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amber_faith_27's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jonwesleyhuff's review
3.0
Wandering, rambling and wordy, I can see how this book might not be for everyone. The cover on Goodreads is wonderfully old-school. Like many recent reviews, I came to this as part of Neil Gaiman's series of audiobooks. I found myself both enchanted and frustrated by the book. John Hodgman's reading is very good overall, and it compliments the smart and often witty writing. It was a lot of fun to listen to, and I'm glad I did. But, as a story, the book does suffer some. It's more of a loose structure for the author to indulge in some musings about life, the universe and everything. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, mind you, but not all the musings are equally as interesting. And some of it does feel slightly dated in context. Not that it isn't relevant, but just that the same topics have been well worn since then so it feels a bit less fresh than it might have. It seems unfair to keep comparing it to Hitchhiker's, but the comparison is natural. And one thing that this lacks that that story has is a strong central story. This book is more overtly philosophical, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It's just very different because of it, and might not instantly appeal to Hitchiker's fan.
The book's structure means that there are a lot of ideas explored and put out there, but rarely ever is anything that resolved. All that being said, the ending is pretty brilliant, and it's an interesting ride overall. So definitely worth a listen/read.
The book's structure means that there are a lot of ideas explored and put out there, but rarely ever is anything that resolved. All that being said, the ending is pretty brilliant, and it's an interesting ride overall. So definitely worth a listen/read.
lifelongday's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-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? No
5.0
nny's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
His posture was bad, but his intentions were good.
spacecomics's review
5.0
Dimension of Miracles by Robert Sheckly is the original Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. I mean it is the definitive comedy space opera novel. It follows the interstellar adventures of typical American businessman Tom Carmody after he very surprisingly wins the Intergalactic Sweepstakes. A messenger takes Carmody to the Galactic Center to claim his Prize, but Carmody has no clue how to get back home; the where, when and which of his Earth is required information he lacks. So together with his Prize they seek help getting back to the correct Earth, appealing to Gods, Planet Contractors, and others, all the while pursued by Carmody's personal Predator. The humor can't be done justice in a review, of course, you have to read it for yourself; several parts had me laughing out loud and the rest is an amusing, thougt-provoking page-turner.
Here are a few sample quotations:
"Very few humans (except the insane ones) accept the premise of insanity in favor of a startling new hypothesis."
"Machines! We have many of them, some exquisitely complex. But even the best of them are like idiot savants. They do adequately on tedious straightforward tasks like building stars or destroying planets. But give them something tough, like solacing a window, and they simply go to pieces."
"In short, Earth is a diseased place. I blieve it is being phased out of the Galactic Master Plan on the basis of chronic cosmic incompatibility. The place will then be rehabilitated and turned into a refuge for daffodils."
"An error exists by virtue of it's consequences, which alone give it resonance and meaning. An error which is not perpetuated cannot be viewed as any error at all. An inconsequential and reversible error is the merest dab of superficial piety. I say, better to commit no error at all than to commit an act of pious hypocricy!"
"This is what has happened to you, Carmody. You have left your normal habitat, which also means that you have left your normal predators. No automobiles can stalk you here, no virus can creep into your bloodstream, no policeman can shoot you down by mistake."
"The rules, doctrines, axioms, laws, and prinicples of science are there to help you, not to hinder you. They're there in order to provide you with reasons for what you do. Most of them are true, more or less, and that helps."
Here are a few sample quotations:
"Very few humans (except the insane ones) accept the premise of insanity in favor of a startling new hypothesis."
"Machines! We have many of them, some exquisitely complex. But even the best of them are like idiot savants. They do adequately on tedious straightforward tasks like building stars or destroying planets. But give them something tough, like solacing a window, and they simply go to pieces."
"In short, Earth is a diseased place. I blieve it is being phased out of the Galactic Master Plan on the basis of chronic cosmic incompatibility. The place will then be rehabilitated and turned into a refuge for daffodils."
"An error exists by virtue of it's consequences, which alone give it resonance and meaning. An error which is not perpetuated cannot be viewed as any error at all. An inconsequential and reversible error is the merest dab of superficial piety. I say, better to commit no error at all than to commit an act of pious hypocricy!"
"This is what has happened to you, Carmody. You have left your normal habitat, which also means that you have left your normal predators. No automobiles can stalk you here, no virus can creep into your bloodstream, no policeman can shoot you down by mistake."
"The rules, doctrines, axioms, laws, and prinicples of science are there to help you, not to hinder you. They're there in order to provide you with reasons for what you do. Most of them are true, more or less, and that helps."
dmarymac's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun, highly-imaginative intergalactic/dimensional adventure. A little heavy-handed on the theology, but delivered tastefully through John Hodgeman's telling.
corymojojojo's review against another edition
5.0
This book was awesome and hilarious, and I feel particularly good about it since I just blindly picked it up at a bookstore. Any fan of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy should read this. In fact, this book is so eerily similar to Hitchhiker’s in style, tone, ideas, premise, etc. that it’s wild to think it was published 10 years earlier! My immediate thought was that surely Douglas Adams was a big fan, but according to Wikipedia Adams hadn’t read this until after writing his series. Honestly I find that hard to believe considering how many things these books have in common. But regardless, this was an amazing find and more people should check it out.
rlrichards's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This is one of the weirder books I've read. It took a while to get going but really started to shine in the when and which sections. I think I lost out a bit of context/humor having been born decades after it's publication. Enjoyed it!
frahorus's review against another edition
4.0
Divertente divertissement di Sheckley, tra dinosauri filosofi e premi intelligenti. Da leggere.