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Telempath
NOT WITH A BANG OR A WHIMPER...
...but with a wail of outraged despair. That was how it ended.
For those infected with Carson's Syndrome virtually every artifact of technological society carries an odor that is utterly maddening. When the strange artificial plague arrived, all over the world people exploded from their cities and towns, killing anything and anyone that impeded their mad stampede for air untainted by technology.
When it was over not one in a hundred had survived. And that was only the beginning...
...but with a wail of outraged despair. That was how it ended.
For those infected with Carson's Syndrome virtually every artifact of technological society carries an odor that is utterly maddening. When the strange artificial plague arrived, all over the world people exploded from their cities and towns, killing anything and anyone that impeded their mad stampede for air untainted by technology.
When it was over not one in a hundred had survived. And that was only the beginning...
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
23 people are currently reading
658 people want to read
About the author
Spider Robinson
197 books674 followersSpider Robinson is an American-born Canadian Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction author. He was born in the USA, but chose to live in Canada, and gained citizenship in his adopted country in 2002.
Robinson's writing career began in 1972 with a sale to Analog Science Fiction magazine of a story entitled, The Guy With The Eyes. His writing proved popular, and his first novel saw print in 1976, Telempath. Since then he has averaged a novel (or collection) a year. His most well known stories are the Callahan saloon series.
Robinson's writing career began in 1972 with a sale to Analog Science Fiction magazine of a story entitled, The Guy With The Eyes. His writing proved popular, and his first novel saw print in 1976, Telempath. Since then he has averaged a novel (or collection) a year. His most well known stories are the Callahan saloon series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
August 24, 2021
Telempath was Robinson's first novel, an expansion of his award-winning novella By Any Other Name, the version I actually prefer. It's a post-apocalyptic story of peace, love, and drugs conquering all. The plot is quite convoluted but a cleverly constructed story of intrigue and suspense, though the characters seem a little one-dimensional. I've always really enjoyed Robinson's work, but his highly emotional philosophizing means that a little goes a long way.
May 22, 2014
1976, high point of the New Wave in science fiction, and Spider Robinson is doing everything opposite to what's trendy. The man worships Robert Heinlein. The old definition of science fiction--a scientific advance causing human problems that get resolved in the story--a definition seemingly more of the 1930s-1950s than of the 70s, pervades his first novel, a book that was recommended to me. So now I read it 38 years later.
The scientific speculation is indeed original--what would happen if a scientist infected the entire world with a viral delivery system that changed us so that we vastly improved our sense of smell? He extrapolates tamely--Could we live in our polluted and smelly world?--and wildly: what if there are sentient beings living among us made of plasmas (high density gas) that we can now smell? What if they were what previous generations barely glimpsed and thought of as ghosts?
Authorial intrusion is generally frowned upon, but in this book, I smiled at it. The characters reflect the author and serve as a mouthpiece for the views of the hippy generation. Love is the ultimate answer. And smoking pot is at least a big part of any temporary answer.
It's very much not idea-driven, as much New Age science fiction was. Especially odd was its treatment of race. Three of the main characters are black, but only one talks in a "black power era" vernacular. And yet, there's no comment on anything race-related. It's as if the characters just suggested themselves to the author and started talking, with no attempt to explain themselves. The complete lack of any touching on race relations (in 1976) may be because it just didn't register with the guy--the Internet says his wife was black; perhaps that was just normal to him.
It's very much not character-driven. The characters serve a purpose in advancing ideology, much like in Heinlein, just this time it's Robinson's ideology (very different from Heinlein's).
It's not literary. The prose is pedestrian. In fact, it's loaded with puns, in a way that probably amused the author more than most of the readers. And the references dropped were those of interest to the author too (Heinlein gets referenced as the author of the literary masterpiece that introduced grokking as a concept).
As this was the era of great literary science fiction (think Delaney, Silverberg, etc.); it probably took some chutzpah to be so retro.
But it has a zillion plot twists that hit me as totally unexpected.
So, if you're looking for a fast-paced, plot-driven, traditional SF novel (and you don't mind veneration of pantheism, marijuana, expanding one's consciousness, etc.), this one was fun.
The scientific speculation is indeed original--what would happen if a scientist infected the entire world with a viral delivery system that changed us so that we vastly improved our sense of smell? He extrapolates tamely--Could we live in our polluted and smelly world?--and wildly: what if there are sentient beings living among us made of plasmas (high density gas) that we can now smell? What if they were what previous generations barely glimpsed and thought of as ghosts?
