A World Out of Time

Rating:
Summary: Mind-stretching!
Review: A fun read, yes, but so much more. This is what SF is all about. Combining a good story with ideas that stretch the mind. Ideas worth thinking about, worth pondering. Ideas that make us grow intellectually.

Rating:
Summary: Mind-stretching!
Review: A fun read, yes, but so much more. This is what SF is all about. Combining a good story with ideas that stretch the mind. Ideas worth thinking about, worth pondering. Ideas that make us grow intellectually.

Rating:
Summary: An outstanding work of fiction!
Review: A novel with a dire warning for humanity. Corbell is a flawed man who brings us into the far future with him and shows us the wonders of an Earth that is 3 million years in the future. One can only read this book and discover sights that are so alien but also human at the same time that it leaves you dizzy. From start to finish the book is a masterpiece and my only quarrel is, It's too short. We want to know more of this alien Earth.

Rating:
Summary: one of niven's greatest works
Review: at the tender age of twelve i read this to kill an idle summer afternoon. i had never read for recreation, never even cracked a sci-fi novel. this single story slapped me about, showed my fragile little mind of the possibilities that just might exist. i was never quite the same after that. a wilder more imaginative speculative romp would be hard to come by, and i've read quite a bit since then. this, or very possibly protector, i consider to be his best.

Rating:
Summary: My first Niven book...
Review: AWOoT was the first Niven book I have ever read (at age 15). My family owns a convenience store/newsstand in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and in 1977 my father received a batch of SF books in consignation for the store's book section. He brought home three of them for me, 'The Space Machine' by C. Priest--a very enjoyable pastiche of H.G.Wells' 'The Time Machine' and 'War of the Worlds', another one so bad I do not remember even its title, and 'A World Out of Time'. At the beginning I was skeptic. The blurbs on the back cover sounded kind of 'New Wavish' and even freakish. Being a hardcore-SF fan weaned on A.C.Clarke and I.Asimov, I was militantly anti 'New-Wave' SF (the fashion in Argentinian SF publishing at the time) or 'unscientific'. I did not want to waste my time on another 'character' story or fantasy tale. I wanted at least planetary size action and ideas...Man, I got them in spades and of Galactic size!!! To say it blew me away it is too little to express the impact of this book on me. It was like an intellectual sledge-hammer crashing on my brain. Only J.Varley's 'The Persistence of Vision' collection had a similar effect on me--and only because I was ten years older and wiser at the time. I read and reread the books more times than I remember. It was also humongously popular with my HS friends--but I suspect more due to the then 'titillating' sex scenes than the gigantic space and time range of the plot, action and ideas. After that, Niven entered the Pantheon of 'hunt for' SF authors, so 'Ringworld' and "Tales of Known Space' (plus everything he has written alone or in collaboration) followed, increasing my awe and admiration for his work. But AWOoT is still my most beloved Niven's book.

Rating:
Summary: Good read for this sci-fi lightweight
Review: First, you should know where I'm coming from: I like my science fiction light on science, heavy on characterization and humanity. A tome that goes in depth on the physics of space travel and leaves the characters shallow and unrealized is not my cup of tea.

Now that you know what kind of reader I am: I keep reading A World Out of Time. I picked up a copy in 1983 when I was 13, enjoyed it, read it again a year or two later, and have probably read it seven times altogether. Since I rarely read a book more than once, this must mean something. As I grew up, I found that I got more out of this book each time I read it. I uncovered new layers of meaning, especially about the direction in which Niven shows human civilization going over a long span of time.

But something funny happened the last time I picked up the book: I didn't like it as much. I don't care for his portrayal of female characters. Mostly they're just there as accessories to have sex with -- except for the old, ugly one, who's there to run away from. What happens at the end of the book is an interesting statement on how a woman is judged on appearance alone. Unfortunately, I don't think Niven is trying to make this statement on this: I think he's inadvertently created an example of it.

Also, the main character is something of a cypher. We know he had a full life before the events in the book, and perhaps Niven intentionally leaves his past vague, to emphasize that it's not relevant to his present situation -- but as a result the reader is denied much insight into the character. He becomes a bundle of reflexes -- too generic to seem completely realized.

That said, there's something that keeps me reading this book, and I'll probably read it again when I'm having my midlife crisis sometime. The pace is quick, the plot easy to follow and suspenseful, and the landscape of a future Earth intriguing.

I'd like to see Niven return to this in a sequel. Perhaps he has grown as a writer since the 1970's and he'd do a more judicious job of character development of either sex.

Rating:
Summary: One hell of a trip..
Review: For a future Earth to the galactic core and back again, this novel is simply one of the BEST books I have ever read. If you're a Niven fan and haven't read this one yet, you should be flogged! And if you're not a Niven fan and haven't read this yet there is still hope! I've read this book over 5 times over the years and it's STILL one of the best high adventure stories I've ever head the pleasure of reading!

5 Stars all the way baby!

Rating:
Summary: A real page-turner
Review: I first read the short story this novel is based on when I was 12. I loved it.

When I was 21 I found the novel I felt it couldn't be as good - but it was better.

Whilst Niven's strong point has never been dialogue or characterisation - what he does excellently is keep you interested. One plot twist follows another - whilst all the time adding more and more scientific ideas.

I liked the final plot twist and I only wish I could forget it so I could read it again with genuine surprise. But my absolute favourite part is still the first chapter which is virtually word-for-word of the original short story.

If you're looking for believable characters and witty dialogue - look elsewhere (sorry Larry!). But if you like a plot that keeps you guessing and a future world that's packed full of ideas - and above a story that'll entertain you - then this book is hard to beat.

Rating:
Summary:

Take time out for "A World Out of Time"
Review: I had read darn near everything Niven's written, and finally got around to this novel.
I wish I'd read it sooner!

Lots of action, a sense of discovery around every corner, and with every turn of the page a new puzzle to solve within the plot of the story. Of course it also has the big big science that Niven is famous for. What a treat after his less than spectacular recent efforts. If I had one bad thing to say, it's that a small portion of the science no longer holds up to current theories--but that's a small price to pay for such fun!

If you're a sci-fi fan, and haven't yet read Niven, I highly recommend this book for your first read. Every bit as good as "Ringworld", with none of the overhead of that novel's "Known Space" universe to catch up on. If you're already a Niven fan, and haven't yet experienced this novel--read it now before you run out of time!

Rating:
Summary: My favorite Niven novel
Review: I have hunted down and read all of Larry Niven's published short stories, novellas, novels, and collaborations. This is the one book of his that I continue to re-read every year or two. Excellent ideas and a neat twisting plot keeps everything moving. By far, my favorite novel by my one of favorite authors.