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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
I’m sure this book is objectively better than what I’m rating it, but I’m just not a sci fi girly so I didn’t get super into it. however I did read it all the way through and that’s sayin something for me! wish the love interest was more three dimensional but whateva I’ll let it slide
ეს ერთ-ერთი პირველი სერიოზული ფანტასტიკა იყო, რაც წავიკითხე და ალბათ ძალიანაც კარგი, რადგან როგორც ჩანს ისე მომეწონა, რომ მიუხედავად მერე უფრო არასტანდარტული, ალეტრნატიული და ფსიქოდელიური ფანსტასტიკის შეყვარებისა, ძველი კლასიკური ჟანრის მონუმენტური რამეებიც მაგრად მიყვარს ახლაც. რა თქმა უნდა აზიმოვს, კლარკს, ლემს, ჰაინლაინს და მაგ ბანდის სხვა წევრებს ვგულისხმობ.
ეს კონკრეტული წიგნი კი, თავის ამბავშიც ძალიან მაგარია! ოღონდ არაფერს დავწერ, იმიტომ რომ როცა წიგნი დროში მოგზაურობაზეა, რაც უნდა ფრთხილად იყო, ისე შეიძლება შემოგესპოილეროს ვინმე, ვერც შენ გაიგო და ვერც იმან :)
ეს კონკრეტული წიგნი კი, თავის ამბავშიც ძალიან მაგარია! ოღონდ არაფერს დავწერ, იმიტომ რომ როცა წიგნი დროში მოგზაურობაზეა, რაც უნდა ფრთხილად იყო, ისე შეიძლება შემოგესპოილეროს ვინმე, ვერც შენ გაიგო და ვერც იმან :)
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
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:
Yes
I think this is my favorite Asimov book. Possibly due to my general fascination with time travel, or because it was one of the first science fiction books I've read as a kid (after being permitted to take out "grown up books" from the library, which was A Big Thing).
Sure, its anachronistic and rather chauvinistic, but I have some weird deep love for this book.
Sure, its anachronistic and rather chauvinistic, but I have some weird deep love for this book.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Mired in misogyny, right down to the the classic "female temptress" trope. The End of Eternity also illustrates quite well the problem with white male-centered sci-fi; it doesn't call into question whether "objectivity" is even possible from these select few who do espouse harmful ideologies regarding women and disabled people in particular.
The problems in the novel were inevitable when the Technicians are essentially isolated and ostracized from society due to their sterile image; Harlan's arrogance, impulsivity, and conceit were basically groomed into him, so of course he parades around, failing to challenge his assumptions and believing himself to be exceptional. Why does the Council not even foresee the problems with forcing these exceptional few to shoulder such a huge responsibility, without emotion and companionship? They seem to work endlessly and without actual support... this bootstraps mentality toward the fate of countless realities seems like a recipe for disaster to me!
This is not to say that unlikable characters equate to bad writing or a bad novel, but rather that Harlan, in particular, fails to be compelling at all when he marks every box for sexually repressed intellectual, who is tragically fooled by a cunning seductress. There lies the other problem: the lack of multi-dimensional female characters. The justification for the lack of female Eternals is that employing them resulted in more unfavorable probabilities, which strikes me as a male author's excuse for how he doesn't understand women, much less how to write them.
There's also the issue that there is a lack of perspective from the members of the Maintenance class. Yet again, Harlan's presumptive attitude toward them causes him to romanticize their status in society; we, the elites, suffer so much more because we work so hard to keep things in order! Meanwhile, they have families and all the free time in the world! Ironically enough, because there are no plot-important characters from Maintenance, the novel suffers from what it criticizes: a myopic view of society. Not surprising considering that class inequality is also carefully and deliberately maintained with an aristocracy to boot.
The homogeneous way that "humanity" is spoken of is quite shallow. The elephant in the room is never addressed: social inequality. What results are blanket statements about possibility, the permission to both fail and triumph, the dangers of "security" and thus complacency, and other such platitudes.
I fail to see why Noys's escapade was even necessary because throughout the novel, I expected Eternity to finally become unsustainable and be destroyed without outside intervention--rather, from the failure of the Council to control reality, the foolhardiness of thinking itself to have that power in the first place. She says it was expedient because humanity needed its rightful place as the dominant species in the galaxy (yawn), but it may have been more interesting to see it all fall apart because of the Council's megalomania.
Another thing that was implausible was Noys's love for Harlan to begin with. He has no interesting aspects to him at all, particularly before his encounters with Noys. He's just a rigid, conceited, high-strung, and bitter man. Why would she pick the scenario in which she has a relationship with Harlan? It's ridiculous and unbelievable. Even Harlan himself questions why she'd be interested in him.
The End of Eternity is absolutely a product of its time, but I see no real meaningful aspects to it. I'll admit, the last 45 pages or so were thrilling because I truly didn't know what to expect and all my predictions were wrong, but I also think the solution to finding Cooper's location--a tiny advertisement in a magazine of that time period?--was so laughable.
The final sentence rings hollow when the "possibilities" alluded to are devoid of a foundation in social theory. They are empty platitudes and nothing more.
The problems in the novel were inevitable when the Technicians are essentially isolated and ostracized from society due to their sterile image; Harlan's arrogance, impulsivity, and conceit were basically groomed into him, so of course he parades around, failing to challenge his assumptions and believing himself to be exceptional. Why does the Council not even foresee the problems with forcing these exceptional few to shoulder such a huge responsibility, without emotion and companionship? They seem to work endlessly and without actual support... this bootstraps mentality toward the fate of countless realities seems like a recipe for disaster to me!
This is not to say that unlikable characters equate to bad writing or a bad novel, but rather that Harlan, in particular, fails to be compelling at all when he marks every box for sexually repressed intellectual, who is tragically fooled by a cunning seductress. There lies the other problem: the lack of multi-dimensional female characters. The justification for the lack of female Eternals is that employing them resulted in more unfavorable probabilities, which strikes me as a male author's excuse for how he doesn't understand women, much less how to write them.
There's also the issue that there is a lack of perspective from the members of the Maintenance class. Yet again, Harlan's presumptive attitude toward them causes him to romanticize their status in society; we, the elites, suffer so much more because we work so hard to keep things in order! Meanwhile, they have families and all the free time in the world! Ironically enough, because there are no plot-important characters from Maintenance, the novel suffers from what it criticizes: a myopic view of society. Not surprising considering that class inequality is also carefully and deliberately maintained with an aristocracy to boot.
The homogeneous way that "humanity" is spoken of is quite shallow. The elephant in the room is never addressed: social inequality. What results are blanket statements about possibility, the permission to both fail and triumph, the dangers of "security" and thus complacency, and other such platitudes.
I fail to see why Noys's escapade was even necessary because throughout the novel, I expected Eternity to finally become unsustainable and be destroyed without outside intervention--rather, from the failure of the Council to control reality, the foolhardiness of thinking itself to have that power in the first place. She says it was expedient because humanity needed its rightful place as the dominant species in the galaxy (yawn), but it may have been more interesting to see it all fall apart because of the Council's megalomania.
Another thing that was implausible was Noys's love for Harlan to begin with. He has no interesting aspects to him at all, particularly before his encounters with Noys. He's just a rigid, conceited, high-strung, and bitter man. Why would she pick the scenario in which she has a relationship with Harlan? It's ridiculous and unbelievable. Even Harlan himself questions why she'd be interested in him.
The End of Eternity is absolutely a product of its time, but I see no real meaningful aspects to it. I'll admit, the last 45 pages or so were thrilling because I truly didn't know what to expect and all my predictions were wrong, but I also think the solution to finding Cooper's location--a tiny advertisement in a magazine of that time period?--was so laughable.
The final sentence rings hollow when the "possibilities" alluded to are devoid of a foundation in social theory. They are empty platitudes and nothing more.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gosto desta história, tem um final muito bom e todo o ambiente desafia a nossa compreensão, embora sendo, de certa forma plausível. Mas este personagem principal (Harlan) é uma seca. A Noÿs também podia ter mais personalidade.
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes