Destiny's Road (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "Junior at fourteen had grown tall enough to reach the highest cupboard..." (more)
Key Phrases: sub clam, fool cage, speckles shaker, Spiral Town, Twerdahl Town, Destiny Town (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Humanity tried to conquer the stars and failed. Then it was time to try again, on Destiny. But even as the new colony was taking hold, the settlers were in revolt against one another. While some stayed on the new planet with what equipment they could keep, others fled back to the stars. Now the settlements are falling into decay, and the old technology is breaking down. Spiraltown is better off than most, and Jeremy Bloocher is lucky that he will someday head the family farm there. But there is trouble, Jeremy must flee, and neither he nor Destiny will ever be the same. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

On the planet Destiny, which has been settled by Earth colonists, Jemmy Bloocher lives in Spiral Town at the far end of the peninsula. After accidentally killing a man from one of the caravans that supply trade goods and the essential potassium-rich speckles, Jemmy flees down the road into the unknown, assuming new identities to avoid capture for 27 years. Curious about what happened to a second landing spaceship, Jemmy traces its route 200 years after it first landed. He discovers what really befell the ship, that there are other towns along the road Spiral Town residents never knew about, and the secret of speckles. This realistic tale of power, deceit, adventure, and awakening by Hugo and Nebula Award winner Niven is highly recommended for sf collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Tor Science Fiction; 2nd printing edition (May 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812511069
• ISBN-13: 978-0812511062
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #132,006 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It had some potential, June 29, 2003

By	Rachel Watkins "Rachel Watkins" (Joshua, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Destiny Road is an interresting outline of what could have been a really great story with some charachter development, plot development, and some real feeling. However, it reads as a technical/historical account of someone who wanders along a road on the planet Destiny, and meets people in different places and experiences some hardships. I never really felt I could connect with any of the charachters.

The plot lacks any real momentum, and the story jumps in places, near the end a full 27 years, during which time he marries, has children, and a stable life.....but when his wife of 16 years dies from a tragic accident, he gets on with things and finds someone new to 'rub up with' in a matter of days. Finding the 'great terrible secret' of Destiny life is little more than the protaginist surfing the net on a library computer and reading entries on various topics. No real conflict, no real suspense. There are also inconsistancies in the book which others have pointed out in many places. It's books like these which reinforce the idea of using the library to read books, and only buying the ones I really want to keep.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Another book Niven didn't bother to finish, September 13, 2002

By	David J. Daniel (Columbia, SC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I enjoyed Destiny's Road for about 80% of the book, then it seemed he just tacked on an ending because his publishers were bugging him to finish the book.

Some spoilers here, but you read through the whole book and it covers several years of the protagonists life then suddenly just before the end of the book, 20 years have past, he apparently got married had kids and then Niven throws some tragedy his way. Like we are supposed to care about characters we didn't even know about until that chapter.

This book shared the same fate as The Ringworld Throne, it seemed like there was a large part of the book you missed. I really enjoyed Niven's earlier books, but his later ones leave much to be desired.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A good idea but..., February 10, 2000

By	Frank O Andrew (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Destiny's Road

Larry Niven is no doubt a genius when it comes to concepts. "Footfall", "Ringworld", "Tales of Known Space" and "Neutron Star" are examples of his power as a writer of other worlds. This is not his best work. In fact, it has the feel, beginning to end, of being written for a deadline. There are technical flaws through out the book (If one must suppliment the diets of humans, why not all the other earth-life animals that wander this new planet?) and an inconsistancy that leaves the reader wondering what the point is. It has some good points. The entire concept is a good one. The references to other science fiction writers and scientists are many leaving a strong feeling of conneciton with the Earth we know. But the rest seems to be little more than the framework of a story, poorly thought out and executed in haste. If you want great science fiction from this master, read "Tales of Known Space" or "Footfall", but skip this contract-filling paper weight.