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rammyvet's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
An intriguing concept for a short story. However the premise in the modern day is obsolete unfortunately.
kenfrommars's review
2.0
I'm not sure if it's the old style of the prose or if it's that the story didn't effect me in any way, but it was a struggle to make it through this one.
lecturasimpias's review against another edition
4.0
Me han sorprendido los relatos de este libro. Algunos de ellos me han gustado mucho. Recomendable.
drewsbookreviews's review
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
noonebuthappy's review
2.0
Well... Nothing much to say about this one. Might be one of the earliest Sci Fi works, but apart from that it's a very simple story with not really much happening. Surprisingly easy to read for its age though.
juca's review
1.0
1 star meaning: it really isn't worth it
That was a pretty random story that constantly got me confused (not because my first language isn't English, but because of the nonsense it mostly was for me) and unintentionelly skipping paragraphes. I wasn't even able to properly finish it;
There is, however, this one quote that I really liked.
it goes:
"Every great genius is mad upon tha subject in wich he is greatest. The unsuccessful madman is disgraced and called lunatic"
That was a pretty random story that constantly got me confused (not because my first language isn't English, but because of the nonsense it mostly was for me) and unintentionelly skipping paragraphes. I wasn't even able to properly finish it;
There is, however, this one quote that I really liked.
it goes:
"Every great genius is mad upon tha subject in wich he is greatest. The unsuccessful madman is disgraced and called lunatic"
elizabethlk's review
1.0
I went into reading this with genuine interest in the premise, and I felt pretty hopeful. To say this was a letdown is a bit of an understatement honestly. I hated this.
The premise is incredibly interesting. I was interested in the idea of a mid-nineteenth century microscopist looking for the perfect microscope. I didn't even dislike it right away. The first few pages seemed to have a fairly standard writing style for the time, and I was still interested in seeing where it went. When he visited a medium to communicate with a long dead scientist, I was still interested in where it went. Where it went is... he kills his Jewish roommate (because science, because he's Jewish, because he just knows his roommate is a murderer for no reason other than his being a thief and Jewish). After he makes the murder look like a suicide, he creates the perfect microscope. He looks at a water droplet. He spends a million years describing what he sees, but terribly so you can't picture it at all. Then he sees this little microscopic lady that he spends just as long describing, to the same effect. Then he falls in love with the little microscopic being for no real reason, which leads to an incredibly unsatisfying ending.
Bad ending. Anti-Semitic. Awful descriptions (I can live with lengthy descriptions if I can at least picture what you're describing). I recommend this for no one.
The premise is incredibly interesting. I was interested in the idea of a mid-nineteenth century microscopist looking for the perfect microscope. I didn't even dislike it right away. The first few pages seemed to have a fairly standard writing style for the time, and I was still interested in seeing where it went. When he visited a medium to communicate with a long dead scientist, I was still interested in where it went. Where it went is... he kills his Jewish roommate (because science, because he's Jewish, because he just knows his roommate is a murderer for no reason other than his being a thief and Jewish). After he makes the murder look like a suicide, he creates the perfect microscope. He looks at a water droplet. He spends a million years describing what he sees, but terribly so you can't picture it at all. Then he sees this little microscopic lady that he spends just as long describing, to the same effect. Then he falls in love with the little microscopic being for no real reason, which leads to an incredibly unsatisfying ending.
Bad ending. Anti-Semitic. Awful descriptions (I can live with lengthy descriptions if I can at least picture what you're describing). I recommend this for no one.
si0bhan's review against another edition
2.0
The Diamond Lens is a story that had an interesting idea, but it failed to wow me in the way I had hoped. I couldn’t help but compare this story with the work of Poe. Not only did this come from the same era, but there were many elements in this one that reminded me of Poe’s work. A bit of obsession with a single goal, a bit of murder, and a strange twist of science. Due to comparing the two, this one felt lacking.
As much as I would like to blame my comparison with Poe for my inability to connect with this one, there was more to it than that. Although there were many interesting elements in this one, it was bogged down by lengthy details that were far from clear and there were details included that some might consider okay (even explain it away by the time when this was written) but for me I could not ignore them.
All in all, I can see why some would enjoy this, but it didn’t work for me.
As much as I would like to blame my comparison with Poe for my inability to connect with this one, there was more to it than that. Although there were many interesting elements in this one, it was bogged down by lengthy details that were far from clear and there were details included that some might consider okay (even explain it away by the time when this was written) but for me I could not ignore them.
All in all, I can see why some would enjoy this, but it didn’t work for me.
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