Achilles' Choice [Import] [Paperback]

Larry Niven (Author), Steven Barnes (Author), Boris Vallejo (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: PAN; New Ed edition (1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330324748
• ISBN-13: 978-0330324748
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Typical Niven, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Achilles' Choice (Mass Market Paperback)

Larry Niven (and his co-authors) usually write something either memorable or entertaining. ACHILLES CHOICE is neither. The authors (three of them!) reach hard to impress the reader by mixing references to the current "exciting" mass appeal physics of Chaos Theory. They then proceed to make flat characters behave in ways that no one with any experience would believe they would act. Not very typical Niven - not very good. Two stars because you CAN read the whole thing.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Achilles Choice - Personal Choice, June 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Achilles' Choice (Mass Market Paperback)

This novel is about love, life and sport. Based on a future Olympics where not only physical perfection is required but also extreme intelligence. It is a story where the nobel prize is inspired by elite athletes, and practical meets theoretical. It is a story of choices. Choose wrong and you may die. Either way you need to be fully committed to your descisions. If you are going to aim high in life then this is where you would be.

Achilles Choice was a light but enjoyable read. I am looking forward to a sequel.

I would recommend this novel for the age group 8-22 years of age. If you are an older reader the predictability of the storyline may be discouraging.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother with Achilles' Choice., April 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Achilles' Choice (Mass Market Paperback)

This story follows a young athlete as she trains for the new Olympics, which include intellectual competition and a de facto death sentence for the those who fail to take the gold. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Ah, well. I have read of number of Larry Niven novels, and I understand the premise that maybe a book can be just a ripping good adventure, and not a contribution to world lit. But, ack, this was horrible. You will find the characters cliched, the plot "twists" too easy to figure out, and the ending is either a cop out because the author had filled the requisit number of pages, or a cheap way to prep for a sequel.