Customer Reviews

Pandora's planet

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

 

 

Most people should read & savour the first few chapters, then put the book down.

The whole thing is hilarious, but after the beginning, the reality will begin seeping in, & readers who have an investment in ahistoricity (i.e., about half the residents of the United States) will find themselves distracted from an amasing & almost forgotten bit of fiction.

Briefly, the book opens soon after the Earth has been conquered by aliens resembling evolved humanoid lions. As the invaders establish themselves, they discover that the humans could probably have won -- except that so many of them thought the initial assault came from their traditional enemies that most of the fighting was between the nations of Earth, leaving them bloodied & easy to capture.

The conquerers want a contented colony, though, & set out to turn the humans to their way of thinking, as they have done on hundreds of worlds.

They begin to realise their mistake about at the point when an enterprising Floridian talks a battalion out of a landing craft in exchange for "prime ocean-front development property."

All in all, this is a pithy & highly enjoyable fable about the pitfalls of colonialism & expansionism, with a few notes about race-superiority & manifest destiny tossed in along the way.

A highly entertaining little book, lots of humor and interesting looks at the extremes that well-intentioned humankind creates, with a tough and snappy ending.

I read this book about 30 years ago, when I read lots and lots of Sci-Fi, and I have to say it is one of my favorites. It is more humorous than serious, and both a delightful and inspirational story. I can't wait to read it again.

More of a socio-political statement on how humans behave. Very humorous book. Not science oriented like M. Crichton, but on the same intelligence level. I was afraid to lend out my copy until I saw that it was still available. Point of view in the story is from the alien invaders and it's a fairly quick read (short story and very well written). Plan on getting some other books by this author after seeing the availability.

The short story "Pandora's Planet" on which this novel is based makes up the first chapter or so of the book. It's hilarious. I remember reading it in my youth and thinking it was one of the funniest things I'd ever read. When it came out as a full-length novel I found that the gag did not really stretch very effectively to the longer format, unfortunately. The humor became labored and somewhat repetitious. And the weird hook for a follow-on at the very end was never, to my knowledge, fulfilled.