The Sirens of Titan

Being a sci-fi fan, I don't really know why I haven't read this book earlier. It's a classic one.

The Sirens of Titan is very well written, I enjoyed the unmistakable style of Vonnegut. His satiric voice is famous, and is a trade mark of his stories. His choice of words is very good.

Using important subjects, for example religion, the book mocks at the human nature, which sometimes can take strange curves.

The story is funny, and often surprising. Vonnegut don't spare the characters, he gives them hard time.

I suspect that there were more hidden messages behind the front story, which I couldn't really grab. By one hand because I'm not good in deciphering symbols, sometimes I have trouble finding the hidden message between the lines. And by the other hand because the book was written in 1959, in a completely different era, with different problems, different world and all.

Still, there is something strange about the Sirens of Titan I cannot put my finger on - is it intentional? - so I gave four stars.

For me, Sirens of Titan was about as good as it gets. Okay, so it's only been out there what, 50 years? How'd I miss this thing. I thought I read it as a kid and kept blowing past it on lists to read. Did I say it's as good as it gets? Who cares if a few things here and there didn't make any sense. It was funnier'n shit. What praise could I possibly add that hasn't already been heaped on and said in the last half century. How 'bout a few memorable quotes:

Let's get the Fundamentalists out of the way:

‘The flag of that church will be blue and gold,’ said Rumfoord. ‘These words will be written on that flag in gold letters on a blue field: Take Care of the People, and God Almighty Will Take Care of Himself.”

“To us of the Church of God the Utterly Indifferent, there is nothing more cruel, more dangerous, more blasphemous that a man can do than to believe that - that luck, good or bad, is the hand of God!”

or

"There is no reason why good cannot triumph as often as evil. The triumph of anything is a matter of organization. If there are such things as angels, I hope that they are organized along the lines of the Mafia."

How 'bout one for the minimalists:
"Every passing hour brings the Solar System forty-three thousand miles closer to Globular Cluster M13 in Hercules— and still there are some misfits who insist that there is no such thing as progress."

A couple of classic Kurt that I hope will live forever:
"I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center."

"Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile!"

I thoroughly enjoy Kurt Vonnegut's humor but I love him for his humanism; humanism that comes through on almost every page.

The narration by Dennis Boutsikaris did justice to the book and given what I just said about the book, that kind of says it all. Did I say this book is as good as it gets?

Many other reviewers have done justice to this book, singing its praises. I can only second that. It is clever, thoughtful, intelligent, funny and just incredibly well done. Jay Snyder does his usual incredible job as a narrator.

I wanted to note that audible is listing an incorrect narrator at the moment, though I am sure they will fix that. The narrator of this work is Jay Snyder.

Overall, if you like science fiction, you can't go wrong with this.

Don't know if everyone will love Vonnegut's writing as much as I do. He has a style that I just love. He does have a style very much like Douglas Adams ( or should I say Douglas Adams has Vonnegut's style -- cause Vonnegut was first). He has great explanations for the most ridiculous things. Absurd!!

This is my favourite Vonnegut novel -- very classic Sci-Fi, though that's not what Vonnegut always did. The story is compelling and wacky and thought-provoking and uniquely unexpected. The narration isn't phenomenal, but it doesn't detract from the story. I would totally recommend this book for any Vonnegut fans, any Sci-Fi fans, or any mid 20th century lit fans.

I would highly reccommend this purchase. K. V. comments not only on society, religion, and gender, but also the purpose of life. Great novel. The narrator, D.B., does a superb job of capturing the emotions of the text and portraying the intisity it deserves. Fantastc work

I ended up not finishing this book by my favorite author. I just couldn't stand the narrator's style. Vonnegut is a satirist. His take on society is critical, but his humor is innocent, as though he looks at the world through another lens than the rest of us. The reader's style was that of an amateur newscaster. He didn't seem to understand the material. Don't listen to this one, read it.

This was a wild, rollicking story of science fiction. I enjoyed the reading and the story. It reminded me of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - very fun, lots of twists & turns.

Great book. Brimming, no, overflowing with ideas. The influence on Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker" series is clear (as Adams acknowledged), to the great credit of both authors. The narrator is Dennis Boutsikaris. He was was spot on with all the characters, barring his depiction of Rumfoord, to whom he confers a facetious but booming circus ringmaster fashion of talking. Just a personal thing, I suppose, but I would have thought a droll Orson Welles approach would have suited the character better.

Like all Vonnegut Books Excellent