"Really a book for teens...."
If I had read this when I was 15 I would have enjoyed it much more. In flavor, flow and content it really seems dedicated to a younger audience. In fact I think the only reason that the main character was in his 20s was so that he could have a girl friend who worked at Google. But it think would have worked better if he were say - 16 - and had a brother, father, etc.who worked at Google,
It was a nice piece of fluff, but to say it was reminiscent of Murakami is like saying that the Adirondacks are reminiscent of the French Alps.
"Pleasant - but a bit simple"
I can't complain - this was a free book. But compared to the involved fiction of today, this was a "simple" read. Still it was fun and passed the time, But if it weren't free, I wouldn't really recommend using a credit for it. Rather, get it for free off Amazon.com and just read it on the Kindle.
"Good story"
Very interesting dystopian scifi. I would like the windup girl's part to be bigger. Perhaps she'll be more central to a sequel?
"A lovely story of hope and redemption."
Each of us has made mistakes. Each of us has said and done things we wish we hadn't. Harold walks across England to make amends to someone from his past and all the while the journey is into himself. And his journey inspires others to look into themselves as well. I admit that the last 1/2 hour had me choked up. I heartily recommend this book and if you like it you will also enjoy "The Memory of Running" which is a similarly themed book, albeit from an American perspective.
"Fascinating but Very Long In Parts"
Great story - we get to Mars but can't help but repeat the same mistakes we made on Earth. Very scientific - a manual for colonizing mars. But some of the science slows the story down just too much. The human story is the most interesting (in my opinion) and it was difficult to wait through long passages about how to mine water on Mars (for example).
"The Terrifying Truth"
When I first started listening to this book I thought to myself that the author must be exagerating the situation. Then I started checking all his assertions by cross referencing to a copy of the Koran I took out of the library. The terrifying truth is that everything is exactly as Spencer states it. And the most terrifying of it all is that the Koran forms the basis of criminal and civil law for parts of the Muslim world. We should take his warning seriously and beware of extremism of any kind regardless of its pedigree.. If you want more information check out the author's web site at www.jihadwatch.org.
"Dated and Inconsistent"
I liked the first half of the book best - the idea of a man, raised on another planet and brought back home to a strange world he can not understand is an interesting one. But it the author's attitudes toward women in particular (one female character claims that nine times out of ten a woman is responsible for her own rape) are jarring. One can only deal with so much dialogue about "her pert fanny amd ample bosom". It's a bit much.
I enjoyed watching Jubal mentor Mike and ultimately outwit the government. But when Mike and Jill leave to go off on their own, and Mike becomes "magic" (making people and clothing disappear, dressing Jill via telekinesis, etc.), it all got a bit too dopey for me. Also, the constant pillow talk between Mike and Jill becomes annoying. Who talks like this? It's voyeuristic for the reader.
I know this is considered a classic - and perhaps seen through the eyes of someone in the 60's it was. But by today's standards it's a bit silly. Unintentionally so.
The performance is great - no complaints there.
"Excellent - but could benefit from an abridgment"
I loved this book and the story was captivating. However I found some of the descriptive passages regarding the planet boring. I think a slight abridgment might help the bok be even better. In any case, the narrator was excellent.
"An All-Time Favorite"
I really enjoyed this quirky little book. There's just something special about an expert author who is also an expert performer. McLarty did a great job.
"Eh.... So So."
Classic scifi moves at a different pace. What I liked about this book was the fact that it approaches the unknown with a sense of wonder (as opposed to today when most scifi treats the unknown as something dangerous or deadly). But it moves slowly, and the protaganist goes from punk kid to self-reliant time traveler way too quickly to be believable. Also, there is a real sense of "deux ex machina" in the writing - all those convenient conicidences! Not bad, but not great.