Good writer. I will always try a Haldeman book. This one was not one of his best. Still it was worth the read. ( )

What a weird book. It seems like it's all about this one thing, but about ⅔ in, that thing it weirdly dismissed by a short explainer chapter, and then the _real_ plot starts. And abruptly stops and is wrapped up somehow both inconclusively and perfuntorily? But I still liked it. There were a lot of charts and graphs and switching media and storytelling styles, and I could really see it working well as a movie… if it didn't have such a lackluster ending. ( )

Well, that took a weird turn.

Idea has potential, not explored as adequately as I'd like before another coincidence ups the stakes again.

Nice space travel mechanism; remind's me of Pohl's classic Gateway.

Standard Haldeman sexin' without any real emotional, uh, anything. And nothing is really done with a fairly important revelation about the MC's psyche.

Last line's a pretty good stinger, though. ( )

Just prior to reading this book, I finished a bloated two-book slog by a very famous science fiction author – a book that won (I believe) a Hugo and a Nebula. That may be enough for you to determine of which book I speak, but no sense dragging the author’s name through the mud in the review of another book. In fact, no review should start with a reference to another book.

However, I bring it up because this book was a cold, deep, crisp, cleansing drink of water after my previous experience.

There is much to recommend in this book. To start with, it is a good, fast read. Just under 200 pages, it is amazing to see the experiences and ideas Haldeman squeezes in with so little writing. (And, in this day when bloatedness seems to rule, that makes it so much better.) There is the idea of instant transmission of humans, with a flaw that means we can’t just galivant everywhere. There is the idea of a creature which can cause instantaneous esp between those touching the animal (again, with flaws that create problems.) And then there are aliens that look new and fresh (hard to pull off when so many aliens have already been describe). In addition, our understanding of these aliens shifts many times throughout the book. All done effectively, and all done in such short order.

In addition, Haldeman experiments with content and plotting. Some works; some doesn’t. But it makes for an even better exploration through reading.

This could easily have been a short story/novelette and been successful. But the way Haldeman has told and expanded the story brings dimensions we would have missed through any other delivery.

Finally, there might be some concern that this 1977 book might be dated. I didn’t think so. Maybe I’m reading it with an old man’s eyes, but it seemed as fresh and interesting and relevant as anything I see today. Which means, read it today. ( )

Excellent. Fascinating characters, interesting tech and an unusual and compelling premise, combined with a rather distinct style of story-telling made for a great read. I'd forgotten just how good Joe Haldeman is! ( )