Authorial intrusion is generally frowned upon, but in this book, I smiled at it. The characters reflect the author and serve as a mouthpiece for the views of the hippy generation. Love is the ultimate answer. And smoking pot is at least a big part of any temporary answer.
It's very much not idea-driven, as much New Age science fiction was. Especially odd was its treatment of race. Three of the main characters are black, but only one talks in a "black power era" vernacular. And yet, there's no comment on anything race-related. It's as if the characters just suggested themselves to the author and started talking, with no attempt to explain themselves. The complete lack of any touching on race relations (in 1976) may be because it just didn't register with the guy--the Internet says his wife was black; perhaps that was just normal to him.
It's very much not character-driven. The characters serve a purpose in advancing ideology, much like in Heinlein, just this time it's Robinson's ideology (very different from Heinlein's).
It's not literary. The prose is pedestrian. In fact, it's loaded with puns, in a way that probably amused the author more than most of the readers. And the references dropped were those of interest to the author too (Heinlein gets referenced as the author of the literary masterpiece that introduced grokking as a concept).
As this was the era of great literary science fiction (think Delaney, Silverberg, etc.); it probably took some chutzpah to be so retro.
But it has a zillion plot twists that hit me as totally unexpected.
So, if you're looking for a fast-paced, plot-driven, traditional SF novel (and you don't mind veneration of pantheism, marijuana, expanding one's consciousness, etc.), this one was fun.
March 25, 2015
But back to this book, which is a very early one by my favourite author of all time, Spider Robinson. As such, it has yet to develop many of the themes that will run so strongly through all of his books, but the seeds of them are there.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
December 31, 2018
Really interesting concept and unexpected ending.
December 28, 2015
For me, Spider Robinson has always been synonymous with the Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon series, several marvelous collections of short stories with puns and unforgettable characters. I hadn’t been aware that he had published a full-length novel about a year before the first collection of stories was published. Except for having a couple of characters who enjoyed exchanging puns, Telempath has a very different dynamic than the Callahan stories. I was intrigued from the beginning and delighted to discover that the wild ride I began with an unintentional killing ended quite differently than I expected.
Telempath begins with violence and suspense. The protagonist is the paternalistic-styled “Hand of Man” programmed to wreak vengeance on the mad scientist who brought about the apocalyptic destruction of much of humankind. Though well-written enough to pull me in, it didn’t surprise me greatly. Many books in the 1970s were dystopian, post-apocalyptic stories. It went with the times in the post-Vietnam Conflict Era. And, I wasn’t surprised that the protagonist toked as often as possible. After all, a former literary agent for Spider once told me that the only time she ever smoked pot was under his tutelage. And, I wasn’t surprised that a novel which began with a violent quest could evolve into a quest for peace. The question was what that price for peace would be.
What really surprises me is that I was totally unaware of this book until I found a worn copy at a used bookstore. Telempath might not be a Hugo winner, but it is a solid work; it contains some beautiful writing. “It seemed as if I was in some immense devil’s autoclave, that ignored filth and grime but grimly scrubbed out life of any kind.” (p. 4) I also liked, “But Pasteur was a boob and a braggart who frittered away valuable time in childish feuds with men unfit to wash out his test tubes. Genius is seldom a good character reference.” (p. 12) Another good line was, “Time did not pass; it tailgated.” (p. 169) If lines like that don’t grab you, Telempath is not for you.
In addition, I enjoyed references to other media and literature. At one point, Robinson has an older character quote Bogart’s line at the conclusion of Casablanca. The odd alliance/friendship implied in the détente between Rick and Louie in that scene is appropriate for the new rapport between characters Robinson tries to convey in his scene. At another point, there is a paraphrase of Psalm 8’s famous, “What is man that thou art mindful of him?” though Robinson may or may not realize that the famous question precedes an awareness of how important humankind really is. Then, again, the fate of the entire planet is on the person recounting that Psalm, so maybe he did (p. 215). Finally, in an homage to science-fiction greatness, Robinson evokes the famous idea of “grokking” from Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land (p. 220). If you know what happened to the protagonist in that novel, you’ll realize how it is both appropriate to the situation in the book where Robinson uses it and keeps the suspense at a high level as to whether the protagonist’s plan will succeed or not.
