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Worlds
In this near-future novel by the author of The Forever War, an idealistic student visiting Earth from an orbiting colony is ensnared in a political conspiracy. By the close of the twenty-first century, almost half a million souls have already abandoned Earth to live in satellites orbiting the strife-ridden planet. Each of these forty-one Worlds is an independent entity boasting its own government and culture, yet each remains bound to the troubled home World by economic pressure. A brilliant student of political science born and raised in New New York, the largest of the orbiting Worlds, young Marianne O’Hara has never been to the surface but now has a golden opportunity to continue her studies far below her floating home of steel. Life on Earth, however, is very different from anything she has ever experienced. With power in the hands of a privileged few and unrest running rampant, the allure of radical politics might be too much for an idealistic and inexperienced young World dweller to resist. But even the best of intentions can have disastrous consequences, and Marianne soon finds herself unwittingly drawn into a wide-ranging conspiracy that could result in the total destruction of everything on Earth . . . and above. The first book in the acclaimed science fiction trilogy by Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Joe Haldeman, Worlds offers a powerful vision of a possible future.This ebook features an illustrated biography of Joe Haldeman including rare images from the author’s personal collection.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 1981
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1159 people want to read
About the author
Joe Haldeman
443 books2,208 followersBrother of Jack C. Haldeman II
Haldeman is the author of 20 novels and five collections. The Forever War won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975. Other notable titles include Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works "Graves," "Tricentennial" and "The Hemingway Hoax." Starbound is scheduled for a January release. SFWA president Russell Davis called Haldeman "an extraordinarily talented writer, a respected teacher and mentor in our community, and a good friend."
Haldeman officially received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at the Nebula Awards Weekend in May, 2010 in Hollywood, Fla.
Haldeman is the author of 20 novels and five collections. The Forever War won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975. Other notable titles include Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works "Graves," "Tricentennial" and "The Hemingway Hoax." Starbound is scheduled for a January release. SFWA president Russell Davis called Haldeman "an extraordinarily talented writer, a respected teacher and mentor in our community, and a good friend."
Haldeman officially received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at the Nebula Awards Weekend in May, 2010 in Hollywood, Fla.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
June 19, 2025
DNF at 33%. I dunno, this feels like a less well written and compelling Heinlein story. Too much sex and fluff, with no action, mystery or suspense to hold one's interest. He doesn't ram the politics down your throat as forcefully as Heinlein, but I still can't escape the feeling this is more of a soapbox than entertainment.
April 15, 2012
SF books written about the near future have a habit of retrospectively turning into alternative histories. This is the case with Haldeman's Worlds which was published in 1950, predicting the Vietnam war in surprisingly accurate detail - apart from the bit where the Communists are defeated, of course. But the book isn't really about that. Instead Haldeman has set up a group of orbiting "Worlds" ranging from hollowed asteroids to tin cans, each with a variant culture, form of government and economy. Starting there, we follow the protagonist to Earth where she starts doing post-graduate studies at New York University and gets caught up in radical politics. As part of the academic program she goes on a world tour.
Haldeman spends a great deal of time in a fairly short novel describing the Earth his protagonist sees. It's a common enough trick in SF and elsewhere; bring in an outsider to give perspective on what is ordinarily so familiar as to be beneath notice. And what Haldeman is describing is really just the world as he saw it back in 1950; the fact that the USA is run by Lobbies that get votes only from their members - direct elections having disappeared - is just making explicit what Haldeman thinks is in practice happening anyway: Pressure groups dictate policy and even politicians according to their size and spending power and run things in their perceived best interests, which may or may not conform to the perceived best interests of the majority. The policy makers are therefore shadowy figures that avoid public naming, let alone direct election. Then we proceed around the planet on a whistle-stop tour, givingHaldeman's the protagonist's impressions of the rest of the world, with greater or lesser detail, depending on the country.
This gets a little dull as it doesn't really drive the plot (there is one, it's about a plot) anywhere. After it ends, the book accelerates into an action adventure that winds up to a conclusion that doesn't seem all that likely.
There are two sequels and indeed this book could be viewed as ending having set up the situation necessary for the second book and perhaps should not be judged alone. I would happily read these subsequent volumes and indeed anything else Haldeman wrote but I'm still looking for something as radical, original and mind-blowing as The Hemmingway Hoax which turned me on to Haldeman in the first place.
Haldeman spends a great deal of time in a fairly short novel describing the Earth his protagonist sees. It's a common enough trick in SF and elsewhere; bring in an outsider to give perspective on what is ordinarily so familiar as to be beneath notice. And what Haldeman is describing is really just the world as he saw it back in 1950; the fact that the USA is run by Lobbies that get votes only from their members - direct elections having disappeared - is just making explicit what Haldeman thinks is in practice happening anyway: Pressure groups dictate policy and even politicians according to their size and spending power and run things in their perceived best interests, which may or may not conform to the perceived best interests of the majority. The policy makers are therefore shadowy figures that avoid public naming, let alone direct election. Then we proceed around the planet on a whistle-stop tour, giving
This gets a little dull as it doesn't really drive the plot (there is one, it's about a plot) anywhere. After it ends, the book accelerates into an action adventure that winds up to a conclusion that doesn't seem all that likely.
There are two sequels and indeed this book could be viewed as ending having set up the situation necessary for the second book and perhaps should not be judged alone. I would happily read these subsequent volumes and indeed anything else Haldeman wrote but I'm still looking for something as radical, original and mind-blowing as The Hemmingway Hoax which turned me on to Haldeman in the first place.
March 19, 2021
This is the very enjoyable first volume of Haldeman's Worlds trilogy. He planned and plotted the narrative to be a trilogy, unlike the way the Forever War books evolved from one another. The book appeared in 1981, and was a near-future thriller, so it can't be judged as a contemporary novel, but I think it holds up quite well. Marianne O'Hara was an unusually well drawn female protagonist of the time, and his insight into politics and technological innovation is striking. He experimented with different styles of narrative technique which was a little challenging at times, but held the reader's interest. It's one of Haldeman's best.
October 23, 2014
Haldeman looks into the future & sees many splinter cultures moving into artificial satellites around the Earth. Our civilization is further splintered by colonies on the moon & other celestial bodies. Earth isn't in great shape & we're given a tour by our heroine from one of the splinter colonies.
Lots of action & adventure while exploring how our civilization has changed in a century (published in 1981 & the story takes place in 2084). Maybe he bit off a bit bigger bite than he should have. It drags in places & he goes a little wild in others, so as much as I enjoyed it, it really isn't a top notch book. Not like The Forever War or All My Sins Remembered. Still, it's better than the average SF book & his civilization is a credible, scary look at the future.
Lots of action & adventure while exploring how our civilization has changed in a century (published in 1981 & the story takes place in 2084). Maybe he bit off a bit bigger bite than he should have. It drags in places & he goes a little wild in others, so as much as I enjoyed it, it really isn't a top notch book. Not like The Forever War or All My Sins Remembered. Still, it's better than the average SF book & his civilization is a credible, scary look at the future.
February 4, 2015
I'm sad to say my first NetGalley read was not a very good one. Joe Haldeman may be an award winning writer, but I get a feeling this was not his best work. There are a LOT of issues with this novel but let me see if I can sum them up.
1. The authorial voice jumps around. I think Haldeman was trying to set the book up with a autobiographical/biographical tone but sadly where it might reinforce the novel it actually distracts from it. Sometimes it's a friends diary or retelling of events (good), sometimes it's a weirdly omniscient 3rd person (bad), and sometimes it's random stuff like recordings (eh). The jumping from 1st to 3rd person isn't creative or helpful.
2. While the setting has nuggets of interesting material such as the orbital colonies, the book then shifts to a travelog of Earth and long drawn out moments where the novel drags to a dead stop. When the main character O'Hara has to deal with life threatening events, interesting, when she goes on and on about her classes or where she's visiting/drinking/sleeping with, boring.
3. The book pushes all the action to the last 1/4 of the novel. No seriously as soon as O'Hara notices just how bad things are getting around her...someone dies, she becomes famous, and then BOOM. Book over. That's no way to pace a story.
4. For an America that had a 2nd Revolution they book glosses over it. This is important. Denver is a autonomous territory, the US has sold the Cape to the Worlds as a main shuttle port, and there is a trade cold war going on over hydrocarbons. This should have been BIGGER. It was more interesting learning about the different Worlds culture early in the book, that was one of the few things keeping me reading.
So I had to power through the last half of the book only to have a series of events at the end stretch my believably of what was going on. Add to that Haldeman seems to think that rape = drama and I was over it. The book just gave me a bad taste in my mouth.
The ONLY reason why this book isn't a 1 star is because there was some token, if good, effort to do world building that really should have been expanded upon. But alas.
Done.
1. The authorial voice jumps around. I think Haldeman was trying to set the book up with a autobiographical/biographical tone but sadly where it might reinforce the novel it actually distracts from it. Sometimes it's a friends diary or retelling of events (good), sometimes it's a weirdly omniscient 3rd person (bad), and sometimes it's random stuff like recordings (eh). The jumping from 1st to 3rd person isn't creative or helpful.
2. While the setting has nuggets of interesting material such as the orbital colonies, the book then shifts to a travelog of Earth and long drawn out moments where the novel drags to a dead stop. When the main character O'Hara has to deal with life threatening events, interesting, when she goes on and on about her classes or where she's visiting/drinking/sleeping with, boring.
3. The book pushes all the action to the last 1/4 of the novel. No seriously as soon as O'Hara notices just how bad things are getting around her...someone dies, she becomes famous, and then BOOM. Book over. That's no way to pace a story.
4. For an America that had a 2nd Revolution they book glosses over it. This is important. Denver is a autonomous territory, the US has sold the Cape to the Worlds as a main shuttle port, and there is a trade cold war going on over hydrocarbons. This should have been BIGGER. It was more interesting learning about the different Worlds culture early in the book, that was one of the few things keeping me reading.
So I had to power through the last half of the book only to have a series of events at the end stretch my believably of what was going on. Add to that Haldeman seems to think that rape = drama and I was over it. The book just gave me a bad taste in my mouth.
The ONLY reason why this book isn't a 1 star is because there was some token, if good, effort to do world building that really should have been expanded upon. But alas.
Done.
January 1, 2014
-Un vistazo imaginativo a un posible futuro próximo.-
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el siglo XXI comenzó la expansión de la Humanidad fuera del planeta Tierra y se fueron estableciendo colonias, hasta 41, de todos los tamaños y fruto de diferentes iniciativas. En Nueva Nueva York, más conocida como Nueva Nueva y construida a partir de un asteroide, Marianne O´Hara es una joven habitante de cuarta generación perteneciente a una familia lineal que mientras crece va conociendo la sociedad en la que vive, las diferencias entre lugares y la evolución de voluntades políticas de muchos estados, y termina implicándose en los mismos. Primer libro de la Trilogía de los Mundos.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el siglo XXI comenzó la expansión de la Humanidad fuera del planeta Tierra y se fueron estableciendo colonias, hasta 41, de todos los tamaños y fruto de diferentes iniciativas. En Nueva Nueva York, más conocida como Nueva Nueva y construida a partir de un asteroide, Marianne O´Hara es una joven habitante de cuarta generación perteneciente a una familia lineal que mientras crece va conociendo la sociedad en la que vive, las diferencias entre lugares y la evolución de voluntades políticas de muchos estados, y termina implicándose en los mismos. Primer libro de la Trilogía de los Mundos.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
October 10, 2020
Marianne O’Hara grew up in New New York, one of multiple “Worlds”, large orbital habitats supporting hundreds of thousands of people. The Worlds are varied, socially liberal, and very different from the less progressive Earth. Marianne is sent on a one year study trip to Earth, to immerse herself in Earth culture and society. While in “Old” New York, enrolled at NYU, culture clash sets in quickly, and she is exposed to the awful realities of American society. The larger story involves how the Worlds are inexorably moving towards independence. They provide energy and materials to Earth, mostly America, in return for specialised goods, and hydrogen. The discovery of hydrogen deposits in space precipitates the problem, as Earth powers see their influence slipping away.
This book has aged badly, mostly due to its depiction of life in New York and other places on Earth. This is a New York stuck in the seventies, with rampant violent crime, prostitution around Times Square, muggings and rapes. In contrast, O’Hara’s “free love” upbringing leans heavily on late 60s tropes. The technology is all tapes and recordings and long distance phone calls. The development of nations in the world is very much seen from a late seventies lens, for example the merger of the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China.
The characters are well fleshed out, especially the protagonist. Seeing this Earth from a foreigner’s lens paints an ugly picture, which is presumably what Mr. Haldeman intended. The use of narrative devices such as diary entries, phone call transcripts and letters is interesting but can sometimes feel disjointed.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/2020/10/...
This book has aged badly, mostly due to its depiction of life in New York and other places on Earth. This is a New York stuck in the seventies, with rampant violent crime, prostitution around Times Square, muggings and rapes. In contrast, O’Hara’s “free love” upbringing leans heavily on late 60s tropes. The technology is all tapes and recordings and long distance phone calls. The development of nations in the world is very much seen from a late seventies lens, for example the merger of the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China.
The characters are well fleshed out, especially the protagonist. Seeing this Earth from a foreigner’s lens paints an ugly picture, which is presumably what Mr. Haldeman intended. The use of narrative devices such as diary entries, phone call transcripts and letters is interesting but can sometimes feel disjointed.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/2020/10/...
