The Hollow Man

by Dan Simmons

Jeremy Bremen has a secret.  All his life he's been cursed with the ability to read minds.  He knows the secret thoughts, fears, and desires of others as if they were his own.  For years, his wife, Gail, has served as a shield between Jeremy and the burden of this terrible knowledge.  But Gail is dying, her mind ebbing slowly away, leaving him vulnerable to the chaotic flood of thought that threatens to sweep away his sanity.  

Now Jeremy is on the run--from his mind, from his past, from himself--hoping to find peace in isolation.  Instead he witnesses an act of brutality that propels him on a treacherous trek across a dark and dangerous America.  From a fantasy theme park to the lair of a killer to a sterile hospital room in St. Louis, he follows a voice that is calling him to witness the stunning mystery at the heart of mortality.

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Science Fiction Fantasy, Speculative Fiction

342 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1992

About the author

Dan Simmons is an American science fiction and horror writer. He is the author of the Hyperion Cantos and the Ilium/Olympos cycles, among other works that span the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres, sometimes within a single novel. Simmons's genre-intermingling Song of Kali (1985) won the World Fantasy Award. He also writes mysteries and thrillers, some of which feature the continuing character Joe Kurtz.

Reviews

[Ravenskya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me begin by saying that for the most part, I LOVE Dan Simmons. I was very excited when this book arrived and dug right in. That's when my disappointment hit... I couldn't wait for this book to end. Within the first 3rd of the book I caught myself skimming, throughout the rest of the book I struggled with the fact that I was not enjoying the story and had to force myself to read.

This was a book that should have been about telepathy and mind reading, should have been a very exciting read, and could have been brilliant. Instead Simmons spends large parts of the book dropping the plot and spending page after page explaining the physics behind mind reading, and it doesn't make a whole lot of rational sense. Jumping back and forth between a plot that could have been entertaining, and a lecture on the physics of mind reading wore out my brain... especially since the physics part was completely unnecessary to the story. Then you throw in the completely out of nowhere idea that a mind reader would end up in all the different situations that occur in this book from serial killers to gun wielding Mafioso none of it came together. I struggled with this book, not because it was overly difficult, but because it was completely un-engaging to me

[Kalin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first time I see the ideas of Karl Pribram's holonomic model of the brain explored in fiction (in oversimplifying terms, what if the human mind is both a multitude of holograms and an instrument for interpreting the holograms of the vaster reality around us?), and the result is fairly inspiring. The story wades across some very dark places but ultimately reaches for the light. The main characters demonstrate surprising amounts of emotion (I admit that watching K-dramas sets the bar a bit too high; after those, being moved by a book always surprises me) --but then, this is Dan Simmons, who later gave us Aenea and Raul Endymion.

I take out one star for gratuitous violence and body horror in the second third of the story. Until the very end I hoped for some justification for the arc with Miz Morgan, but I found none.

Three moments that I'd like to keep for as long as possible:

https://choveshkata.net/forum/viewtop...

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love extremely well-written, thoughtful, literary science fiction, you must read Dan Simmon's "The Hollow Man". Besides being a talented wordsmith, Simmons also knows how to tell a great story.

This book is one of those hard-to-put-down novels, as you never quite know where Simmons will take you, and the places he takes you are never anywhere you could even imagine.

"The Hollow Man" is the story of Jeremy Bremen, a man with powerful psychic abilities. He has lived happily for forty-odd years with his wife, who was also gifted with psychic abilities. Together, they have been able to control and manage their abilities. Unfortunately, when cancer takes his wife from him, Jeremy is left alone and "un-anchored" with psychic abilities too powerful for him to handle.

What transpires is an Odyssey-like journey across the landscape of the United States and the troubled mind of the novel's protagonist as he seeks to find meaning and purpose in a meaningless world.

As always, Simmons incorporates literary references, deep philosophical concepts, and even hard science to make "The Hollow Man" a science fiction novel that transcends the genre.

[Велислав Върбанов · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Кухият човек“ е много силна и емоционална книга... Дан Симънс е създал докосваща и изпълнена с меланхолично настроение история, която напълно си заслужава четенето!

