Scan barcode
zone_a3's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
roblovesbooks's review
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
"The overall brilliance of a faraway star isn't necessarily dependent on the conscience of the observer who can only wonder at the long journey through a forgotten highway of opinions that can not be explained by parapsychology ". That's not a line in this book,
but that's what you'll get.
but that's what you'll get.
misanthrope's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
More of the same themes from Simak. A little too much going on at once. A story of it’s time.
jberry92's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
byrdies's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The book had a consistently musing tone and moved at a snail’s pace. The concepts explored in the book were interesting and the prose easy to digest, which kept me from abandoning it when I started to get a little bored. I enjoyed that the book was used to contemplate the failings of capitalism through the lens of literally stunting human evolution and the loss of the christian faith. The ending was incredibly abrupt and didn’t really wrap up any loose ends, but it worked for the overarching narrative. I personally didn’t find it to be too satisfying though.
greenwolfie's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
grumpy_dragon_48's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
This is the first Simak I've read that has disappointed me. Too talky, not enough going on.
davecreek's review
5.0
A CHOICE OF GODS by Clifford D. Simak lets us see the Earth anew
The only Clifford D. Simak books I'd read before now were CITY and WAY STATION, both SF classics. So when I discovered A CHOICE OF GODS at a massive Half-Price Books sale at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds, I made sure to pick it up.
Although this is a story that takes place entirely on the Earth, it is full of the kind of SF "sense of wonder" that I associate with Arthur C. Clarke.
I notice that as of this writing, the book has 726 ratings, with 88% of those people who read it liking it. That praise is well-deserved.
We see a far-future Earth in which most of its human population has disappeared. Only a few people, including a small tribe of Native Americans, are left. Many of those people are served by robots that were also left behind. I say many because the Native Americans do not like to deal with the robots, considering them a reminder of their fate after the white man came.
Then one day comes word -- the people of Earth are returning to their homeworld.
There are no raygun battles here, no giant starships looming overhead. Simak's work has often been described as "pastoral" -- a rarity in SF. His love of the land shows on nearly every page:
"She walked through the sun of morning, with the colored pageant of the open woods burst into flame and gold about her. She saw the burnished metal of the goldenrod, the sky-blue of the asters. She walked upon the grass that once had been lush and green and now was turning tawny and was slippery beneath her moccasins. She knelt to brush her hand against the green and scarlet carpet of the lichen patches growing on an old, gray boulder and she sang within herself because she was a part of it -- yes, even of the lichens, even of the boulder."
A CHOICE OF GODS is a rarity -- an SF novel that makes the Earth as wondrous as any newly-discovered alien planet.
The only Clifford D. Simak books I'd read before now were CITY and WAY STATION, both SF classics. So when I discovered A CHOICE OF GODS at a massive Half-Price Books sale at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds, I made sure to pick it up.
Although this is a story that takes place entirely on the Earth, it is full of the kind of SF "sense of wonder" that I associate with Arthur C. Clarke.
I notice that as of this writing, the book has 726 ratings, with 88% of those people who read it liking it. That praise is well-deserved.
We see a far-future Earth in which most of its human population has disappeared. Only a few people, including a small tribe of Native Americans, are left. Many of those people are served by robots that were also left behind. I say many because the Native Americans do not like to deal with the robots, considering them a reminder of their fate after the white man came.
Then one day comes word -- the people of Earth are returning to their homeworld.
There are no raygun battles here, no giant starships looming overhead. Simak's work has often been described as "pastoral" -- a rarity in SF. His love of the land shows on nearly every page:
"She walked through the sun of morning, with the colored pageant of the open woods burst into flame and gold about her. She saw the burnished metal of the goldenrod, the sky-blue of the asters. She walked upon the grass that once had been lush and green and now was turning tawny and was slippery beneath her moccasins. She knelt to brush her hand against the green and scarlet carpet of the lichen patches growing on an old, gray boulder and she sang within herself because she was a part of it -- yes, even of the lichens, even of the boulder."
A CHOICE OF GODS is a rarity -- an SF novel that makes the Earth as wondrous as any newly-discovered alien planet.