Terraforming Earth [Paperback]

Jack Williamson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Tor Books; aFirst Edition First Printing edition (2001)
• ASIN: B000OTPA8E
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A real page turner..., March 16, 2002

By 

Michael Hoffman (Melbourne, AUS) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Terraforming Earth (Hardcover)

I read this book in one sitting. Sadly, not because it was so good, but because I read page after page hoping the book would live up to the promise of the topic and of the author's name.

It didn't. Had the book come from any "lesser" author, I would have settled for 3 stars. But coming from Williamson it was such a let-down I can only give it 1 star.

The characters were unlikeable, indecisive caricatures.

- The perky Hispanic pilot/engineer stereotype who drops some Spanish exclamation more often than Scotty saying "the engines cannae tek it, cap'n". Asexual it seems, or such a sideshow token that the author doesn't care whether he has a love life or not.

- The domineering bully Teuton/Norse who really is a coward - and yet always attracts the girls and becomes the alpha-male. Being German myself this pathetic cartoon really grated.

- The intelligent can-do Asian scientist woman who just can't help herself falling for the Germanic guy above. Or declaring her love for the narrator, but still jumping into bed with alpha-hombre (no not the Hispanic guy)

- The dreamy librarian girl, unattractive and caring only for her books. But she often as not ends up in a menage a troi with the previous two.

- The Asian-African-American who forces himself on to the crew to escape the original Armageddon with his girlfriend. Probably the most likeable of the unlikeable bunch, though his obsession with his girlfriend takes on "Jungian archetype" elements in the way he nearly deifies her. (and the books ending doesn't help that one bit).

- His girlfriend, the goddess-whore stereotype. Saint Mary Magdalene. Nuff said.

- And finally, our narrator, who never seems to DO anything. Not because he a coward, like Herr Wotan above, but because I just felt like kicking him in the behind half the time and get him to do *anything* but fret. When everybody else goes nanotech Nirvana he stays behind, writes his memoirs and ... frets.

There was no feeling of the vast expanses of time that had passed (something Theodore Sturgeon excelled in). As far as I'm concerned the way the passing of time was described, it covered a few months, with it's extremely brief snapshots of events that the characters partake in. Yes, then you get some brief "eons pass"-kind of filler sentence, but blink while reading and you miss it. Very easy to blink, while trying to stay awake...

On top of it all, no explanation on how the heck the moon base stays operative for millions upon millions of years. Just some handwaving "fusion power with water from the moon caps", "nanotechnology keeping it all repaired" and "robots as nurses and teachers".

One thing the book suceeded in, was to evoke that "what would I do" feeling. For me it was: wipe out the bloody gene bank as Earth and the universe would be better off not being replenished every few million years by this bunch of losers.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A quick, easy read (and not too filling!), August 31, 2001

By 

C. ANZIULEWICZ "Chuck Anziulewicz" (Spring Hill, WV USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Terraforming Earth (Hardcover)

Two things prompted me to check out this book: (1) The cool cover -- I'm a sucker for good sci-fi artwork. (2) The jacket notes -- I'm also a sucker for post-apocalyptic sci-fi. Anyway, I must admit that the only thing by Williamson I've read before this book was "The Moon Children" back in the early 70s, so I really can't make too many comparisons. But like "The Moon Children," "Terraforming Earth" seems somewhat geared to a younger audience. It's easy reading, and most readers could probably finish it in a day or three. I found the story to be a bit tenuous at times, there were some events and circumstances that the author left insufficiently explained, and the ending (involving the transcendence of our physical forms as human beings) has been done better elsewhere. But the book kept my attention, and I'm glad I read it, so THREE STARS. If you know any older teens who enjoy visionary sci-fi, "Terraforming Earth" would make a nice gift.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shallow on every level, May 15, 2007

By 

K. Butler (escondido, ca United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Terraforming Earth (Paperback)

Forget the title and the intriguing cover art, both are misleading. This book is about the earth getting whacked and a bunch of cloned kids passively waiting for it to re-evolve on it's own through many generations--no assembly required. So if you're hoping for great feats of engineering look elsewhere.

There is absolutely zero tension in this novel. The writing at times is so detached it becomes unintentionally sociopathic--as when the children visit their super-evolved and much-beloved uncle, but when they arrive unexpectedly he abandons them and suggests they should find their way to a museum exhibit where they will fit in with the interactive robots. I'm not kidding. It's about equivalent to telling an orphan to go live at Chuck E. Cheese with the animatronic band who seem very friendly. But in a few more pages, he's their beloved uncle again and a hero figure for the book. It's disturbing, but not in a good literary kind of way, more like a "Is Mr.Williamson taking his meds?" kind of way.

And there's precious little science in this fiction. The clone kids are along for the ride while the "computer" makes all the decisions and never explains it's analysis to them or the reader. The criminally incurious kids may not want to ask the big questions, but that's a pretty big reason why people read SF novels. I don't how an author gets to be a Grand Master without figuring that one out. I'll just assume Williamson's former novels were better, though I do plan to avoid them along with the books touching them on either side just to be safe.

Please, people rating this book highly, read some Dan Simmons or Greg Bear. Dust off the old Asimov and Heinlein sitting in libraries for free. There's so much better to be had. This is a one-star book if these ratings are to hold meaning.