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Uncharted Territory

Uncharted Territory

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A disappointment
Review: After reading some of Connie Willis' other books, I must say that this book was very disappointing to me. After finishing this book it didn't even enter my mind once like Doomsday Book and Bellwether did. It was very confusing and it didn't seem like the plot was going anywhere. Like another reviewer said, I didn't know that Fin was female until almost the end of the book. The reason that this isn't just one star is that the book was funny, especially the character Bult so I could enjoy the book a little bit.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Screwball SF at its best
Review: Another light but excellently told SF tale by Willis. A couple of crusty surveyors and a native are working to map a new planet. Things are not all as they seem, however. The native is constantly fining the off- worlders for the degradation to the planet. The off-world survey might harbor an ulterior interest for the government.

Willis' comedy here is, like a lot of her stories, true screwball. That means a battle of the sexes, with misunderstandings and misrepresentations. I'm told that this type of humor is an acquired taste, which may explain some of the comments I've heard from people who say Willis' stories don't do anything for them. Personally, I can't get enough of them, and have to find other authors to fulfill that need during the months it takes Connie to write another.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not Connie Willis's usual fare
Review: By any other writer, Uncharted Territory would have been a decent read, but from Connie Willis, it had too many possibilities. A lot of the usual Willis charm is in there -- well-developed characters, an interesting romantic subplot, and a slapstick humor underlying the whole plot -- but it left me thinking she could have done much more with the story.

Something else I've come to expect from Ms. Willis is the touch of depth that she adds to her stories without becoming obtuse, and Uncharted Territory was just fluff. Don't get me wrong -- I like fun, empty reads (I had a blast reading one of those Hercules: The Legendary Adventures novels), and this novel was a fun diversion, but I was looking for something akin to "Ado" or "The Pony," where even the silly or frightening points have something to say. Uncharted Territory was a little too shallow.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read that kept me engrossed, but I wish it could have stood up to the standard Ms. Willis has set for her fiction. After reading To Say Nothing of the Dog and Bellwether (two of her books I would recommend without hesitation), I will continue to read her fiction, but I wouldn't recommend Uncharted Territory to someone who has read her other work first.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not Connie Willis's usual fare
Review: By any other writer, Uncharted Territory would have been a decent read, but from Connie Willis, it had too many possibilities. A lot of the usual Willis charm is in there -- well-developed characters, an interesting romantic subplot, and a slapstick humor underlying the whole plot -- but it left me thinking she could have done much more with the story.

Something else I've come to expect from Ms. Willis is the touch of depth that she adds to her stories without becoming obtuse, and Uncharted Territory was just fluff. Don't get me wrong -- I like fun, empty reads (I had a blast reading one of those Hercules: The Legendary Adventures novels), and this novel was a fun diversion, but I was looking for something akin to "Ado" or "The Pony," where even the silly or frightening points have something to say. Uncharted Territory was a little too shallow.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read that kept me engrossed, but I wish it could have stood up to the standard Ms. Willis has set for her fiction. After reading To Say Nothing of the Dog and Bellwether (two of her books I would recommend without hesitation), I will continue to read her fiction, but I wouldn't recommend Uncharted Territory to someone who has read her other work first.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Although the characters are interesting, the book is boring.
Review: Connie Willis has done 100 times better with humor in Bellwether. Thankfully, the book is short because not much ever really happens. There are minor surprises and discoveries along the way but I hoping something exciting would happen and was disappointed.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: What went wrong?
Review: Having read both the Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, I thought that nothing written by Connie Willis could go wrong. Unfortunatly, this book shows that perfection is not a constant. I don't know how this got through (maybe the publishers were eager for another Connie Willis book to sell), but this book for me was uninspiring, pointless, and confusing. Although the interaction of the characters were humorous at certain time, for the most part, I was left wondering if anything was really happening. Another problem I had (and maybe i'm just too dense) was the fact that none of the characters were introduced. I was halfway though the book before I realized that Fin was female. Unless if there was a prequel that explained it all, anyone could be left wondering if a name belonged to a person, place, or a thing. All in all, this book is a disspointment from someone who has won Hugos and Nebulas for her works, but then nobody should expect perfection all the time and should be grateful for the other books Ms Willis has written. :)

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: What went wrong?
Review: Having read both the Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, I thought that nothing written by Connie Willis could go wrong. Unfortunatly, this book shows that perfection is not a constant. I don't know how this got through (maybe the publishers were eager for another Connie Willis book to sell), but this book for me was uninspiring, pointless, and confusing. Although the interaction of the characters were humorous at certain time, for the most part, I was left wondering if anything was really happening. Another problem I had (and maybe i'm just too dense) was the fact that none of the characters were introduced. I was halfway though the book before I realized that Fin was female. Unless if there was a prequel that explained it all, anyone could be left wondering if a name belonged to a person, place, or a thing. All in all, this book is a disspointment from someone who has won Hugos and Nebulas for her works, but then nobody should expect perfection all the time and should be grateful for the other books Ms Willis has written. :)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Quick, Interesting Read; Delightful Twists
Review: If you are a Connie Willis fan, this book is not what you'd expect. But, if you admire her versatility and imagination, you won't be disappointed.

This is a short, but smart book. There are some strong socially critical themes throughout, which only add to the action and the twists. As usual, Willis's characters are lovable, flaws and all.

The book is a bit too short, and a bit too much is left to the imagination, but otherwise this is a quite enjoyable and worthwhile read.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Quick, Interesting Read; Delightful Twists
Review: If you are a Connie Willis fan, this book is not what you'd expect. But, if you admire her versatility and imagination, you won't be disappointed.

This is a short, but smart book. There are some strong socially critical themes throughout, which only add to the action and the twists. As usual, Willis's characters are lovable, flaws and all.

The book is a bit too short, and a bit too much is left to the imagination, but otherwise this is a quite enjoyable and worthwhile read.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Minor work
Review: It's definitely not the best or the worst Connie Willis has to offer, but it's funny anyways. Just avoid the spanish translation, which I had to read, and which spoils half the plot: from the beginning you know Fin is a woman. Besides, "roadkill" is translated as "roadkiller" and "couch potato" as "cushion potato".


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