Главни герои в нея са двама влюбени, които притежават уникални телепатични способности. Обаче, телепатията се оказва не толкова дар, колкото тежко бреме, тъй като в съзнанието на човек с такъв талант непрестанно нахлуват чужди мисли и емоции... След като любимата му Гейл умира, Джереми остава сам и отчаян на този свят. Търсейки усамотение и бягство от заливащите го потоци от мисли, той се забърква в големи и страховити опасности...

[Nahibya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vídeo Reseña <3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFiXb...

Este libro comenzó siendo algo aburrido y cursi, algo que hablaba de matemáticas y no entendía nada, poco a poco se fue transformando en una lectura increíble, impresionante, una obra maestra. Habla sobre el caos, el vacío, dios, DIOS, esto es hermoso <3

[Robert]

I'm a big fan of Dan Simmons and keen to read his fairly extensive back catalogue, rather than just pick up the new releases as they come out. I was therefore excited to find this (imported from the USA) on the shelf in a local book store.

THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN CURTAILED IN PROTEST AT GOODREADS' CENSORSHIP POLICY

See the complete review here:

http://arbieroo.booklikes.com/post/67...

[Симеон Трифонов · Rating 5 out of 5]

Дан Симънс е сред тримата най-умели разказвачи на нашето време. Всеки негов роман е история, която бърка в сърцето, размества аорти и причинява душевен ступор.
Когато прочетох „Хиперион”, казах си, че това е магнум опусът на Симънс и едва ли не съжалих, че съм започнал запознаването си с този дълго пренебрегван от мен писател тъкмо оттук. „Хиперион” е съвършена психологическа научна фантастика, брутално навлизаща в територии табу на теологията и къде ли още не – книга, в която Симънс показва как се спояват класически конструктори, теми и литературни влияния само за да ги взриви посредством прокълнатите да (свръх-)умеят, (свръх-)разбират и (свръх-)чувстват свои герои.

Крехкият, недостижим баланс между душа и съзнание е ярко търсене в текстовете на Симънс. Тема необятна, която авторът виртуозно някак винаги успява да заключи между страниците на (привидно) така различните жанрово ориентирани творби. Необятен е и писмовният дар, с който разполага американският писател. Години след „Хиперион” прочетох „Ужас” и се убедих, че някои творци не се нуждаят от рамките на някакви си магнум опуси. Някои творци създават паралелни вселени с лекотата, с която редови гимназист получава ерекция при вида на навеждаща се за изпуснат тебешир учителка по литература.

„Ужас” е съвършен приключенски роман с метастази в топоси на характерните дълбинни симънсови проникновения. Маскиран като пътешественически разказ за корабокрушенци по пътя към неизследвани морски пътища накрай света, „Ужас” е не по-малко провокация за нереализируемостта на човешките дирения, за плаващите пясъци, в които задължително затъваме, за онова ценно нещо, което сме готови да заменим срещу подарена последна глътка въздух. Сурово-депресивен, нихилистичен и развенчаващ митове от зората на дните, в едва блещуката си сърцевина „Ужас” пулсира с пронизителна любов към човека в отчаян, но премислен, опит да надвика гласовете в главите ни, за да се опитаме да чуем песента отвъд.

И тъкмо когато си мислех, че няма с какво повече да ме изненада, Симънс конфискува две нощи, изпочупи градени с години мои си виждания за литературата и живота, и ми подари внушения от главата на „Кухия човек”. Апокрифно издание на български език от „Галактика” в буреносните, гладни години от средата на последното десетилетие на миналия век, книгата идва с невероятния превод на Юрий Лучев и днес се намира твърде рядко в пропити с мирис на мухъл кашони на антикварни прекупвачи срещу скромните десетина евро. Но нищо са 20 лева за безценна история без аналог в съвременната литература, поне според скромното ми мнение на професионален филолог. Обвеяна в хипнозата на стихове на Т. С. Елиът и „Ад” на Данте, „Кухия човек” е разголената душа на Дан Симънс. Поетична в безкомпромисната си проза, смилаща сюжети до едно съвършено цяло, всичко в този роман подбужда съпричастие. Съпричастие, изискващо цялостна деконструкция на собственото. Емпатия, повеляваща маргинализиране на „аз”-а.
„Кухия човек” свежда четящия до куп разпилени атоми, които Симънс с бързо бръсване на четката си пръсва по епично платно, изобразяващо единствено интимност. Дълбаещо интимността. Превземащо потисканите късове забравено, защото няма друг път към себепознанието.