So, Telempath is filled with assassination subplots, terrorism subplots, class warfare (though the lines are drawn up somewhat differently than pure economic status), and an alien presence. To survive, humanity has to figure out how to evolve and how to communicate with said alien presence. The machinations sometimes take a little too long with pacing that seems like someone working to a word count, but each twisting path is worth following to its conclusion. And the message, with both a socio-ethical and ecological sensitivity, is as relevant to today as it was in 1976.
Telempath begins with violence and suspense. The protagonist is the paternalistic-styled “Hand of Man” programmed to wreak vengeance on the mad scientist who brought about the apocalyptic destruction of much of humankind. Though well-written enough to pull me in, it didn’t surprise me greatly. Many books in the 1970s were dystopian, post-apocalyptic stories. It went with the times in the post-Vietnam Conflict Era. And, I wasn’t surprised that the protagonist toked as often as possible. After all, a former literary agent for Spider once told me that the only time she ever smoked pot was under his tutelage. And, I wasn’t surprised that a novel which began with a violent quest could evolve into a quest for peace. The question was what that price for peace would be.
What really surprises me is that I was totally unaware of this book until I found a worn copy at a used bookstore. Telempath might not be a Hugo winner, but it is a solid work; it contains some beautiful writing. “It seemed as if I was in some immense devil’s autoclave, that ignored filth and grime but grimly scrubbed out life of any kind.” (p. 4) I also liked, “But Pasteur was a boob and a braggart who frittered away valuable time in childish feuds with men unfit to wash out his test tubes. Genius is seldom a good character reference.” (p. 12) Another good line was, “Time did not pass; it tailgated.” (p. 169) If lines like that don’t grab you, Telempath is not for you.
In addition, I enjoyed references to other media and literature. At one point, Robinson has an older character quote Bogart’s line at the conclusion of Casablanca. The odd alliance/friendship implied in the détente between Rick and Louie in that scene is appropriate for the new rapport between characters Robinson tries to convey in his scene. At another point, there is a paraphrase of Psalm 8’s famous, “What is man that thou art mindful of him?” though Robinson may or may not realize that the famous question precedes an awareness of how important humankind really is. Then, again, the fate of the entire planet is on the person recounting that Psalm, so maybe he did (p. 215). Finally, in an homage to science-fiction greatness, Robinson evokes the famous idea of “grokking” from Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land (p. 220). If you know what happened to the protagonist in that novel, you’ll realize how it is both appropriate to the situation in the book where Robinson uses it and keeps the suspense at a high level as to whether the protagonist’s plan will succeed or not.
So, Telempath is filled with assassination subplots, terrorism subplots, class warfare (though the lines are drawn up somewhat differently than pure economic status), and an alien presence. To survive, humanity has to figure out how to evolve and how to communicate with said alien presence. The machinations sometimes take a little too long with pacing that seems like someone working to a word count, but each twisting path is worth following to its conclusion. And the message, with both a socio-ethical and ecological sensitivity, is as relevant to today as it was in 1976.
October 13, 2009
Telempath,
This book was written 1976 and is steeped in hippie ideology's. (Smoking pot to achieve a state of Zen and the ever famous, 'peace and love will conquer all.') The idea the book is based around intrigued me and is relevant to the problems we face in the world today; terrorism. The problem with the book is that the old hippie ideas don't hold water in the real world.
(ALL VIOLENCE)(CAN BE AVOIDED BY THE TRULY SERENE MIND)
This is straight from the book. Sometimes I felt the author was forcing his views on me as I read.(Not that I disagree with all his views.) I just don't like to be force-fed political view points while reading sci-fi.
The writing style at time's annoyed me. The author had tendencies of introducing characters from nowhere then giving the ever famous (Info dump) to explain who they were. Why not work the characters into the story? What was the rush? The book is short as it is.
What could have been a very good story fell short of the mark. I read the reviews posted before mine and I couldn't disagree more with the high ratings. I'm hard pressed to give this book a 3 star rating, but I will. I like Spiders 'Callahan' stories but I had a very hard time digesting this book.
I know many praise Spider and look upon him as the next Robert Heinlein, and these followers will have a hard time with my review. I just want to say, "I tried to like the book. I really did." I just don't feel it's worthy of a 5 star rating. I gave it 3 stars, but It felt like 2 1/2
This book was written 1976 and is steeped in hippie ideology's. (Smoking pot to achieve a state of Zen and the ever famous, 'peace and love will conquer all.') The idea the book is based around intrigued me and is relevant to the problems we face in the world today; terrorism. The problem with the book is that the old hippie ideas don't hold water in the real world.
