Scan barcode
frakalot's review
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I would say that this is a very good follow up to 'Martian Odyssey' although, that first short story was perhaps made a little more charming by the greater focus on learning to communicate with Tweel. This story focuses more on the workings of Tweel's society.
The reunion with Tweel is super sweet, Tweel bouncing around like a puppy does when you get home from work.
We hear about Tweel's society being anarchistic and I just absolutely loved the way that this was handled. As with all of the outrageous differences noted in both stories, the storyteller respects and defends the ideas, largely on the grounds that it isn't for us but it works very well for them and that we aren't really in a position to judge properly.
We also hear a little about how we naturally anthropomorphise things, especially those things that we don't understand and then there follows the suggestion that Martians would likely have a similar self centric understanding of the things they study.
There were some notions present that were much more believable in 1934 and I found these also added a little charm to both stories. The breathing of thin mars air in the first story and the suggestion of transporting Mars' gravity to Earth in this one are quaint throw away lines that we probably won't see again in modern scifi.
This was another fine little exploration of the unknown which was perhaps more impressive at the time it was published but is still quite an enjoyable read today. I recommend both of these very quick reads.
The reunion with Tweel is super sweet, Tweel bouncing around like a puppy does when you get home from work.
We hear about Tweel's society being anarchistic and I just absolutely loved the way that this was handled. As with all of the outrageous differences noted in both stories, the storyteller respects and defends the ideas, largely on the grounds that it isn't for us but it works very well for them and that we aren't really in a position to judge properly.
We also hear a little about how we naturally anthropomorphise things, especially those things that we don't understand and then there follows the suggestion that Martians would likely have a similar self centric understanding of the things they study.
There were some notions present that were much more believable in 1934 and I found these also added a little charm to both stories. The breathing of thin mars air in the first story and the suggestion of transporting Mars' gravity to Earth in this one are quaint throw away lines that we probably won't see again in modern scifi.
This was another fine little exploration of the unknown which was perhaps more impressive at the time it was published but is still quite an enjoyable read today. I recommend both of these very quick reads.
More...