Какво ли няма тук!
Когато бях много малък, не ходех на училище още, татко ме ядосваше с невъзможни гатанки преди заспиване. Една от тях е познатата на всички ни ограниченост на човешкото съзнание да си представи необятността на безкрайно разширяващата се Вселена.
Очевидно, в случая със Симънс, някои деца имат повече въображение от други. И могат да опишат отговора си години по-късно върху лист.

Да се разкаже „Кухия човек” е като да опишеш вяра. Не го ли съпреживее другият, всяка твоя дума звучи недостойно. А сетне, повярвали заедно, свободни сте да обменяте мисли безсловесно. Тъкмо както правят главните герои в романа – Джереми, брилянтният математик и Гейл, изследователката на душата. Докато не ги разделя смъртта. Грозна и заради безвременното си настъпване, и в контраста на незаинтересувания залез, сменящ нощ, сменящ изгрев, сменящ утро, сменящ съдба, сменяща глас, сменящ писък, и друг, и още смъртта е начало на историята, нейна циклична кулминация, не единствено забрава.
Мъртъв отвътре, Джереми поема спускането си сред жилавите пипала на спиралата на душегубната корозия. Симънс е категоричен. За да познаеш Небесата, трябва да пребродиш дъното на Океана.

Смазваща, неочаквана, интелигентна, математически точна, но пъстро-художествена, провокативна, меланхолична и оптимистична, книгата е безнадежден мехлем за влюбените в литературата, безпътно взрените, страдащите, вярващите, влюбените, за теб.
Някак логично между страниците примлясват дори бръснарските ножчета-зъби на богоравния Шрайк – съществото-повелител на Ужаса, Болката и Смъртта, сравнимо с литературната си тежест и емоционално-смислова натовареност единствено с лъвкрафтовия Ктхулу. Невинен easter-egg, заключаващ теми, внушения и вярвания на Симънс.

Някак логично „Кухия човек” се нарежда сред най-изящните творения на литературата изобщо, преминавайки собствените си граници, докато докосва по рамото вгледания в привидно абстрактната картина непознат, който още търси проявлението ти върху платното.
Частици или вълни…

[Cesar Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro no es recomendable para iniciar en la ciencia ficcion ya que te puede parecer que el autor esta algo muy loco sin estar acostumbrado a leer sobre el genero.



La forma en que este libro toma esa sensancion de vacio que puede sentir una persona al perder un ser querido sumado a aplicar la ciencia en la telepatia lo hacen una historia interesante por partes para una persona abierta ademas de esto tiene escenas muy locas que toca leer dos veces para saber que estas leyendo bien.

[MacWithBooksonMountains Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if paradigms do not shift as we understand the world conceptually different. What if such new concepts, if universally comprehensive, produce switch points that force a branching path into an alternate world in the world tree. Yeah, enough of that 🤣
Just Imagine you are a mind reader. And as improbable as this sounds, the improbability to find a lover that is a mind reader too is calculated by multiplying both improbabilities. Jeremy Bremen is in luck as he meets his equal in his mind reading bride Gail.
However, after having reached the apogee of his life, things go quickly downhill for Jeremy Bremen.
Life changes for Jeremy and he changes with it. For the harsh reality of day to day survival is a harsh mistress for an arrogant, self-assured former Mathematics professor.
Dan Simmons' Hollow Man tells a deliciously unpredictable story through which we follow a dynamic main character whose pain is all too palpable.
This work hasn't got as positive a critique as some of Dan Simmons' other novels. This reader begs to differ. The Hollow Man might be slightly different in style and plot from what you would expect from Dan Simmons, yet it is by no means of any lesser quality.

[Bryce · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, Dan Simmons is a safe bet. He's such a good writer that, even if I'm not on board with the plot and characters, the writing itself is strong enough to keep me reading to the end.

This particular novel is one that is extremely well-written, filled with haunting images and scenarios that stayed with me for hours, but has a weak concept. Simmons doesn't seem to know whether to make this book horror or science fiction, so it ends up straddling the line between the two genres and not serving either one particularly well. As this book was the sophomore effort between Song of Kali, which was creepy as all get out, and Hyperion, it's easy to tell that Simmons hadn't chosen his favorite genre yet. (And looking at his most recent offerings -- Drood, The Terror and The Black Hills -- it seems that favorite genre turned out to be... historical fiction horror. Fun!)