(ALL VIOLENCE)(CAN BE AVOIDED BY THE TRULY SERENE MIND)
This is straight from the book. Sometimes I felt the author was forcing his views on me as I read.(Not that I disagree with all his views.) I just don't like to be force-fed political view points while reading sci-fi.
The writing style at time's annoyed me. The author had tendencies of introducing characters from nowhere then giving the ever famous (Info dump) to explain who they were. Why not work the characters into the story? What was the rush? The book is short as it is.
What could have been a very good story fell short of the mark. I read the reviews posted before mine and I couldn't disagree more with the high ratings. I'm hard pressed to give this book a 3 star rating, but I will. I like Spiders 'Callahan' stories but I had a very hard time digesting this book.
I know many praise Spider and look upon him as the next Robert Heinlein, and these followers will have a hard time with my review. I just want to say, "I tried to like the book. I really did." I just don't feel it's worthy of a 5 star rating. I gave it 3 stars, but It felt like 2 1/2
January 2, 2010
OK, this book was whack. I had to read a sci-fi story for a competition-within-the-competition, and this one was short, and on hand, so it seemed a good choice. And it was fine, really. But WHACK. It had a bunch of pot-smoking, and all kinds of love-making, and then there were ghosts (but not really), and dead guys (but not really), and noses smelling at 100 times the power of wolf's due to a diabolical experiment (really). And a leopard.
I like most of Spider Robinson's stuff a whole lot more than I liked this. Stick to hard-drinking aliens, Spider, and less of the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it business.
Telempath - C
I like most of Spider Robinson's stuff a whole lot more than I liked this. Stick to hard-drinking aliens, Spider, and less of the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it business.
Telempath - C
November 25, 2014
I first read this one when it came out back in !976 and I hadn't realised how much my taste in reading had changed over the years. I don't know if it's because I wasa single teenage girl when I first read it and am now a widowed mother in her 50's but it wasn't as good as I remembered it. Don't get me wrong it was a wonderful book but the impact it had back then just wasn't there any more. I would recommend this if you enjoy nostalgia and the idea of peaceful solutions and a plot so twisted it makes your mind spin but otherwise I think it would have been better for me to have remembered this book rather than reread it.
August 16, 2020
Some wild concepts here; a devastating plague which massively increases mankind's sense of smell, leading the survivors (those who don't become mad, suicidal or catatonic) capable of perceiving a race of ancient gaseous beings who, barely perceptible before, are humanity's basis for ghosts and spirits, and the war between them. Robinson's ability - and his strength - is to begin a story mid-flow and then add to it, subvert it, drop in flashbacks and new information, to enrich and further everything, turning a dark, violent and defeatist dystopia into one of hope and futurity, through - of all things, as relatively late as 1978 - pot-smoking, meditation, peace, love and understanding. That it all works - bar a late-stage reversal of one major plot point, which I found disagreeable and stretching too far for the happy ending - is quite baffling, and delightful.
October 6, 2018
Review will be available once published to my blog. A compelling read with a strong main character that we slowly begin to understand.
The thought processes that are explored in this book have given me much to think about (in my endless tornado of continuously expanding "world-views").
I enjoyed the transitions from the first quarter of the book to its remainder, where we saw Isham as he was, as he is, and who we can imagine him to become.
And I won't fault a satisfying end where we live in a world of cliff-hangers and seemingly endless continuities of stories that could have been easily wrapped up, as Telempath was.
Also, a wonderful cast of characters and inspiring character growth.
A well written book.
The thought processes that are explored in this book have given me much to think about (in my endless tornado of continuously expanding "world-views").
I enjoyed the transitions from the first quarter of the book to its remainder, where we saw Isham as he was, as he is, and who we can imagine him to become.
And I won't fault a satisfying end where we live in a world of cliff-hangers and seemingly endless continuities of stories that could have been easily wrapped up, as Telempath was.
Also, a wonderful cast of characters and inspiring character growth.
A well written book.
May 13, 2022
Well, that was interesting. In form it's kind of similar to The Einstein Intersection or Dahlgren, following a main character wandering around a post-apocalyptic landscape. We slowly pick up the backstory of what happened and start to understand where it is all going. I liked this much better than those two books, though, probably a good deal because there was some humor and I could connect with Isham better than any of Delaney's characters.
In Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, Spider Robinson let loose with a zillion ridiculous (and complicated) puns, but here in his first novel I see that wasn't just the Callahan's crew - it's the author himself. The writing is clever and entertaining.
