Customer Reviews

Arrive at Easterwine;: The autobiography of a ktistec machine,

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the oddest, most wonderful book ever written about the Institute of Impure Research, snow crystals, King Peter of Ganymede, hunting tigers, and the fellahin. It contains multitudes.

Not only one of my two favorite books of all time, but also a 20th century novel written for the subsequent century. The most vivid characters I've ever encountered, a brilliant insight into the nature of artificial intelligence and cosmology... and a barrel of laughs.

I love this book!

R. A. Lafferty was a one-of-a-kind author of science fantasy. This is perhaps my favorite of his books. I highly recommend it.

Arrive at Easterwine is either fiendishly good or criminally terrible. It would take multiple readings to truly know for sure. On its surface, Arrive is about the creation of a supercomputer, with self-awareness and tasked with three problems: find true leadership, find true love, and find the true shape of the universe. The narrative style is reminiscent of Russia's Olesha, or perhaps a William Faulkner with talent. One can never be sure if the events being related are "real" or are merely metaphor. The machine itself, Epikt, drives this home somewhat early on. Just when the reader is about to throw the book down in disgust over characters becoming "tigers" and eating "goats", Epikt declares, "You know, don't you, that there aren't *really* tigers, this is just a metaphor that perhaps has gone on too long" (my paraphrase). This blurring between "real" and metaphor, with lots of unique turns of phrase, make Arrive at Easterwine a challenging read, which not everyone will have the energy to get through. And, I can't say that it is worth the effort. It may very well be - I'm still scratching my head about it three days after I finished - but only repeat readings will truly tell the tale.

I prefer novels where plots are openly laid out (for example, pick any of the 300+ books I've read in the past three years). Any other novel I've read made sense from the information which was given- the plot flowed. Even when some books were bad or the flow was choppy, at least the pieces were put together in a logical fashion. Easterwine, however, claims the title of being "The Only Book Ever to be Thrown Across the Room" and also the designation "The Only Book Ever to be Thrown Across the Room by Invitation" and it's now the proud holder of the label "The Only Book Ever to be Sworn at With Disdain."

The book is just stupid. While the title and idea may be witty, the follow through is a swamp of random idiocy, tongue-in-cheek absurdity and mental diarrhea. There is no redeeming factor to Easterwine. The printed offal, which flows freely and generously from the pages, will heap into piles with sentences like, "...a shuffling giant is no worse than a herd of shuffling midgets..." or "...he was a tiger, but he was not the Tiger that Valery would hunt with staked-out goats..." and other such drivel I won't waste my time by sifting through the insanity.

I read all 219 pages so I could give the book an honest review. I have now finished and I will now chuck the book fifteen feet into the living room wall and smile at the sounds it will make when it hits. If that's the most pleasure the book will give me, I might just repeat these actions until satisfied.