February 26, 2019
I first read Worlds many years ago, but had forgotten almost everything except for the basic premise - in just under a hundred years' time, humanity populates a collection of artificial environments ("Worlds") in the space around Earth. Only the near-Earth space seems to be occupied and there do not seem to be serious colonies on, say, Mars or elsewhere. Each World is a unique and quirky society in its own right, proud of its distinctive history and culture.
But by far the majority of the population still lives on Earth, which is politically divided into a few major continental units. America has had a second revolution, the Soviet Union still controls much of Asia, and other recognisable religious or political groups have territories in Africa, South America, and so on. The main character, Marianne, is a citizen of one of the Worlds, temporarily on Earth for study, when a third American revolution breaks out and triggers global war.
The great majority of the story follows Marianne on her personal journey - literal and conceptual. But behind this story of an individual life, and ultimately coming to dominate its direction and choices, is the story of the ending of a world. This ending happens with shocking abruptness, cutting suddenly across Marianne's plans and intentions. At first I thought that this way of telling the story was too sharp, too fierce: on reflection I decided that it was a carefully crafted device to emphasise just how final such an event would be to Earth's inhabitants.
Most of the above describes my reactions as reader, but the story makes interesting reading for anyone interested in near-future life. Gamers wanting to mine the ideas will find a rich variety of possible back-stories against which a player's actions can take place. Certainly there are details that betray the year of writing (1981) - for example, the prominence of the Soviet Union - but it doesn't take much imagination to map the described geopolitical units into ones which are relevant today.
Worlds is a self-contained story, but also the opening book of a trilogy. I am looking forward to rediscovering the other two books. For me, 4* rather than 5, because although the concepts worked well, I wasn't always convinced by Marianne's touring activities, and felt that the writing quality wasn't always up to Joe Haldeman's best.
But by far the majority of the population still lives on Earth, which is politically divided into a few major continental units. America has had a second revolution, the Soviet Union still controls much of Asia, and other recognisable religious or political groups have territories in Africa, South America, and so on. The main character, Marianne, is a citizen of one of the Worlds, temporarily on Earth for study, when a third American revolution breaks out and triggers global war.
The great majority of the story follows Marianne on her personal journey - literal and conceptual. But behind this story of an individual life, and ultimately coming to dominate its direction and choices, is the story of the ending of a world. This ending happens with shocking abruptness, cutting suddenly across Marianne's plans and intentions. At first I thought that this way of telling the story was too sharp, too fierce: on reflection I decided that it was a carefully crafted device to emphasise just how final such an event would be to Earth's inhabitants.
Most of the above describes my reactions as reader, but the story makes interesting reading for anyone interested in near-future life. Gamers wanting to mine the ideas will find a rich variety of possible back-stories against which a player's actions can take place. Certainly there are details that betray the year of writing (1981) - for example, the prominence of the Soviet Union - but it doesn't take much imagination to map the described geopolitical units into ones which are relevant today.
Worlds is a self-contained story, but also the opening book of a trilogy. I am looking forward to rediscovering the other two books. For me, 4* rather than 5, because although the concepts worked well, I wasn't always convinced by Marianne's touring activities, and felt that the writing quality wasn't always up to Joe Haldeman's best.
January 23, 2022
Es una historia molt post apocalíptica en un possible futur en la Terra i en diferents mons que els humans han pogut poblar, molt interessant si t'agrada aquests tipus d'històries sino no :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2015
Worlds is an ambitious attempt by Joe Haldeman. The title itself is revealing; it is a story of many worlds. Mankind is starting its next colonization, conquering spaces. Many giant space stations are built as new human habitats. Man also starts mining the moon and asteroids. A new interplanetary politics is building, between the old earth and the Worlds.
The premise is interesting, new politics caused by the new colonization, while the old earth is trapped in conservatism and ecology disaster. But it looks like that the author failed to capitalized it. I cannot help but to compared it with Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson. The premise is almost the same; the colonization of Mars creates a new tension in politics. Where Robinson succeed, Haldeman failed.
The first third of the novel is very good. The characters are properly introduced and the world building is amazing. Haldeman successfully captured the new culture caused by the separation from earth quite well. I would give FOUR STAR for the first third. But the second third, when the main character, Mariane O'Hara starts her campus life, it is plain boring. The details do not add well to the story. Instead of building the story, I find it as impediments to the main plot. The revolution spirit is not well captured. Maybe it is caused by the usage of just one POV, Marianne, which herself is almost oblivious the revolution. TWO STAR only for this part. For the final third, the story is improving. The revolution starts, and Marianne find herself in it, helpless and hopeless. The tension is well built. THREE STAR for the last part. So, on average, I give this novel a THREE STAR. Not great, but not bad as well, exactly is the middle.
