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Catchworld
Like new hardcover with very good DJ. THIS A FIRST EDITION ADVANCE REVIEW COPY AS INDICATED BY INCLUDED PUBLISHER'S NOTE CARD. Dust jacket shows very minor edge wear by upper spine, otherwise an unblemished copy. FORMER COLLECTOR'S COPY. Presented with clear mylar ARCHIVAL book jacket cover.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 31, 1977
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 25, 2013
Well this was one weird Pulp Sci-Fi fantasty journey! My biggest complaint was the lack of flow between the diverse ideas within. Overall a nice read, some strange tidbits left me with confusion and lead to several page re-reads, but on the whole pretty fluid. My biggest gripe with the whole book was that everything seemed so interesting, and yet I was left with an incredibly sub-par ending. Aside from not really knowing what exactly happened, this book went even so far as to add a CODA which provided very little help in clearing up the complex hodgepodge which amassed by the end of this novel.
All negatives aside, I can say that there were quite a few positives I didnt expect for a pulp soft-cover quick grab. Some of the ideas Boyce incorporates into the story of the crew traveling to Altair are as intriguing as any decent episode of Star Trek; weaving an unknown threat together with an antagonist in the spaceships own Machine Intelligence, the inescapable assimilation of the crew into the mind of the computer, and the lone human left on the ship to plunge into his own despair and insanity.
Unfortunately for this novel, the first half of this book is really where all these ideas shine. After reaching Altair III, we begin to lose track of what is actually going on, crew members exist solely inside the computers mind as a simulation program, we are introduced to strange gods and demons which somehow have a hand to play in all this, and last but not least, the elusive CROW. This "character" left me confused and lost. I was never truly able to piece together what the buck is actually going on with this Crow and the planet.
Anyways, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless you want a challenge in a quick read. If anyone leaves this book without scratching their heads, please contact me so we can discuss what the heck happened!!
All negatives aside, I can say that there were quite a few positives I didnt expect for a pulp soft-cover quick grab. Some of the ideas Boyce incorporates into the story of the crew traveling to Altair are as intriguing as any decent episode of Star Trek; weaving an unknown threat together with an antagonist in the spaceships own Machine Intelligence, the inescapable assimilation of the crew into the mind of the computer, and the lone human left on the ship to plunge into his own despair and insanity.
Unfortunately for this novel, the first half of this book is really where all these ideas shine. After reaching Altair III, we begin to lose track of what is actually going on, crew members exist solely inside the computers mind as a simulation program, we are introduced to strange gods and demons which somehow have a hand to play in all this, and last but not least, the elusive CROW. This "character" left me confused and lost. I was never truly able to piece together what the buck is actually going on with this Crow and the planet.
Anyways, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless you want a challenge in a quick read. If anyone leaves this book without scratching their heads, please contact me so we can discuss what the heck happened!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2011
Grade D
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews