Too, Too Solid Flesh

by Nick O'Donohoe

Hamlet, an android and star and director of an android repertory troupe, must find the person who murdered his human creator

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Shakespeare

339 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1989

About the author

Nicholas Benjamin O’Donohoe. Born in 1952.

Reviews

[Khthibault · Rating 4 out of 5]

For people who want a murder mystery, a Shakespeare play, and a sci-fi story all wrapped up in one book

[Lirpa · Rating 3 out of 5]

writing style seemed a little disjointed, the climax was a little disappointing, but still--Shakespeare + cyborgs = awesome.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cyberpunk; not great cyberpunk; the imaginations of the future are fantastic, but the plot is barely held together and the conclusion comes out of nowhere—some tiny bit of foreshadowing would have been nice. I mean obviously it’s a retelling of Hamlet so many/all of the major characters are going to die; and the whole AI/intelligence transfer machinations are wonderful, but nuclear war? Who saw nuclear war coming out of this, underpinning all the reasonings for the plot? I would have thought that climate change would have been much more accessible as a reason. Also, and I know this is possibly a strange critique, but the setting felt barren; like there just weren’t any people around ever, and yet obviously the city was overflowing with people, but all those people existed outside the setting of the story except in the storm scene, everything was quiet and sterile and full of reconstructed intelligences/AI. I just felt like the whole thing lacked coherence and cohesiveness.

[iltatee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was it the weirdest book of the year?
oh yeah
Did I enjoy the constant Hamlet references that were completely overdone?
every single one of them
Did I feel like I needed to put my brain aside to read this?
yes
Did I manage that?
no
Was it a coherent and completely thought out scifi society?
who cares, it had Hamlet references
Did I enjoy reading it?
kinda, I think, perhaps, at times
Why only two stars?
I don't like detective novels at all.

[Shannon Bohnen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked it. Cried at the end, yay. 'Tis a sad sad day when no longer we appreciate the silent triumph of Shakespeares meager follies... Anyway... beds that quiver with anticipation, earrings that work as walkie talkies. I may like the year 2045, if it were true... aside from the fact the world's a wasteland, all actors are androids, and some theater lobbies resemble tropical paradises, but you know not which birds are real or simulated... sad indeed...

[Myles · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty quick read, definitely different. In my head the protagonist was Calculon from Futurama. I probably would've enjoyed it more and gotten more from it if I were a bigger fan of Shakespeare. I'm glad I read it.

[Ruby Tombstone Lives!]

Dude. It's Shakespeare in space! How could I NOT buy it? Doesn't necessarily mean I'll read it though.

[Cera · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read this in years, but I remember it being one of those books that was really good but far too depressing to ever reread.

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The strict adherence to form makes for an enjoyable exercise.
Don't expect too much from the "twist", and the story holds up.