[Ivan Lutz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Postajem gunđavi starac, ali super je počelo da bi knjiga postala dosadna, nečitljiva i bez ikakvog smisla. Kraj malo izvlači cijeli prazni hod i fizikalna naklapanja gdje ih treba i ne treba... Ne znam...

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes brilliant, often irritating, in sum, disconnected, this novel can't decide what it wants to be: soft SF (the travails of a telepath in a non-telepathic world), hard SF (an attempt to explain life, the universe, and everything through standing wavefronts, chaos theory, and higher mathematics), horror (about a serial-killer woman rancher who has dentures with razor blade teeth and a cold storage room full of her victims' bodies), a tragic love story (by way of Erich Segal). At the level of syntax, the writing is always decent and sometimes excellent, vivid, and convincing. Yet the plot is rife with deus ex machina and the actions of the protagonist often make little sense, even in retrospect. The conclusion is pure sunshine fantasy and also hard to buy. Simmons can be a wonderful writer, but I think he let this one get away from him. Yet all in all, despite its many faults, it is an interesting read.

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very original and interesting tale of a professor with telepathic abilities. Three tales mixed up in one, the scientific theories about existence and life with his telepathic wife; the life on the road after her death; and what happened when he stopped running. Amazing scientific theory and pretty interesting read. 7 out of 12.

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather boring, totally unremarkable book.

There is an interesting premise here that fades after the first twenty pages when you realize the author isn't concerned with pursuing it at all.

The initial conceit, presented on the first page or two of the novel, is that the main character is a telepath who shares a very strong (and unique) telepathic connection with his wife, who is the only author telepath the characters have ever encountered. She's sick, and she dies within the first few pages of the novel. It seems at first like the novel will pursue the interesting question of: OK, can the main character *continue to hear her thoughts*? But by page 20, it's clear that the author wants nothing to do with this.

Most of the book is so far removed from the initial, interesting premise of the book that, in fact, the character's telepathy hardly matters at all. It is used to sparingly that it hardly even functions as a plot device, except for at a few key points, but it's never used to muster some interest on the part of the reader. It's so boring and such a slog that I had trouble remembering that the author had started with an interesting idea! The story hardly even seems interested in the main character's telepathy.

The questions of the afterlife do rear their head maybe only 300+ pages into the book, but by that point, the damage has been done: the book is too much of a slog, and if you had told me how boring it was going to be after when the main idea can be described so compellingly, I wouldn't have believed you.

I am a really big Dan Simmons fan, but there's just not much here to love, despite that there's too much here in the first place.

[Kelly]

As always, this is a (not-so) big book of ideas. As always, I appreciated the way Simmons communicated these ideas. I felt like I learned a lot, and I came away with a lot to think about. This one felt kinda personal to the author, too. Right or wrong, it seemed like there was a lot of Dan Simmons on the page here.

Story notes: um, wow. Okay, so Simmons always puts a lot of literary references into his books and this one is no exception. This is a journey into Hell and the parallels with Inferno and Huck Finn are very clear. As noted above, there is a lot of what I perceived as personal commentary in this one. At first it made me sad. It's a very bleak outlook. Understandable, really, but still not the optimistic point of view I personally favour. But there is light in the love between Jeremy and Gail, in the mathematic possibilities, and in the final chapters.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the best love story about the pain of telepathy, mass murders, crack addiction, and the mathematics of consciousness that I have ever read.

[Jelena Jošić · Rating 5 out of 5]

This surely is a book that will stay in your memory forever, so dark, deep and emotional. This is no ordinary book and Dan Simmons is such a great writer!

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nightmare descent through madness. Another 5 stars for Dan Simmons who is one of my favourite authors. This man has such a diverse body of work and everything I have read from him has been of a very high quality: the man knows how to write.

The use of telepathy as a main basis for a novel is nothing new, but what Simmons does here is inherently different from anything I have come across before. After Bremen loses his wife and telepathic mindshield - She also has the telepathic ability and is able to protect Bremen from all the thoughts of anyone he encounters - he sets out on a journey of aimless self destruction, leading to some truly mind warping set pieces including a Goofy suit at Disney World.

The writing here is top notch and it is really infused with that nauseous nightmare feeling that things are starting to get out of control for Bremen. But through this there is also the very sad story of Robby the deaf, blind and retarded boy whose drug addict mother puts through such neglect it really does break your heart (especially if you have children of your own).

