The Broken God [Import] [Hardcover]

Paul Zindel (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 900 pages
• Publisher: Harper Collins (1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0246137754
• ISBN-13: 978-0246137753
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,909,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Masterpiece, January 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Broken God (Mass Market Paperback)

David Zindel's The Broken God is a novel light years ahead of it's time. I read this novel first over a few wonderful weeks two or so years ago. Since then I have read the prequel 'Neverness' and the following two books in the trilogy 'The Wild' and 'War in Heaven' While all four are excellent novels, 'The Broken God' stands above. The city of Neverness holds a special place in Science Fiction writing. It is one of the most beautiful, well realised cities ever imagined. Zindel's philosophical insight, broad reaching imagination, and poetic prose combine for a fantastic reading experience. It is a novel that you will always want nearby for a quick visit to Neverness. I am reading it now for the fourth time, and it is the only book that I have read multiple times in the past five years.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chalk Zindell up to the top rank, July 11, 2007

By 

Ritesh Laud (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Broken God (Paperback)

The six original Dune novels and Asimov's Robot, Empire, and Foundation series generally constitute the finest space science fiction I've read. Simmons' first two Hyperion novels make it up there as well. The Broken God easily ranks with these greats.

I'll echo other reviewers: Zindell's prose reminds me of Herbert's Dune. Almost eerily imaginative and convincing. He crafts a world, a universe actually, and makes it believable. No need to summarize the setting and plot here, the Amazon blurb covers it pretty well. What can I say, it's a very well-crafted, well-written science fiction novel. Vastly underrated. I believe it's out of print now due to lack of sales, but you can get it second-hand though unfortunately you might have to pay an arm and a leg even for the paperback. If you're a sci-fi buff, it will almost certainly give you many hours of enjoyment.

The only nit I have to pick is that Danlo is not a fantastic rendering for a protagonist. He's too upstanding and purely good. I feel that had Zindell added a couple minor flaws to his character the novel would have turned out even better. At this point I've read the sequel The Wild and I can say that though I enjoyed it greatly, Danlo behaves even more perfect and inhuman and I think this detracted from the novel. Who knows, perhaps the final novel War in Heaven will reveal a flaw in his character. I'm hoping....

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant and prophetic, August 21, 2006

By 

Ventura Angelo (Brescia, Lombardia Italy) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Broken God (Paperback)

Warning: this book is not for the all-action-no thinking-sci-fi readers. You find here beautiful word construction, great characterization and splendid athmospheres. The characters of Danlo the Wild, tortured yet innocent soul, of his friend Hanuman,haunted by his own interior ghosts, of the falstaffian Bardo, will remain in your memory. Here you will find reflections on human destiny, the implications of genetic and cybernetics, reflections on humand destiny and of the universe. Echoes of Douglas Adams, Neal Stephenson, Iain Banks and Isaac Asimov reverberate through this wonderful novel.(Not to mention that the Borja School chapters have a distinct harrypotteresque feel...and Danlo finds himself with a lightning scar on his forehead(!).This novel is real food for the soul, and whilst it could have been a bit less verbose, and some reflections may verge on the obvious (religions develops in directions their founders didn't foresee ... what else is new?), this book will make you think, whilst entertaining you with a magnificent story. And some notations on human alienation and the perils of religious dogmatism are very prophetics and actual. A must read!