Customer Reviews

The Wine of Violence

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

 

 

The Wine of Violence wasn't a bad book. It's better than most out there. But James Morrow is one of the best authors writing today, and this isn't his best work. In my opinion, "This is the Way the World Ends" is. The theme of the book is peace vs. freedom, and the setting is utopian Quetzalia, a hidden planet of pacifists. But the ideas aren't just floating out there; as in most of James Morrow's books, the characters are strong. I recommend this book for James Morrow fans only, the rest can skip it.

Subtitled "A Science Fiction Fable," The Wine of Violence was a wonderful beginning to Morrow's career. The central plot element is a fabulous (as in "fable") river into which planetary inhabitants routinely "decant" their violent impulses. The book begins when an outsider makes a forced landing on the planet, and discovers the society that results when violence is all but eliminated. It takes off when the protagonist's new lover partakes of the wine of violence. For me, the book was a tour de force of characterization, as the main characters remained real throughout their transformations. Ever since I read it, I have eagerly looked forward to Morrow's work.

Morrow has a gift for an unforgettable image. In Towing Jehovah, we have God's 2 mile long rotting corpse being towed by a supertanker, and here we have a river of liquefied hate. If you think the book is totally unrealistic (even by sfnal standards), you're right. But that's not the point-- read the cover: it's "A Science Fiction Fable." In between the satire runs the very serious question of how far we should bow before the altar of expedience. This book is deeper than it seems.

One of the few books in my life I have thrown in the trash. There is no reason to read this book.

I give this book one star only because zero and negative stars are not an option. This is a terrible book. The plot is far-fetched even for bad science-fiction. I gave this book to three friends because I couldn't believe how awful it was; two finished it (one of whom cursed my name), the other used it to prop up a bookcase for several years. That was the most use anyone got out of this book.

This is certainly a pretty good book. However, it also certainly has some problems. Personally, I feel that the book is basically completely pointless. The plot is interesting, to a point (...) The last part of the book is basically completely linear and boring, (...)

Anyways, now that I am done dissecting the plot, it is time for the theme. I find that the theme of the book is more like 'agression vs. pacifism'. However, if the book was supposed to be an arguement for pacifism, it did not work very well. If it was supposed to be an arguement for agression, it did even worse. It did not seem like it was an argument for anything, however.

The characters were kind of piddly-ish. Burne especially was flat and kind of lame (although he was the coolest character). He was also the least believable. I mean, come on, he is archaelogist! Who does he think he is, Indiana Jones? :D

To sum it all up, this is book without any sort of external motives for being written or read. It is purely a story, although it (is bad) (somewhat). In short, do not expect anything amazing. I wouldn't pay more than 5 bucks for this - and I doubt you could get it for that much. Just borrow it.

The plot is ludicrous. The characters are completely flat. The science and nature described in the book are so incredibly bad as to be absurd. The only thing that kept this book from being a complete waste of paper is that it serves as an object lesson for how not to write.