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hakimbriki's review against another edition
3.0
An acclaimed sci-fi novella about a group of extraterrestrials doing archeology work in the Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) seven millennia after the extinction of the human race? Hell yeah!
I couldn't contain my excitement when I first heard about Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge - Firstly because I love throught-provoking sci-fi that explores the History of the human race from the POV of aliens, and also because it is set in Tanzania, one of the most fascinating and historically rich countries in Africa.
"He Who Knows", a member of the exploration team, is a "Feeler". He is able to alter his structure and make his body flow around objects to be "part of them" and explore their history. Artifact after artifact, we learn many things about the lives of a few human beings throughout history.
The concept is fine and the execution interesting. But I honestly think this would have worked a lot better as a full-length novel. I felt like the author did not explore the idea to its full extent, leaving many gaps in the story and an ending that is so frustrating, it somehow ruins the experience. This could have been so much better!
I couldn't contain my excitement when I first heard about Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge - Firstly because I love throught-provoking sci-fi that explores the History of the human race from the POV of aliens, and also because it is set in Tanzania, one of the most fascinating and historically rich countries in Africa.
"He Who Knows", a member of the exploration team, is a "Feeler". He is able to alter his structure and make his body flow around objects to be "part of them" and explore their history. Artifact after artifact, we learn many things about the lives of a few human beings throughout history.
The concept is fine and the execution interesting. But I honestly think this would have worked a lot better as a full-length novel. I felt like the author did not explore the idea to its full extent, leaving many gaps in the story and an ending that is so frustrating, it somehow ruins the experience. This could have been so much better!
anitralee's review
5.0
A classic. A harsh picture of Humankind. I can only argue it paints only one side
elzabetg's review against another edition
3.0
The stories were good. I am quite tired of "humans are horrible" narratives however.
ninj's review against another edition
3.0
It wasn't bad. I have to admit in the early stages of this 'investigate who was mankind' story through 7 snippets of time, I was really not feeling it. Like, this is not my jam. But it got better. And better and better. And maybe by the end it was nearly 4 stars. Maybe. But ... I'm going with my gut on most of it.
asolorio02's review against another edition
5.0
I finished this story in an afternoon but it continued to resonate with me for the remainder of the day and into the next. This is Sci-Fi at it's finest. An alien archaeological expedition is excavating a dig on the home world of the long extinct human empire. The the rise and menace of the human species is told through the little vignettes tied to artifacts found at the birthplace of the species.
jessring's review against another edition
5.0
This might work its way into one of my favorite short stories. It is SF at its best. Short and sweet and definitely worth a read.
weaselweader's review against another edition
5.0
A dark and disturbing view of humanity's history
SEVEN VIEWS OF OLDUVAI GORGE posits a distant future in which Man is long extinct. Having arisen as a deceptively small and to all appearances harmless bipedal ancestor of the earliest pro-simian species, Man evolved into a violent and powerful predator who was master of his planet. Technological advancements allowed Man to travel to the stars colonizing a million planets and enslaving or eliminating all those he met who posed any threat, real or imagined. Notwithstanding his powerful position astride the top of the galactic food chain, as it were, mankind has slipped into extinction. Five millennia after the last known representative of our species died, an alien planet has sent a scientific archeological team to earth to study man's rise and fall by a careful examination of the artifacts they find in the location now known as the birthplace of our species - Olduvai Gorge.
SEVEN VIEWS OF OLDUVAI GORGE is a series of seven short stories commenting on man's violent and aggressive nature ranging in time from our earliest pre-history as a species that could hardly be graced even with the term "caveman" to a hypothesized galactic superpower with technological skills that included interstellar travel and domination of a million other planets. The stories are all told by "He Who Sees", a member of the alien archeological team who has the uncanny ability to see, hear, feel and completely experience the history of an artifact by subsuming it into his own body and absorbing its history into his mentality.
This collection of stories, which won the 1994 Nebula Award for best novella, portray a bleak, dismal and disappointed view of an aggressive, violent and self-centered humanity. Perhaps the most disappointing thing of all about this fine book is that, as a reader of the book and a member of the race under discussion, I can find no reason to dispute Michael Resnick's hard-hearted view of our history.
It would be most unfair to disclose the point of the final story to a potential reader. But, suffice it to say, although Michael Resnick's cynicism remains obvious at the close of his novel, it is just possible - barely - that we could make something of ourselves if we had another chance.
SEVEN VIEWS OF OLDUVAI GORGE is short, sweet and compellingly powerful. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
SEVEN VIEWS OF OLDUVAI GORGE posits a distant future in which Man is long extinct. Having arisen as a deceptively small and to all appearances harmless bipedal ancestor of the earliest pro-simian species, Man evolved into a violent and powerful predator who was master of his planet. Technological advancements allowed Man to travel to the stars colonizing a million planets and enslaving or eliminating all those he met who posed any threat, real or imagined. Notwithstanding his powerful position astride the top of the galactic food chain, as it were, mankind has slipped into extinction. Five millennia after the last known representative of our species died, an alien planet has sent a scientific archeological team to earth to study man's rise and fall by a careful examination of the artifacts they find in the location now known as the birthplace of our species - Olduvai Gorge.
SEVEN VIEWS OF OLDUVAI GORGE is a series of seven short stories commenting on man's violent and aggressive nature ranging in time from our earliest pre-history as a species that could hardly be graced even with the term "caveman" to a hypothesized galactic superpower with technological skills that included interstellar travel and domination of a million other planets. The stories are all told by "He Who Sees", a member of the alien archeological team who has the uncanny ability to see, hear, feel and completely experience the history of an artifact by subsuming it into his own body and absorbing its history into his mentality.
This collection of stories, which won the 1994 Nebula Award for best novella, portray a bleak, dismal and disappointed view of an aggressive, violent and self-centered humanity. Perhaps the most disappointing thing of all about this fine book is that, as a reader of the book and a member of the race under discussion, I can find no reason to dispute Michael Resnick's hard-hearted view of our history.
It would be most unfair to disclose the point of the final story to a potential reader. But, suffice it to say, although Michael Resnick's cynicism remains obvious at the close of his novel, it is just possible - barely - that we could make something of ourselves if we had another chance.
SEVEN VIEWS OF OLDUVAI GORGE is short, sweet and compellingly powerful. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
shrutigeorge's review against another edition
5.0
Shades of The Time Machine, planet of the apes with the best aliens possible
smkingsland's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0