Rating: 
Summary: Sci-Fi With an Emphasis on Character
Review: "Ship of Fools" does what many science fiction books fail to do (and this is true of movies, too): It puts believable and interesting characters in settings that are exciting or wondrous. Too much science fiction is written by people who spend all their time in the lab or on the computer or in their basements playing Dungeons and Dragons. Characters with any real depth are usually lacking from writers of this sort. Russo knows how to write real people and he also understands when not to explain or show something. In terms of "cool" gadgets and technology there's nothing new here. This is a novel about relationships and about moral dilemmas. I gave it four stars only because I think people who write these reviews hand out 5 stars much too easily. This is a good book, an enjoyable read, and worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: Starship Veronica
Review: One of the few sf novels to explore the hard questions of religion and faith. The character of Father Veronica is the best thing about the book. Her character is the lynch pin that holds the story together; deeply nuanced, tender, honest, unfailingly faithful, yet frought with personal doubts. The prose is spare, but extremely descriptive; I feel like I've been on the Argonos, a generation starship to end them all. The only quibble; too many ideas and scenes that are left unexplained. The ending is a perfect set-up for a sequel, but there is no indication in the blurbs that this is the first in a series, although I would welcome a follow-up. I want to know the answers to all the questions! Definitely a good read; the kind you can't put down.
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing characters and at times seismic suspense
Review: Fist of all: I won't give away the story !
I thoroughly enjoyed the creation and development of the different characters. After only 2 pages I felt tied to
the story. Since I read some of the other reviews before I
started reading the book I knew that the ending might not be forthcoming with ALL the answers and so I could trim my expectations optimally. That made a difference!
The book made me interested in looking for more Science Fiction
which is another compliment I want to make to the author.
I liked that the main character was not the top notch strong, good looking and super-smart guy but was born with quite a few
defects. Unlike some others I enjoyed the partitioning of the
book. It enhanced the feeling of progress in reading and fitted the narrative baseline of the story. It was like having a lot
of snacks.
I ovserved that at few moments the author had a little trouble to maintain the quality of a couple characters, they kinda lost
momentum or faded a little. This could be explained with further
plans for another volume. There was only one part I felt was rather unskillful (2 pages or so) with a discussion between two characters about god and his role. It read like frozen tomato soup, - if I may say so. Yet compared to 370 pages of very good
stuff those couple pages are easily absorbed into a 5-star rating. Like someone else said: the last quarter of the book
was so intense that it was impossible to stop. I absolutely had
to finish the book.
Five stars, well deserved !
Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking, Disturbing, and Cool
Review: If you've ever wondered what human beings are capable of when given unlimited power and/or resources, you can look at Elvis Presley or Bill Gates. If you've ever wondered what human beings would do when they start asking, "Where are we going?" "What do we want?" "What is our purpose?" you could read SHIP OF FOOLS.
The book deals with The Big Questions in a way that is both dramatic, suspenseful, and accessible. As with most human action when confronted with the unknown, we are by turns contemptible and small--and on rare occasions, noble. And that's what the book is about.
Some reviewers gripe that not all the knots are fully unravelled. So what was the great white face of Moby Dick? Nothingness? The futility of human action? People still wonder about that one. So a few residual knots are not a problem for me.
The only quibble I have with the book is the title. Although it's appropriate, in the spirit of its allegorical nature, I would have titled it YOU ARE HERE.
Rating:
Summary: A very interesting read
Review: I thought this book was great. The characters were well developed, it had an interesting premise and plot. I'd highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A Thoroughly Engaging Read
Review: This is a thoroughly engaging read. The story and character development draw you in from the start and you are not disappointed up to the very end. I was uncertain if Russo could make the jump from short stories and serial work to a fully developed novel. He can, and did! I place Russo in my top ten of sci-fi/fantasy/future vision writers. His work is thought provoking, intriguing and, unlike many in the genre, he has a command of our language and a deeply intuitive feel for the pulse of our culture. I have read Ship of Fools twice, if for no other reason than I am wanting for more Russo and until his next book I at least have a very good piece of work to satisfy that need.
Rating:
Summary: Well-deserved listing on NYTimes Notable Books
Review: Russo's newest novel, SHIP OF FOOLS, is a fine amalgamation of thoroughly considered and thought-provoking story and characters. Russo's spare, elegant style continues to prove more refined with each book. Although set in the future, Russo's perceptively detailed characters and plot illustrate how the staff and shield of religion are, time and again, so often misappropriated. The reader is not insulted with pedantic themes and canned answers, but instead, an array of alluring questions. One of the deepest and most thought-provoking books I've read in years.
Rating: 
Summary: Appalling
Review: The premise seemed good. The cover looked promising. However, this was one of the worst books I've read in years. I was shocked. It read like a direct-to-video movie. The characterization was unrealistic. Individual character traits, such as the deformities of the main character, were never explained nor added anything to the deapth of the character. There was absolutely NO explination for why the aliens would perform such savage acts on humans, why the humans let them do it, or how they went about performing said acts. There is likewise no explination of how the survivors plan on dealing with the consequences. The history of the ship is hinted at but never explored in any deapth. All in all, the book offers much promise, but delivers about as much as the average Schwarzenegger movie. I would not reccomend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: HUH?
Review: Exactly what happened in this book?? Spaceship, planet, scary abandoned ship, hitch it on the back of your ship, it starts getting creepy, everyone flips, they break away, the captain goes down with the ship. BORING! the only good thing about this was the endearing Father Veronica.
Rating:
Summary: A spaceship society, mutiny, and an alien evil
Review: While there is a not fully resolved feeling to the ending, this is nevertheless a truly splendid SF read, and one that tackles some spiritual issues (faith, prayer, evil) without being a knee-jerk anti-religious tract. Refreshing. The main character is fascinating--an outsider even among outsiders, but one who connects in friendship with those at every level of this spaceship society (religious, political, underworlders). Bartolomeo is a man deformed by genetics, repaired by prosthetics, and at core sensitive and moral. He struggles to play the political game presented to him, lives with a certain weight of loneliness, but he takes risks to do what he thinks is right. It costs him. But it always costs when you have to make the tough decisions, which our hero must in fighting against an unjust political system and then against a sadistic and enigmatic alien presence.The alien menace (faceless and formless) is a great metaphor for evil. It's there, but you don't really understand it. You just try to fight it the best you can and survive. I loved the growing relationship between Bartolomeo (our atheist hero) and Father Veronica (a true believer). It rounds out his character that he is someone who has the ability to be both tender and tough, calculating and vulnerable, skeptical but wondering if belief might not offer comforts. The fact that the story is not completely resolved as far as the fate of the people of the Argonos annoyed me a little at first, then made sense. The questions that arise when one ponders the nature of evil and of the meaning of life are open-ended, they continue. We haven't vanquished evil. Many people are mired in meaninglessness. We live open-endedly---not really knowing how the tale plays out at the end. So, the ending made sense. There may be Eden or Hell as a destination. But the struggle to live, to find a place to call our own continues... Then again, maybe a sequel is in the works to explain what is left unwritten. :) I'd read it! But if I had my druthers, I think I'd like leaving it with a bit of mystery. Thanks, Mr. Russo, for a wonderful few hours entertainment and pondering.... *Mir*
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