Toolmaker Koan [Hardcover]

John McLoughlin (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Baen; First Edition edition (October 15, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671653547
• ISBN-13: 978-0671653545
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,360,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good story, bursting with ideas, January 20, 1998

By 

Clyde M. Wisham Jr. "C. Wisham" (Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Toolmaker Koan (Paperback)

In Toolmaker Koan John McLoughlin doesn't think small. First, he gives us an answer to Enrico Fermi's famous unanswered question, "Where are they?" Then he tackles geological time and gives us an ingenious explanation for the great Cretaceous extinction, including a cause for the iridium anomaly at the K-T boundary. Finally, he tackles the very concept of intelligence. He wraps all of this in a damned good yarn involving desperate races between the planets, alien contact, new and ancient mysteries, and a very unusual artificial intelligence. A good and thought provoking read!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intellectually challenging, June 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Toolmaker Koan (Paperback)

Indeed a highly imaginitive book, full of mindstretching ideas. Not to be missed for those who love ground breaking SF. However it seems to miss something in the story department: it is not as readable as some other works that may be compared to it in scope of ideas.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating idea, disappointing execution, June 13, 2002

By 

Kevin Baker (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Toolmaker Koan (Paperback)

Why don't we hear other civilizations when we point our radio telescopes at the stars? Because when a species reaches the toolmaking stage, extinction is not far behind. The rate of social evolution is quickly overwhelmed by the speed of technological innovation.

Unfortunately, the story in which this hypothesis unfolds is not up to the quality of the idea that frames it. I'd love to see this idea explored by Theodore Sturgeon or Asimov or even Heinlein.