story has a slow but great build that peaks during their voyage, which felt very brief in comparison. I also wasn’t interested in the science vs. religion debate that took up a large part of the book.
I look forward to reading some of Carl Sagan’s non-fiction, which I’ve heard is much more palatable.
The story has a slow but great build that peaks during their voyage, which felt very brief in comparison. I also wasn’t interested in the science vs. religion debate that took up a large part of the book.
I look forward to reading some of Carl Sagan’s non-fiction, which I’ve heard is much more palatable.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wish I'd read this earlier. It's a book that strengthened my belief in our shared humanity, made me appreciate the universality of mathematics and physics, and wonder at the infinite scale of the cosmos as well as our infinitesimal existence in the backwaters of the Milky Way. It helps that I finished reading it just as dusk was settling down over the Grand Canyon (I was visiting on a trip with my parents) and the stars were coming out.
When I was debating between applying to study at schools, it was a coin toss between astrophysics and aerospace engineering; the latter won out because I thought it'd be more practical, but if I'd read this book in high school, I would've picked the former.
When I was debating between applying to study at schools, it was a coin toss between astrophysics and aerospace engineering; the latter won out because I thought it'd be more practical, but if I'd read this book in high school, I would've picked the former.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Definitely worth to read if you loved the movie, but just a pre warning everything science and geopolitics that were just touched on by the movie are turned up to 1000 in the book.
Si no existe el subgénero de novela de divulgación, Carl Sagan la ha creado con esta excelente obra de ciencia ficción.
Quería leer este libro por ser único de carácter literario del autor, el cuál es exclusivamente escritor de divulgación científica, ya que, por eso mismo, no podría presentar muchos dotes de novelista y que sea un tocho de términos y explicaciones como si fuera un ensayo con la excusa de la trama, pero no fue así. Sino que todo lo contrario.
No es la mejor trama de la historia de la ciencia ficción, pero no lo necesita, porque no se sale de sus casillas y sabe qué resaltar y qué no.
Una de las cosas que me fascinan de la literatura scifi es el grado de detalle al plantear un escenario y como lleva a cabo, no solo la coherencia narrativa con el suceso de ficción, sino que más bien cómo son las consecuencias y repercusiones de dicho evento en las distintas aristas del mundo (o las que sean más relevantes).
Casi no he leído un libro más detallista en este sentido que Contacto. Una genialidad de principio a fin.
Quería leer este libro por ser único de carácter literario del autor, el cuál es exclusivamente escritor de divulgación científica, ya que, por eso mismo, no podría presentar muchos dotes de novelista y que sea un tocho de términos y explicaciones como si fuera un ensayo con la excusa de la trama, pero no fue así. Sino que todo lo contrario.
No es la mejor trama de la historia de la ciencia ficción, pero no lo necesita, porque no se sale de sus casillas y sabe qué resaltar y qué no.
Una de las cosas que me fascinan de la literatura scifi es el grado de detalle al plantear un escenario y como lleva a cabo, no solo la coherencia narrativa con el suceso de ficción, sino que más bien cómo son las consecuencias y repercusiones de dicho evento en las distintas aristas del mundo (o las que sean más relevantes).
Casi no he leído un libro más detallista en este sentido que Contacto. Una genialidad de principio a fin.
I first watched the movie before reading this book. I loved the movie but was nervous that most of the book would be way too over my head. Fortunately, the movie was a fairly good adaptation which made the book that much easier to read. They are very similar for the most part, though they diverge quite a bit in the last third. Overall, however, I can’t help but get swept up in the wonder of the universe, in the poetry of mathematics, as I read this book.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
I first read this one sometime in the gap where I wasn't tracking what I was reading, not long after it came out in '85. Rereading it now, it's quaint, but I also remember how much it resonated with me that first time. I remember having vivid moments where his metaphors felt so right as a physicist (I got my BS in Physics in '85). And his perspective of science and God also lined up so well with where I was then. Some of the arguments he presented between the lead character and a preacher, I'm sure I was thinking "YES!", but reading it now, it reminded me of arguments I have in my head with my fundamentalist brother or other imaginary Trumpers. It was fun to see amusing references to the internet, using excessive terms that felt a little Heinlein and Asimovish -- he was clearly aware of it, as a Cornell prof, but it's interesting to compare this novel to William Gibson's work, which actually predated it by four years. While Sagan was using terms like "open-channel asynchronous telenetting", Gibson was saying "the net". That said, I still really enjoyed it. Giving it 5* for the me that read and loved it 35 years ago.
The answers you seek are not always in the stars