What do you think?
Rate this book
Palimpsests
While exploring an ancient site used by Neanderthal Man, a young anthropologist stumbles upon a mysterious metal cube made of an unknown alloy, an artifact that can yield a clue to the secrets of time travel
- GenresScience FictionFiction
272 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1984
79 people want to read
About the author
Carter Scholz
55 books9 followersCarter Scholz (né Robert Carter Scholz) is a speculative fiction author and composer of music.
(wikipedia)
(wikipedia)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 4, 2022
Completely unlike any other science fiction novel I've ever read. Through the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s, the Ace Specials included some amazing and unique science fiction books but never anything this flagrantly intellectual, and I have a difficult time imagining that this book found much of an audience. This is another one Barry Malzberg raved about and for the second time he has not let me down (although I still can't understand why he considered Robert Silverberg, who has never impressed me the slightest, to be the greatest science fiction writer of his time). Who is this Carter Scholz? I must look into it.
February 1, 2016
I came to read this book because it is one of the New Ace Science Fiction Specials series. During the 1980s, Ace re-launched this series under the editorial control of Terry Carr, who selected first novels by new science fiction writers for their literary quality. Needless to say, the series did not last long, but it did manage to help launch the careers of Kim Stanley Robinson, Lucius Shepherd, William Gibson, Jack McDevitt, and others.
So, my expectations were high, even for one of the writers who did not go on to be well known. The style of writing is vocabulous, multi-lingual (It helps to understand a little German), and filled with suggestive cultural and scientific references. If you can handle that, then the plot itself will eventually come clear. An anachronistic artifact has been found along with a Neanderthal skeleton at an archeological site near Düsseldorf. The accidental discoverer and protagonist goes by several names, the most frequent being Hans Camus, and the story solidifies as he attempts to escape from the mysterious forces that want to claim the artifact. The final third of the novel goes more abstract, as he delves into deeper layers of conspiracy and manipulation of his own consciousness. Every paragraph careens off from a new understanding of his position and existence. This is a very ambitious work. However, I have to admit that at times I found it frustrating - "All right! Get on with the story already!" With a little less of the attempt to join ranks with Updike and Joyce, this would have been a fabulous science fiction novel, and perhaps launched another career.
So, my expectations were high, even for one of the writers who did not go on to be well known. The style of writing is vocabulous, multi-lingual (It helps to understand a little German), and filled with suggestive cultural and scientific references. If you can handle that, then the plot itself will eventually come clear. An anachronistic artifact has been found along with a Neanderthal skeleton at an archeological site near Düsseldorf. The accidental discoverer and protagonist goes by several names, the most frequent being Hans Camus, and the story solidifies as he attempts to escape from the mysterious forces that want to claim the artifact. The final third of the novel goes more abstract, as he delves into deeper layers of conspiracy and manipulation of his own consciousness. Every paragraph careens off from a new understanding of his position and existence. This is a very ambitious work. However, I have to admit that at times I found it frustrating - "All right! Get on with the story already!" With a little less of the attempt to join ranks with Updike and Joyce, this would have been a fabulous science fiction novel, and perhaps launched another career.
September 13, 2015
Palimpsests is a crazy trip of a read.
First of all, this was an underrated book when it came out, so is not well known today. If you are reading this review, that is impressive in and of itself. I will start this review by saying that this book is not for everyone. The reasons that I loved it are the exact same reasons that others will hate it.
This book is older than I am. My dad handed it to me off his sci-fi shelf because he thought I would like it, but it is hard to classify this book as sci-fi. It feels more like modern/general fiction with a tinge of sci-fi. The science fiction part comes mostly near the end, generally in the last quarter or third of the novel, although there is reference to time travel throughout the rest of the book.
The book is centered around a male protagonist whose name is nearly impossible to pin down because the author refers to him by 3 or 4 names throughout the book. It is NOT his fantastic adventures through time as I had imagined it would be.. This book was mainly about an internal adventure. This was the story of a young man finding who he was, and who he was in relation to the women that he loved. It is about their time spent together, and the protagonist's time spent with his own crazy thoughts. This book is an exploration of the mind of a young man struggling to find his place in the world, amidst a crazy archaeological find that throws him in potential danger.
Now here is the part that I enjoyed that others may not. This book was written rather artistically. It comes close to being a work of experimental fiction because the style lies so much outside the norm of fiction books of any kind. This artistic style can be either very interesting or very annoying. I found it very engaging, because there were several lines that made pause and say "WOW." They were so poignant and telling and honest. One of my favorite lines in the book was the following:
"Are you ready?" she asked anxiously.
"I am," he said, meaning not that he was ready, but simply that he was."
This simple exchange would have been commonplace but that sentence after "I am" hit me like a ton of bricks. This was thought by a character who was struggling with himself, and with that description attached to two simple words, he said a heck of a lot. It was snippets like this that made me love the book, but the sheer density of these moments kind of makes the book seem like it is trying too hard to be deep. It walks a fine line, but I personally enjoyed it.
