A World Out of Time ~Larry Niven

–1976, Del Rey Books
–246 pages

REVIEW SUMMARY: Niven begets Niven as I revisit a cherished book to give it a proper review. A smattering of hard-sci fi and a large dollop of space opera are mixed to create a page-turning adventure set 3,000,000 years in Earth’s future.

MY RATING: 4.75/5 stars

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Jaybee Corbell, his cancer-ridden body frozen in 1970, is revived 200 years later in a body that is not his own. Stripped of his own free will, as well as his body, he is a servant to the all-powerful State. His one chance at remaining alive is to rise to the task set before him: pilot a one-way mission out into the universe to seed planets for future population. A last ditch effort at rebellion propels Corbell on a journey through space that will eventually lead him back to Earth…an Earth three million years older than when he left it. It is there, on a world that has reverted to a more primitive state, that Jaybee Corbell’s true adventures begin.

MY REVIEW:

PROS:

-Likable ‘everyman’ protagonist.
-A mixture of space travel and the exploration of a primitive world, with ruins of a far-advanced civilization, make for an interesting, multi-setting tale that keeps a brisk pace.
-The ‘hard sci fi’ elements are brief, engaging, and seeded throughout the tale in such a manner that they are a part of the story rather than becoming the story itself.
-Verbal imagery that makes the imagination run wild.

CONS:

-Characterization is not deep. This is an adventure story with interesting characters, not a deep character study.
-A few deus ex machina moments may be too coincidental for the literary connoisseur.

BOTTOM LINE: A World Out of Time is one of the reasons that science fiction is my first love. A lone traveler, enemies real and perceived, a journey through two frontiers: an enormous universe and a primal earth. Adventure! My soon-to-be-admitted decades-old bias aside, this is a novel that I would recommend as a good entry-level novel for those wanting to get a taste of the hard science fiction genre and for those comfortable with the genre.

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Ringworld ~Larry Niven

–1970, DelRey Books
–352 pages

REVIEW SUMMARY: My foray into the classics continues with my first read of Larry Niven’s award-winning classic. While definitely hard science fiction, I found the day I spent with this nearly 40 year old masterwork to be one of imagination and adventure.

MY RATING: 4.25/5 stars

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Nessus, a member of a strange race of aliens known as the Puppeteers, gathers together a disparate crew consisting of a human male (Louis Wu), a human female (Teela Brown), and a large, ferocious creature of the Kzin race by the name of Speaker-to-Animals, to travel in a vessel faster than anything known to either race to investigate a mysterious artifact. This artifact, an enormous self-contained world, a Ringworld, is beyond anything that the Known universe has ever seen or imagined.

MY REVIEW:

PROS:

–All four major characters are interesting and well-realized.
-Mystery, suspense, drama, romance, adventure…all that in an exciting science fiction setting.
-Engaging frontier exploration aspect.
-Fantastic world-building.
-A variety of intriguing revelations keep readers on their toes.
-Many sequels for those who would like to continue on with these characters/this universe.

CONS:

-A great deal of scientific language and introduction of a variety of scientific concepts may throw off new science fiction readers or those who are not interested in hard sci fi.
–Ringworld desperately needs a special edition hardcover graced with a Stephan Martiniere illustration.

BOTTOM LINE: A must-read for those interested in exploring the various classics of science fiction. In the midst of varied scientific concepts lies an inventive, engaging adventure in a fantastically realized universe. The characters the reader travels with are interesting and worth getting to know.

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(photo by Carl V.)

I, Robot ~Isaac Asimov

–1956, Signet (originally published 1950, Gnome Press)
–192 pages

REVIEW SUMMARY: A collection of nine short stories written by Isaac Asimov between 1940 and 1950, gathered together with a framing story, that tells of the failures, triumphs, and terrors of man’s future existence with intelligent robotic life forms.

MY RATING: 4/5 stars

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: In an interview upon the eve of her retirement from U.S. Robot and Mechanical Men, Inc, Dr. Susan Calvin, robopsychologist, reviews successes and failures from the early days of robot use up through the novel’s current time, where robots are an integral part of the fabric of our existence. Man’s fear and loathing of intelligent machines is an ever present theme leading to a few very suspenseful tales.

MY REVIEW:

PROS:

–Differences between the nine stories keeps things interesting.
–Humor interjected with the characters of Powell and Donovan
–Framing story is interesting and gives cohesion to the collection.
–A couple of page-turning, suspenseful tales carry the book.
–The 3 laws explored in a variety of interesting ways.

CONS:

–Fans of the film might be disappointed, the story is nothing like the movie that bears its name.
–A few of the nine stories are weak.
–The collection misses ending on a real strong note as the final story’s very interesting message is diminished by the story’s structure.
–Dr. Susan Calvin is not the most warm and cuddly character.

BOTTOM LINE: A seminal science fiction classic worth taking a look at.

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