Destiny's Road (Mass Market Paperback)

by Larry Niven (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; Later 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: 2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #355,423 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

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.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome back Larry!, April 26, 2000

By	Rand Higbee (Hager City, WI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Destiny's Road

Let me start off by saying that I am a big fan of Larry Niven. To be more specific, however, I am a big fan of the 1970s Larry Niven. The Niven of the past ten or so years seemed to have little in common with that 70s Niven. He had lost something. Books like "The Ringworld Throne" were pale imitations of his previous works. Where had the real Larry Niven gone?

So it took my quite a while to pick up a copy of "Destiny's Road." But I finally did so, and I'm happy to report that my faith in Larry has been restored. He is back. Big time.

"Destiny's Road" is one of Niven's best ever, and it may be the best science fiction novel to come out of the 1990s.

The plot, briefly, is this: Young Jemmy lives in Spiral Town, an isolated community on a distant planet that mankind has colonized. Because of an accident Jemmy must flee Spiral Town. As he goes where no Spiral Towner has gone before, he uncovers many mysteries and, finally, many answers.

Other reviewers have complained about the rather clipped style in which the book is written. I, however, appreciated that aspect of it. The tale is told from Jemmy's (why isn't the name Jeremy?) point of view. And as the story is slowly revealed, you learn why Jemmy thinks in these short, clipped thoughts.

Yes, Larry Niven is back. But it is a more mature Niven than the writer we knew in in the 70s. I believe he will now be writing in much more depth than he did in his younger days. That may turn some people off, but I now very much look forward to what he will be writing next.

4 of 4 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.