I would say that this novel is not Haldeman's best. Nice to read, but not really engaging.
(I GET THE COPY OF THIS NOVEL FROM NETGALLEY)
The premise is interesting, new politics caused by the new colonization, while the old earth is trapped in conservatism and ecology disaster. But it looks like that the author failed to capitalized it. I cannot help but to compared it with Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson. The premise is almost the same; the colonization of Mars creates a new tension in politics. Where Robinson succeed, Haldeman failed.
The first third of the novel is very good. The characters are properly introduced and the world building is amazing. Haldeman successfully captured the new culture caused by the separation from earth quite well. I would give FOUR STAR for the first third. But the second third, when the main character, Mariane O'Hara starts her campus life, it is plain boring. The details do not add well to the story. Instead of building the story, I find it as impediments to the main plot. The revolution spirit is not well captured. Maybe it is caused by the usage of just one POV, Marianne, which herself is almost oblivious the revolution. TWO STAR only for this part. For the final third, the story is improving. The revolution starts, and Marianne find herself in it, helpless and hopeless. The tension is well built. THREE STAR for the last part. So, on average, I give this novel a THREE STAR. Not great, but not bad as well, exactly is the middle.
I would say that this novel is not Haldeman's best. Nice to read, but not really engaging.
(I GET THE COPY OF THIS NOVEL FROM NETGALLEY)
December 2, 2014
http://koeur.wordpress.com/2014/12/02...
Publisher: Open Road (Avon Books)
Publishing Date: 2014 (1990)
ISBN: 9781497692374
Genre: SciFi
Rating: 2.2/5
Publisher Description: By the close of the twenty-first century, almost half a million souls have already abandoned Earth to live in satellites orbiting the strife-ridden planet. Each of these forty-one Worlds is an independent entity boasting its own government and culture, yet each remains bound to the troubled home World by economic pressure.
Review: This was written a long time ago in a galaxy…. I got suckered into thinking this was Haldeman’s latest effort but on closer inspection was first published in 1990. There are so many reviews out there on this novel that I would be a drop in a bucket. So to summarize: Heavy, heavy inner dialogue. Pages and pages of cultural and political world building. Pages and pages of opinions on the latter that make no difference to the plot. Good character development when focused in that direction. Heinlein-esque sexual encounters.
This novel could have trimmed quite a bit of the dialogue fat, built a competent and believable world without the endless political descriptions and upped the character intent to a focused end-game. As it was it was lengthy and sometimes tortuous reading.
Publisher: Open Road (Avon Books)
Publishing Date: 2014 (1990)
ISBN: 9781497692374
Genre: SciFi
Rating: 2.2/5
Publisher Description: By the close of the twenty-first century, almost half a million souls have already abandoned Earth to live in satellites orbiting the strife-ridden planet. Each of these forty-one Worlds is an independent entity boasting its own government and culture, yet each remains bound to the troubled home World by economic pressure.
Review: This was written a long time ago in a galaxy…. I got suckered into thinking this was Haldeman’s latest effort but on closer inspection was first published in 1990. There are so many reviews out there on this novel that I would be a drop in a bucket. So to summarize: Heavy, heavy inner dialogue. Pages and pages of cultural and political world building. Pages and pages of opinions on the latter that make no difference to the plot. Good character development when focused in that direction. Heinlein-esque sexual encounters.
This novel could have trimmed quite a bit of the dialogue fat, built a competent and believable world without the endless political descriptions and upped the character intent to a focused end-game. As it was it was lengthy and sometimes tortuous reading.
December 3, 2014
Somehow I missed that this is a re-issue of a 1981 novel--which is actually kind of a relief as a number of scenes just seemed dated or out of place in a way I can't fully articulate. I've read several of Haldeman's other books--the classic Forever War with its sequel Forever Free and analog Forever Peace (which I think is actually the most interesting of the three). There's something about the set-up of the Worlds/Earth culture clash that now seems kind of retro to me, though I enjoyed it for most of the book.
I especially enjoyed the way the novel was told in disparate pieces through diary entries, correspondence, one-sided calls, etc. though this same way of storytelling made it difficult for me to "get to know" the characters; they always seemed at arm's length in a way they weren't in other Haldeman novels. That said, I think this book is especially interesting for how it describes futuristic culture-clash, and would definitely recommend it on that basis.