And, of course, I'm all for any book that encourages empathy.
In Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, Spider Robinson let loose with a zillion ridiculous (and complicated) puns, but here in his first novel I see that wasn't just the Callahan's crew - it's the author himself. The writing is clever and entertaining.
And, of course, I'm all for any book that encourages empathy.
August 28, 2023
Okay, so this was one of the most frustrating reads ever. It has one of the best first lines ever, and then the first chapter is great, but ... the second chapter explains what caused the apocalypse in this world, and what the mysterious antagonists are, and ... oh, man, it's just SO GOOFY in hindsight. I couldn't stop giggling & had to stop. If you can get past the goofy-ass premise, I bet it's great.
September 15, 2024
Telempath was a hit-or-miss. The parts that I liked, I went through fast. The rest, I struggled through.
The first six chapters were originally published as a novella that won the Hugo Award. What he appended to the novella explained the situation much deeper and made sense while taking a stand for the environment. The Muskies are such a unique race they may never be duplicated, and the revelations of why they went to war with humanity and how it happened made this story worth it.
The first six chapters were originally published as a novella that won the Hugo Award. What he appended to the novella explained the situation much deeper and made sense while taking a stand for the environment. The Muskies are such a unique race they may never be duplicated, and the revelations of why they went to war with humanity and how it happened made this story worth it.
October 1, 2022
genuinely wouldn't have read this if we wouldn't have had an extra copy to burn. filled with the reasons I tend to not read older sff. the stars are for the concept, and the fact that smoking weed was an important plot point.
July 25, 2024
This may be the weirdest idea ever for an apocalypse...but I can't deny it's original, even if the revealed "enemy" straddles the line between fascinating and hokey. The writing style keeps it moving, but in the end I'm rounding it up from 2.5 stars as this isn't exactly my cup of tea.
May 12, 2018
Packed full of wonderful ideas and characters
As post-apocalyptic stories go this is one of the more hopeful, and there are many important lessons learned along the way.
As post-apocalyptic stories go this is one of the more hopeful, and there are many important lessons learned along the way.
November 21, 2020
A little hard to follow in the beginning, this is a sci-if book about a dystopian post apocalyptic society where the best way to save the world is to start by changing our hearts.
August 15, 2024
hilarious
Read
October 23, 2025paperback by Spider Robinson (Author)
December 2, 2025
Czytałam wydanie: Spider Robinson, Telempata, Bellona, Warszawa 1995. Na okładce jest Tupac.
November 26, 2020
Telempath is a pretty fair post-apocalyptic novel by Robinson. The premise is that a scientist, angered by the way humans have polluted the environment, releases a plague which gives people a sense of smell exponentially better than that of wolves, and most humans are driven mad by the odors of technology. Cities are rapidly depopulated, and many flee to the wilderness areas; even there they still need nose filters to tone down the extreme aromas. Ok, the usual suspects - Man bad, Nature good.
The plight of the survivors is further complicated by the appearance of the Muskies, plasmoid beings which attack humans for inexplicable (at the start of the book) reasons, and which men, with their improved sense of smell, can now detect at small arms range distances. The people of Fresh Start use pyrotechnic ammunition to explode the Muskies, as they are explosively flammable.
One of the scientist's former colleagues, Jacob Stone, founds a small enclave in upstate New York, Fresh Start, where he and some other refugees bring back a small amount of modern technology, mostly medical or weapons to defend against human and animal predators. The story begins when his son, Isham, is sent into New York City to find and execute the man responsible, Wendell Carlson. What Isham discovers in the city rattles his entire worldview, and he returns to his home a changed man, his vengeance redirected.
There's also an opposition group in the woods, called the Agros, led by a man named Jordan, who are most violently opposed to all technology, and who worship Pan. The main crisis point in the novel is reached when they kidnap Isham, and band together in force to destroy Fresh Start and all vestiges of its industry.
Once again, Robinson returns to a recurring them. If we can all only just get our minds right, and find common ground with ALL of our enemies through telepathy, empathy or telempathy, we can all live in peace with each other and with the Earth. Isham displays hitherto unsuspected abilities in that area, and - wonder of wonders - so does his love interest. Together, their love can conquer all.
Good for a couple hours diversion, anyway.
The plight of the survivors is further complicated by the appearance of the Muskies, plasmoid beings which attack humans for inexplicable (at the start of the book) reasons, and which men, with their improved sense of smell, can now detect at small arms range distances. The people of Fresh Start use pyrotechnic ammunition to explode the Muskies, as they are explosively flammable.
