Rating: 
Summary: An interesting look at a culture of sex-changing humans
Review: Set in the same universe as Gardners's Expendable, Commitment Hour takes place in a small village on post-emigration Earth, where the inhabitants have one unique feature- they change sex each year until age twenty, when they must choose male, female or hermaphrodite. CH traces this most important day in two people's lives, and it turns out to be a bit more wild than they expected. There are enough surprises in the book that telling much more of the plot would involve spoilers. Overall, it's a pretty good effort- the world is nicely worked, and the two main characters seem fairly well realized. The book falls down a bit on the rest of the characters- the Spark Lord especially seems to be amazingly clueless/stupid for a scientist, and many of the others seem to be cardboard cutouts used only to move the plot along. One point I did appreciate- those who choose hermaphrodite are tremendously oppressed, usually driven from the village or killed. It would have been very easy to make the hermaphroditic characters saints, just to drive home the "Discrimination is bad" angle. Many other writers would have done this but Gardner wisely avoids this trap. For those who haven't read it, pick up Gardner's other book, Expendable. Although the book becomes sillier as it progresses, the first fifty pages are just screamingly funny.
Rating: 
Summary: Spans the age gap.
Review: Great story! It spans the age gap--my son loaned it to me and I couldn't put it down. Alot of heavy questions wraped up in a delightfully colorful story. I like that Gardner doesn't try to answer or pass judment on the questions his story raises--just asking is more thought provoking than preaching. A good read.
Rating:
Summary: Good story
Review: I enjoyed this story about a gender switching community. Each year, every nonadult changes gender. It is amusing to see the personality switches (the author clearly thinks gender determines certain traits). As the hour in which the current crop of young people nears in which they must commit to one gender or the other or both (neutral or "neut"), female and male traits slip in and out of the hero's mind. At one point, he is interested in someone blathering on and realizes he must be affected by his female side or he wouldn't find all this talk of any interest. I found it all very amusing. I have enjoyed all of his books and look forward to reading the newest.
Rating:
Summary: Good story
Review: I enjoyed this story about a gender switching community. Each year, every nonadult changes gender. It is amusing to see the personality switches (the author clearly thinks gender determines certain traits). As the hour in which the current crop of young people nears in which they must commit to one gender or the other or both (neutral or "neut"), female and male traits slip in and out of the hero's mind. At one point, he is interested in someone blathering on and realizes he must be affected by his female side or he wouldn't find all this talk of any interest. I found it all very amusing. I have enjoyed all of his books and look forward to reading the newest.
Rating: 
Summary: Please, Spare me the stupid male and dowdy Female charcters
Review: I loved this intriguing tale of your sexual preferances, but the characters were just extremely stupidly dull. I hated them. How much more stick like could you get? They had no imagination, and were above all selfish which made them horrible to read about. You know, bad characters can ruin a great story, that shows in this book
Rating:
Summary: ---great read about gender-switching culture---
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It sucked me in and kept me guessing up until the end. I found the idea of gender-switching humans to be quite original, at least from my own reading history. :-) The concept of gender, and the ideas we traditionally associate with it, has always fascinated me. One thing I like about this book is that it doesn't shy away from the fact that we DO tend to categorize and compartmentalize people according to sex. It was nice to see that even in their male personas, the people of Tober Cove were very caring and loving toward their children, effectively dispelling the myth that only women can be nurturing. The book also touches on belief systems and how strongly people will hold onto their ideas even when faced with contradictory evidence, but the main character also seems to realize that faith really has a life of its own, a purpose, independent of "proof" either for or against.
Rating:
Summary: Sci-fi with a message.
Review: I think some of the other reviewers have missed the purpose of this book. For me, it was a very powerful statement about how our modern society shapes the relationships between men and women. It is not, however, a ripping yarn. The plot develops gradually, Gardner spending a lot of time developing the characters and setting out the relationships between the characters. He does this really well. (Okay, so Lord Rashid of Spark is a bit weak.) The storyline does, however, gradually gather pace and it literally rips through the last 50 pages or so. Further, while the reader can see a lot of what is coming, Gardner keeps adding little twists and turns, and saves one big twist for the end. Good stuff!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, bad ending
Review: I was quite enthralled by this book, couldn't put it down. It had a lot going for it until the last chapter. Then I felt let down by the lack of resolution of the main idea of the book. I guess if it was meant to lead to a sequel, it'd be OK, but as a stand alone book, the ending left me flat.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting concept... but is that enough?
Review: I've enjoyed other books by this author, so I picked this one up. He's taking on an unusual theme--the nature of male vs female, with a religious/ritualistic culture in the background, by way of discussing superstition and faith. Lots of loaded issues. So you know, this means it could be really, really good, or totally take a dive. I'm afraid that I think the latter happened. The main characer is sympathetic enough, and it's interesting to explore his/her male and female sides. The author manages to avoid horrendous stereotypes, while keeping male and female traits recognizable, which is a coup. But I did keep having flash-backs to the '60s and all the feminist rhetoric flying about then (I AM a feminist--just don't want to hear about it day-in, day-out, thank you). Still, that was OK. The culture and the world had enough details to be convincing, but it was still extememely weird. This can be a good thing. Here, it was... OK, but the oddness seemed to spin out of control towards the denouement. It just became so bizarre that I lost my suspension of disbelief. If you are interested in unusual themes and strange customs and cultures, and even weirder twists at endings, then by all means try this book. Sadly, I can't recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting concept... but is that enough?
Review: I've enjoyed other books by this author, so I picked this one up. He's taking on an unusual theme--the nature of male vs female, with a religious/ritualistic culture in the background, by way of discussing superstition and faith. Lots of loaded issues. So you know, this means it could be really, really good, or totally take a dive. I'm afraid that I think the latter happened. The main characer is sympathetic enough, and it's interesting to explore his/her male and female sides. The author manages to avoid horrendous stereotypes, while keeping male and female traits recognizable, which is a coup. But I did keep having flash-backs to the '60s and all the feminist rhetoric flying about then (I AM a feminist--just don't want to hear about it day-in, day-out, thank you). Still, that was OK. The culture and the world had enough details to be convincing, but it was still extememely weird. This can be a good thing. Here, it was... OK, but the oddness seemed to spin out of control towards the denouement. It just became so bizarre that I lost my suspension of disbelief. If you are interested in unusual themes and strange customs and cultures, and even weirder twists at endings, then by all means try this book. Sadly, I can't recommend it.
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