The Eleven Million Mile High Dancer (Contemporary American fiction) [Mass Market Paperback]

Carol Hill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1986 | Series: Contemporary American fiction

"Carol Hill has deftly synthesized feminism, romance, sophisticated science, and broad comedy into a spirited, high-flying novel." —Dan Cryer, Newsday

A cult classic from its first appearance, The Eleven Million Mile High Dancer is a rich and comic blend of physics, feminism, and political farce. A brilliant, philosophical, and athletic physicist, Amanda Jaworski is in training to be the first person to journey to Mars. With her magic cat, Schrodinger, Amanda goes on the ultimate space odyssey. She finds herself in a battle for her life and her planet with the greatest seductress of all, The Eleven Million Mile High Dancer, a being from forty million light years away.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book is in the running as a 'great American novel'; it's ambitious and strange, comparable to Pynchon's V or Heller's Catch-22, or, yes, even Moby Dick. (Carolyn See - Los Angeles Times ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 447 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (June 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140086943
• ISBN-13: 978-0140086942
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,806,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of fun, but maybe a little TOO weird?, August 2, 2000

By 

Susan K. Perry "Susan K. Perry" (Los Angeles, author of LOVING IN FLOW (BunnyApe.com)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Eleven Million Mile High Dancer (Norton Paperback Fiction) (Paperback)

I enjoyed the first half of this book so much, filled as it was with original characters and fresh situations. Who could resist a cat who was comatose 23 hours out of 24, but whose owner loved him madly nevertheless? And a female astronaut who learned faster than anyone else, but who was still prey to love problems? Once I got to the second half, though, somewhere in a star system far far away, the goings-on weren't as much fun for me. I was never the least bit tempted to quit reading, but I wanted to get back to the home planet where the characters were REAL, not giant red and blue robots, a creature named Ooze, something called Rastus, computer consoles that saw and knew all (well, not so unreal after all), and a very smelly overlord, or whatever he was. In other words, the story went from magic realism to total fantasy, even though, I must say, the author makes a good case for the physics of what's happening. The quotes about quantum physics interspersed throughout, by the way, added a lot for me. All in all, a funny, tongue-in-cheek, and sometimes thought-provoking novel.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From back cover:, March 21, 2004

By 

Judy Smith "judylynnsbooks" (jamestown, ky United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Eleven Million Mile High Dancer (Norton Paperback Fiction) (Paperback)

The Eleven Million Mile High Dancer is a rich and comic blend of science and romance. The case of characters includes the president of the U.S., 10,000 American Indians, a Texas sheriff, and a cat who learns to order off a Chinese menu. As they collide in a satiric melee around the beautiful and brave Amanda Jaworski...America's leading and most troublesome astronaut...atoms, molecules, Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, and even the U.S. government are put to unexpected tests. Amanda challenges everything, but her ultimate challenge is the Eleven Million Mile High Dancer. In that encounter, a fairy tale fully grounded in the laws of physics, Amanda's journey become a moving odyssey not only through space and time but through the darkness and potential human mind.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling and unpredictable ride!, January 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Eleven Million Mile High Dancer (Norton Paperback Fiction) (Paperback)

I was truly excited to see this book in paperback, because it meant I could share it with even more people than I did when it was first published years ago! Carol Hill has managed to blend fantasy, sci-fi and thoughtful philosophy into a real character-driven story that never lets up. She displays a unique imagination, and I invite all readers to join in the fun and discover a whole new world.