I especially enjoyed the way the novel was told in disparate pieces through diary entries, correspondence, one-sided calls, etc. though this same way of storytelling made it difficult for me to "get to know" the characters; they always seemed at arm's length in a way they weren't in other Haldeman novels. That said, I think this book is especially interesting for how it describes futuristic culture-clash, and would definitely recommend it on that basis.
December 2, 2014
REVIEW WORLDS by JOE HALDEMAN (WORLDS BOOK 1)
WORLDS is an exciting, engrossing, tremendously thought-provoking science fiction story, every bit as important a sci fi classic as on its original publication in 1981. The eponymous "Worlds" are a collection of orbiting colonized asteroids, with all the variety one might expect: worlds focused on religion; corporate culture; bloodlines. Perhaps even more importantly, WORLDS' protagonist is a strong, empowered, young female (some might say "headstrong"). Imagine that, when this story originally published 33 years ago! Amazingly progressive! I'm anticipating continuing the series.
WORLDS is an exciting, engrossing, tremendously thought-provoking science fiction story, every bit as important a sci fi classic as on its original publication in 1981. The eponymous "Worlds" are a collection of orbiting colonized asteroids, with all the variety one might expect: worlds focused on religion; corporate culture; bloodlines. Perhaps even more importantly, WORLDS' protagonist is a strong, empowered, young female (some might say "headstrong"). Imagine that, when this story originally published 33 years ago! Amazingly progressive! I'm anticipating continuing the series.
January 26, 2016
I am not sure how Haldeman does what he does with a story. If I were to read "Worlds" written by another writer I am sure I would find the story boring ad bland. Somehow Haldeman always makes me enjoy whatever kind of story he writes and identify with the characters. I am looking forward to seeing where he takes the rest of the trilogy. Highly recommended
June 27, 2019
This book spends 80% of its pages setting up the status quo and introducing vague concepts of revolution and tensions between the planetside groundhogs and the Worlds. Then in the last 50 pages, all the action happens. I found the end of the book almost compelling enough to read the trilogy, but overall I feel pretty lukewarm about it.
November 13, 2018
It was more a a travel guide for touring the world. Not much suspense - nothing to hook you into wanting to read the next chapter (even though most of them are pretty short). No need to keep this book in my collection.
December 14, 2015
Haldeman claimed a couple vacations on his taxes as business expenses and needed a book he could put them in to avoid an audit. This is that book.
August 20, 2020
[Spoilers]
This novel follows the adventures of a space colonist visiting Earth, as she gets involved in an underground political organization, has some traumatic experiences, and travels. At times the narrative is Heinleinesque (excellent). Great except for the abrupt ending, just when things were really moving, everything is "resolved" with a flash forward to the future....
This novel follows the adventures of a space colonist visiting Earth, as she gets involved in an underground political organization, has some traumatic experiences, and travels. At times the narrative is Heinleinesque (excellent). Great except for the abrupt ending, just when things were really moving, everything is "resolved" with a flash forward to the future....
April 29, 2023
World building at an excellent level.
The plot is based a little too much on one person, stretching credibility, but the overall concept and story (although a bit dated) is really good. The writing is even better, it's a real page turner.
On to book two of the series!
The plot is based a little too much on one person, stretching credibility, but the overall concept and story (although a bit dated) is really good. The writing is even better, it's a real page turner.
On to book two of the series!
January 27, 2024
Enjoyed the characters and conflict. The story feels like it has a lot of unnecessary details, almost could have been a novella. Not a bad read, not the best either.
September 17, 2019
The life and times of Marianne O'Hara (MH), born in space and visiting the earth.
The Worlds are space stations dedicated to manufacturing and energy and resource production which they trade with the earth for food and other goods not readily available in space. The Worlds are affiliated with a variety of institutions including countries and even a church. The sexual mores of the Worlds are contrasted with those of Earth with the Worlds being more open and some of the cultures which formed on the Worlds being exceptionally open.
MH is a scholar who has earned a trip to Earth to further her studies. She has two partners in space and forms two more partnerships on the Earth. She spends much of her time in NY City before traveling the world on a school sponsored tour. This permits her to compare the cultures of several successor to cultures we see today to the Worlds (and the readers to see where the author postulates our world is going).
In the interests of research MH and one of her partners, Benny, join a political group which she comes to believe is not as pacifist as they led her to believe. The story uses her experiences in school, with her friends, and with the political group to investigate the differences in the Worlds cultures from those of the Earth.
Eventually the disaffected in the US set off a catastrophe which will eventually spread around the globe.
An interesting aspect of the novels is some of what it missed in its predictions of future technology (for example, personal communicators such as cell phones and the US is still dependent on currency rather than electronic payments.).