Now even though I am giving the novel 5 stars there is a side story involving chaos mathematics and waveforms and such. While this explains with scientific and mathematical theory how Bremen and Gail have their abilities, gives backstory to the couple and really builds the foundations for why you should care about these characters it is also rather wordy and expository. But I found it all quite interesting and it really gave me something to ponder on, especially the idea that by being able to view the universe at work we force it to chose the path it takes (you will have to read the novel to really understand what I mean there).

All in all another great novel by Simmons and highly recommended.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hollow Man was different from other Simmons books that I've read. I'm not used to his shorter works.
This was not an easy read, which I think is why the ratings for this book is on the low side. I had to take my time in some spots and really pay attention to what was being said, especially when Gail and Jeremy go to meet Jacob Goldmann. They delve pretty deep into some abstract, challenging scientific and mathematical concepts.
This was also a thriller, and I thought a couple of the suspense scenes were really good! Scary, even! Simmons created a few nasty people that Jeremy Bremen was unlucky to enough to encounter. Luckily he had his special ability, or else he would not have survived these situations.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Essentially, the only thing that recommends The Hollow Man is the one quick reference to a much better novel in Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination.

I am an avid fan of Dan Simmons, but this is likely the worst of his novels. I was quite excited to read it, given the content being similar (per description) to Robert Silverberg's Dying Inside... but, The Hollow Man leaps all over the place. While Dying Inside is a fairly continuous downward slide into an awful depression, Hollow Man instead tries to fiddle with all kinds of genres, fails, and then ends on a weird note.

I get it - but it's not great. There's definitely a reason it took me so long to read this one.

[11811 (Eleven) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't care for Simmons when he does the Sci-fi thing. I love his horror, particularly the historical horror like The Terror and The Abominable. I didn't dig his Hyperion books either so take that for what it's worth.

[Jeraviz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandonado. Y una pena porque la premisa y el primer capítulo parecían interesantes. Hubiera sido un buen relato corto pero no funciona como novela de 300 páginas.

[Leonardo Benavides · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solipsismo destructor de mundos... Trinidad de carne intangible, creadora. Filosofía del caos redentor.
Una novela profunda y sísmica; muy recomendada. Su máxima: Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch'entrate.

"Nosotros somos, todos nosotros, los ojos del universo".

[Okenwillow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je ne m’étendrai pas sur l’absurdité du titre qui ne veut rien dire (décision arbitraire de l’éditeur et non de la traductrice d’après ce que j’ai compris). Ce n’est ni la première fois ni la dernière que des titres se voulant racoleurs passent à coté du sens profond qui leur a été donné au départ. Il faut croire que « L’homme nu » c’est plus accrocheur que « L’homme creux » …
Bref, nous voilà avec un roman d’une grande originalité, qui n’a d’égal que la profondeur du propos. Que sont que la conscience, l’esprit, l’âme ? Peut-on les visualiser, leur donner corps ? Survivent-ils après la mort ?
Autant de questions fascinantes que l’auteur pose. Tellement fascinantes et profondes que ce dernier nous perd un peu avec de nombreux passages un peu ardus à suivre pour la non-scientifique je suis. J’ose même le dire : à la limite du compréhensible. Si on ne se bloque pas sur ces épisodes d’un hermétisme certain, on peut profiter du reste du livre, pendant lequel je me suis souvent demandé où Simmons voulait en venir.
Jeremy Bremen se retrouve non pas seul, mais sans sa femme, son alter ego télépathe, avec laquelle il pouvait se prémunir contre la neuro-rumeur du monde. Sa télépathie ne lui permet pas le luxe de la solitude. Bremen va commencer une longue errance à travers le pays, se laissant porter par les événements, trop paralysé par le chagrin et l’invasion de son esprit par la neuro-rumeur. Ses aventures sont complètement rocambolesques, pour ne pas dire invraisemblables. On navigue entre le thriller débridé, le road-movie et la hard-science, le tout ponctué par des passages narrés par on ne sait qui. Ce narrateur mystérieux accentue le mystère déjà épais du don de Jeremy et Gail. Il nous révèle des éléments importants du passé du couple, alternant ainsi la fuite désespérée de Jeremy et sa vie commune avec Gail.
Durant la lecture j’ai trouvé ce personnage bizarrement assez absent, peu concerné par ses mésaventures, en retrait de sa propre histoire, et cet aspect trouve tout son sens à la fin du livre. Des explications partielles nous sont enfin données et concluent brillamment cette histoire d’amour sur fond de thriller scientifique.
Un roman étonnant, qui peut déstabiliser le lecteur de prime abord mais qui se révèle une belle aventure métaphysique.

[Bondama · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Dan Simmons I had missed, and have been looking for for a while. It's got the very best blurb by Steven King on the back jacket, calling "The Hollow Man" an "un-put downable book" - as indeed it is. Simmons ventures far into the extremely difficult aspects of chaos theory and its attendant math. This was written in 1992, and this fact alone makes most of the computer references obsolete - still, descriptions and mathematical formulae continue to hold their locked doors. This is all a foreign language to this reader, but Dan Simmons does make this accessible to the ordinary reader by his characters, particularly the main one.

It is a fascinating book and, for one that deals is such esoteric facts, one that resonates emotionally and deeply.

I loved it.

[Bosorka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kvantová mechanika, teorie chaosu, matematika. Zároveň filosofické pojednání i milostný román. Thriller i horor. Paralelní světy i prolínání myslí. Račte si vybrat, co z toho je vám milé? Pokud aspoň něco, stačí sáhnout po Pusté duši Dana Simmonse. Vše z výše zmíněného v ní je. A nejspíš ještě víc. Stačí číst a hledat. A občas koukat s pusou dokořán. Často možná i nechápat, ale vědět, že to vlastně zas tak nevadí. Občas hltat a hnát se knihou co nejrychleji a pak zase zvolnit a zůstat možná i chvilku stát. Semtam lapat až po dechu, jak je u toho smutno. A pak se zase nadechnout a pohlédnout do dáli, kde vychází nadějeplné slunce. A na konci? Na konci tušit, že nezapomenete. Zvláštní kniha.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a bunch of Dan Simmons... The Hyperion/Endymion series, Carrion Comfort, Summer of Night. You don't hear much about this book, but it totally knocked my socks off.
There's a cool math and science premise having to do with quantum physics that the author has obviously researched pretty well.
I wouldn't call this a romance exactly but there's a decent romantic sub-plot around the protagonist and his wife. As a married guy I appreciate fictional married-couple romance. The typical fictional romance ending with the characters making that commitment 'and they lived happily ever after' offers nothing for me to really relate to.
There's a reasonable amount of action.
The ending is a little disturbing. I wouldn't hand this book to someone I knew to be unstable.

[Gordie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leggere Simmons è sempre un'esperienza appagante.
Questo romanzo, acquistato più di venticinque anni or sono e poi disperso tra gli scaffali della mia libreria, consigliatomi ai tempi da una carissima amica "libraia" (cara Tecla ti vorrò sempre bene), mi è capitato tra le mani in una delle innumerevoli ricognizioni tra nuovi e vecchi libri in attesa di lettura (e sono molti, troppi, infiniti....sigh) ed è scoccata immediatamente quella scintilla che attende sempre il momento giusto per innescarsi.
Un po' impegnativa la lettura e comprensione della parte legata alla matematica e alla meccanica quantistica, più che soddisfacente, invece, quella umana, il tutto amalgamato con la dovuta dose di azione "on the road" che permette di non staccarsi facilmente dalle pagine del romanzo.
Una bellissima storia di (fanta)scienza, sentimenti, disperazione, crudeltà, ma anche bellezza assoluta che solo la mente umana può immaginare, con personaggi ottimamente caratterizzati.
Ci sono voluti tanti anni, ma forse anche per questo è stata una lettura intensa con momenti di dolorosa empatia verso i protagonisti di quest'opera meravigliosa.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the, at times, dizzying use of mathematical jargon and concepts The Hollow Man remained a joy to read and very hard to put down as well. A fascinating journey that combines fantastical elements with the field of neuroscience and weaves a thrilling tale full of heart, mystery, utter despair and beauty.

Simply put it's another amazing novel from Dan Simmons, a writer which I've had limited exposure to so far but is quickly becoming one of my authors.

[Abram · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you had told me a book about a man who can read thoughts would have as much stuff about the nature of existence, theoretical mathematics and the nature of electrons being either a particle or a wave; I may not have read this but I’m glad I did. The plot is crazy but still worth the read. Dan Simmons is great.