Reviews

A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg

blemishedhearth's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

hakimbriki's review

3.0

A Time of Changes has a lot of potential. I found the setting interesting enough, and I am fond of Silverberg's descriptive and immersive style. Unfortunately, in my opinion, he failed to fully and efficiently flesh out the world he created. Some context is given about the geography, societies, and social constructs, but sparingly and very fragmentally. Most of the characters are irritating, naïve, or shallow, and their motives are, for the most part, unclear. Brave and selfless though it may seem, the purpose behind the protagonist's quest struck me as flawed, and it completely fell flat with me. Not Silverberg's best, but an okay effort nonetheless.

books_and_keys's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

grayjay's review against another edition

3.0

This one was a delightfully cheesy planetary romance about a world where it is illegal to say "I" or "me" or to burden anyone with your intimate thoughts. One man, inspired by a visitor from Old Earth, dares to bear his soul!

achilliad's review against another edition

3.0

Decent ideas. Missing depth. Of its time.

curtisb's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

kferg's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

andgineer's review against another edition

2.0

Вычурный английский, частое использование устаревших слов.
Автор увлекся концепцией, в итоге не очень интересно, да и общая идея сильно не затронула.

crasscasualty's review against another edition

3.0

After colonizing a distant planet, settlers eventually fall out of contact with Earth and develop a unique culture that is rather Ron Swanson-esque in that it forbids "self-baring", i.e. discussing anything about yourself with others.

The novel is written as an autobiography; a princeling, after a life on the lam, meets and Earth man. They do drugs together (really) and their minds mystically connect, changing the protagonist forever. He decides his culture has been doing things all wrong and starts thrusting the mind-melding drug upon people.This upsets the status quo, rulers get mad, and he gets arrested. The novel ends rather melodramatically with the protagonist hoping his humble story will start a revolution.

The protagonist is basically an expression of a male power fantasy. Incredibly strong, tall, handsome, rich, wise, etc and gets to play the moral martyr at the end. Needless to say, I didn't find the character very well-developed or engaging.

The novel really tries hard to assert the importance of TRULY KNOWING others. Because it's written kind of like a morality tale, I just found it off-putting.

It's not a terrible novel; it is just very conventional and very dry.

sirlancelot2021's review against another edition

adventurous challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0