I doubt I'll rush out and read the remaining two novels in the trilogy, but the first book is OK.
The Worlds are space stations dedicated to manufacturing and energy and resource production which they trade with the earth for food and other goods not readily available in space. The Worlds are affiliated with a variety of institutions including countries and even a church. The sexual mores of the Worlds are contrasted with those of Earth with the Worlds being more open and some of the cultures which formed on the Worlds being exceptionally open.
MH is a scholar who has earned a trip to Earth to further her studies. She has two partners in space and forms two more partnerships on the Earth. She spends much of her time in NY City before traveling the world on a school sponsored tour. This permits her to compare the cultures of several successor to cultures we see today to the Worlds (and the readers to see where the author postulates our world is going).
In the interests of research MH and one of her partners, Benny, join a political group which she comes to believe is not as pacifist as they led her to believe. The story uses her experiences in school, with her friends, and with the political group to investigate the differences in the Worlds cultures from those of the Earth.
Eventually the disaffected in the US set off a catastrophe which will eventually spread around the globe.
An interesting aspect of the novels is some of what it missed in its predictions of future technology (for example, personal communicators such as cell phones and the US is still dependent on currency rather than electronic payments.).
I doubt I'll rush out and read the remaining two novels in the trilogy, but the first book is OK.
January 7, 2015
Marianne O’Hara is a smarty pants student from one of the 41 Worlds. These massive man-made satellites orbit in outer space, and have their own independent governments. They also have cultural traits that are pretty out there (See what I did there? Gotta love space humour). Marianne is sent to Earth as part of a yearlong exchange program.
While it seems to me like these Worlds are a cool idea, this hardly a story plot.
To fill the story in there is a conspiracy, which never feels fully developed. Worse than this, however, is the middle one third of the book, which completely departs from this story-line and is just the main character travelling around Earth. Other than for word count, I can’t understand why the author felt it was necessary to add this part.
The character’s actions also often felt at odds with what we are told about them. The main character is supposed to be smart, yet when told not to travel to a certain area alone, even during the day, she walks there alone at night. It’s not surprising that things go poorly for her. What is surprising is that she later goes somewhere else under the same circumstances. This sort of thing quickly kills any connection or pity I may have had with the characters by this point.
2 Stars for the satellite Worlds and easy writing style.
(I received this free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for this honest, if poorly written, review.)
While it seems to me like these Worlds are a cool idea, this hardly a story plot.
To fill the story in there is a conspiracy, which never feels fully developed. Worse than this, however, is the middle one third of the book, which completely departs from this story-line and is just the main character travelling around Earth. Other than for word count, I can’t understand why the author felt it was necessary to add this part.
The character’s actions also often felt at odds with what we are told about them. The main character is supposed to be smart, yet when told not to travel to a certain area alone, even during the day, she walks there alone at night. It’s not surprising that things go poorly for her. What is surprising is that she later goes somewhere else under the same circumstances. This sort of thing quickly kills any connection or pity I may have had with the characters by this point.
2 Stars for the satellite Worlds and easy writing style.
(I received this free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for this honest, if poorly written, review.)
June 2, 2025
Ended abruptly
That ending. It’s a terrible, dissatisfying ending. Do I want to read the next book in this trilogy? No. No, I do not. Marianne O’Hara doesn’t have enough substance, charisma or pathos to make me want to follow her through another dragging, meaningless narrative, only to arrive at an ending that has no explanation, no preface or epilogue.
And it’s a dated read for all that. I looked it up, and the book was published in 1981. The Twin Towers were completed in 1973. So how come the book says that the Empire State Building is the tallest building in New York?
Maybe it’s just me, but from the first time I read Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card, I connected with the main character (with whom I had next to nothing in common). Haldeman can write well for sure—atmosphere, descriptions, situations, but I just do not connect with any of his characters. His writing doesn’t make me CARE about ANYBODY in his stories. It’s all dry and devoid of any real emotion. The ending most definitely didn’t help. Face palm.
That ending. It’s a terrible, dissatisfying ending. Do I want to read the next book in this trilogy? No. No, I do not. Marianne O’Hara doesn’t have enough substance, charisma or pathos to make me want to follow her through another dragging, meaningless narrative, only to arrive at an ending that has no explanation, no preface or epilogue.
And it’s a dated read for all that. I looked it up, and the book was published in 1981. The Twin Towers were completed in 1973. So how come the book says that the Empire State Building is the tallest building in New York?
