Customer Reviews

Tomorrow and Tomorrow (Bantam Spectra Book)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I dunno. Charles Sheffield knows his science; in fact, to prove it, he's included an appendix that summarizes the astronomical/cosmological theories on which this tale is founded. He even makes reference to Frank Tipler's _The Physics of Immortality_, making this the second book I've recently read that does so. (The other is Robert Sawyer's _Flashforward_.)

But the story itself is Asimovian in the best and worst senses. Like the Good Doctor, Sheffield is ambitious in his reach: this is a _cosmic_ story, with a breathtakingly wide scope. But also like the Good Doctor, he tends to give his characters made-up-sounding pseudo-futuristic names like Fundular Threem or Gordis Pulge (both of which I just now made up, but they sure sound Asimovian, don't they?). And like the Good Doctor, he sometimes lets the scope of the tale get in the way of the telling, resorting to broad, summary expositions rather than actual drama.

Well, the story is captivating, at least. The first portion -- Drake Merlin making arrangements for himself and his wife Ana to be cryonically preserved until a cure is available for her disease -- is well-written and well-paced. The first round of Drake's future awakening is handled well too.

But it starts to come apart after that. First of all, Drake does something so incredibly, astoundingly, outrageously, mind-bendingly _stupid_ (I won't tell you what, but you'll know when you get there) that it just about ruins the character and the plot. Second, the end of the first portion of the book leaves (let's say) something to be desired in the way of personal continuity.

And third, the latter portion of the story -- the stuff in the way-far future -- is probably just a little more than Sheffield should have bitten off. I won't give away any details here, but it's just not possible to tell that part of the tale without resorting to the summary exposition I mentioned above. The narrative tends to drag, there isn't much dramatic action, and we don't even get to see the final resolution of the problem Drake is supposed to be trying to solve.

The ending is pretty good, considering. And I can't fault Sheffield for aiming high, so I give him lots of points for ambition. Nevertheless there are enough unsatisfying features that I have to deduct a star.

Still, it's nicely done overall, and well worth reading.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow is really two stories in one book. I didn't figure this out until a few weeks after I had finished the book. After an absolutely compelling beginning dealing with one man's relationship with his wife and his attempt to deal, through cryopreservation, with her impending fatal illness, the story then propels the characters so far into the future that the relationship loses center stage. At this point the book becomes a very different story; a scientific exploration of the cosmological future of the universe. If you don't make make the switch when the book does, you may find yourself wondering, as I did, where did this great initial story go.

Looking back (after realizing that there are basically two separate stories tied together here), both stories are very skillfully told. I have read numerous books dealing with the cosmological end of the universe, so the impact this book made wasn't initially very strong. But doing some comparative evaluation made me realize that the scientific cosmology here was done very well, better than most books dealing with this topic. If this is a relatively new idea to a reader, I'll bet he/she would be impressed.

If you want to see the first story continue on to a satisfying conclusion, you will be a bit disappointed (like I was), but that's not what the book is about. The first half does an excellent job of getting you to the second half which I think is what the author really was writing about. As long as you don't mind the first story fading into the background and realize that the second half of the book is significantly different from the first half, this is an impressive book. And even if you don't make the whole leap from one story to the other, reading Tomorrow and Tomorrow is still time very enjoyably spent.

Charles Sheffield does a fine job here in this eons spanning tale, to me at least it mostly appears plausible. Here you will read of cryonic suspensions, control of matter at the atomic level, downloading of minds into other vessels of thought, a universe of post-humanity, and many other amazing things, it was page-turning material for me. The primary character is Drake Merlin, his wife died of an untreatable condition and he had her cryonically suspended, willing to do practically anything to bring her back to him, an obsession indeed. He goes through many trials and tribulations along the way, all of this is believable in the hard science fiction tradition. I could relate to the refreshing world-view permeating this novel, no myth filled views here, this is a journey into unimaginable stretches of time, well worth reading. The only real criticism I found in this book is how Sheffield treats the subject of cryonic suspension, he does seem to present many inaccuracies, a minor point here, but I do take one star off for it. For a better description of how cryonics actually works in real life read "The First Immortal" by James Halperin, or "Tech Heaven" by Linda Nagata. These two are very fine novels and not to be missed for the science fiction aficionado.

The story of a late 20th century man whose wife is dying. Rather than let her go, he has them both cryogenically frozen in the hopes that she may be cured in the future. He is awakened much later only to learn that she was irrevocably lost to him. Instead he is needed as the last remnant of humanity's violent times to combat a new menace to the vast but peaceful human space empire.

This book tops my list of Sheffield favorites. Even if you despise the story - and I don't see why you would - the concepts of what man may accomplish in the distant future will leave you in wonder for days. Sheffield introduces an incredible amount of fascinating ideas about the future of genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, society, music, space travel, communications, immortality, and even the nature of reality.

I withheld the fifth star from my rating because the ending baffled me. This may have been the fault of my hurry to see what happens, rather than any poor writing on the author's part. But I was a little disappointed by it. Still, I heartily recommend this to anyone interested in sci fi or just exploring possibilities.

Buy it. T&t is an almost perfect exemple of what hard sci-fi should be. As allways with Sheffield, the scope of the plot is enormous the science is beliveble and abundent, and his ideas about future development of technolegy and society are remarkble. buy it.

This book is amazing, reminding me slightly of 'Last And First Man' by Olaf Stapledon and also 'The Time Machine' by H.G. Wells. It's not just a science fiction book, but a book about the human spirit, the human soul, the human mind. Yes, it has aliens, and strange planets, and mankind's many different forms in the future, but at a certain point it goes beyond the hard science to explore our dreams and what the future may bring. Love and death, waste and power, peace and war. No matter what body we may create, no matter what mind we may think in, no matter how we evolve, we can't give up. We may give up our forms and even link our minds, but in the end we are all searching for something that only WE need and only WE can understand. Drake is after something that is special only to him.
Yes, there are a few weak ideas, like when future man turns to Drake for help, because thy don't know how to fight against an 'alien menace'. Yet I found it funny, and even refreshing, because Drake was just as useless when it came to fighting a war as they were. My only complaint is that after 387 pages the ending was also kind of weak. I wanted something more, something solid. Not a re-read, if you get my drift. Check it out of the library or get a used copy.

This is one of those books which after you finish it leaves you thinking. After I was done my mind raced all over the place with the possibilities of possibilities. I liked it so much that I bought it and make it a point to read my favorite passages every so often. I highly recommend this book to anyone who not only likes science fiction but also enjoys thinking about the future and all the possibilities of life.

Trying to cover billions of years (from now until the end of universe) in several hundred pages story is not an easy task. Charles Sheffield vision of future 500 years from now is still believable, but when he try to expand his vision to millions and billions in the far future is another story. Eventhough the physical/astronomical background is good (he even provided it in the appendix), his description of far future humanity is shallow and does not make sense at least for me. Nevertheless, this is still an easy read story for anyone who loves sci-fi book.

Tomorrow and tomorrow is one of the finest book's I've ever read. Even though it's two stories in one, Sheffield looses none of the aspects of any of the stories, you still feel for the main character and can understand the evolution of the universe... I shouldn't really be writing a review, I can hardly describe the proportions of this book. I loved it, but it's not for someone without empathy for the characters or who can't understand the science, otherwise, it's amazing. This and "Assemblers of Infinity" are the two best books I've read in a long time, I wish there were more like this.

I love this book! Currently, I'm reading it for the 4th time, which is what prompted me to write this review. I rarely read a book through twice; four times is unprecendented. In addition to a likeable main character, and a colorful supporting cast, Sheffield skillfully weaves in numerous scientific concepts regarding the nature of matter, time and space. Fortunately, the scientific concepts are developed in a manner accessible to the layman. The appendix was especially helpful, presenting a synopsis of current theory and speculation regarding the eventual fate of the universe, and providing a framework for the story. Very entertaining from cover to cover.