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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This opened the door into hard SF for me, April 14, 2000
This review is from: Star Bridge (Collier Nucleus Science Fiction) (Paperback)
I first read "Star Bridge" in sixth grade at the age of 11; I'm now almost 43, and I still hold this as one of the greatest SF books I've read. Williamson's imagery and wordcraft set the standard for many of today's modern masters. His antihero Horn, the eccentric man-with-a-secret Wu, and his decaying human empire are shown in high relief, and the imagery evoked burns itself into your mind permanently. Find and read this book; do what you must to acquire a copy, and savor it slowly. Horn's passage through the Tube and hyperspace is one of the most stirring examinations of consciousness I've yet to read; it still moves me. Find out why one man can move an empire...
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perplexingly unknown, September 26, 2005
This review is from: Star Bridge (Collier Nucleus Science Fiction) (Paperback)
According to Alexei and Cory Panshin, in the critical work The World Beyond the Hill, Star Bridge's genesis goes back to 1944 or so. Jack Williamson, inspired by Isaac Asimov's Foundation stories, decided to do his own "managed history/galactic empire" novel, with the working title of Star of Empire. Williamson had problems making the idea work, so that it took 10 more years plus James Gunn's assistance to finally make a story out of the idea.
And what a story! I first read this novel at the age of 9, just a few years after it came out, and have periodically re-read it every so often since then. I outgrew much of what I read in my teen years and before, but this book is one of those stories that I still enjoy now as much as I did then.
This story succeeds on more than one level. Most obviously, it is a fastpaced adventure story. On another level, it's one of those stories where things aren't quite what they seem at first glance. Or at the second (third? fourth?) glance. That, I think,is what keeps me coming back to this novel -- the thought that I may see something in it that I missed on the previous reads.
One thing that completely perplexes me is how unknown Star Bridge is, even among science fiction fandom. It is in the top rank of Williamson's work (that goes for Gunn, too), yet I find that even big fans of Williamson often have never heard of it. Hopefully there will be enough demand for used copies of this book that someone may do another reprint. I think it's about time -- and it would really be cool if it were to be made into a movie.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the all-time great SF books, February 27, 2005
This review is from: Star Bridge (Collier Nucleus Science Fiction) (Paperback)
Why has this book never been made into a movie? It has it all...adventure, romance, a Metropolis-like futuristic empire, the idea of near-instantaneous space travel.
Well, that part of the book was probably the inspiration for the original Star Gate movie. But this book's plot was much more coherent than the revolt against the sketchy, androgynous tyrant of Star Gate. The character of Wu is one of the best executed and most thoughtful in the history of the SF genre, IMHO.
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