- and all the stars a stage [Abridged] [Hardcover]

James Blish (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 206 pages
• Publisher: Faber and Faber; abridged edition edition (November 20, 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571101038
• ISBN-13: 978-0571101030
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,095,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Science Fiction in the Truest Sense, July 14, 2008

By 

Peter Dykhuis (Grandville, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: And All the Stars A Stage (Hardcover)

This is a really good classic science fiction tale.

The elements of classic Science Fiction in this novel:
1. Written with an attempt to make the science match story. No warp drives here. Well ok. Maybe kind of a warp drive but just one!
2. Written before the computer age. It is fascinating to see the writer's visions of the future before our society was digitized to nothing but a series of 1's and 0's.
3. Short. Classic Science Fiction was written cleanly and shortly and rarely filled with fluff. Made for a quick read.
4. Character development. Like most classic Science Fiction the main character is developed and the surrounding characters only to the point needed to tell the story. No extra characters are added if not needed. The story is the point.
5. The technology is there to drive the story not the other way around.
6. And of course there is a shocking ending. Great ending in this case. Well worth the read. (I hope you haven't read one of the spoilers by other reviewers!)

No real cons except when it is over you are left wanting more but that is the way we all would like it I think. Very very good that approaches 5 stars but just misses it in my book. Definitely a must read for fans of classic Science Fiction.

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Science Fiction in the Truest Sense, July 14, 2008

By 

Peter Dykhuis (Grandville, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: And All the Stars a Stage (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a really good classic science fiction tale.

The elements of classic Science Fiction in this novel:
1. Written with an attempt to make the science match story. No warp drives here. Well ok. Maybe kind of a warp drive but just one!
2. Written before the computer age. It is fascinating to see the writer's visions of the future before our society was digitized to nothing but a series of 1's and 0's.
3. Short. Classic Science Fiction was written cleanly and shortly and rarely filled with fluff. Made for a quick read.
4. Character development. Like most classic Science Fiction the main character is developed and the surrounding characters only to the point needed to tell the story. No extra characters are added if not needed. The story is the point.
5. The technology is there to drive the story not the other way around.
6. And of course there is a shocking ending. Great ending in this case. Well worth the read. (I hope you haven't read one of the spoilers by other reviewers!)

No real cons except when it is over you are left wanting more but that is the way we all would like it I think. Very very good that approaches 5 stars but just misses it in my book. Definitely a must read for fans of classic Science Fiction.

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Science Fiction in the Truest Sense, July 14, 2008

By 

Peter Dykhuis (Grandville, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: And All the Stars a Stage (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a really good classic science fiction tale.

The elements of classic Science Fiction in this novel:
1. Written with an attempt to make the science match story. No warp drives here. Well ok. Maybe kind of a warp drive but just one!
2. Written before the computer age. It is fascinating to see the writer's visions of the future before our society was digitized to nothing but a series of 1's and 0's.
3. Short. Classic Science Fiction was written cleanly and shortly and rarely filled with fluff. Made for a quick read.
4. Character development. Like most classic Science Fiction the main character is developed and the surrounding characters only to the point needed to tell the story. No extra characters are added if not needed. The story is the point.
5. The technology is there to drive the story not the other way around.
6. And of course there is a shocking ending. Great ending in this case. Well worth the read. (I hope you haven't read one of the spoilers by other reviewers!)

No real cons except when it is over you are left wanting more but that is the way we all would like it I think. Very very good that approaches 5 stars but just misses it in my book. Definitely a must read for fans of classic Science Fiction.