Customer Reviews

Panda Ray: A Science Fiction Novel

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

 

 

This is perhaps one of the most brutal and amazing children's books I have ever read. it starts as a simple fable about a little boy with strange powers and quickly becomes a frightening indictment of man's inhumanity to man.

Kandel's writing style is remeniscent of Hawthorne's deconstructionist narrator in "The House of the Seven Gables" - omniscient and chatty, with just the right tone of menace.

In addition, Kandel makes poetry and beauty of the mathematical aspects of the story. At one point, he describes the angles of a triangle in such luscious language you want to curl up with one, just to see what it would be like.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I know it will haunt me for months....

This book is very different from any I have read. The plot is extremely imaginative, with lots of strange twists. It is also rather dark (believe me, no one wants a mother like the one in this story!!). Imagine an alien family here on earth, having very alien values, with all that implies. Imagine a race and chase through space and time and alternate realities, all written in a sort of dry, "postmodern" sort of way, as the protagonist tries to get away from a very strict mom, who has a unique way of punishing her chidren. This book is wonderful science fiction/literary candy. Having said all that, any one that really loves science fiction or fantasy should read this.

Addendum added years later: After 7 years, I still believe this is one of the best science fiction books I've ever read (and I've read hundreds over the years -- maybe thousands -- in the 50 years I've been reading them!). I have reread it many times. After reading the other reviews, I think the problem is that some folks may bring a different set of expectations (valid in their own way)to books. I personally don't have to have everything linear (tho I generally prefer it). This is science fiction/fantasy for people who love words for themselves, and enjoy a new twist or two. It is extremely imaginative, you care about the characters, and it isn't just like everything else you've ever read. Give it a chance!

This is perhaps one of the most brutal and amazing children's books I have ever read. it starts as a simple fable about a little boy with strange powers and quickly becomes a frightening indictment of man's inhumanity to man.

Kandel's writing style is remeniscent of Hawthorne's deconstructionist narrator in "The House of the Seven Gables" - omniscient and chatty, with just the right tone of menace. In addition, Kandel makes poetry and beauty of the mathematical aspects of the story. At one point, he describes the angles of a triangle in such luscious language you want to curl up with one, just to see what it would be like.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I know it will haunt me for months..

I can't believe a person would even think this was good writing. The author should be sued by ecologists for killing trees for no good cause. There is basically only one reason this book is terrible. It starts out as a fairly good book, starting to get at interesting facts that unroll into a plot. When you get past the half way point in the book, you wonder why the plot hasn't unravelled itself yet.Then comes the "amazing" suprise twist. You,still thinking the book is going to get interesting pretty soon read on. I even thought that the twist might get to something where the book gains a much larger perspective. Instead the author makes the twist that he could of made a great book with into a mediocre twist that gives way to a mediocre plot that gets worse and worse as you go along. By the end of the book you wonder why everything could've been done differently to make this book so much more interesting. It makes you wish you could rewrite the second half of the book. So it all comes down to one thing. don't buy it.

I can't believe a person would even think this was good writing. The author should be sued by ecologists for killing trees for no good cause. There is basically only two reasons why this book is terrible. It starts out as a fairly good book, starting to get at interesting facts that unroll into a plot. When you get past the half way point in the book, you wonder why the plot hasn't unravelled itself yet.Then comes the "amazing" suprise twist. You,still thinking the book is going to get interesting pretty soon read on. I even thought that the twist might get to something where the book gains a much larger perspective. Instead the author makes the twist that he could of made a great book with into a mediocre twist that gives way to a mediocre plot that gets worse and worse as you go along. By the end of the book you wonder why everything could've been done differently to make this book so much more interesting. It makes you wish you could rewrite the second half of the book.The other problem with it is the math used to explain a lot of the things that go on in this book. It might be okay wit hyou if you are a well educated adult, but if you are a middle schooler like me, the math segment has no meaning whatsoever and unless you've already gone to looking at things above your grade, is completely useless and confusing and possibly even screws the book up for you. So it all comes down to one thing. Don't buy it unless you know a lot of math and have a serious taste for sience-fiction and only sience-fiction. Then there is a minute chance that you might find it to your liking.

This book was suggested on a website that I USED to frequent as being a wonderful read. Boy were they wrong! As a science fiction fan, I am used to reading some fairly weird stuff, but this one took the cake. It just made NO SENSE. Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean that it's a great story. This is the one and only book that I haven't liked that I have not sent on to a library or Goodwill. I didn't want to unleash another copy on the universe.