Maybe it’s just me, but from the first time I read Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card, I connected with the main character (with whom I had next to nothing in common). Haldeman can write well for sure—atmosphere, descriptions, situations, but I just do not connect with any of his characters. His writing doesn’t make me CARE about ANYBODY in his stories. It’s all dry and devoid of any real emotion. The ending most definitely didn’t help. Face palm.
July 14, 2016
I found this one recently and, given that I'll probably be meeting Mr. Haldeman in August at WorldCon, I figured I might ought to pick it up and familiarize myself with his work. Being that his book The Forever War is on many "Best Of" lists I probably should have started there, but hey...this is me we're talking about, I never do anything the normal way!
So this book really reads like one of Heinlein's better works. It has a solid plot with a blend of action, politics, and the occasional sex-lite scene to shine a light on our cultures inherent prudishness, and the female protagonist is surprisingly modern given that this book is 35 years old. Haldeman also gets quite a few things close technology-wise, while the occasional dated tidbit is easily glossed over without detracting from the story.
Great cliffhanger ending, btw, he definitely leaves you on the hook for the next novel.
So this book really reads like one of Heinlein's better works. It has a solid plot with a blend of action, politics, and the occasional sex-lite scene to shine a light on our cultures inherent prudishness, and the female protagonist is surprisingly modern given that this book is 35 years old. Haldeman also gets quite a few things close technology-wise, while the occasional dated tidbit is easily glossed over without detracting from the story.
Great cliffhanger ending, btw, he definitely leaves you on the hook for the next novel.
July 9, 2022
I will note up front this was a DNF for me. I got about 30% of the way through it (I read on Kindle) and could not/would not finish. Life's too short.
Haldeman came highly recommended, though not this particular book. The title, Worlds summed it up, I guess. He spent that 30% explaining the different worlds that orbit the Earth. While we have a main character, Marianne, she's merely a vehicle to explain how the satellite worlds operate and how people view one another from the different worlds. I got to the part where she went to Earth and I realized it was going to be more of the same.
I need to be invested in people, I need something to happen to them, and I need the story to move forward. This seemed more like a journal or a log, just a record of the worlds Haldeman was creating. Maybe it gets better, but I didn't have time to wait for it. I have other things to read.
DNF.
Haldeman came highly recommended, though not this particular book. The title, Worlds summed it up, I guess. He spent that 30% explaining the different worlds that orbit the Earth. While we have a main character, Marianne, she's merely a vehicle to explain how the satellite worlds operate and how people view one another from the different worlds. I got to the part where she went to Earth and I realized it was going to be more of the same.
I need to be invested in people, I need something to happen to them, and I need the story to move forward. This seemed more like a journal or a log, just a record of the worlds Haldeman was creating. Maybe it gets better, but I didn't have time to wait for it. I have other things to read.
DNF.
August 2, 2018
I really wanted to like this book, but couldn't. Where to begin... To me this book felt like a writing experiment. Chunks of the story are told only through letters and journal entries, and other parts first-person narrative. I found the transition between them jarring. The story moved at a snail's pace and I found the protagonist Marianne O'Hara thoroughly unlikable.
November 9, 2017
I received this free from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.
There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed, but then there were the others I didn't. Seemed a bit dated at times but that is understandable because it is a reprint of an 1981 book. The heroine I just could not like, I found her irritating and naïve. Even though this is the first in a series and wasn't too bad I don't know if I could handle any more of the series.
There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed, but then there were the others I didn't. Seemed a bit dated at times but that is understandable because it is a reprint of an 1981 book. The heroine I just could not like, I found her irritating and naïve. Even though this is the first in a series and wasn't too bad I don't know if I could handle any more of the series.
July 14, 2018
Enjoyable book.
Enjoyed the W/worlds he created, characters were interesting, and story was intriguing. The male love interests blended together and I got confused who was who. Overall though I liked that it had this inherent intrigue to the environment because it seemed familiar but different. A future that seemed probable because human nature will continue to be the same, not entirely dark or entirely light, somewhere in between.
Enjoyed the W/worlds he created, characters were interesting, and story was intriguing. The male love interests blended together and I got confused who was who. Overall though I liked that it had this inherent intrigue to the environment because it seemed familiar but different. A future that seemed probable because human nature will continue to be the same, not entirely dark or entirely light, somewhere in between.
March 18, 2016
I was enjoying it, even though some parts seemed dated. Then the middle got a little slow. Then the entire fabric of peace disintegrated. Violently. In stages. Looks like this is book 1 of a trilogy, but I think I am done here.
November 22, 2015
Haldeman tends to be right up my alley--focus on social aspects of hard sci-fi ideas.
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