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katy_ryn's review against another edition
4.0
4.5✨ it seeped into me and squeezed my heart and made me cry. Full of wisdoms big and small. I need to lie on the floor. My only complaint is I wish there was more of Hanus, the best giant spider alien friend one could ask for.
timinbc's review against another edition
3.0
If I didn't read mostly SF-F I might have viewed this differently.
To me, it's a historical-pyschological novel with a major part set in space by a non-SF writer, and the space part was just to isolate our hero. In that way, it disappointed me.
The past-through-present story of what was Czechoslovakia is interesting enough, told as it is from a viewpoint on the unlucky side of events, with a character who ended up on the other side turning out to be important.
But I didn't much care for Jakub or Lenka. Jakub is one of those characters that things happen to, and I don't generally care for those.
The SF just doesn't cut it for me. An unexplained, unexpected purple cloud? Cool, let's send a ship into it. Russia sends a lunatic to space to see what will happen. Hanus is not at all good as an alien character, and Jakub's knowledge that Hanus almost certainly isn't real seems to take away any interest Jakub might have had in First Contact. I suppose I have to like the idea that another astronaut, one even crazier that Jakub, saw Hanus too, and where does THAT leave us?
And then the return to Earth, which failed plausibility for me. If a government wants something never to have existed, they're going to be tracking it closely, and the helicopters etc. that Kalfar assures us did not appear certainly would have. But we had to get J back to Prague, so they didn't.
And I never did figure out the Shoe Man's love-hate relationship with Jakob. I can imagine possibilities, but if they were stated I must have skimmed over them.
But my main beef with this book is not the author's fault. I wanted SF and this isn't it.
To me, it's a historical-pyschological novel with a major part set in space by a non-SF writer, and the space part was just to isolate our hero. In that way, it disappointed me.
The past-through-present story of what was Czechoslovakia is interesting enough, told as it is from a viewpoint on the unlucky side of events, with a character who ended up on the other side turning out to be important.
But I didn't much care for Jakub or Lenka. Jakub is one of those characters that things happen to, and I don't generally care for those.
The SF just doesn't cut it for me. An unexplained, unexpected purple cloud? Cool, let's send a ship into it. Russia sends a lunatic to space to see what will happen. Hanus is not at all good as an alien character, and Jakub's knowledge that Hanus almost certainly isn't real seems to take away any interest Jakub might have had in First Contact. I suppose I have to like the idea that another astronaut, one even crazier that Jakub, saw Hanus too, and where does THAT leave us?
And then the return to Earth, which failed plausibility for me. If a government wants something never to have existed, they're going to be tracking it closely, and the helicopters etc. that Kalfar assures us did not appear certainly would have. But we had to get J back to Prague, so they didn't.
And I never did figure out the Shoe Man's love-hate relationship with Jakob. I can imagine possibilities, but if they were stated I must have skimmed over them.
But my main beef with this book is not the author's fault. I wanted SF and this isn't it.
catwhisperer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
karrama's review against another edition
1.0
Reviews are a personal preference. I don't normally leave a poor review, being better to say something nice or nothing at all, but I can't finish this book. I may not be the intended audience; I may have been looking for more hard science fiction or something, but this is not a book for me. This book was not technical. It's not about the science; it's more emotional and less about the setting.
This book was male-centric and that's not a bad thing. But it's not my thing. I also like a little science in my scifi. I do enjoy political scifi. This one was science fiction in that it happened partially in space, book-ending life with vacuum.
Was it written well? It's written like it was written by an MFA in literature. Not a bad thing. Not my thing. It wasn't a literary space novel, but when I read "literature" or other books in the vanilla fiction section, I would read books like this and choose not to buy them. And it's set in space. So maybe it is exactly "literary space novel." It reads like the novels written mid-19th century where we hear how women affect men and parents affect men's choices. So very literary, the revolution did was a plot device rather than a centerpiece.
Since reviews are opinions, you can look through the books I did like and see if we have similar likes and dislikes. Make an informed choice. I read a lot. I like a lot of different genres. I like many types of tea. This book was not my cup of tea.
This book was male-centric and that's not a bad thing. But it's not my thing. I also like a little science in my scifi. I do enjoy political scifi. This one was science fiction in that it happened partially in space, book-ending life with vacuum.
Was it written well? It's written like it was written by an MFA in literature. Not a bad thing. Not my thing. It wasn't a literary space novel, but when I read "literature" or other books in the vanilla fiction section, I would read books like this and choose not to buy them. And it's set in space. So maybe it is exactly "literary space novel." It reads like the novels written mid-19th century where we hear how women affect men and parents affect men's choices. So very literary, the revolution did was a plot device rather than a centerpiece.
Since reviews are opinions, you can look through the books I did like and see if we have similar likes and dislikes. Make an informed choice. I read a lot. I like a lot of different genres. I like many types of tea. This book was not my cup of tea.
jcvarner's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
clara_m27's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bobpony's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I breezed through this book, it was a joy to read. I'd stumbled upon the movie based on this novel a few weeks ago, it's on Netflix and stars Adam Sandler. And it's terrific. Sweet, reflective, and while on the slow side, it's concise. It's just perfectly put together. Go watch it (it's called 'Spaceman').
The book is very similar, but it is definitely different. The movie is really just the first half of the book. And while the movie focuses on the protagonist's marriage, the book largely focuses on his childhood. You do get a lot more detail in the book, answering questions like 'Why Czechoslovakia?' and 'Really, isn't he too old to be an astronaut?'. The book rambles a bit more, it's not quite as sweet, but the lessons are more or less the same. I enjoyed it quite a lot, but I'd recommend the movie over the book. It's just a more straightforward story, and it spends it's time on the more exciting parts of this world. Still, the book is well worth seeking out!
I've read, and been told, that this book bears a lot of similarity to 'The Hail Mary Project'. Which makes me want to put off reading that one (it's sitting here on the shelf). We'll see...
The book is very similar, but it is definitely different. The movie is really just the first half of the book. And while the movie focuses on the protagonist's marriage, the book largely focuses on his childhood. You do get a lot more detail in the book, answering questions like 'Why Czechoslovakia?' and 'Really, isn't he too old to be an astronaut?'. The book rambles a bit more, it's not quite as sweet, but the lessons are more or less the same. I enjoyed it quite a lot, but I'd recommend the movie over the book. It's just a more straightforward story, and it spends it's time on the more exciting parts of this world. Still, the book is well worth seeking out!
I've read, and been told, that this book bears a lot of similarity to 'The Hail Mary Project'. Which makes me want to put off reading that one (it's sitting here on the shelf). We'll see...
kateofmind's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Don't watch the movie. Do read this. If you like audio books, this is one of the best!
zoebill96's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5