One of the scientist's former colleagues, Jacob Stone, founds a small enclave in upstate New York, Fresh Start, where he and some other refugees bring back a small amount of modern technology, mostly medical or weapons to defend against human and animal predators. The story begins when his son, Isham, is sent into New York City to find and execute the man responsible, Wendell Carlson. What Isham discovers in the city rattles his entire worldview, and he returns to his home a changed man, his vengeance redirected.
There's also an opposition group in the woods, called the Agros, led by a man named Jordan, who are most violently opposed to all technology, and who worship Pan. The main crisis point in the novel is reached when they kidnap Isham, and band together in force to destroy Fresh Start and all vestiges of its industry.
Once again, Robinson returns to a recurring them. If we can all only just get our minds right, and find common ground with ALL of our enemies through telepathy, empathy or telempathy, we can all live in peace with each other and with the Earth. Isham displays hitherto unsuspected abilities in that area, and - wonder of wonders - so does his love interest. Together, their love can conquer all.
Good for a couple hours diversion, anyway.
August 25, 2013
I first read the beginning of this novel back when it was just a short story. It's taken me this long to realize that Spider expanded that short story and made it into a full-length novel.
I enjoyed the short story greatly, and, well. . . I think that Spider should have LEFT it at that length and come up with new characters for this story. The first half of the book are excellent, good world building and lots of action to keep you involved. The second half, while OK just doesn't match the intensity of that first half.
This book was really more of a 3 or 3.5, but, because I DID enjoy that first half so much I bumped it up to 4.
I've re-written this review a half dozen times, but still am not happy with it. All I can say is--if you enjoy Spider, read this. If you haven't ever read anything by Spider, start with a better book, like one of the Callahan's Place books or Mary's Place books. Altho I will point out that the Mary's Place books are a spin-off of the Callahan's books. Still both of these sets are much better than this one, and gives you a better grasp of Spider's true talents.
I enjoyed the short story greatly, and, well. . . I think that Spider should have LEFT it at that length and come up with new characters for this story. The first half of the book are excellent, good world building and lots of action to keep you involved. The second half, while OK just doesn't match the intensity of that first half.
This book was really more of a 3 or 3.5, but, because I DID enjoy that first half so much I bumped it up to 4.
I've re-written this review a half dozen times, but still am not happy with it. All I can say is--if you enjoy Spider, read this. If you haven't ever read anything by Spider, start with a better book, like one of the Callahan's Place books or Mary's Place books. Altho I will point out that the Mary's Place books are a spin-off of the Callahan's books. Still both of these sets are much better than this one, and gives you a better grasp of Spider's true talents.
January 1, 2009
This is another post-apocalyptic book, which is a genre I really do enjoy. There are twists and turns, and personal discoveries, and without giving anything away I'll just say that I really enjoyed it. The comedy of Robinson's Callahan books is replaced with compassion, and he does both emotions very well. His writing reminds me a lot of Heinlein, who is another of my favorites, but he brings a modern twist all his own to this book.
May 22, 2013
Spider Robinson's first full length novel is an absolute gem with a plot so convoluted (yet clear) that it would blow your mind to have it explained in one or two paragraphs. I won't even begin to try and explain it.
One of the main ideas, and one that runs like a golden thread throughout Spider and Jeane Robinson's work, is the idea that empathy can be thought of as the embryonic form of telepathy.
One of the main ideas, and one that runs like a golden thread throughout Spider and Jeane Robinson's work, is the idea that empathy can be thought of as the embryonic form of telepathy.
August 4, 2017
Not a bad first novel. You can see his influences quite plainly and for the most part they continue in his later novels and stories. I can not fault a writer whose main theme is empathy is humankind's best hope.
June 7, 2013
What if our sense of smell was hyper-stimulated? Though this isn't the most amazing book I've read, it travels some strange paths along it's post-apocalyptic way, and the story kept me engaged to follow it through. It finishes with a warm and fuzzy feel-good ending. Can't we all just... get along?
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January 9, 2010baen ebook
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August 25, 20101ST FUTURA PUBLICATIONS EDITION.
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April 9, 2012There ought to be a bookshelf tag for "gave-up-on-this-book-and-I-will-never-finish-it" -- I generally enjoy Spider Robinson's books, but this one never engaged me...
April 24, 2012
not as much telepathy as you might expect from the title; but an action packed post-apocalyptic adventure.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews