9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just defending a really good book, June 7, 2004
I would like to start out by saying that this is an exellent novel and I recommend it to anyone. Usually, after I read a book, I check the Amazon customer reviews just to see what other readers thought about it. What I saw about this book was expected, people going on and on about the rediculous environmental propaganda. While the book did mention some environmentalist views, I did not find it at all disturbing. Some of these reviews make it seem as if every page you look at will give you another reason to 'save the environment.' That simply is not true. There would be maybe a few paragraphs of it every few chapters, and even though I hate it when authors include political views in a book, I found it bearable, and anyway it was overshadowed by the book's plot which I found very intriguing.
(This is not a spoiler; it is the equivalent of what you will read on the back of a book.)
In Waiting, the main character, Artie, investigates the death of a friend and fellow "Suicide Club" member. He finds out about the existence of another species of human, dubbed the "Old People," who have the ability to send thoughts into the minds of others, and the plot goes on from there.
In another review I looked at, the reviewer argues that the "Old People" are not superior to humans, that they are just the same, and that even though they are supposedly so worried about the environment, they still drive cars and pollute. Well, the fact is that to Old People are superior; it is essential to the plot of the story. And Robinson, in my opinion, does not try to portray our race as evil, because in the story, both sides kill. It is human nature, and yes though the Old People are a different species, they are essentialy human, and their struggle to take back the Earth from Homo sapiens is also human, and I do not think that it has anything to do with the environment, though they use it as an excuse. It has to do with territory. They think they can run the world better, so they try (again, human nature).
Anyway, this is not a big book of propaganda as some would have you believe. Though this book was obviously written to get the author's "save the environment" message across, it is not the whole thing, and you should not start the book expecting that. It is instead about a war between two species of humans, one which has been waiting to take their world back.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-Written Thriller, June 5, 2003
By A Customer
"Waiting" takes place in San Francisco, California, where Artie Baker, a middle-aged TV newswriter, and a handful of his friends (dubbed The Suicide Club since young adulthood--long story) are trying to solve the brutal murder of one of their members. Not only that, but Artie's wife and stepson have suddenly disappeared, just at the crucial moment when someone has been trying to kill him, as well as the people he associates with because of what they know.
After some time, what Artie and his friends soon discover is that a centuries-old species of human (called the Old People) have been waiting all this time for Homo sapiens to exterminate themselves off the planet. But for fear of being revealed and destroyed themselves, the Old People decide to declare a covert war on Homo sapiens in order to reclaim domination of the world.
When I started reading "Waiting," I checked out a few reviews at Amazon beforehand to see what others thought of it. I was only a few chapters into it, but I really liked it so far and was quite surprised by all the low reviews of it. When I picked the book back up, I kept expecting it to get worse like several reviewers had said. However, it didn't. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. It's not very high on action, but it is quite thought-provoking on our existence in the next century or so, as possibly the next endangered species on Earth.
"Waiting" reminded me a little of something Dean Koontz would write, minus any sci-fi nonsense, which I kept expecting since it was published by Tor, a sci-fi-heavy publisher. It's a well-written thriller, and if you like such novels, then you'll probably like "Waiting."
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping suspenseful & well told tale of speculative fiction, April 22, 1999
Frank Robinson has once again come through with a suspenseful tale that incorporates the best elements of science fiction with those of an action-thriller. His characters, plot and science may each be picked apart--but when Robinson combines them--he creates something that is much bigger than the individual parts.
It is now rare that a novel keeps me up all night reading just for the pure enjoyment of it, but WAITING definitely did. A fun and satisfying read. Highly Recommended.
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