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kilroySo last night, in between my sister's concert and a family dinner, I was exhausted. I hadn't slept well the night before, or the one previous; and after running around for around twelve hours, I was ready to drop. I was all ready for a nap; I had a full-length couch lined up in a quiet room, and someone to wake me up in time for the concert. But as I sat down on the couch, old habit moved me to pick up my book, "to finish a chapter before my nap."
Damn you, Frederik Pohl.
Not only did The World at the End of Time keep me from getting my nap, it kept me up an additional two hours after the concert, and was the first thing I did when I got up this morning. Fortunately, I finally managed to finish the book-- otherwise there would be no chance of me getting any of my work done today. That's the problem with novels; if they're good, there's no convenient time in the story to put them down.
This one was definitely good. The World at the End of Time focuses around the life of the first human colony on another planet-- but it gets a lot weirder from there. Suffice it to say that the main character of the book, one Victor Sorricaine, becomes the second-oldest sentient being in the universe by the last page; and that humanity has outlasted the heat death of the universe.
The science in the book is interesting if not entirely accurate (but who really cares about that anyway?), and the characters are a little stereotypical but fulfilling nonetheless. Most importantly, the story moves. Vik Sorricaine describes his life as several distinct acts, and I'm forced to agree. There is no way--no way--to predict where this book ends up without reading a review like this one, and I'm trying my best not to give it away.
Rating: *** (out of four)
Recommendation: This book is pulpy and fantastic, easy-to-read and thought-provoking. FP does a good job spinning his yarn; and a yarn is exactly what this book is.
Damn you, Frederik Pohl.
Not only did The World at the End of Time keep me from getting my nap, it kept me up an additional two hours after the concert, and was the first thing I did when I got up this morning. Fortunately, I finally managed to finish the book-- otherwise there would be no chance of me getting any of my work done today. That's the problem with novels; if they're good, there's no convenient time in the story to put them down.
This one was definitely good. The World at the End of Time focuses around the life of the first human colony on another planet-- but it gets a lot weirder from there. Suffice it to say that the main character of the book, one Victor Sorricaine, becomes the second-oldest sentient being in the universe by the last page; and that humanity has outlasted the heat death of the universe.
The science in the book is interesting if not entirely accurate (but who really cares about that anyway?), and the characters are a little stereotypical but fulfilling nonetheless. Most importantly, the story moves. Vik Sorricaine describes his life as several distinct acts, and I'm forced to agree. There is no way--no way--to predict where this book ends up without reading a review like this one, and I'm trying my best not to give it away.
Rating: *** (out of four)
Recommendation: This book is pulpy and fantastic, easy-to-read and thought-provoking. FP does a good job spinning his yarn; and a yarn is exactly what this book is.