As far as the plot, I don't have a lot to say. The plot was interesting, and not that predictable. Some events certainly were, and I cannot say I was surprised by too many things, but it kept my interest. The beginning started off slow, and I was a little confused about who was who and what was happening, but after a couple chapters I found it quite engaging, and as the book went on, I found it harder to put down. The story, as I said, is about a man struggling to find his way in the world, but the actual events that happen while he takes his mental journey involve an archaeological discovery, a road trip with many interesting people met along the way, and eventually a science fiction twist that is just ridiculous enough but just serious enough to feel appropriate in a book from the 80's. It was not laughable per se, but it made a stark situation a little lighter.
One of the most satisfying parts of this book, is that everything came full circle, and several major parts of the book relate to the title: Palimpsests. It's not that the book is about a palimpsest, it's that the concept is a metaphor for the life of the main character and some of his experiences. A reference to palimpsests near the beginning of the book came back in a satisfying way on the final pages, and I closed the book feeling complete and well-sated, not empty and longing for answers like many books make me feel when they fail to tie up loose ends.
Not long before this I had read The Marriage Plot, and The Four Fingers of Death. Both very different books, however I felt that Palimpsests brought some of my favorite parts of both of those books together in an engaging and believable fashion. I do not hesitate to give this book 5 out of 5 stars. It is a worthy read for fans of sci-fi or of fiction in general. Nothing in this book would be unattractive for someone who is not a fan on sci-fi, it is pretty tame as far as the science goes. It is also a short book, which makes for a quick and easy read!
First of all, this was an underrated book when it came out, so is not well known today. If you are reading this review, that is impressive in and of itself. I will start this review by saying that this book is not for everyone. The reasons that I loved it are the exact same reasons that others will hate it.
This book is older than I am. My dad handed it to me off his sci-fi shelf because he thought I would like it, but it is hard to classify this book as sci-fi. It feels more like modern/general fiction with a tinge of sci-fi. The science fiction part comes mostly near the end, generally in the last quarter or third of the novel, although there is reference to time travel throughout the rest of the book.
The book is centered around a male protagonist whose name is nearly impossible to pin down because the author refers to him by 3 or 4 names throughout the book. It is NOT his fantastic adventures through time as I had imagined it would be.. This book was mainly about an internal adventure. This was the story of a young man finding who he was, and who he was in relation to the women that he loved. It is about their time spent together, and the protagonist's time spent with his own crazy thoughts. This book is an exploration of the mind of a young man struggling to find his place in the world, amidst a crazy archaeological find that throws him in potential danger.
Now here is the part that I enjoyed that others may not. This book was written rather artistically. It comes close to being a work of experimental fiction because the style lies so much outside the norm of fiction books of any kind. This artistic style can be either very interesting or very annoying. I found it very engaging, because there were several lines that made pause and say "WOW." They were so poignant and telling and honest. One of my favorite lines in the book was the following:
"Are you ready?" she asked anxiously.
"I am," he said, meaning not that he was ready, but simply that he was."
This simple exchange would have been commonplace but that sentence after "I am" hit me like a ton of bricks. This was thought by a character who was struggling with himself, and with that description attached to two simple words, he said a heck of a lot. It was snippets like this that made me love the book, but the sheer density of these moments kind of makes the book seem like it is trying too hard to be deep. It walks a fine line, but I personally enjoyed it.
As far as the plot, I don't have a lot to say. The plot was interesting, and not that predictable. Some events certainly were, and I cannot say I was surprised by too many things, but it kept my interest. The beginning started off slow, and I was a little confused about who was who and what was happening, but after a couple chapters I found it quite engaging, and as the book went on, I found it harder to put down. The story, as I said, is about a man struggling to find his way in the world, but the actual events that happen while he takes his mental journey involve an archaeological discovery, a road trip with many interesting people met along the way, and eventually a science fiction twist that is just ridiculous enough but just serious enough to feel appropriate in a book from the 80's. It was not laughable per se, but it made a stark situation a little lighter.
One of the most satisfying parts of this book, is that everything came full circle, and several major parts of the book relate to the title: Palimpsests. It's not that the book is about a palimpsest, it's that the concept is a metaphor for the life of the main character and some of his experiences. A reference to palimpsests near the beginning of the book came back in a satisfying way on the final pages, and I closed the book feeling complete and well-sated, not empty and longing for answers like many books make me feel when they fail to tie up loose ends.
Not long before this I had read The Marriage Plot, and The Four Fingers of Death. Both very different books, however I felt that Palimpsests brought some of my favorite parts of both of those books together in an engaging and believable fashion. I do not hesitate to give this book 5 out of 5 stars. It is a worthy read for fans of sci-fi or of fiction in general. Nothing in this book would be unattractive for someone who is not a fan on sci-fi, it is pretty tame as far as the science goes. It is also a short book, which makes for a quick and easy read!
July 31, 2013
Palimpsests was very underrated when it came out, especially considering it was a debut novel (though Scholz had already established a reputation as a short storyist). It's a classic tale of researchers who discover an artifact that threatens to unlock the nature of the universe, and it's both thought-provoking and humorous. I think it's one that science fiction fans could pick up today and enjoy without realizing that it never earned out its advance in 1984.
April 3, 2020
I don't know exactly what I just read, but I enjoyed the time I spent reading it.
Want to read
December 30, 2015had to stop reading this 1/4 of the way thru...just wasn't in the correct set of mind and really got tired of the foreign language dialog w/o translation.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews